Basenji Health Issues & Questions

I did buy a grinder-kind of in between a commercial and home use one. It will grind bones. When Zina was on the basic raw, she was on chicken and bone. But there were no organs in it. She was on it for about a month-supposedly to rid her body of toxins. Like I said she did fine at first, but when I started on the mixtures, that's when it went to pot. I wonder if I start her on one thing with organs and bones, maybe beef? if she would still have a reaction. What do you guys think about this. If she is allergic to chicken, and I'm still unsure about this (I wonder if she's sensitive to it), is she also allergic to other fowl?? The think I worry about is that if I do put her on one type of meat, will she get all her nutritional value? Freezer space isn't a problem, I can always pick up a second hand one fairly cheap, but I do have a 27' one and two small house freezers. Also, don't forget, this is a boxer. I haven't heard of a case of Fanconi in a boxer myself. If you are on a higher protein diet, your creatinine levels tend to be higher as well. I believe, this is why when you are on the Atkins diet, you still have to watch your intake. And Zina will not live another 5 years, most likely. What I have to do is make her life comfortable now. If she's happy for 3 more years and then I have to put her down, so be it. At least she was happy in the time she spent on this side of the Rainbow Bridge. It's better than the miserable first 7 months she spent. And this was not a breeder problem. The pet people who had her did not listen to the breeder, caused the issue to explode, literally, and the replacement puppy died at 2 1/2 of issues as well. I can get the meat fairly cheap, as I do have the grinder and the butchers will sell cheaper if they don't have to do anything to the meat. I also have the space, if this does work, to grow some of my own food for them. If I have to go to pork, because she's allergic to chicken, then in 6 months, I can have enough food for a long time. But I want to make sure of what I am doing first. She deserves to be happy.

I don't really think, other than what the vet's suggested, you can do anything. You could try wrapping it, but that won't last very long.

Congratulations on such wonderful news!

@gbroxon: My bad. My eyes skipped over the "almost" part the first time I read it. How wonderful that she was with you for so long! That's amazing under any circumstances. Thanks, her picture's in my gallery.

BasenjiByThe Bay- Good luck with your tests! Hoping for the best. And thanks everyone!

Technically, no dog is truly hypoallergenic, but because basenjis don't shed very much, and keep themselves clean all the time, they are good for allergy sufferers who want dogs.

I'm sorry to hear Tayda has fanconi..but glad you caught it early and she's taking her pills like a good girl.

I'm making custom fit basenji fleece sweaters if you're interested. You can pick the fleece you want, and then send me a list of measurements & I will fit the fleece not just for A basenji, but for YOUR basenji. And I will keep the pattern so if you ever need another one, or if your b gains or loses weight, its easy for me to make another one for you. E-mail me at carriesquires@gmail.com if you're interested.

@Andrew: Booger has been sneezing a lot recently. It started around the same time we got our new dryer, and at first we thought he might be allergic to the fabric softener we're using. However, I'm not so sure now. He sneezes in small fits throughout the day & night & at seemingly random times (in the middle of the night, at the dog park, in the car, watching tv, whatever). Right now the weather is kind of up & down temperature wise & leaves are falling, etc. Could it just be seasonal allergies? It doesn't seem to bother him a lot, and he doesn't have any other symptoms, so I see no need to take him to the doctor. But if there's something I could give him to relieve the sneezing without making him groggy or without needlessly medicating him, I would like to try it. Any experience will fall time allergies? it's funny you mention that. We have noticed it with all of ours. Maybe it is allergies.

Tayda, if you have free test strips to give away, I'll gladly take them! You can write to me off-forum at ZenGrrrl@aol.com. Thanks! Lori

I hope the vet figures out what is wrong & that your baby girl recovers soon. You are a good mommy to be taking such good care of her :) She's a lucky pup. Thinking about you & her as she gets better!

@MacPack: We are in Florida and some years fleas are terrible in the summer. We use either Advantage or Frontline when we start to see a few fleas, and re-apply when we start to see fleas again, usually about every 6 weeks through the summer and fall. I have used it on an 18 year old with no problems. I feel that the problems fleas can cause outweigh the occasional use of a fairly benign chemical, and certainly keep the dogs more comfortable! If we lived where fleas were not a big problem, I would try some of the more natural remedies. Anne in Tampa You have an 18 year old? Wow how is he or she doing? I had a Tri color many years ago live to be 17-1/2.

Tayda has just been diagnosed with Fanconi and I went and bought one of the pill organizers and put her med in there for the week. Its only day 2 but I'm hoping it will work. I'll just put aside a few minutes each weekend to organize the meds for the week….

We've finally had some success with Butter's allergies – wiping his face, belly, legs, pads & between his toes after he goes for a walk in the field. It's been a long haul and he'd been reacting to fungi and plants in the aster family (ragweed, etc...). Because he'd eat grass, sniff it, and walk through it, he'd have terrible reactions and the "little" bumps under his coat started turning into bigger bumps. All set for now. If an elimination diet hasn't helped with the bumps, it could be an allergy to something in the environment -- try wiping Hotep down after she's been out and see if it helps.

EL D (who will be 6 this December) sleeps (I think) most of the day while I'm at work. In the evenings when the weather was nice he would run around in the yard until it got too dark but now he generally just sits in his bed or on the couch if I'm involved in something, otherwise he's throwing his toys around or snooping in the basement.

@tanza: Or maybe a picture of the collection barrel of my Dyson Vac Haha…...do that for for the unbelievers:D

I agree Pat-no pumpkin when they are having tummy troubles. Plain Yoghurt is also good.

When it comes to hips, what you really need to look at is the vertical pedigree. So you don't just look at the dogs directly behind the dogs being bred but also at the hips of their siblings and offspring. Some of the most prolific producers of HD in basenjis are themselves OFA Good. The problem with trying to research HD is that owners do not need to make abnormal results public so finding good public vertical data can be hard.

It does not matter what tooth it is. The fact is in the Basenji standard, the teeth are to be a scissors bite. If the tooth is NOT there, it will not be part of the bite that is being looked at anyways. If the dog is getting consistently last in his class, I would have to speculate that are far more serious faults than a missing tooth. And I would not consider one missing tooth to be as serious as a totally undershot or wry bite. Of course, this is only my opinion as breeder, exhibitor and a judge.