Problem found (hopefully)

I talked to Pete's previous owners the other day.  I called them to find out if they had experienced this issue with him when they had him.  They did.  Their vet told them that it was "Red Mange" or Demodicosis.  It is a condition caused by Demoditic mites burrowing into his hair follicles causing red, oily, and scaly areas of the skin, severe itching, a "mouse or rodent like" smell emitting from the area, and hair loss.  It is commonly found in pups but has been occasionally found in adult dogs as well.  Pete has all of those symptoms.  His former vet recommended to John and Christy that he be given Ivermectin as treatment as well as a chemical dip treatment of Mitaban and skin scrapes every two weeks until the mites are completely dead.

I have done a lot of research on Ivermectin over the past two days.  It is a cattle and swine dewormer.  It is not approved for treatment of worms or parasites in dogs or cats but has shown significant effectiveness in treating heartworms, parasites, and demoditic and sarcoptic mange.  Some dogs such as Collies or other herding breeds are missing a certain mutation in a medicinal absorption gene and has been show to be fatal in those breeds.  Luckily Boston Terriers aren't in that group of dogs. 

Some sites say that if you get the 1% sterile Ivermectin for cattle and swine that it should be diluted with propylene glycol while others state that you should give them no more than .1 cc per 10 lbs undiluted as propylene glycol can be highly toxic to dogs.  Other sites state that that first rule is for using Ivermectin as a heartworm preventative and that treatment for Demodicosis has to be given to the dog at a near toxic level to kill the mites that are infesting the skin.

Toxic symptoms include temporary blindness, temporary deafness, ataxia (loss of muscle function or breathing), emesis (vomiting), depression, coma, and possibly death.

The past two days I have given him .2 cc and he hasn't had any adverse effects.  I am going to raise it to .3 cc tomorrow and Wednesday and keep an eye on him to ensure that he doesn't start exhibiting any toxic effects.  The goal is to get him up to .5 cc daily for a while until it is gone.  If I follow the .1cc per 10 lb logic, he would get .25 cc daily which as noted by a few web sites is the low end of treatment as heartworm preventative and mange treatment.

I have noticed already that the red smelly patches aren't as oily today and seem a lot less red.  He also hasn't been scratching nearly as bad today.  I called a veterinary dermatologist today to try to get an appointment and they wouldn't even schedule one until he had been on Ivermectin for at least 4 weeks as most cases of Demodicosis are often confused with dermatitis allergies and it would be a waste of my time and money to bring him in for this issue if it is in fact Demodicosis. 

My fingers are crossed that this course of treatment works.