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My dog's demodex keeps returning. What are my treatment options?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | American Pit Bull Terrier | Female | unspayed | 3 years and 4 months old | 75 lbs

My mara had demodix as a pup.we did all the dips and antibiotics with the ivemic protacol.it would clear her skin while we were doing all of that but as soon as we stopped all these chemicals it came back with the pustules and raw feet.i stopped all the chemicals and started working on her immune system.she is now 3 yrs old and its just as bad as before with the breaking out .im at a loss of what else to do for her.she is grain free and i do all the things she needs for her immune system.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Rebecca, DVM

Answered By Rebecca, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on August 12th, 2017

Mara needs the medications to treat the mites. Some dogs do need lifetime treatment. The good news is that many dogs will respond to the new oral flea and tick medications such as Nexgard and bravecto which may clear or keep demodex in check. Mara should also be spayed- demodex has a genetic component so she should not have puppies but beyond this each heat cycle stresses her immune system and makes an outbreak more likely. Grain free is not necessary, while it shouldn't hurt her it is a marketing gimmick by food companies and not based on medical research. Please schedule her a veterinary visit asap to get her treated, the skin infections that accompany demodex are severely painful.
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A
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