If you are worried your puppy might have mites or you would like to have good knowledge about it because most puppy owners talk about it, then this post would help you to learn a lot about puppy mites.
What are mites?
Mites are parasitic organisms that embed themselves on your puppy’s skin or hair follicles.
Some species of mites commonly live on the bodies of dogs without causing a problem but any specie of mites can cause a skin condition if they are enough of them.
Most times mites could live, reproduce, and die on a puppy, completing its life cycle.
Eggs are laid, hatched, and matured to the stages of adulthood.
There are three major types of mites that we would be looking at today, which are Demodex mites, sarcoptic mites, and ear mites.
Demodex mites in puppies
Demodex mites are the mites that cause demodectic mange.
They look like minute alligators when viewed from under the microscope, they live inside the hair follicles of dogs.
Most puppies do not react to Demodex mites but puppies with an inadequate immune system can become overburdened by these mites which could lead to demodectic mange.
Demodex mites don’t last up to 24 hours outside the body of the host, so no need to carry out a thorough cleaning of your living space because the mites are usually on the puppy.
The life cycle of Demodex mites on the host is between 25-26 days.
Demodex mites cause 3 different types of demodectic mange which are localized demodectic mange, generalized mange, and demodectic pododermatitis.
We shall be discussing this different demodectic mange.
Localized demodectic mange
This appears as patchy legions around the face and most times they resolve on their own as the puppy becomes immune competent.
Generalized mange
This appears as pathy legions in larger areas of skin or even the entire body, this variation creates secondary bacterial infection that causes intense itching and a foul odor.
It can be very challenging to resolve.
Demodectic pododermatitis
These are pathy lesions that are confined to the foot and create secondary bacterial infection between the toes and the pads of the feet.
Symptoms of Demodex mites in puppies
Itching,
Hair loss,
Bald spot,
scabbing and sores that can occur on the skin.
If your puppy has generalized mange, it could get sick with a fever, loss of appetite, and lethargy.
Diagnosis of Demodex mites in puppies
Your vet would perform a skin scraping or biopsy, and the presence of mites is checked with a microscope.
Because Demodex mites exist in some puppies and have no effect on them, the presence of Demodex mites alone can’t prove that your puppy has demodectic mange ( the skin problem caused by Demodex mites), there also have to be skin lesions.
Sarcoptic mites in puppies
These are the mites that cause sarcoptic mange also known as canine scabies.
The female sarcoptic mite tunnels into your puppy’s skin, laying eggs as she goes and she dies at the bottom of your puppy’s skin which causes a significant inflammatory response.
In 3-8 days the eggs become larvae, the larvae become nymphs and the nymphs become adults. This all happens in the tunnel the female mites built in your puppy’s skin.
The adult mites breed and the 2-3 weeks life cycle repeats itself.
Sarcoptic mites can live several days off their host and up to 3 weeks in a moist and cool environment . in the average home their life span is 2-6 days.
Sarcoptic mites are highly contagious and can infest not only your puppy but other animals such as wild animals, cats, pigs, horses, and people.
Symptoms of sarcoptic mites in puppies
Symptoms can vary in puppies, the most common signs are intense itch and hair loss.
Sarcoptic mites prefer areas of the skin without hair, so the first places you might notice hair loss could be elbows, armpits, chest, and belly.
If not treated, it could spread to the entire body.
Diagnosis of sarcoptic mites in puppies
Diagnosis of sarcoptic mange is very hard because most times sarcoptic mites don’t show in a skin scraping test and sarcoptic mange ( canine scabies) is most times misdiagnosed as an allergic reaction.
The essential thing you need to do if your puppy has sarcoptic mites
Puppies with sarcoptic mites need to be isolated to prevent them from other animals or people.
Your puppy’s bedding must be cleaned thoroughly or disposed and its collar should be disinfected.
Because these mites can survive without a host for several days, you have to thoroughly clean your living space.
I recommend that you spray permethrin on your beddings, clothes, and furniture that have fabric on them because it could help kill the sarcoptic mites.
