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Another external parasite that may affect your dog are mites. Skin problems that can occur from mites is often referred to as mange. Mites are another one of those tricky parasites that isn't picky, it can live on dogs, cats, and possibly even people.
Ear mites are more often found in dogs that cohabitate with cats. To check from ear mites take a look in your dogs ears for anything that may remind you of ground coffee. It can also cause itching, but can exist without much irritation. Usually ear mites can be treated with medicated drops.
Sarcoptic mange is a nastier version of the mites. These mites burrown into the skin and can cause unbearable itching to the animal. If your dog is scratching itself so much and so often that it barely finds time to walk, sarcoptic mange mites are the most likely cause.
Because of all the itching and subsequent scratching, open sores are likely to develop, and as such the risk of infection comes into play. To treat sarcoptic mange your vet will most likely recommend a combination of drugs and topical treatments (in the form of dips or shampoos).
Red mange, or demodex are fairly common tiny mites that quite often cause little to no problem for the host dog. Its not unusual for a dog to comfortably live with red mange for a long time and suffer no ill effects. However there are some potential problems related to red mange if your dog already has immune problems.
If you notice little red spots on your puppy, it may be a sign of red mange. Often these small spots will clear themselves up with no treatment, or with a simple topical solution. Its only when you notice a number or spots or larger areas of redness that it should become a concern. The real issue here is that the presence of large red areas is indicative of other immune problems in your animal.
Lice are a less common problem in dogs, but do crop up occasionally. Lice are either the biting kind, or the sucking kind. Since lice are host specific, they don't often move from dogs to people, or from people to dogs. Although a large number of lice could result in some minor health problems for you dog, they are easily treatable with a medicated bath, and are not as difficult to prevent recurrent attacks as their mite, flea, and tick counterparts.
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| Basic Dog Health |
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| Adult Dog Care |
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