Is Olive Oil a Good Treatment for Mange in Puppies?

Olive oil isn't a proven mange treatment, and it can't reach Demodex mites living deep in the hair follicles. It's best to have the litter seen by your vet, because the right treatment depends on which type of mange the puppies have, and young puppies need medicines and doses chosen for their age and weight.

Demodectic mange is common in young puppies. They pick up the mites from their mother in the first days of life, and patches of hair loss, often around the eyes, mouth and front legs, appear when the mites multiply. It's usually not itchy. Mild, localized cases often clear on their own, while widespread cases need prescription treatment. Hair loss only in the black-coated pups can also point to black hair follicular dysplasia, an inherited coat condition; a skin scraping and sometimes a biopsy tell these apart. Sarcoptic mange, by contrast, is very itchy and contagious, and would usually spread to the whole litter and the mother.

Your vet can confirm the type with a skin scraping and recheck the puppies as they grow. Puppies that develop widespread demodectic mange shouldn't be bred later, because the tendency appears to be inherited. Read more about puppy mange and how it's treated.

This is general information, not a diagnosis. Please follow your own vet's advice.