What Is Black Mange?

Black mange, also known as demodectic mange, is a problem found mostly in dogs, according to authors Edward Boden and Geoffrey Philip West in "Black&'s Veterinary Dictionary." It is rare for the mites to spread from a dog to other animals or humans. A veterinarian can diagnose black mange and offer treatment options.

  1. Black Mange

    • Black mange is a skin disease found mainly in dogs, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. It is caused by microscopic mites that look like cigars when viewed under a microscope. The mites invade a dog&'s hair follicles. In most cases, demodectic mites are not harmful to dogs. They are often passed from mothers to puppies and cause no health problems. Occasionally the mites can cause mange.

    Symptoms

    • A dog experiences a localized case of black mange when the mites concentrate in one area, usually its head. The dog will develop patchy bald spots on its face and head, and the skin inside the patches will be scaly. In a generalized case of black mange, the hair loss occurs all over the dog&'s body. It is usually accompanied by a bacterial infection, which causes intense itching of the skin, according to the ASPCA.

    Diagnosis

    • A veterinarian can recognize mange by observing the pattern of hair loss. To be certain that it is black mange, she can take a skin scraping from the dog, then examine the collected skin under a microscope. If she sees cigar-shaped mites, she will be able to diagnose black mange. She can also use the skin scraping to tell if the dog has developed a secondary bacterial infection, according to "Black&'s Veterinary Dictionary."

    Treatment

    • If the case of black mange occurs in a puppy and it is confined to patchy hair loss on the dog&'s head, a veterinarian could recommend waiting and watching. The majority of cases like that resolve on their own without any intervention, reports the ASPCA. For more severe cases, insecticidal medications like ivermectin, which can be administered by injection, will kill the mites and clear the mange infection.

    Considerations

    • The mites that cause black mange can be passed from dog to dog, but most will not develop problematic black mange because of them. A dog that experiences generalized black mange could have underlying health problems like a compromised immune system or an endocrine disorder that makes it more susceptible to a severe mite infection, according to the ASPCA.