Mange

“You old mangy dog” has a whole new meaning at the Graham Ranch.

As a purveyor of wool and delicious lamb, mange has always been a team player in the effort to control coyotes.

The microscopic mites cause so much itching and hair loss that stricken coyotes fail to thrive.

Every coyote hunter knows to leave a mangy coyote alone so it will spread mites to others in its den.

But having domesticated mangy dogs is a different story.

My older livestock guardian dogs are starting to show some age so I bought a couple of Great Pyrenees-Akbash puppies to learn the trade.

They found new friends in the lamb pen where I hoped they would bond to sheep and figure out how to protect the flock.

After a few weeks of adoring these cute puppies from afar and barely refraining from petting them, I noticed that one scratched herself a lot and was losing some of her hair.

A conversation with the vet suggested a food allergy.

A few of my other dogs had been allergic to various types of food, too, so this made sense.

My strategy was to work my way up the expense chain of dog food, buying the next to cheapest dog food first before heading to the premium aisle.

After all, these puppies were going to be big dogs who eat a lot.

The puppy still scratched.

I added vegetable oil to her food. That strategy had cured itching for one of my dogs.

She still scratched.

A red, raw spot appeared on her back.

The other puppy began to scratch, too.

A sheepherding colleague said her guardian puppy from the same litter had a red, raw spot on his back, too.

She took her puppy to the vet.

Like so many livestock guardian dogs who don’t spend time with humans, the ride in the truck was traumatic for her dog, but the experienced veterinarian quickly diagnosed mange.

Lovely.

Two types of mange are common in canines.

This particular type is contagious for humans.

Even more lovely.

Treatment is simple; injectable ivermectin either orally or subcutaneously.

I figured 10 ccs would be about right. After all, that’s always a good dose for horses or cattle.

I called the vet, just to be sure.

It turns out that many dogs are allergic to ivermectin, killing them quickly. It’s easy to overdose them.

I reduced the dose for the puppies.

I thought about injecting my working dog, Grace, too.

After all, she sleeps with me.

It turns out that collies and shepherds are especially likely to die from ivermectin. Grace has border collie genetics.

Lovely.

Mange in humans is scabies.

The same mites crawl all over a person’s skin, often congregating between the fingers.

The night after I caught the puppies, spread a soothing cream on their raw places and injected them, I woke up scratching itches all over myself.

Even more lovely.

I hoped those itches were psychosomatic.

At least the areas between my fingers didn’t itch.

Still, I was a bit grossed out.

Long ago, my brother brought scabies home on the very day my grandmother came to visit.

My mom frantically loaded the washer with all of the bedding and clothes in the entire house, all the while attempting to discount the disgustingness of mites to my grandmother.

I saved the day by distracting my mother and grandmother by participating in a motorcycle wreck.

Suddenly, mites weren’t such a big deal.

As I try to keep Grace away from the puppies and try to quit scratching every itch I think about, I try to remember those olden days.

And I don’t call anyone an “old mangy dog” anymore.