Can A Canine Get Scabies From Humans?

by Regina Martin
(Orlando, Florida)

Reader Question: Can A Dog Get Scabies From Humans?

Crazy question for you. My family held a puppy that had scabies. We were only around the dog maybe 30 minutes to an hour. Well we now have scabies. My question is this.... can my dogs get the scabies from me now? We do not have a lot of the bumps on us, maybe like10 or so each. We went to the doctor and got some meds but can my dogs get this? They were never around the puppy.

Veterinarian Answers Reader Question Regarding If Canines Can Get Scabies From Humans

Hi,

What an interesting question. I do think that you could potentially pass on the mites that are living on your body to your dogs since they are the canine and not the human species of scabies. Canine scabies mites don’t actually want to be on people, so I’d assume they’re looking for a chance to abandon ship, as it were, and head for the nearest dog.

It certainly wouldn’t hurt to treat your dogs with a one month dose of a flea preventive containing the active ingredient fipronil (e.g., Frontline or its generic equivalent). If your dogs are already on a parasiticide like this that has activity against scabies, I bet they’ll be fine. Keep in mind that canine scabies can only live on people for a few weeks, so after a month has passed you shouldn’t have any more concerns.

Regards,

Jennifer Coates, DVM