I work at a small independent pet store that specializes in natural products, and last week we got in a couple of new products by a local company named DerMagic that are specifically for dogs with dermatitis issues. After watching the video that came with the products to educate employees I have to admit that I was skeptical. It was just so cheesy and anytime I hear a bunch of people saying "nothing else worked, but this stuff is AMAZING!" I roll my eyes. I decided that my mangy little foster pup Laika (now named Chava - Shawvuh - by her future adopter) would be a great test case. Demodex is pretty difficult to treat. So I bought a bottle of the lotion and started applying it to her head area twice daily.
Okay, so now I'm a believer. Within 2 days her head was no longer scaly and the bumps were going away. It has a little sulphur in it which tends to stink after all the nice smelling oils and aloe soak in, but sulphur is something that homeopaths often use in formulae for flea treatments, etc., so it probably helps with the mites that cause demodectic mange.
Anyhow, the lotion is easy to apply to her bald little head, but hard to get on the patchy areas on her legs and back. We also received some of the Dead Sea salt bath salts that the company makes and I decided to give the salts a try because that would get to the areas that the lotion couldn't reach. My son brought up the towels and we braced ourselves for the bathing ordeal.
Chava was so pathetic. She scrambled the entire bath, trying to get out of the sink. Water and shampoo was everywhere when we finally wrapped her in a towel and prepared for part 2 of bathtime. We dissolved the salts in the sink and then set her back in, much to her horror. Her eyes screamed "NO!!!! No more! No more!" and she whined and squeaked as we poured the salty water over her, rubbing it into her skin, and then finally rinsing her off. My son held her wrapped in a towel and she stared at me with a look of betrayal and then turned her head under my son's neck as if to say, "well, at least he still loves me."
Five minutes later after countless bouts of shaking herself dry, Chava is back to herself, bouncing around as if nothing happened. Little does she know that she will have to go through the salty part again in a couple days.
For more bathtime photos check out her set of photos on Flickr.com.
Posts
1 comment:
Ahhh, sweet little Laika. Poor thing doesn't understand that you're salting her up out of love. I'll be eager to hear that her mites are all gone with her miracle salve and salt baths. (I can just hear Andy Griffith and the Darlings singing "Honey let me be your salty dog")
Post a Comment