Vet Advise

[Priscilla Cronholm]

I posted on the chat section of this site but I need help selecting a vet.
This is the situation:
We are first time dog owners and have a 16 week old puppy which we got when he was 11 weeks. I took him to a vet in my area the day after we got him and choose the vet through the phone book.
The first time I took him he had a cold, two weeks later at a follow up he scraped positive for demodex. He put him on clavamox and benadryl and I started doing research on other methods of treatment. We went back in for a follow up and he mentioned Ivermectin (I have an Akita/border collie mix) and I flipped out. I had suggested treating him with echinacea and vitamins and baths. Long story short: I have been to a dermatologist who almost overdosed my puppy (thanks to me not giving him the suggested dose) and a vet that knows less then me. I feel my dog has sarcoptic mange.
I'm stuck between going to a holistic center (that also has traditional medicine) or Angell Animal hospital which is supposed to be the best.
Which should I choose? I'm so overwhelmed. Thanks and sorry this was so long.

[Grace Erick]

I wish I knew the answer, but I just wanted to say how cute he is and I know all you have been through with him being sick where someone else may have turned him into the a.s.p.c.a. You are really one the best dog owner's around for sticking with Bailey through the heartache of trying to make him healthy. He is like a little fuzzy bear!!!

[Hee Yung Lee]

It's a good thing you did some research and decided not to go with the Ivermectin! I am not from Cambridge, so I an't help you with vet recommendations, but I was just curious-what makes you think it is sarcoptic rather than demodectic mange?

[Elizabeth Coleman]

The best way I found to locate a vet was to talk to other dog owners. Do you have a park in your area that host many walkers, joggers & dog owners? Here in atlanta we have Piedmont, and nearly any time on the weekend you can find other dog owners who will be more than willing to tell you about their vets. Also - same for a local pet store. Most people will give you great info about animal vets if you just ask. Good luck.

[Priscilla Cronholm]

He scraped positive for demodex and then after I had been bathing him and giving him vitamins for two weeks he scraped negative. The dermatologist scraped him 4 times and couldn't find any mites. He has not been getting better and his chest hair is thinning. I gave him the interceptor which is supposed to stop the itching and it decreased it a lot, but not fully.
I don't know if it is anything other then the two. I'm taking him to the vet in Beverly next week, and hopefully it will all be solved. I just want a straight answer from a vet.

[David Crandall]

The best way I found to locate a vet was to talk to other dog owners. Do you have a park in your area that host many walkers, joggers & dog owners?

I just wanted to second this recommendation. Also, I'd be shocked if you're the only one from that area who's on this board.

Dave

[Amber]

My Sally had demodex...trust me, you can tell by just LOOKING at the dog! Sally had almost no hair on her entire then 16 lb. body! Of course, her case was generalized demodex, and I'm not sure what sarcoptic mange looks like when the dog's infected, but you can definitely tell what demodex looks like. It takes two negative scrapings for your dog to be deemed "cured" of demodex. I opted for Ivermectin because Sally had a partial treatment at the shelter she was at before and she did fine with it. I took her back to the same vet the shelter used (the best in the city I live in) and we finished the treatment and now she has all her hair back!

I wish you all the luck in the world!!