My dog's mange returned worse, losing weight & tired. What's next?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | German Shepherd | Male | unneutered | 3 years and 5 months old
My dog's skin has been turning black and has pink spots all over. I've taken him to 5 different vets in the past year and all have said something different until the last vet diagnosed him with mange and got treatment for it. Once treatment ended, he was doing way better but it came back again but worse. Now, he's losing a lot of weight, scratching himself and gets tired by only walking around. What can I do now?
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on October 14th, 2018
Sometimes it takes more than one round of treatment to treat mites. If your dog has demodectic mange your veterinarian will have to look at the underlying cause of the repeated outbreak as demodextic mange usually lies dormant until the dog has a compromised immune system. If it is sarcoptes mange then your dog may have reinfected himself. Your veterinarian can prescribe Bravecto, a chew that covers fleas, ticks and all types of mange, even demodectic mange.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on January 31st, 2019
Clinical symptoms of demodex can be resolved, however this type of mange is treated with antibiotics as it is a parasite and not a bacteria. Most dogs do have a small # of this type of mite living in their hair follicles but do not have the hair loss, itchiness and scaly skin typical of pets showing clinical symptoms because they have healthy, mature immune systems. Usually dogs that have recurring symptoms of mange have immune systems that are compromised for a variety of reasons (a young or old age, concurrent illness are some possible reasons). One easy way to prevent clinical symptoms from returning is to keep Willow on a monthly oral flea/tick preventive such as prescription NexGard (given once a month year round), Bravecto (given every 12 weeks) or Simparica (given once a month year round) that is also recommended by veterinary dermatology specialists because they are very effective in treating mange. Oral NexGard, Simparica or Bravecto year round is much easier than the older traditional treatment which often involved daily dosing of oral ivermectin in cherry syrup for 45 days. After dosing with one of these products, use of an anti-itch shampoo twice weekly such as Douxo Calm Dog and Cat Shampoo (available on Chewy.com) with phytosphingosine to help restore the skin barrier is very helpful to improve comfort/reduce itch. Having a full physical exam and screening bloodwork to rule out concomitant medical issues that could be compromising Willow’s immune system is recommmended as well. Good luck!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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