Luck

I wouldn't have any luck if it wasn't bad luck.

Last week my dogs were exposed (unknowingly) to a dog with Mange. Well, really just Pixel and Vito. A dog had come to daycare after (unknowingly) spending the day with a puppy who has mange- it wasn't until the next day that we found out about the exposure.


We of course alerted all the daycare clients- and as a precaution I picked up Revolution for all my dogs on Friday- and went over them to look for anything weird. Nothing. Tuesday night I found a spot on Pixel. Just under her eye. By yesterday afternoon there were four more spots.


I took her to the vet- just to confirm what I suspected and to get some more information- I had a whole list of questions for my vet.

How long will it last? she doesn't know

Why is she missing hair after the fact of the revolution? she doesn't really know. it could be the life cycle of the mite. also revolution doesn't always work right away, or at the first treatment.

Why did it take so long to get it? she doesn't know

What about my other dogs? she said that they are at low risk because of their ages and health.

Are they contagious even if they aren't showing signs? she doesn't really know.


She tried to answer them all..but unfortunately I've discovered that vets are only human and don't know everything. There isn't a lot of solid information about Sarcoptic Mange- it varies from dog to dog, and there is no way to predict the answers to most of my questions....


I am thankful now that I treated them before showing signs- My Vet is hopeful that we've caught it right at the beginning. She couldn't give me a clear answer as to how long she is contagious- or how much hair loss she will have. We are hoping that the treatment on Friday will have done it's job and broken up the cycle. She is on antibiotics to help reduce inflammation.


So far my other dogs are fine- they are all over the age of two, and healthy. They should be able to fight it off.


I feel awful though and am very frustrated about the whole thing. I took my dogs to a trial on the weekend- I am not the type who lets my dog play with other dogs- but my friends dogs and mine were together all weekend. They were exposed? Maybe? Also Pixel was at my friends on the weekend- so now I've exposed her pets.

It is super frustrating. I feel badly for Pixel- she is pretty itchy, and she is now being crated for a full 8 hours a day. Which is a lot for a puppy. But she'll live. This morning we played fetch and had a walk so she should be quiet for most of the day in her crate...mostly.

anyway- here is a link with some pretty good information about it, in case any of you want to know more about it...
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_sarcoptic_mange.html