Is anti-mange safe for my 2-month-old puppy, or will it harm its liver?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Twerp! If Twerp has demodex, it will not be a "one size fits all" treatment. Classically demodex was treated with oral ivermectin which is dosed based on the animals weight. It is a higher dose of ivermectin than is in heartgard and is off label use of the drug. It works well and the dog tends to be on it for several months until 2-3 negative skin scrapings. Now a days we have found that the oral flea and tick medications have an added "perk" of also killing demodex. You just give the monthly oral dose like it is labeled to give for flea and ticks and by 3 months the fur usually has grown back and the mites are gone. Nexgard, Simparica and Bravecto are the oral medication that can do this and again are based on the weight of the dog. I hope this helps and I wish Twerp the best!

This is a difficult to answer question. So we have a mother with mange, and this means the puppies will likely be infected with mange also. Therefore the risk of the puppies dying or getting severely ill from mange vs adverse events from medication is higher, and therefore I would treat the mother;s mange. You will however have to find out what kind of mange mites are present. Your vet should be able to tell you after an exam and then should prescribe a medication for mother and possibly puppies. There are several medications that will kill mites such as avermectins, (Revolution spot on, ivermectin or doramectin injections, Bravecto, Nexgard, etc.) Please take Diamond and her puppies to your vet for an exam and prescription.

Hello again. I am glad that you got her tested and got to the bottom of her skin problems. The veterinarian will have to give you specifics on how to give this medication because by law we are not allowed to give out the very complex dosage regimen for ivermectin without having first physically examined Pushinka. We are bound to the rules of the veterinary client patient relationship act, which prohibits this or we fear disciplinary action and even a loss of our license. If you ask your vet they will likely give you the dosages that she needs based on her weight. She will need to be on this for roughly 4-6 weeks. She needs to have 2 negative skin scrapes before being taken off the medication and skin scrapes should be done every 3 weeks. I would also continue the shampoo we discussed to also control the secondary bacterial infections that are occurring on her skin. I would then discuss with your vet about prescribing dosages for an antihistamine to hopefully help control the itch. Best of luck with Pushinka!

No Ivermectin is not safe, if your vet chooses to use ivermectin he must do an MDR-1 blood test prior to that, this test will reveal if your dog has the gene that causes sensitivity to ivermectin (and other drugs). if you dog is MDR-1 positive there are alternatives, personally i use Bravecto to treat Demodex in all dogs, it's very effective and works better than ivermectin in my experience, it is also safer than ivermectin.

Prescription monthly Nexgard flea and tick preventative also kills mange and is approved for a 4 month old dog (monthly Simparica and Bravecto every 12 weeks also work off label to kill mange but are labeled for dogs 6 months and older). She can be just on monthly Nexgard without the ivermectin therapy but both are safe as well. I recommend inquiring with your vet about monthly Nexgard for Winter and seeing if she may have underlying allergies as well which can predispose dogs to getting mange. Prescription Apoquel pills or monthly Cytopoint allergy injections Injections are both very effective in treating itchiness from environmental allergies (typically characterized by paw licking, scratching, chronic anal gland issues, chronic ear infections). Good luck!

It sounds like your veterinarian is treating your puppies for some form of parasitic disease. The Oligovet is a vitamin supplementation formula and should be OK to use in the puppies. Ivermectin is not recommended for use in puppies less than 6 weeks old. At six weeks it should be OK to administer although I cannot speak to the reasonableness of the dose without knowing the concentration your vet has provided you.

There are better ways to treat mange. I recommend to speak with your veterinarian about using a product such as Nexgard for Simparica. These are tablets that you give once a month that are labeled for fleas but will kill mice as well. It is an off label usage so your veterinarian must OK the treatment. Then you don’t have to worry about tying her up, her licking the product or anything like that. Treatment typically takes 2 to 3 months. Depending on what type of mange is present, environmental cleanup is also needed. To keep her from licking the product, make her wear an Elizabethan collar for the prescribed amount of time. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.