symptoms, treatment and home remedies

Mites are the cause of different types of scabies in dogs, which can cause damage to the ears and all the skin of the dog. These are the types of mites that can infect a dog:

• Mites Demodex: cause the demodectic mange and they usually live in the hair follicles without causing damage, but sometimes, due to lowered defenses, they can proliferate a lot and cause alopecia. It is not considered contagious, but it can be suffered by animals and humans, although the mites that infect each species are often different species of the same genus. They usually appear located on the face or legs and if it is localized it usually heals on its own in a couple of months. However, when it is generalized, that is, it affects the whole body, it may be due to an immune problem. If the dog is an adult when it presents this disease, an underlying disease should be looked for, but if it is young it is probably due to a congenital immunodeficiency and demodicosis in this case will be chronic. It is not recommended that these dogs breed because this problem is hereditary.
• Mite Sarcoptes: produces the sarcoptic mange, it is very itchy and very contagious. The disease occurs because the mite burrows tunnels into the animal’s skin. This is very itchy and the dog scratches, occasionally causing injuries. Alopecia appears in the armpits, groin, neck, under the eyes and can spread to the entire body.
• Mite Otodectes: the ear scabies It affects only the ears and is common in stray dogs (and is one of the most common scabies in cats), as well as being very contagious. Animals scratch their ears a lot, producing wounds that will have to be treated with antibiotics. It may also appear otitis, since this is characterized by finding mites in dog ears and infected ears produce a typically black earwax.
• Cheiletiella: this disease is known as cheiletiellosis and also how walking dandruff, since these mites are white and can be seen with the naked eye walking between the hairs. They produce flaking of the skin and itching.

If you do not know what do mites produce in dogs, these are the symptoms that canids present when faced with an infestation by these parasites.

• Excessive itching
• The presence of white mites that move through the dog’s hair.
• Peeling of the skin
• Irritation of the skin.
• Bald spots on the dog’s hair.
• Lesions on the skin.
• Black wax in the ear.
• Mite allergy in dogs: in some cases dogs are allergic to mites, so if they have symptoms that may be alerting you to them, go quickly to the vet to apply the correct treatment.

Here we explain how to know if my dog ​​has scabies and how to know if my dog ​​has otitis, which can be caused by these parasites.

The treatment for mites in dogs It will depend on the species that has infested the dog:

• Demodex: healing can be accelerated with daily amitraz baths, or oral ivermectin or milbemycin. Corticosteroids should never be given, as they aggravate the condition. In the event that there is an underlying disease, the veterinarian will be in charge of diagnosing said disease and applying the correct treatment.
• Sarcoptes: treatment is based on amitraz baths and weekly subcutaneous injections of ivermectin.
• Otodectes: dorsal anointing (spot-on dog mite pipettes) treatment of selamectin is highly effective.
• Cheiletiella: Treatment can be done with fipronil or permethrin spot-on (only in dogs), with amitraz baths, ivermectin injections, or oral milbemycin.

Now that you know this, we recommend that you also read this other post on How to care for a dog with mange.

You ask yourself how to cure mites on the skin of dogs? Well, there are a number of natural treatments for mites in dogs, but it is not recommended to use any of them without first consulting a vet.

• Clean your canine friend’s ears with mineral oil. You can introduce 3 or 4 drops of this oil in the dog’s ears, massage the ear a little so that the oil penetrates well and, in a few hours, clean it with gauze or a tissue, if you use an ear swab. or swab, use it only to clean the recesses of the ear part but never for the inner part, that is, for the ear (you could accidentally pierce the eardrum). Repeat this twice a week for 3 weeks and you will surely get results. This usually works well for Otodectes-type mites, which are the most common in the ears.
• Shower your dog with medicinal shampoos. You can purchase a anti-mite shampoo for dogs suitable at the vet or pet store. Bathe it every two days and then smear it with petroleum jelly, this helps to suppress mites and relieve irritation and itching of the skin. In two weeks these unwanted parasites usually disappear.
• You can use a anti acne cream that contains benzoyl peroxide and covers the affected areas, but always in the dose indicated by your veterinarian.
• The pure apple cider vinegar applied to your dog’s skin can create an environment that is too acidic for these mites and eliminate them.

Surely none of these methods is used to completely eliminate the mites, but it helps to control them, to calm the symptoms and, in addition, some make it easier for the medication to act more easily and, therefore, that the dog heals sooner. We encourage you to read these other oneHOWTO articles on How to treat scabies in dogs with home remedies and Can scabies in dogs be cured with burnt oil?

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