For Referring Veterinarians

Diseases caused by skin ectoparasites are common in our veterinary dermatology patients. Parasites may be part of the normal flora on the dog or cat, yet proliferate and cause skin disease under certain conditions. In addition, ectoparasites may be acquired by contact with other animals or contaminated environments. Ectoparasites Mites, fleas, and ticks may impact pet wellness. Sarcoptic mange causes severe itch, demodectic mange causes widespread hair loss, and flea bite hypersensitivity is an allergic…

Collies, their crosses, other herding breeds, and other mixed breed dogs may possess a mutation in a gene that produces the protein, P-glycoprotein. P-glycoprotein is the product of the multi-drug resistance gene MDR-1. The functional protein plays an important role in absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of many drugs and substances used in veterinary medicine. P-glycoprotein is a pump found in tissues of the intestine, brain, biliary system, kidneys, placenta, and testes. Its normal…

There are a few species of Demodex mites that can cause canine demodicosis. The most common is Demodex canis. Demodex canis is a normal inhabitant of the skin of healthy dogs and resides in hair follicles. The mite spends its entire life cycle on the dog, and it is not considered to be contagious. Dogs become colonized with this mite shortly after birth by direct transmission from the mother to the puppy. Under normal conditions, the presence of…