I took Wilco to the vet yesterday for his shots. He's 14 weeks. I mentioned to the vet that he had a couple of small, red, spots in an area that I would describe as his armpit (front left leg). The spots had not been an issue, I just saw them while he was laying on his back. She did a skin scraping and determined it was demodectic mange. The word mange always brings to mind images of dogs with sores and large patches of missing hair. Apparently it can get that bad but we caught it at a very early stage. It is treatable but it's expensive and lengthy. It involves a series of anitbiotics and at least two dippings followed by more skin scraping to make sure the treatment was successful. While we were planning to neuter Wilco anyway, the vet told me it was a must that we do so. Apparently, mange is passed on at birth. She also recommended that I notify the breeder so that the breeder doesn't try the same breeding combination again. I have emailed the breeder but have not yet heard back.
I'm curious if anyone else has had a similar experience. While I'm not accusing the breeder of having knowledge of the mange, I feel like the breeder has some responsibility for the situation. My agreement with the breeder guaranteed a healthy dog as long as any issues were reported within 48 hours of possession but did not mention mange specifically. This type of mange does not generally show up until some time after 12 weeks. I would welcome any thoughts or comments.
Thanks.
I'm curious if anyone else has had a similar experience. While I'm not accusing the breeder of having knowledge of the mange, I feel like the breeder has some responsibility for the situation. My agreement with the breeder guaranteed a healthy dog as long as any issues were reported within 48 hours of possession but did not mention mange specifically. This type of mange does not generally show up until some time after 12 weeks. I would welcome any thoughts or comments.
Thanks.