Breeder vs Buyer

My poor old meat head dog had massive doses of ivomec running through his liver and kidneys most of his life. I bet in the end his liver looked like swiss cheese from all the chemicals. I loved that dog and would do anything for him. I hate to say it, but when I was at the vet that last time and he was saying he couldn't repair the damage (cheap shot from a bad boar hog), all I could think about was that Meaty could finally end his life long battle with Demodex. This dog had full body breakouts his whole life. Neutering him helped, as did all the other hundreds if not thousands of dollars in ivomec, dips, and promeris. However, even with all the money and care we spent on him, he was still at many times a hairless, red, inflamed, painful, and pitiful dog. Breakouts would last weeks if not months and he always seemed to lose weight with the stress of it all. As if the mites weren't bad enough, the secondary infection would just kick him when he was down. Stresses that we learned could initiate a break out even after his hormones were gone were getting cut, any fleas on him at all, or changing dog food. There were probably many more stressors, but those were the ones I really noticed.

Your dog has localized flare up right now, then I would say that according to my vet it could be just a one time deal. A one time immune deficiency could trigger a break out in a dog not genetically predisposed to having Demodex. Apparently, all dogs have the mites, but only the genetically predisposed ones have an immune system that allows the mites to take hold. I think you are heading the right way by letting breeder know what's going on and seeing if this is a one time deal. I would absolutely not believe that if the dog is predisposed to Demodex that is should be kept for breeding. With a young breed, I think you would want to get inferior animals out of the gene pool no matter how well they hunt. Your breeder should recognize this unless his heart lies with the dollar and not the breed. If you bought the dog with the understanding that you were purchasing brood stock, the breeder should make good on either a breeding sound prospect or a refund. In my opinion, chronic Demodex constitutes a breeding unsoundness just as cryptorchid, hip displasia, or genetic cataracts.

I will never own another Demodex dog. I will never even get a chronically demodectic pup to the point of finding out how it hunts. To me, euthanasia is a far cry better than the miserable life of a demodectic dog. I have been there, done that, and had to deal with it every day for years. It isn't fair to the dog, and it isn't fair to the person who loves the dog.

Cheers
M