Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. I live in Malaysia and have yet to find a holistic vet here, thus i am turning to you for advice.
I have a 3 year old Papillon who has had itchy skin pretty much since we brought her home. The breeder is a good friend of mine and she didn't have any itchiness before she came to us.

Within the first week we brought her home (at 9weeks old) she began to itch and chew whatever she could reach. To begin with we assumed it was just her adjusting to our house, but pretty soon she had pulled all the hair from the back half of her body. Her skin wasn't red or bumpy.
After discussing with a few people (the breeder, a couple of vet friends and our regular vet) we concluded that she had a stress induced demodectic mite flare up (excessive mites were seen in a skin scraping). She had 3 rounds of ivermectin injections (i forgot the dosage), treated with twice weekly medicated washes and it cleared up right away.

Since then, every time she is in a stressful situation (new dog in the house is the strongest trigger) her skin will flare up again. We were able to manage it each time with medicated washes.
However a year ago she had a flare up and it isn't responding to the medicated washes. She was much worse this time and would chew her skin raw within a few minutes.
We have been through another batch of ivermectin injections, 2 rounds of antibiotics and are on the second round of antihistamines.
I have decided that enough is enough and am trying an alternative approach which is why i am writing to you today. I have been doing my own research and have decided the best action would be to support her immune system while giving her some relief from the itchiness. I was wondering if you could give me some feedback on my choice of supplements etc. (I find it hard to find a lot of the herbs mentioned over here so have had to stick to what i know i can get).

I plan on giving her:
250mg Vitamin C/day
2 teaspoon Primrose Oil/day
1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar/day
Vitamin E (i can't find anything on dosage in small dogs for this one so was planning on starting with as little as possible and then see how we go)

Bath her with Fresh Aloe Vera once or twice a week to relieve itching.

Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.

I have also read a lot about the use of Hung Qi, Mistletoe and Echinacca but it seems the dosage is very important to prevent causing more harm than good so will probably steer clear unless i can find a holistic vet here to supervise.

Thanks in advance.

Your dog scratches from demodectic mange, which flares up when the dog is stressed. I see 3 possible approaches: kill the mites, augment the dog's immune system, and make the dog less susceptible to stress. Ivgermectin will usually kill the mites, but if they are becoming resistant to ivermectin, you might try selamectin, found in Revolution. It is a spot-on, used once a month, but one dose should be sufficient. To augment the immune system, feed a diet of fresh meat and bone, and add plain yogurt and fish oil. You could also give echinacea and golden seal. And to reduce the stress, try giving homeopathic Nux vomica or Arsenicum album, if the symptoms fit.

Thanks so much for the advice. I was considering trying Revolution as i have heard of others who successfully beat mites with it.
I guess i will start with that and work my way through your other suggestions as necessary.

Thanks again so much.