Sarcoptic Mange, also known as dog scabies, causes severe itching and hair loss.
Most owners will get their vet to prescribe a drug or shampoo to kill the mites. However, there’s a much cheaper and safer way to treat your dog. The best part? It’s all natural.
Benefits to Using Natural Mange Treatment
- No chemicals. 100% natural products don’t contain any harmful chemicals. Sensitive dogs and owners may react to chemical products, whereas natural treatments won’t cause harm.
- At-home treatment. Because natural mange treatment is safe, you do not need a vet prescription or administration. You can buy an all-natural treatment and apply it topically at home.
- Not only can natural mange treatments be effective—but they also can treat the underlying causes, which helps fully eliminate the condition. Some treatments penetrate deep into mite territory. Unlike other products, it just doesn’t sit on top of your dog’s skin.
- Less expensive. When your vet prescribes your dog a treatment, you’re paying for the vet visit and the costly recommended treatment. Holistic products tend to be less expensive than toxic mite treatments.
- No force feeding. If you have trouble feeding your pet medication, holistic options are a good alternative.
- Quick treatment. While natural products can treat mange in as little as three treatments, most dogs feel significantly better after the first or second day.
Why Traditional Mange Treatment Isn’t Always Best
- The drugs used to treat mange are neurotoxic chemical pesticides. Aside from safety issues, mites are quickly adapting and developing resistance to these drugs—making them often ineffective.
- Low effectiveness. Unfortunately, even most topical treatments on the market today have a low success rate.
- Most popular option doesn’t even have FDA approval for mange. Ivermectin is a drug administered orally or by injection. Shockingly, the drug doesn’t even have FDA approval for treating mange and is used off-label.
- Takes longer. Drugs can take longer than 2 months to clear an infestation. Even after the drug works, it can take numerous weeks for your dog to stop feeling itchy.
- Potentially serious side effects. As with most drugs, those prescribed to dogs to treat mange can have several unpleasant and possibly even serious side effects. For example, a relatively new drug used to treat mange has been rumored to kill dogs and has prompted owners to start a popular Facebook group advocating against it. Pretty scary, right? Even the go-to option, Mitaban (Amitraz), is a very risky neurotoxin. The dog is often dipped in the substance to kill the mites; however, in many cases, it has caused severe reactions and permanent damage.
What Natural Sarcoptic Mange Treatment is Recommended?
While we recommend using a natural product as opposed to a chemical, not all natural mange products are created equal.
A tried and well-reviewed product is Mite Avenge. It meets all of the benefits above and it’s also easy to use. The natural liquid treatment is mixed with the included activator powder and water. Then, all you need to do is massage it into your dog’s skin.
The treatment should be applied every 7 days. Most sarcoptic mange infestations will be cleared after 3 treatments. A dog suffering from demodectic mange will need more treatments.
Your Next Step
To treat your dog using natural products, you must first understand which type of mange he has. There’s 3 types:
- Sarcoptic Mange
- Demodectic Mange
- Cheyletiella
If you’re not sure which your dog has, you can use the mange symptom checker.
