Canine scabies is a condition caused by an infestation of mites. This infestation is highly contagious. The mites can easily infest cats and other animals as well as humans.
The mites that cause canine scabies burrow just below the surface on your dog’s skin. However, they sometimes crawl around on the surface of the skin. The mites live by feeding on material on and in the skin.
Symptoms
If your dog is suffering from this condition, he will suffer intense itching. The severe itching causes your dog to scratch and bite the area a lot. This normally leads to secondary skin infections. Canine scabies can also cause crusting and hair loss. The areas around the ears and elbows most often lose hair first.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of this condition is usually made based on visual symptoms. The veterinarian may also choose to take skin scrapings from the affected areas. These scrapings will need to be examined microscopically to check for the presence of mites. However, these mites are usually found on dogs anyway, so this method isn’t entirely accurate.
Treatment
If your dog has a localized infestation, it can usually be treated with various medicated shampoos. Your dog will need to be washed with these shampoos once a week for at least a month. After this, it’s best to take your dog back to the veterinarian to see if the condition requires additional treatment.
Prevention
As mentioned earlier, canine scabies is highly contagious. If you have other dogs in the home that have come into contact with an infected dog, you should have them checked out. It’s also a good idea to throw away all bedding that was used. At the very least, you should wash all bedding materials thoroughly to get rid of any mites that may be present.