Subcutaneous tick in a dog: symptoms and treatment. Demodicosis or subcutaneous tick in dogs: home treatment, symptoms and visual photos

Is self-medication justified?

Demodicosis or glandular disease is a common disease in dogs caused by the subcutaneous mite Demodex canis. Almost all animals and people can be carriers of this insect. It is quite simple to cure a dog from a subcutaneous tick, but for a long time - a whole range of medications will be required for a positive result.

The course of treatment involves the neutralization of the causative agent of the disease and the elimination of the consequences of demodicosis. The ultimate goal: to restore the immunity of the animal and the integrity of its skin, as well as rid the dog's body of hormonal complications.

The treatment process is quite long and lasts at least two to three months.

So what and how to treat subcutaneous ticks in dogs?

Stronghold or Advocate preparations can be applied to the skin for the treatment of glandular disease.

Chlorophos should not be used to disinfect animal hair. Due to the presence of phosphorus compounds in it, which are poisonous, it can cause unpleasant and painful complications.

In parallel, to reduce the effect of staphylococcal microflora on the pet's body, it is recommended to administer antistaphylococcal drugs - antibiotics.

To strengthen the hair follicles, sulfur-containing preparations should be added to the dog's food. Also, their liniments Amitraz and Cyclone can be rubbed into the skin areas affected by the mite.

If the dog's skin immunity is suppressed and an increased content of corticosteroids is observed, it is recommended to add a few drops of a 5% iodine solution with the addition of Chloditan to her food.

In case of iron gland disease, the dog develops areas of baldness, which, in order to alleviate itching and irritation, must be treated with sea buckthorn oil with Pichtoin and vitamin A.

During treatment, the dog must be combed to remove dead skin particles that will form during the peeling process. Also, the dog's body is treated daily with antiseptics - Fukortsin or salicylic acid solution.

Due to the use of antibiotics in an animal, adverse liver dysfunctions may occur. To prevent this from happening, we can recommend the use of hepatoprotectors: Heptral, LIV-52, Karsil.

It is important to carry out the prevention of demodicosis, especially in pregnant females, giving them, a week before the offspring, Ivomek. This will prevent infection of the puppies.

Traditional medicine will also help

If you find a subcutaneous tick in dogs, home treatment or folk remedies can be quite effective.

• A decoction of wormwood with honey is often used, which is given to the dog to drink half a glass approximately every two to three hours.


• You can prepare an ointment from the roots of celandine, which is poured with refined sunflower oil. The composition should be simmered at a temperature of 40-50? C for several hours and filtered. Before the procedure, you can add sour cream. The ointment is rubbed into the animal's scalp, ears and instilled into the nose.


• You can also make masks from pureed sour apples, grated juniper berries or elecampane roots.

But it should be borne in mind that folk remedies are, of course, gentle means of combating ticks, but are much less effective than medications, as a result of which treatment can be delayed. So the final choice is yours!

If the subcutaneous tick has been sitting for a long time, the following symptoms of malaise develop in dogs:

• weakness;
• anemia;
• formation of secondary complications and pathologies.

If you find these symptoms in your pet, you should immediately go to the veterinarian for diagnosis. After all, the treatment of subcutaneous ticks in dogs is the more effective the earlier the visit to the doctor occurred. The neglected state of the animal guarantees long-term treatment with the risk of developing various complications.

Types of subcutaneous mites

• external;
• subcutaneous;
• intradermal.

External and subcutaneous insects attack dogs from the external environment. Intradermal varieties of itching are in the body of a pet during his life and begin to act actively only under certain conditions.

Ticks of this species prefer to live in hair follicles and sebaceous glands. The impetus for the development of the disease can be:

• physical or mental shock,
• decreased immunity;
• decrease in the activity of the course of metabolic processes in the dog's body.

Methods of diagnosis and treatment

The doctor, in order to identify a subcutaneous tick in a dog, prescribes a series of examinations. A complete diagnosis of the animal will allow:

• identify the root cause of the disease;
• determine the severity of the lesion;
• choose the optimal treatment regimen.

To protect yourself from a tick-borne type of disease, you need to seek medical help when you detect the first symptoms of malaise in your pet.

For a more accurate diagnosis, a fragment of the epithelium taken from a dog is examined under a microscope. To do this, the dog is injected with painkillers. After that, the doctor makes an incision and takes a scraping. This analysis gives an idea of ​​the extent of the damage.

Also, in order to finally make an accurate diagnosis, the specialist prescribes a urine and blood test. In addition, the pet's feces are examined, and the material is also sown to determine the presence or absence of a tick under the skin.

What to do in order to cure a dog depends on the form of the course of the disease. Due to the specific life cycle of the tick, treating a pet can take several months. Especially if the violations have gone too far.

