Audrey the Field Spaniel: March 2009

As previously mentioned Audrey was diagnosed with Demodex (demodicosis, demodectic mange, puppy mange). In doing my research and talking to the vet it is clear that this diagnosis puts an end to Audrey's conformation/breeding career. Predisposition to demodicosis is considered hereditary and should not be passed on. While the demodex mites themselves are not considered hereditary, it is believed that dogs with demodectic mange should not be bred.

At the beginning of her hairloss (right around the belly, inner leg area), I put off taking her to the Vet to see if her hairloss resolved itself or not. After it continued to spread I knew she needed to be put on medication.

"Sometimes the puppy with localized demodicosis was obtained for breeding purposes. The current recommendation is not to treat these puppies so that we can determine if the condition will stay localized and resolve or if it will generalize. If it stays localized and eventually resolves without treatment, the animal is still a candidate for breeding. If the condition generalizes to cover the entire body, the animal should be sterilized. If the condition receives treatment and resolves, we will never know how the disease would have gone in its natural state and will not know whether the pup is carrying the genetic predisposition for demodectic mange. In this case, it is best to be conservative and not take the chance of passing on genetic predisposition for this disease."

Mackenzie was diagnosed with Demodex when she was 3.5yrs old which is a much bigger red flag. It was right after we adopted April from the shelter (stress), Mackenzie had just gotten vacc'd at a new vet (more stress) AND she ended up getting kennel cough from April anyway (stress + suppressed immune system = mange) . We took it very seriously and she was dipped in Mitaban every week for 8wks or so (cost close to $500 total) and had her skin scraped 4 times. Incidentally she was also at her highest weight of 11.8lbs (omg!!!)

Audrey will be on oral Ivermectin for approximately 60 days. So far she doesn't look any better, but they say it gets worse before it gets better.

After discussing these details with Audrey's breeder it has been decided that she will be spayed as soon as we feel comfortable (once she is clear of the mange) I'm thinking some time around her 1st birthday in the Fall. Our contract will change from Show Prospect to a Performance/Pet contract. As previously decided, in addition to Conformation I was planning on showing her in Obedience and Rally and any other dog sport we could possibly get our hands and paws on.

Thus now we truly begin our journey. Our road has changed a bit, but we are just as excited to get started. Instead of her rolled leather collar to prevent the collar "dent" we have officially switched to a martingale training collar. We will begin her formal obedience training as soon as possible. Although she knows the basics (Sit, Down, Stand, Stay, Watch, a loose Heel) we had been mainly focusing on stacking, stand/stay, and socialization. Now we can really start working on Obedience/Rally. The goal is Mackenzie in Rally Advanced A and Audrey in Rally Novice B at the Corpus Christi show in August.

So Audrey will not be my first Conformation dog and I won't have a Champion show dog at the age of 25. But I do have the most beautiful, affectionate, wonderful puppy I could have ever asked for.

She is mine forever and we will travel whatever journey is put in front of us, together.