Mange Left Untreated in Dogs

Mange in dogs is a skin disease caused by tiny parasitic mites. Symptoms vary depending on the type of mange. Demodectic mange causes hair loss, scabbing, itching and bald spots. Sarcoptic mange can cause restlessness, reddened skin, hair loss, intense itching and body sores. Mange often affects a dog's face, ears, elbows and legs. If left untreated, mange will progress.

  1. Skin Infections

    • Mange can cause hair loss and reddening of the skin. If left untreated, it can lead to severe lesions. Mange mites burrow into the skin and lay eggs, which hatch and move up into the healthy tissue of the skin's surface. The lesions are how the dog's immune system deals with the mites presence under the skin. These can continue to multiply into a potentially deadly skin infection.

    Pain

    • Mange causes skin irritation, which leads to itching. If left untreated, the itching can become out of control and literally cause the dog pain. As the dog continually scratches and bites each itch, sores and scabs are formed. These sores and scabs eventually become painful from being scratched over and over again. This can also cause the dog to be restless. If the dog is not sleeping properly, he can end up with joint and muscle aches.

    Harder to treat

    • Mange can be treated easily if caught early on. If left untreated, the disease continues to progress and spread. This makes it harder to treat and takes longer. Some forms of mange are highly contagious to other animals and may even be passed to human beings. For this reason, everything the infected dog has come in contact with must be cleaned. The longer he goes untreated, the more he comes in contact with and the more it could potentially spread to other animals and people.

    Death

    • Depending on the kind of mange and the symptoms the dog has, if left untreated mange can eventually lead to death. Sarcoptic mange can quickly spread over a dog's skin, causing hair loss and irritation. If left untreated, the dog can develop a high fever from the skin disease, which could lead to death. The best way to avoid this is to pay attention to the dog's skin and make an appointment as soon as any unusual skin irritations, redness or balding are seen.