Is It Mange or Another Fungal Infection?

We are a family of four who have been'living in the Sultanate of Oman for over 20 years. Since my youngest daughter (now 16) is an avid animal lover we bought Caesar a yellow labrador for her. Caesar was born in Muscat, Oman and has been with us for four years now. In May 2007 my younger daughter and I relocated to our hometown Mangalore in South India. We decided to bring down Caesar with us and there were a lot of problems in the process. First he was removed from the animal cargo compartment of Gulf Air at Muscat Airport just before takeoff as the pilot was told there was not enough oxygen there. He was then put on the next flight to Bahrain and was kept somewhere in Bahrain airport until early next morning until they put him on a flight to India. All this time he was in a cage (a first time for him). He finally reached home at 11 pm the next night. By the time he came home he was a complete nervous wreck, too stressed out for words. He was also wet and trembling all over and we feel he had been constantly prodded through the cage bars with a rod cos everytime he saw something that resembled a stick or a rod he would tremble in fright. He didnt leave our side for the next one month and even if we went to the bathroom he was waiting right outside. I am explaining all this to you cos I want to know if all this stress led to the skin infection he developed a month after he landed here.

Initially we took him to the first vet we found who treated him for four months and administered close to 30 injections, antibiotics, creams, medicated shampoos, etc etc....all to no effect. Sometimes the infection would lessen and then crop up again. We asked around and began to hear quite unfavourable reports about this particular vet so we dumped him immediately and sought the help of a second one who is treating him right now. He has tried everything possible on him and most of it has been mild.

The old wounds are healing but new ones appear in the same places and also in new areas on his skin. There is itching and he has lost a lot of his fur which makes him look very sick and miserable. Reading all the comments on your website I think it might be mange. Not sure though....the vet suggested a hypoallergic diet but its difficult to get it in my hometown. Right now we have stopped all medicines. As per the Vets instructions we bathe him once a fortnight with a medicated shampoo leaving it on for 15 mins on his body before rinsing off. He also has a dose of 'Glossy Coat' syrup every day and again every day we apply the skin cream 'Spectrazole' all over his raw patches. Initially the skin is red sometimes bleeding slightly, later it turns black and flaky. I've even tried neem oil but gave up cos it smells so strong. It's almost a year since he got the infection and we are really desperate for some remedy that works. Btw his diet consists of Ragi and milk in the morning, a couple of rotis for lunch or Pedigree cornflakes and a full meal of chicken and rice at night.

I'm all for trying your hydrogen peroxide and borax method. Will try to pick it up at the pharmacy tomorrow (hope they have it). Could you please give me the EXACT dosage to be used on Caesar. He is fully grown at 4 years, must be weighing close to 100 kgs. I understand it has to be applied on his skin making sure all of his skin is covered and we are not supposed to rinse afterwards. Am I right?

Before I sign off, let me tell you Ted that ur truly amazing to take the time out to help scores of people who are committed to keeping their pets healthy. I am truly grateful to you for posting all that information on Earth Clinic and hope to hear from you very soon. May God bless you for your selfless work.

I am sending you a few of caesars pics. I hope u will be able to tell if its mange or any other fungal infection