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What is everyone's feeling about mange? Is it not a big deal since most all dogs have it
Never owned a dog with mange. I can count on 1 hand the dogs I have seen with mange my whole life.
The specific antibodies that will defend against infestation of Demodex can be inherited and most dogs have those immune factors and are able to defend against Demodex. But some individuals have inherited a deficiency of those antibodies and just don't have the ability to fend off the mites. So the ability to resist the mites, or not resist, is inherited. The actual mites are not inherited.
If the dog, male or female, has a protracted, difficult-to-cure case of Demodex, that dog should not be bred. If you have a dog that has or had a brief, localized episode of Demodex and has recovered well, then breeding may be considered; but some veterinarians believe that any dog that has displayed skin manifestations of Demodex should be removed from a high quality breeding program.
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