The subcutaneous tick has a drug treatment. In this case, the veterinarian prescribes hypoallergenic food to the animal. This approach can be called the traditional treatment regimen for subcutaneous mites in pets.

Medical treatment

• acaricidal agents (for example, zinc-sulfur ointment, Amitan or Akarabor). Such a medicine reduces the vital activity of an insect that has managed to get under the skin. As a result of taking these drugs, itching loses the ability to actively reproduce;
• for aseptic treatment of the skin surface, a solution of salicylic acid or Fukortsin is used;

To stimulate the immune system, the veterinarian prescribes the intake of mineral supplements and vitamins, as well as fatty acids to the animal. In this case, doctors recommend using Maxidin, Advocate and Fosprenil as immunomodulators.

You need to know that for breeds such as Sheltie, Bobtail and Collie, as well as their crossbreeds, it is forbidden to use drugs that have Ivermectin in their composition.

Folk methods of treatment

Dog breeders often ask the question "how to treat types of subcutaneous mites in dogs without taking medication?". For these purposes, the following folk remedies are suitable:

• infusion of celandine roots. The roots of the plant are poured with sunflower oil. The components are taken in a 1:1 ratio. After that, the solution is heated for 3-4 hours at a temperature of 50 degrees. Then it is filtered and applied to the parts of the body affected by the insect. The mixture is applied every day;
• sour juniper berries and apples. They need to be rubbed well, after which the mixture is smeared on the affected skin;
• garlic infusion. The garlic is crushed and poured with almond oil. The component is taken in a ratio of 1:2. The resulting solution should be infused in the dark for 2-4 days. After that, the agent is applied to the skin, which has obvious signs of the disease. However, it is worth knowing that garlic in large proportions is toxic to dogs, and almond oil leads to dry skin;

• liquid sour cream or kefir. Black sulfur should be added to the dairy product. The components are mixed in a ratio of 3:1. The resulting product should be infused for three hours. The mixture is applied to the skin once a day. In large quantities, sulfur can cause burning and cracking of the skin;
• Birch tar. It is applied to problem areas of the skin.

To wash your pet, you can use tar soap.

It is worth noting that any folk remedies should be used only after consulting a doctor. However, their effectiveness is possible only at the initial stage of infection. They allow you to create an unfavorable habitat for ticks, which can lead to a deterioration in the health of the dog. Therefore, you need to carefully choose a folk remedy for treating a dog, having previously familiarized yourself with its side effects.

Please note that the waste products excreted by the subcutaneous mite in dogs are strong allergens that cause severe itching, painful sores and hair loss. As a rule, the animal can get sick from May to September, as the disease is seasonal. Most often, demodicosis occurs in dogs aged from six months to two years. Sick animals provoke the development of pathology, and the tick is transmitted at the time of direct contact with them through the eyes, ears, muzzle and hygiene items. Small puppies often become infected from the mother. In addition, demodicosis in a dog can be detected due to malnutrition of the animal, surgery, or past infectious diseases. Prolonged antibiotic therapy, the presence of worms and even rickets can contribute to the activation of the tick.

Generalized subcutaneous tick in dogs occurs after 2 years of age and accounts for 10% of all cases of infection. In this case, characteristic symptoms are observed in several parts of the body, including the limbs. The disease, as a rule, affects such breeds as pit bull, dachshund, bulldog, beagle and some others. Generalized demodicosis is more severe than localized, and its development depends on factors such as the presence of endocrine diseases, weakened immunity, and genetic predisposition.

Symptoms of the disease

The owner of the animal can detect demodicosis only at the second stage of its development, since it is difficult to diagnose the primary signs of a subcutaneous tick in dogs due to their ambiguity. So, the main symptoms of the disease that can be seen:

• dog's unwillingness to communicate with the owner, her irritability;
• poor appetite;
• the dog itches badly and tears the skin to the blood;
• baldness of certain parts of the body is observed, redness appears, the affected areas are covered with pityriasis scales;
• the dog is shaking with chills, because her thermoregulation process is disturbed;
• ulcers appear, which subsequently burst and smell bad;
• if appropriate measures are not taken in time, a fungal or bacterial infection may join demodicosis, as a result of which the dog will lose weight and may die from blood poisoning or exhaustion.

Diagnosis of the disease

Only a veterinarian can identify a subcutaneous tick in a dog. To understand when to seek professional help, you need to carefully monitor your pet. The initial stage of demodicosis, as a rule, resembles a common skin dermatitis, so it is worth paying attention to how your dog smells. If a fetid odor emanates from it, it is worth sounding the alarm.

