Most veterinarians will tell you the only way to rid your dog of a mange infestation is to use a commercial pesticide. These treatments are effective, but they are also harmful to the environment and costly. For hundreds of years, people have used natural remedies to rid themselves and their dogs of mites. These cures are just as effective today as they were a century ago.
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Oil
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One of the most effective home remedies for mange in dogs is herbal oils. Some oils like neem and lavender are natural pesticides. Neem and lavender oils can be obtained at your local health food store or organic retailers. They can also be purchased online at dreamingearth.com. You can also make your own oil by placing the bark and flowers of the plants in an air tight jar with a lid and covering them with almond oil. Let this mixture sit in a dark cabinet for 10 days. Strain the oil and discard the leftover plant material. To make a pint of mange treatment with these oils, put two oz. each of the lavender and neem oil in a pint jar and fill the rest of the jar with almond or vegetable oil. This oil mixture should be applied to the affected areas one or two times a day for at least seven days.
Garlic oil is also affective against mange, although a lot less pleasant to work with. Some dogs can be sensitive to garlic oil, so use caution when applying this treatment. Garlic should only be applied once a day.
Folk Remedies
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There are two good folk remedies for treating mange. Both require you to bathe your pet in the solution and leave it on the skin. This means do not rinse with water or towel dry your dog. You need to bath your dog at least once a week with these solutions for one month.
To make the first solution take a one gallon of water and add one cup of 1% hydrogen peroxide and one cup of dry borax. Mix until the borax is dissolved. Add a gallon of this mixture to three gallons of bath water and bathe your dog in it.
An alternative to using hydrogen peroxide is apple cider vinegar. Mix one-third cup of apple cider vinegar with one and a half cups of water and half a cup of borax. Bathe your dog with a good medicated shampoo and towel dry. Use this solution as an after rinse. Thoroughly wet your dog with the vinegar solution and allow him to air dry.
Immune Support
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In addition to ridding your dog of mange mites, her system will need extra immune support. Mange infestations often lead to secondary bacterial infections of the skin. Herbal supplements can be given to your dog to help her fight off these infections and maintain good health. These supplements can be given in pill form or you can boil the fresh or dry herbs into a tea. Burdock, dandelion, sarsaparilla and echinacea are all great at boosting the immune system in dogs. These herbs are safe and can be used alone or together.
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