MyTDogs

Do you know if they palpated rectally? I ask because Gilly is very stoic...the only time I've ever heard her cry out or try to bite was when the neurologist palpated the vertebrae/disc during a rectal exam. I was shocked because up until then we couldn't figure out what was wrong. I felt horrible that she could have so much pain & I [a longtime vet tech] didn't realize it. These dogs will tolerate almost anything! I'll keep my fingers crossed for Nick too.

Gloria, It sounds like Lumbosacral stenosis or Cauda Equina- my 14 yo girl Gilly has this. Border Collies are prone to this (many active breeds are). Essentially there are bulging discs that impinge on the nerve roots. Gilly had the MRI & CT to confirm (regular films are not going to tell you much) but her heart & kidneys would not have made the surgery so I opted for rest & steroids. 8 weeks of strict rest & good doses of steroids. She is better now but not the same. Even if you opt for surgery there is always the risk of another disc rupturing. My best advice would be to see a neurologist. They can thoroughly evaluate Nick & give your best options/prognosis for conservative treatment. Good Luck- I feel your(& Nick's)pain

Yes! Much better!

I'm very sorry for your loss.

That is great news If he has concurrent skin infections (common with demodex) it will help to have him on antibiotics & frequent baths with benzoyl peroxide shampoo. Please post pix when you can.

Okay Liz, I spoke to one of the derms today & she said that the original case study showing that lufenuron was effective (circa 2000) was poorly designed, no controls, etc... in 2004, 2 of her colleagues - Doug DeBoer & Karen Moriello did a carefully designed study (actually funded by Novartis) that showed that Program was not effective for preventing or curing dermatophytosis. here is the abstract Here is a link to a paragraph about Lufenuron for Dermatophytosis. It is written by Dr. Moriello. HTH,

I don't know all of your circumstances but I will say that I tend to wait as long as I can to alter. Some studies have suggested that the hormonal release during puberty has an important effect on the formation of joints. Waiting until growth plates are closed, especially for those who plan on athletic activities with their dogs, seems to be more & more common. Depending on the severity of Dexter's demodex, he may be more susceptible to relapses during times of "stress". Anesthetic procedures are stressful & so sometimes we see a relapse. HTH,

Not necessarily. Sometimes the worst is when we start treatment on a really bad case & as the mites die the dogs get really itchy. Presumably because the drug attacks the nervous system of the mite and they get more active before they die. In general it just depends on the individual dog's tolerance for that sort of thing.

Localized demodex (found in just one spot) is not uncommon in growing pups. It usually clears all on its own with out any treatment. So while your neem/almond oil may have helped it go away, it is more likely it would've cleared on its own without any intervention. Generalized demodex (spots on multiple sites- this pup has a spot on his leg too I believe) is not as likely to clear on its own and get very bad. So in a pup like this treatment would be advised.

I will check tomorrow Liz (I am the head tech/office manager there) to get specific references. I think it has something to do with a study showing that it didn't work. They are sticklers for actual studies & rarely believe anecdotal evidence, absent legit studies.

Good, Advantage Multi is definitely they way to go...easy & does a good job. This vet might be a keeper I wouldn't sweat the fungal culture too much...demodex is probably the only issue & miconazole doesn't treat it

Okay well then he has demodex...you don't see "mites" in the scraping if there is a fungal infection. Did they give you anything to treat the demodex?

Only certain strains of one species (Microsporum canis) can be diagnosed with a woods lamp (there are many many species- 4 or 5 that we commonly deal with in dogs & cats) so it is not really useful unless it is a positive result. It is also easy to get a false positive because people look for anything that will fluoresce and flakes of skin & medications can do so even in the absence ringworm. A fungal culture is the best way to diagnose ringworm not a skin scrape. Hair from the edges of the affected area are plucked then inoculated into a special gel and after 2-4 weeks suspicious areas of growth are examined under the microscope to determine the species. A skin scrape & hair pluck (done properly) will diagnose demodex. Cytologies will diagnose bacterial & yeast infections as well as give clues to other issues such as a contact reaction (highly inflammatory lesion in the absence of bacteria or yeast). Bottom line for the OP is we can all guess but even my bosses (who have been practicing Veterinary Dermatologists for almost 20 years) would not look at that lesion & be able to tell you. They could give a better guess surely but when you go to the doctor you don't really want him/her to guess (& take your money for it) when there are several simple & cheap tests that can help to narrow the field first. JMO,

NO way you can diagnose that as ringworm based on appearance alone. You need to have a skin scrape done & cytology wouldn't hurt either. It is much more likely it is demodex mites or even a small scrape that has spread into a contact reaction to the miconazole. Your vet should have done a simple fungal culture before diagnosing ringworm.

You didn't mention how they know it is ringworm. Ringworm cannot be accurately diagnosed by appearance alone. How long has he had it? Unfortunately the pix are way too big & my computer is not happy about opening them...