Common Symptoms of Mange in Dogs

Have you noticed a regular scratching and itching of your dog on his skin? Or maybe your dog is restlessly showing signs of discomfort and cannot seem to stay put and lie still in one place. If these behaviors are occurring, it may be that your pet is infected with the common skin problem called dog mange. This type of skin condition is caused by the presence of parasitic mites that burrow into the skin of the canine causing the irritation and itching.

When was the last time you checked on the skin and hair of your dog? Sometimes, the symptoms of dog mange are not easily distinguished depending on the type of mite that attacked it. However, the general and common symptoms of this skin disease in dogs are redness of the skin, skin infestation, and swelling of the skin or inflammation. The moment your dog starts scratching the skin and eventually the behavior increases, you have to be alarmed of a possible skin problem.

Take a closer examination of your dog’s skin and look out for hairless spots. One sign of dog mange is the presence of pimple-like appearance on the hairless area and the development of thick and crusty skin. For a worsening condition, scaling develops around the areas of the mouth and the eyes as well as the front legs. Other indications are the redness of the skin and presence of foul-smelling pus.

Dogs infected with Demodectic mange are characterized by hair loss patches on the head, legs, and the body. The skin of the animal is sore and crusty and the hair follicles are clogged with debris. In severe cases for this type of mange, hair loss symptom increase all over the body accompanied by pain, deep skin infections, and enlarged lymph nodes.

Canines suffering from Sarcoptic mange bite themselves with aggressiveness since incessant and ferocious scratching cannot ease the irritation. Sarcoptic mange is another type of dog mange known as scabies and can be very contagious to other animals. So, if you have a dog at home with this condition, it could be possible that the pet may infest the members of the household especially if the dog is in close contact with the humans.

Dogs with Sarcoptic mange have crusty ear tips and also develop hair loss on the areas of the ear, elbows, legs, and face. A more serious condition leads to hair loss throughout the dog’s body.