wow...thanks for the help yall...

yes, there was a scrape test done, and it was Demodectic mites...

i am hoping that this clears up pretty soon....for his sake...the larger spot on his head is now like an open wound....


can i put SOMETHING on it? at all???

i sent a detailed email to the breeder just before i posted this thread.

i told him that i love my dog and have no doubts that he has a stellar bloodline, but there are some issues that need immediate attention....

so far he has had...

kennel cough...
roundworms...and more roundworms
whip worms...
and now demodectic mange...

all these things are supposedly from his mother or the breeder...we keep a clean house and have one persian cat who could not be healthier...he has had his shots (i know...i am considering alternatives....)so my only thought is that it IS from his breeder....

thanks again....

A coworker's dog had this over, and over, and over. They kept dipping the poor thing in all the previously discussed dips, and all it did was further ruin the dog's health. This IS an immune problem, as many dogs have this w/out developing the acute problem. So, I'd say (surprise, surprise), work more on improving this dog's overall health-raw food, no shots, minimal meds and see what happens.

My dog got it from who knows what while he was away from home (stress, change in diet, environment, had to be vaccinated, etc.) , and it disappeared on its own in about 2 weeks. Never saw it before or since vaccines and eating (gasp!) dogfood. GOOD dogfood, mind you! There really is no substitute for fresh, raw nutrition.

Dr. Pitcairn addresses it in his book, although you may be able to find it online. These dips are toxic-they're designed to kill, so they really don't do much to bolster the immune system, which is what you really need to do to fight this.

My Golden Ret (Noley) was diagnosed with demodectic mange, confirmed with scrapings. The first Vet told me to do the series of 6 dips and then to have him nuetured, so that he would not pass it on to the puppies. I spoke to a friend who is a Vet in another city and his advice was that I wait and do nothing!! He explained that it was and immune system problem and that if we waited and gave his system time it could very well handle the mange. As long as the dog is not in any discomfort we could afford to give his immune system time to kick in. If it did not clear up we could always treat with the dips. If we went ahead and decided to do the dips we would need to go ahead and have Noley nuetured because we would never know if the mange was cured by the medicine or by the immune system. It worked for Noley. The mange cleared up with out any action on my part, and it has not reappeared. Obviously you should discuss all of this with your Vet and probably one or two others to get different points of view. Good luck and I hope you are as succesful as I was.

Terry