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My dog has demodex. Is he healing? How to treat skin and bad smell?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | American Pit Bull Terrier | Male | neutered | 4 months and 6 days old | 22 lbs

Hello My dog is diagnosed with canine demodex and we are treating him with amitraz and some other medicines The first picture is 2 weeks ago and the 2 others are today Is this a proces of healing and what should we use to help his skin heals faster Is it fine to give him shower every week and honestly he smells really bad since he got this

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Daniel Fonza, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on May 21st, 2018

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Judging from the photos, it appears that the demodex is becoming less severe and the head is in the process of healing with all of the scabs present. If the hair does not grow back and it seems like the demodex is still there, I would try other medications such as Fluralaner (Bravecto) or Afoxolaner (Nexgard). If Tyson is not on an antibiotic right now, it might help him as well as washing him in a Benzoyl Peroxide shampoo twice weekly. I hope this helps and that Tyson recovers fully soon! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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