Diagnosis of the disease is not difficult. First of all, an analysis is carried out for demodicosis, which is a microscopic examination of pustules taken from the affected area. If there is an infection, the result will show it clearly. In order to properly analyze for demodicosis, it is necessary to take the material for research from the deep skin layers by scraping with a special tool. For these purposes, hair follicles from lesions are also suitable. To exclude the presence of other diseases, blood is taken from the dog for examination, since demodicosis most often manifests itself as a secondary pathology. In 50% of cases, a subcutaneous tick is the first sign of a weakening of the protective functions of the animal's body.

However, only drug treatment for demodicosis is not enough. It should be done to strengthen the dog's immune system, as well as to eliminate skin atony and hormonal abnormalities. To do this, you can use not only medical products, but also homemade recipes that will help supply the animal's body with the necessary vitamins and minerals. In addition, it is important to properly care for your pet and carry out hygienic manipulations.

It is worth noting that some medications for subcutaneous ticks in dogs can cause adverse reactions because they are toxic. Therefore, it is necessary to give the pet other medicines at the same time, the action of which is aimed at protecting the liver and restoring the strength of the animal. These include drugs such as Heptral, Karsil and LIV-52. The main treatment involves the elimination of the causative agent of demodicosis and the consequences of its vital activity. The ultimate goal is to restore the integrity of the dog's skin, its immunity and the normalization of hormonal levels. The course of therapy, as a rule, takes a long time - about 2-3 months.

Medicines for demodicosis

Drops of "Stronghold" or "Lawyer" can be applied to the lesions. In order to reduce the staphylococcal effect on the dog's body, antibiotics are often prescribed, and to strengthen the hair follicles, it is recommended to give the pet preparations containing sulfur. And their liniments, such as "Cyclone" and "Amitraz", are recommended to be rubbed into the skin affected by demodicosis. If the animal has reduced immunity and an increased amount of corticosteroids, a couple of drops of iodine solution (5%), as well as Chloditan, should be added to the feed.

To eliminate itching and redness, veterinarians advise lubricating the lesions with sea buckthorn oil with vitamin A or Pihtoin. Be sure to brush your dog regularly as bits of the affected skin will die off and flake off during treatment. You should also carry out antiseptic treatment of the dog's body every day with a solution of salicylic acid or "Fukortsin". If the dog is expecting puppies, then before the offspring appears (about a week in advance), it is necessary to carry out prophylaxis with the Ivomek preparation to prevent infection of the babies.

Treatment Shampoo

Shampoo "Doctor" has antipruritic, deodorizing and antiseborrheic properties. It quickly relieves inflammation, prevents the formation of acne, saturates tissues with oxygen, normalizes the production of subcutaneous fat, and also has an antifungal and antimicrobial effect against yeast-like fungi and staphylococci.

Shampoo "Doctor" is very easy to use. It should be used one hour before applying medication to the affected areas. Rub the shampoo until a rich foam forms, then rinse with running water and repeat the procedure again. After 10 minutes after repeated application, the foam must be thoroughly washed off. Depending on the rate of skin secretion, it is recommended to use shampoo at intervals of two to three days.

If you use such a product for a long time, the dog's skin may begin to peel off. In this case, the animal should be shown to the veterinarian. Contraindication of the drug is the increased sensitivity of the pet to its components.

Folk medicine for pet health

Do not know how to get rid of a subcutaneous tick in a dog? Perhaps folk recipes will help you. However, before using them, you must definitely consult a veterinarian and get his approval. So, what can be done to save the animal from torment:

• You can prepare a healing decoction of wormwood and honey, which should be given to the animal as a drink, 1/2 cup every two hours.
• A good result is shown by an ointment made from celandine roots. Raw materials should be poured with refined vegetable oil, simmered over low heat for several hours and carefully filtered. It is recommended to add a little sour cream to the composition, after which you can rub it into the affected areas of the skin, and also bury it in your ears.
• Masks made from pureed juniper, elecampane roots or sour apples will be useful.

Do not forget that folk remedies are not as effective as drug treatment, although they are more gentle. In any case, the veterinarian must, of course, have the final say.

Are sick dogs dangerous to humans?

It is the same with dogs: a person cannot infect them, since they have different types of demodectic mites. However, in any case, close contact with a sick animal should be avoided, because, as they say, God protects the safe.

Disease prevention

The subcutaneous tick in a dog, the symptoms and treatment of which we examined in the framework of our article, is a rather serious problem that can even lead to the death of the animal. In order to avoid the development of pathology, it is necessary to take good care of your pet, constantly strengthen its health and prevent the possibility of infection with demodicosis from other dogs. To wash the animal, use products that are specially designed for this. So you can strengthen the hair follicles and prevent the tick from getting under the skin. Veterinarians advise rubbing sulfur-containing ointments into the dog's body, as well as adding a little iodine solution to drinking water.

