What exactly is demodex mange? does it cause patchy loss of hair on dogs coat?

My boxer I rescued about a year ago, suddenly seems to have a light loss of hair on each side of him, it is not bad but noticeable, he does get frontline, largebreed food and organic chicken and or beef, otherwise he is very healthy and energetic I just noticed this small patch of hair on each side of his coat in the midsection area.What exactly is demodex mange? does it cause patchy loss of hair on dogs coat?
http://www.pugvillage.com/demodex_mange. This article happens to be about Pugs, but it wouldn't make any difference of the breed. You can Google this, as well, for many more websites. A diagnosis can be made by a skin scraping, but from what you are describing, it could be a Thyroid problem, too. You might want to have a blood test done, if you haven't done so recently.What exactly is demodex mange? does it cause patchy loss of hair on dogs coat?
hairloss from mage ussually starts on the face.



There are 2 types of mange, sarcoptic, which is contagious.. and demodex. Pretty much all dogs carry demodex mites, but sometimes the dog's immune system is compromised and the mites take over.



Since the hairloss is on the sides, I would tend to think that a thyroid problem is more likely. The vet can examine your dog and determine the cause of the hairloss tho.
There are 2 forms of mange.

Dermodectic and sarcoptic.



Dermo is usually limited to just the head of the dog and it relatively easy to treat.

sarcoptic can effect the entire dogs body and is difficult to get rid of.



mange is just mites that infect the dogs skin and cause hair loss. Al dogs have these mites but ones with a lower immune system can cause them to multiply and attack.