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Dog Health
DBT highly recommends the The Ultimate Guide to Dog Health! ebook when learning to look after your dog or pet.
Dog Skin Mite Symptoms 1. Itchy skin causing hair loss and redness of the skin. 2. Possible baldness on the face ankles (hocks) and lower back of the dog. 3. Pimples of younger dogs.
What Causes Dog Skin Mites?
There are three different types of skin mites that effect dogs, these are Demodex canis mites, sarcoptic scabei mites, and cheyletiella mites. Demodex canis mites are non contagious mites and often effect younger dog’s more than older dogs and have their effect by burrowing into the deeper layers of the dogs skin causing a non itchy hard surface on the skin or baldness, often on the face or ankles and is often reason for secondary bacterial infections. It is unknown why these mites begin or what causes the production of them. Sarcoptic scabei mites is different to the Demodex canis in many ways due to it firstly being highly contagious to other animals or humans, and it is a very itchy mite for the dog often causing them to over itch and make lesions or break their skin, as this happens it may again cause secondary infections. This itchiness can affect the whole dog and not just in the areas obviously affected. Cheyletiella mites, also known as walking dandruff mites mostly affect puppies under eight months old. The effects of this are that the dog will suffer skin flakiness only in certain areas of the body much like dandruff.
What Your Vet May Say or Do
The procedure the vet may take in the instances of suspecting mites is to take pain free skin scrapings from the dog and examine them microscopically. From this test, if there are mites present they will show up in the case of Demodex canis and cheyletiella mites, but with Sarcoptic scabei mites there are often a lot fewer mites making it harder to find them. After many tests and proof of mites the vet may then suggest skin washes for your dog mixed with water to be given once every week. From here they will take regular skin checks until everything is clear and no mites are still being found on the dog in question. In the unlikely incident of this not working a product called Ivermectin may be used as a more long term cure to rid of the offending mites. This product can be used orally or through injections and has more chance of working against stubborn mites.
Other Possible Conditions
Dog Itching and Scratching
Dog Bacterial Skin Infections
Dog Allergies – Itchy Ears
Dog Allergies – Itchy Feet and Itchy Bottom
Dog Flea Allergy
Dog Fleas Information
Dog Food Allergies – Skin Allergies
Dog Hot Spots
Dog Hypothyroidism (under active thyroid glands)
Dog Fungal Skin Infections
Dog Yeast Infection 