Spring is a wonderful time to walk your dog in the park or forest. However, so that such a walk is not overshadowed by a tick bite, you need to know how to protect your dog from this trouble. Take care of your four-legged friend and visit the veterinarian regularly. Let your furry pet feel free and run wherever he wants.

It is one of the most dangerous parasites that can threaten the life of our four-legged friend. This is indeed an extremely undesirable guest on the dog's body, moreover, it is often found in our area, which makes the threat of its penetration into the dog's personal space very high.

What a subcutaneous tick looks like in dogs, what dangerous diseases it carries, as well as the main ways to cure a dog with demodicosis - all this can be found in our review.

How it looks under a microscope.

So, these include:

• very severe itching;
• redness of the skin in the affected areas with the appearance of wounds and ulcers;
• characteristic putrid smell that exude scratches;
• nervousness of the dog, sometimes turning into aggression;
• general weakness;
• fever, bouts of hyperactivity, followed by an apathetic state;
• hair loss;
• excessive sweating of the dog;
• fever with chills.

Such unpleasant sensations can be experienced by our four-legged friend. And here the entire responsibility for its future fate falls on the shoulders of people. However, more on that later.

Now about the forms of the disease:

1. The scaly form of demodicosis is considered the easiest.
   Usually it is accompanied by skin lesions of a local nature in the areas of the head and paws. There is moderate redness with the appearance of peeling and separation of the upper layers of the affected epidermis in the form of flakes. Shedding is also possible, but usually, despite brittleness, it is insignificant.
2. Pustular form of the disease.
   This is a severe course of the disease, which is characterized by severe inflammation of the affected areas of the skin with the appearance of nodules, as well as total baldness of these areas with clearly visible ulcers on the surface of the skin. The animal is greatly weakened, the body is depleted with a quite possible subsequent death.

Treatment Methods

Now let's move on to methods of treating a subcutaneous tick in a dog, or rather, its pathogenic activity. Symptoms and treatment for a subcutaneous tick in a dog are interconnected, which is inevitable. After all, the course of this disease is characterized by very unpleasant manifestations that require relief in the first place.

So, what should be done if the dog is sick, and how is it customary to treat subcutaneous ticks in dogs?

We systematize the treatment process, dividing it into several main areas, namely:

Let's go through some of the points listed. Of course, first of all, the dog is given the help that consists in stopping the lesions of the skin.

Means for external use.

The most commonly used drugs are:

• amitrazine;
• amidel-gel;
• mitaban;
• ivermectin;
• hemitraz;
• ivomek;
• stomozan.

Further, it is imperative to proceed to the stimulation of the animal's immune system. This is an extremely important factor in the eventual recovery, and is also responsible for reducing the chances of recurrence of the disease, which happens quite often in predisposed dogs.

This will help us with medications such as:

In the event of background concomitant infectious diseases with manifestations of symptoms of inflammatory processes, antibiotics are used.

To maintain such an important organ, which is the liver, firstly, a sparing diet is prescribed. We limit the supply of fatty meats to the animal, giving preference to poultry meat, such as chicken or turkey. You should also, if possible, refuse to use purchased feed, or at least reduce the daily rate to a minimum.

Good day, dear reader! We often go to visit my wife's brother. Our children love to play together, run around and of course throw a stick to their dog. They have a handsome man, German Shepherd breed, everyone who sees him immediately asks for puppies.

But a couple of months ago, Kim was simply unrecognizable. Arriving at them, the bald spot near his eyes immediately rushed. The owners thought maybe it was some kind of allergic reaction, as he does not tolerate various medications quite well. But after all the measures taken, the area of ​​baldness only became larger.

Then they did not pull and turned to the veterinarian, where they diagnosed it as a subcutaneous tick. The doctor conducted all the tests and prescribed the appropriate treatment. Now the dog is fine. In this article, you will learn: how to treat a subcutaneous tick in a dog, the main treatment regimens, what methods can be used to protect a pet.

Treatment of demodicosis until complete healing

Demodicosis is an invasive disease caused by a microscopic mite. It is characterized by dermatitis, local alopecia. Accompanied by pustular, papular rashes on the skin, and immunodeficiency. Demodex mite is localized not only on the skin, but also tends to penetrate the subcutaneous tissue and even the lymphatic system.

There are the following variants of demodicosis:

• squamous (scaly) - the formation of bran-like scales of copper-red color on the scalp and limbs;
• pustular - the formation of vesicles on the skin filled with pus;
• generalized - simultaneous manifestation of the first and second forms of the disease with damage to significant areas of the skin.

The most common and dangerous disease is demodicosis. At the initial stage, the signs of infection do not manifest themselves very strongly and are almost invisible.

The increased activity of the Demodex mite is the main cause of the appearance of demodicosis. The causative agent of the disease is so small that it can only be seen under a microscope. There are a huge number of varieties of Demodex - scientists have counted as many as 140 species!