Basenji Health Issues & Questions

You have no idea how encouraging it is to hear this. We took our 1 year old in for a dislocated toe…apparently he has lax joints and that toe needed to be amputated, at that time they x-rayed the other paws and the other back one showed up with lytic bone. The vet said this could be infection or cancer and to amputate that as well. We thought that was extreme at the time and didn't do it. Instead we took anticbiotics to clear up the infection...5 months later we are awaiting surgery in 2 days to have it amputated and sent off for histology. He's been on antibiotics for months and the new ones have taken care of the swelling but now his lymph nodes are enlarged and he is obviously sick. We have had every test possible without amputating and no answers as to whats going on...so happy your dog is going to be fine and have hope that our boy will get the same diagnosis.

Just wanted to reply so there is another curious basenji owner stating they have encountered the same thing. Our basenji, Pharaoh, also burps occasionally. He, at 10 weeks, has vomited once and almost just did for the second time only moments ago. He was very close to doing so that he became weak and it brought to my memory how he was when he did vomit. He basically blacked-out "for all intents and purposes", he just lost muscle control, went straight legged and rocked over face first into the floor. It was not a pretty/comforting sight, but he seems just fine and as others have stated that it seems due to lack of proper feeding/empty stomach. Pharaoh has been eating the chicken soup for the puppy kibble(whatever the exact brand name is).

Hope the shots help. Have unfortunately seen people go through the trouble and expense and it not help. Glad they know what it doing it though!

Our 17 year old starting having problems with leaking last year. Almost every time she slept she would wake up with a small wet spot in her bed or on the couch. Since she sleeps in bed with us this became a huge problem - washing the sheets every day got old REAL fast…but we couldn't bear to throw her out of bed! After several tests to rule out various problems, her doctor put her on Proin twice a day, and the leakage has pretty much disappeared. I honestly can't remember the last time we had to clean up a puddle! The problem NOW is getting her to take the medication since she absolutely will not chew up the tablet. After struggling for weeks we finally tried crushing the tablet and mixing it with her food, and this has worked perfectly.

She looks bigger than the weight you described- Id have her weighed again to make sure it wasn't a scale error. I randomly bring oakley in to the vet and they let me put him on the scale then leave. As far as the bumps- they looked like flea bites to me…..it's always wise to bathe the pup before using topicals (especially at such a young age). Since you've alteady applied a topical, next step would be to wash and vacuum the whole house....I use a human live comb to comb through Oakleys fur since it's black, places like the tail and base of tail, underarms and head are hotspots to find them- if you still don't aee relief then I would go back to the bets because of it's something environmental then you need to adjust

I have a five year old Basenji female that has just been diagnosed with Fanconi. I'm looking for any treatment information available. Thank you.

I too am sorry for not seeing this thread sooner and hopefully the poster will return. My Basenji had some teeth removed and the vet prescribed Carprofen as the follow up antibiotic. My Basenji turned out to be allergic to Carprofen which caused her liver to fail. I went through the same scenario you are describing. She gradually quit eating over the course of several days and then her water consumption started to go down. The eating had me worried since she had an excellent appetite upon return from the vet and the final purging of the anesthesia from her system. Nevertheless, her condition started to degrade. I followed her outside and watched her urinate. Her urine was a very bright yellow. I suspected then a liver issue. Once back inside she was shivering - off to the vet we went. LIver panel blood work up showed very high on specific indicators for failing liver. Vet prescribed Denamarin (containing SAM-e and silybin). SAM-e helps protect liver cells from cell death and aids in cell repair and regeneration. The Vet also started fluid injections. Fluid injections were everyday for two weeks. My Basenji showed a remarkable response to the fluid injections becoming much more her normal self even after the first day. She hated the injections and I could hear her cry when receiving them at the vet (believe me that will tear you up). But she was doing better and she (me) were going to have to tuff this out. Also a different antibiotic was prescribed to prevent liver infection during recovery. The Denamarin comes in dosages based on weight (medium for us). It is the size of a large human like solid oblong vitamin pill. Instructions want you to give it on an empty stomach and preferably not to cut it or place in something similar to a pill pocket however you can if necessary. My Basenji would not take that size (can't blame her). Cutting and disguising it did not work either. I was frantic and got the SAM-e in powder form. I couldn't slip her that either. All though some folks had success with peanut butter and liverwurst. I finally after three days had to have the vet pill her along with her fluid treatments. A week later another blood sample and her liver panel indicators were coming down. The pilling would last for a month and it took two people to get the pill down her. The important part is - she fully recovered from the liver failure. She is 13 1/2 yrs old. My experience after having 5 Basenjis is that the breed is sensitive to medications (anesthesia also). Many of the medications work just fine in most other breeds and mixes. The vet, if not that experienced with the Basenji, must be cautioned. Mine was not. Before accepting any medication have the vet go over any contraindications with you and to double check their resources for potential side effects when dealing with Basenjis. They may switch to something else if a medication has a bad track history with Basenjis. Know what to watch for should your Basenji start to react in a non-positive manner. The poster did not indicate if there were medications in play when the dog started showing degenerating conditions. I sincerely hopes this helps in some way and helps other Basenji owners