I spray this even when my puppy doesn’t have mites as a preventive measure.
Treatment for Demodex and sarcoptic mites in puppies
The mites can be killed by dipping your puppy in powerful chemical pesticides that kill mites which I suggest should be done by your vet.
The dip can carry several side effects including decreased body temperature, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, and, restlessness.
I would suggest you see a holistic vet for all-natural options for getting rid of mite bites.
Not every puppy needs to be dipped in a strong chemical to treat mites.
Some safer options include lime sulfur dips, they are stinky but it’s an all-natural and very effective treatment for mites.
Topical neem and cedar oil have also been proven to be very effective.
Internal herbal remedies could be given to your puppy to fight bacterial infection caused by the mites and boost your puppy’s immune system.
I recommend you use herbs like arabinogalactan, Echinacea, olive leaf, colostrum, and thymus extract.
I also suggest to strength your puppy’s immune system, so it could defend itself against parasitic infections in the future.
Ear mites in puppies
Ear mites are a type of arthropod that resembles ticks. They colonize your puppy’s ears and they feed on cellular debris, ear wax, oils, and lymph fluid from beneath the skin.
Just 3 or 4 adult mites can cause considerable discomfort, imagine being bitten in your ear canal by tiny mosquitoes, painful, isn’t it?
Ear mites are extremely contagious. It also affects cats, rabbits, ferrets, and other pets.
If one puppy has ear mites all other puppies should be checked too.
If left untreated ear mites could cause middle or inner ear infections, which could damage their hearing of affect balance.
The ear mite’s cycle is about 3 weeks, the adults lay eggs in the ear canal and they go from egg to larvae, to nymph, and adult.
Symptoms of ear mites in puppies
Ear inflammation,
Brown/black crumbly debris in the ear canal,
Crust formation in the ear,
Itching of the ear,
Continuous head Shaking,
Vocalizing in pain.
Diagnosis of ear mites in puppies
Your veterinarian would diagnose your puppy with ear mites if, mites are present in the ear debris that is examined under the microscope.
Ear mites are tiny, white, and nearly impossible to see with the naked eye.
I don’t recommend using prescription or over-the-counter treatment unless your puppy is diagnosed with ear mites.
Cause of ear mites in puppies
Ear mites in most cases are transferred from the mother to the puppies, your puppies could also get ear mites when they get in contact other with other dogs.
Treatment for ear mites in puppies
In some cases, your puppy’s ears would be so sore that they won’t let you or your vet touch them.
In that case, your vet would sedate your pup before treating it.
Your vet would also give you commercial products to get rid of the ear mites, but some puppies cant be treated successfully at home.
I suggest you treat other parts of the body too if you notice ear mites.
You should clean your living space thoroughly, I recommend you spray permethrin on your beddings, clothes, and furniture that have fabric on them because it could help kill the ear mites.
Prevention of ear mites in puppies
It is not possible to prevent ear mites altogether. It is, however, possible to limit the problem by regular ear cleaning and regular visits to the vet when you notice your pet scratching its ear excessively and excessive head shaking.
Natural home remedy for ear mites in puppies
For this remedy, we would be using castor oil, neem oil, and aloe vera gel.
Castor oil: it is completely natural coming from the seed of the castor plant.
It is a holistic treatment that smothers the ear mites, it is relatively thick and non-inflammatory.
Neem oil: neem comes from an evergreen tree found mostly in India and it is used in an array of different disorders.
It has an anti-parasitic and anti-pest property. It is effective and safe for dogs.
For the remedy, you should mix 1 tablespoon of castor oil with 3 ml of neem oil and 2 ml of aloe vera gel.
When you mix them up, put the solution in a small bottle that has a dropper.
Put 5 to 10 drops in both ears, then grab the base of the ear and rub it well till you hear it squishing.
Do this twice for 7 days stop for 7 days and continue for another 7 days.
Before you go
Although puppy mite is common in puppies, some skin diseases are very common in puppies that you need to know about. Read my next article to know about these skin diseases.
7 MOST COMMON PUPPY SKIN INFECTION WITH PICTURES
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