How To Treat Scabies On A Dog
Introduction
If a dog has scabies, it will scratch and bite itself until the skin becomes red and irritated. If left untreated, an infestation can spread all over the body, causing permanent hair loss. Since scabies is highly contagious, professional veterinary care is recommended to treat a dog that has contracted this condition. While dogs are more likely to contract scabies from other dogs than people, it’s still possible for them to transmit the mites to humans as well. A prescription medication containing permethrin is necessary for treating canine scabies at home. That said, many dogs will require follow-up treatments in order to completely clear the parasites from their skin and fur.
Step 1: Identify Signs of Scabies
Scabies is an infestation of tiny mites that burrow under your pet’s skin and cause irritation. Scabies is contagious to both humans and other animals, but it’s not life-threatening. In order to treat your dog’s scabies, you’ll need to identify signs of infection so you can properly diagnose the condition.
Scabies symptoms in dogs include:
- Small red bumps on the skin
- Hair loss around these bumps (if they’re in a spot where hair grows)
Step 2: Bathe Your Dog to Treat Scabies
The second step to treating scabies on your dog is to bathe the animal. The best type of shampoo to use is one that contains permethrin, which will eliminate scabies mites and their eggs. If you’re using a human shampoo, be sure it’s labeled for dogs as many shampoos designed for humans have ingredients that can be toxic to pets.
You’ll need to get all of the hair wet and massage the shampoo into your dog’s skin and coat thoroughly until you see suds flowing down his fur (this means he’s got enough shampoo). Rinse well, then repeat this process two or three times per week until symptoms clear up (usually within one month). Keep in mind that permethrin can cause irritation if left on too long; make sure you rinse thoroughly!
It’s also important not to expose your pet’s skin after bathing because they may burn in sunlight due to a lowered immunity level caused by being infected with scabies mites. If possible, keep them out of bright light for 24 hours after treatment
Step 3: Prescription Medication to Clear Scabies
If a veterinarian diagnoses your dog with scabies, he or she may prescribe a medication to help clear the infestation. Commonly prescribed medications include:
- Kweller-prazan (vermox)
- Ivomec (ivermectin)
If your vet prescribes either of these drugs, give them to your pet exactly as instructed by the veterinarian.
If you notice your dog scratching more than normal and scabs or hair loss on the skin, it’s time to seek veterinary care.
If you notice your dog scratching more than normal and scabs or hair loss on the skin, it’s time to seek veterinary care. Scabies is a skin infection caused by mites. The mites burrow under the skin and lay eggs there. The female mite can lay up to eight eggs per day!
Scabies is contagious to humans and other animals (like cats). But it’s not contagious between dogs or cats, so if you have one of these pets yourself, your other pets are safe from it. You can prevent scabies from spreading by treating all affected pets at once with medication that kills both the mites themselves and their eggs. Your veterinarian will give you some options for treatment; there are different treatments depending upon whether your pet has only one type of animal (mites) or two types in his skin(s). Once treated, he should be free of these pesky bugs for good!
Conclusion
Scabies is a highly contagious and unpleasant skin infection that can cause your dog discomfort. By following these steps, you can help your dog recover and prevent them from passing the infection on to other pets. It’s also important that you wash any bedding or towels they’ve been in contact with to ensure they don’t pass on scabies to you or other human members of your household. If you have any questions about treating scabies on dogs, please reach out to our veterinary experts who would be happy to help!