4.5 month old female with Demodectic Mange

[karennj]

By the way, since you mentioned breeding. I would speak to the dogs breeder regarding this and your mentor unless you are an experienced breeder. If you are not experienced you really should hook up with a mentor (a reputable breeder) to help you along. At that age you should already be socializing and doing puppy classes to prep for showing.

This is a good read if you are a first time breeder as there can be a lot of unforeseen costs and risks with breeding -
http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/breeding/breeder2.html

 

[karennj]

This is another good article from them - http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/breeding/breeding.html

 

[sjdavenport]

For what it's worth, this is the shared opinion of two different dermatologists on the subject of demodex. This is what they do all day every day, and I happen to agree with them for the most part. In localized demodex (less than 5 focal areas, but not multiple paws), it is most likely due to mild poor health. They suggest benign neglect/increasing the health and immune function of the pup because more than 90% will resolve without treatment. Juvenile onset generalized demodicosis(greater than 5 focal sites or more than one paw, spreading, or has persisted more than a few months) is due to serious poor health or genetic predispositions. These dogs will require systemic treatment and definitely should not be bred. Adult onset localized demodicosis (less than 5 focal areas) is usually due to mild immune suppression. Then there's adult onset generalized demodicosis. This is due to serious immune suppression, most likely due to a significant underlying cause. This would require systemic treatment and the identification and treatment of the underlying cause. So in my opinion, breeding your pup would be a questionable decision.....not to mention it's waaaaaay early to be making that decision.