Dog Mange Shampoo – Vet’s Advice On Dog Mange Shampoo

Are there dog mange shampoos?

There are special medicated dog mange shampoos that can help reduce the mites for pets with mange. There are numerous brands of dog mange shampoo which can be used in addition to medications to treat mange. First, you need to know what type of mange your dog has. There are a couple types including scabies and demodectic mange.

The first type of dog mange is Sarcoptic mange (also known as scabies). This is a very contagious parasitic disease caused by a microscopic mite called Sarcoptes scabiei. Scabies mange affects animals and people. The scabies mite invades the skin of healthy dogs and puppies and create a variety of skin problems. Humans exposed to infested dogs commonly are affected. Treatment for Scabies mange often includes injections of a drug called ivermectin but can also include shampoos with an anti-parasitic lime sulfur dip (LymDip) used weekly. All pets in the household should be treated. For more information on Scabies Mange, click here.

Another type of dog mange is Demodicosis, or red mange, which is a common skin disease of dogs caused by a microscopic mite called demodex canis. These demodex mites are part of the normal flora of the skin but are present in small numbers, so the disease is not contagious. In individuals predisposed to these mites, the number of mintes increase in number causing clinical disease. For more information on demodectic mange, click here.

Treatment of demodicosis consists of three forms of treatment which includes either oral or injectable medications (milbemycin (Interceptor®) and ivermectin (Ivomec®). or “dips”. There is no specific dog mange shampoo however benzoyl peroxide shampoo may be considered the best dog mange shampoo and may help increase the effectiveness of the dip. For this type of mange there is a dip called amitraz dips (Mitaban®). To use a dip, shampoo your dog then use a mixture of the amitraz medication combined with water and pour it onto your dog. Most dogs require several dips (6 to 10) to be rid of the mites.