Dogs and Red Mange
Answered by: Kerry Hackett
Question from: Annie
Posted on: April 03, 2006

We raise Pugs and had a litter with red mange. This was the first litter from a very young Pug . We did not notice any mange until we started the puppies shots at seven weeks. It was at this time that all the pups got the mange. The puppies got better with medication. When this Pug was pregnant with her second litter we gave her vitamins and Astragalus. The puppies all seemed fine. No mange. At four months of age one puppy has developed some type of mange, but I don’t know what the owner of the pup has been doing with it. The other pups are not showing any signs of mange. Is this an autoimmune system problem and are there any herbal remedies that can be given to the mother while pregnant or to the pups?

Given the same pug has given birth to two litters of puppies who have developed what sounds like Demodectic mange, I would be looking at the health of the mother. Mange, like other parasitic conditions, always attacks a weakened host. As she had her first litter whilst very young (a drain on her immune system and body reserves), followed by her second litter (you don’t say how much time passed between the two pregnancies but I assume it was a matter of months); another drain on her reserves and immune system. It is important that she be in optimum health in order to carry and give birth to healthy pups. The best way to do this is to put her on a good, homemade diet so she is healthy BEFORE she next becomes pregnant and continue through birth, lactation and beyond. The healthier she is, the better her litter will be. Suggestions for recipes can be found in the following books: Richard Pitcairn’s "Natural Health for Dogs and Cats", "The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat" by Juliette de Bairacli Levy and "The Barf Diet" by Ian Billinghurst. Next (again before the next mating) you can try vitamin C at 250 mg twice a day, 50 mg vitamin E once a day and 10 mg zinc citrate once a day to improve her immune system. In this case prevention is the key. Should mange reappear, fresh lemon juice on the affected spot is reported as being successful.

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