Why is my dog's demodex mange worse after treatment? Secondary infection?

It isn't uncommon for dogs going through mange therapy to initially get itchier as the mites die and cause inflammation. However secondary infections are also very common with mange. It is common for a dog to be on antibiotics and perhaps an anti-itch medication in addition while being treated for the mange. You could call the veterinarian that prescribed the mange treatment to discuss antibiotics and/or medication to help with his itching. Sometimes a topical shampoo helps but often oral medications are needed.

You didn't mentioned how long ago you started the treatment and how bad was the infection, Demodex can take between a few weeks to several months to clear up completly, it is important to renew the treatment as long as the skin seems to be affected. eventually the skin will recover but it will take some time, i usually recommend Bravecto for treatment.

HI and thank you for using PetCoach. Poor Tyson. I would recommend taking Tyson back to his veterinarian for a recheck. Often dogs with Demodex may develop secondary skin infections that require antibiotics to treat as well as treating the mites. There are some oral medications that may be used to treat Demodex mange as well, however I am not sure if they are availabe in your country. I would ask your veterinarian if there are any other options to treat Tyson if he is not improving. This article may give you a bit more information about Demodectic mange. https://www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951505

Poor thing! It sounds like his immune system is really compromised. I would recommend an antibiotic for the pyoderma as well as a probiotic. Often skin health is linked to gut health and when you use antibiotics for certain infections you kill some good bacteria as well which makes taking a probiotic important. I would also recommend oral Nexguard or Bravecto for the demodex. Although Amitraz has long been used, I think your dogs reaction is secondary to the effects of Amitraz on the natural flora of his skin. It is important with disorders of the immune system to ensure he is on a good, high quality diet, and resides in a low stress environment. I hope this helps!

I recommend to confirm it is demodex mange with your veterinarian. Off label treatments with some of the oral flea preventatives can help. Also, if she is not spayed, it will be very hard to get rid of the mites. I recommend to have Blonca spayed if this is not already done as there are many health and behavioral benefits. It will also help prevent puppies which will help with the extreme problem of over population. https://www.petcoach.co/article/spaying-ovariohysterectomy-the-benefits-in-dogs/ I hope this helps.

There is definitely an improvement, it can take several months until the skin recovers completely, just continue the treatment and i would also recommend using Bravecto tablet, this also treats demodex and will help restore the skin.

The only way to definitively diagnose mange (Demodex) is by skin scrapings which should be repeated every 2-3 weeks during treatment until 2 negative skin scrapings are found. Make sure that the flea and tick medication prescribed will also treat mites (milbemycin or moxidectin) and keep in mind that the dosage frequency is different for mite treatment than it is for flea preventative. Treatment needs to continue for 1-2 months after there is a negative skin scraping. Steroids are usually contraindicated in treatment of Demodex. Demodex mites are not contagious to other animals so your other dogs may not be affected.