I think Ripley has mange, he is starting to loose hair on his face [teeny tad on foot too, but mostly his mug] and though he wasn't scratching much at first...he is slowly picking up on that too. He is scheduled to go into vet on the 22nd, but I was hoping to be prepared if it is indeed mange.
I heard the shelter make small mentions of it at the greet/meet, but wasn't quite catching what they were saying and they weren't being real upfront about it either....I even asked about it later in a email, and they ignored the question when replying [I'm not real sure why, it's not that unusual]. My guess with his history, it wouldn't be all that surprising he would of started out life with a poor immune system giving the mange a paws up.
My questions are, besides food, what are the best ways to help build up the immune system without going broke? I've seen supplements, but I don't know how well they work and I'd rather not waste money on things that aren't going to be effective. Are there other things I can do that don't have to be ordered online, etc?
Last question, since he does appear to have aussie mix and there is a risk he'd have the MRD1 gene...I'm pretty sure the normal way vets treat it with ivermectin would be out [at least for now, unless I get him tested down road]. Though I'm hoping the vet will know the answer to this, I don't like to be unprepared or rely on that 100%. What can I expect to be used in it's place for treatment?
Thanks in advance!
I heard the shelter make small mentions of it at the greet/meet, but wasn't quite catching what they were saying and they weren't being real upfront about it either....I even asked about it later in a email, and they ignored the question when replying [I'm not real sure why, it's not that unusual]. My guess with his history, it wouldn't be all that surprising he would of started out life with a poor immune system giving the mange a paws up.
My questions are, besides food, what are the best ways to help build up the immune system without going broke? I've seen supplements, but I don't know how well they work and I'd rather not waste money on things that aren't going to be effective. Are there other things I can do that don't have to be ordered online, etc?
Last question, since he does appear to have aussie mix and there is a risk he'd have the MRD1 gene...I'm pretty sure the normal way vets treat it with ivermectin would be out [at least for now, unless I get him tested down road]. Though I'm hoping the vet will know the answer to this, I don't like to be unprepared or rely on that 100%. What can I expect to be used in it's place for treatment?
Thanks in advance!