bird lice/mites...and dogs??

[WindyOaksYokes]

Hey all, hubby just walked in,..... the name of the meds is "HAPPY JACK" I would try that before spending the big money.


Tes

 

[Zenbirder]

Justusnak thanks for making me giggle! I am sorry about your problem, having both a dog and chcikens myself, but just this morning I found myself covered in DE trying to put it from the paper bag into plastic buckets, and I mean COVERED! I hope you solve the problem soon.

 

[SandraChick]

I guess I should have been clearer....

I didn't mean to say that dogs can't get mites.....

I DID mean that dogs can't get chicken mites.

A very important distinction.

My poor Border Collie mix itches so badly during the summer that he always has bald patches around on his back and near the base of the tail

Yonaton- This truly sounds like an allergic reaction---to obviously something that is seasonal. Depending on where you live fleas can be seasonal, but so can many other things. I highly recommend you go to the vet. They can rule out anything like mites, mange (yes, it's a possibility), and other things.

Additionally, I'd give your dog DE in his food. Start with 1 tsp and increase every week until he gets 1TBSP every day. It was reported to me from someone that DE helped with their allergies and although it seemed weird, I was at wits end with my dog's rice allergy (try making sure he gets not even a grain of rice from ANY source...including cat food, chicken treats, and of course missing it on a dog treats ingredient list!--one grain of rice=2weeks of doggie hell). Well, I have to say it worked. I did nothing other than add DE, and he's had this allergy all 13.5 years of his life. My vet balks at the DE explanation, but admits there really isn't another good explanation either. As for me, I'm a believer.

cats/chickens get it too. Cats haven't had to be wormed with chemicals in over a year...and they hunt. I used to have to worm them at least every three months. Cats get 1tsp.


Good luck with your dog.

Sandra​

 

[justusnak]

My 4 dogs all eat from 2 bowls. The bowls are filled every day...sometimes twice. I know...Im a bad momma, but I am a free feeder. There is always food down for them. I wasnt sure how much to add....so I just took a pinch....well, about a tablespoon, and mixed it in each bowl...about 3 cups dry food each. Is that too much!? Oh, and ever try to "dust" a pomeranian?? They look like pig pen on Charlie brown when they walk.....too much?? LOL

 

[SandraChick]

that sounds just fine!

another option is to give it to them as a treat-- I've mixed it in with some wet food and given it to the chickens that way...as well as the dogs as my "fat dog" was continually stealing the other dogs food (solved that problem).

Free choice feeding is not necessarily a bad thing. I have two dogs that used to do great on it. One dog got clipped late in life (6yrs old) and they apparently turned on the hunger gene. He'll eat everything in sight now. He got 15 pounds overweight and started getting joint problems.

Oh how I long for the free choice feeding of dogs days!!! Such a pain to feed certain amounts each day. Hardest part for me is to modify the amount based on exercise. I noticed my black lab ate close to nothing on lazy days and ate about a whole lot on excercise days (like when he went to work in the woods with me).

They doing great now though...fat dog finally has a "waist" again! YIPEE! But I sure do hate how he always begs now and drools at a drop of a hat!

Sandra

 

[savingdogs]

A veterinarian would probably do a scraping and microscope examination and find out exactly what kind of bug there is causing the red bumps, if it is one. There are several reasons a dog could have this happen and your vet could help sort out what is causing it. You could waste money treating it on your own in this case because skin issues can be very hard to pinpoint and having an expert medical advisor in this case is important. Skin issues often relate to diet, not parasites and the DE could be a total waste. I've had a dog that was allergic to fleas and another dog that was allergic to corn, and both had red bumps. They could also advise you about the use of benadryl or other medications for the dogs to help ease their itching while you sort out the cause. Since it is happening to two at once that would kind of point to something in the environment and your vet will know what is common in your area.

Revolution is a product applied monthly that kills many parasites that plague dogs, you might think of using something like that monthly for your peace of mind.

 

[FarmerRob]

Regarding the food grade DE--it is generally safe, however, I hope that you know that you should be cautious and not let humans or pets get it in their eyes or breathe it in. The name is misleading in that it is not Earth. It is fossilised microscopic organisms (diatoms) and will kill anything with an exoskeleton in short order.

 

[darbella]

While mites are host specific, ie: bird lice live on birds, cow lice live on cows, the key word here is LIVE...mites can and will bite and suck on anything warm blooded for a meal, so the answer is YES to them biting your dog if your dog lays in areas that are frequented my other warm blodoed animals that have lice, including mice, chipmunks, squirrels, and even poultry. They just wont live on the dog. They will even bite you. Look at it this way, if your life depended on a blood meal, would you be patient enough to wait for the specific host to wander thru your area to feed or would you rather die? I actually got this info from my sisters horse vet when her horse had gotten lice and she was worried about her kids and dogs getting them.

 

[Carol.in.WV]

While mites are host specific, ie: bird lice live on birds, cow lice live on cows, the key word here is LIVE...mites can and will bite and suck on anything warm blooded for a meal, so the answer is YES to them biting your dog if your dog lays in areas that are frequented my other warm blodoed animals that have lice, including mice, chipmunks, squirrels, and even poultry. They just wont live on the dog. They will even bite you. Look at it this way, if your life depended on a blood meal, would you be patient enough to wait for the specific host to wander thru your area to feed or would you rather die? I actually got this info from my sisters horse vet when her horse had gotten lice and she was worried about her kids and dogs getting them.

I can second this. I am having a poultry mite problem now ....the mites are so tiny I need a magnifying glass to see them but I have red bites on me and this is while being careful to wash after being near the few hens (broody) that have the mites. So far I have used Poultry dust and Frontline but I'll sprinkle some DE around today. This is my second bout with mites and nothing drives me so crazy.​

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Yes, dogs can get mange mites (and other mites that infest mammals), but the mites that BIRDS get are not the same, and have no interest in mammals.

There ARE parasites that will infest both dogs and chickens: chiggers, ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, etc.

Since the OP's DOG is the one with problems, looking at dog culprits makes far more sense. It could be anything from an allergic reaction to external parasites that infest dogs. My recommendation is to schedule a vet visit. Alternatively, get a good dog flea/tick shampoo and see if that helps. Follow with a non-allergenic skin conditioner containing hydrocortizone or oatmeal or similar skin soothing ingredients.

And DE will NOT stop an infestation or pests. It is good at drying things up.