I'm not sure if your dog is young or a puppy but it sounds like it. Puppies are especially prone to skeletal issues such as strains or breaks because their bones are still soft and growing. Same with the muscles, they are constantly growing and susceptible to injury. Just because she has moments of play that doesn't mean she's ok- dogs have an uncanny ability to override pain signals when something else is on their minds. Others have suggested patella issues, and while I can't speak to that I know Tanza is a breeder and knows well the issues that can affect our breed, let alone knowing about identifying issues. Good that you have an Appointment, in the meantime- continue to limit jumping and running so nothing furthers the problem. Is she has lax (loose) ligaments this can cause popping and will be a lifetime concern for injury if not carefully supervised. If it were me, I would want to contact an orthopedic, so if your vet doesn't have a definite cause that is a good route to go. Might be an initial cost but in the long run save you a lot

A Vet for sure…. 1st thing to do, period. Puppies loose their puppy teeth starting at 4 months... never heard of drooling like what you describe... so without a doubt... Vet for sure... immediately

Hi, Lots of good advice here already. For the time being: I found in the Animal Desk Reference Manual (Essential Oils for Animals) by Melissa Shelton under Giardia on page 417 a list of possible remedies. One that you may have access to is Clove oil - you can put a drop or two in her water daily or in her food. Essential oils are very effective against parasites.

How is this pup doing currently? Any updates?

He is in a better place… just remember you will carry his soul in your heart forever... All of my Basenjis that have passed before me are here in my heart

Thank you all. I can now talk about him without breaking down. I still tear up. I can look at his pictures and his toys. There's still a void and it's still painful and I still cry, but not as much. We have his ashes on the windowsill, one of his favorite places.

Thanks eeeefarm, I was looking under visitor messaging instead of privacy settings. Appreciate it!

I watched a few videos by vets on YouTube about how to express the glands. I think I'll just let our vets do it every now and then with check ups or we need to go in for it. It's not only not something I really want to do for the mess of it but I just don't trust myself to do it right and as you said Debra it's cheap and hopefully we won't need it done more than once or twice a year if at all. So far we've had our vets do it once for each dogs in our almost 18 months of Basenji parenting…both times because the vet said they probably needed it (the likely cause of the issue and hence vet visit). What I definitely can do is continue to make sure they eat well/healthy. Like I said before I know the full-sized solid poops are the best for more than one reason! Thankfully we've gotten them both into a routine over the last few months that really has seen them stabilize their bowel movements and help our younger new B pick up potty training real well. We'll just continue down that path. Thankfully like I mentioned in an earlier post all the "pains in the butt" seem to be occurring less often as they age. The desire for me to post here was to try to narrow down some possible causes. Thanks for all the input!!!

Could be a black fly bite. Mine get red welts on them if they get bit by them. Tucker has really bad reactions to mosquito bites, they puff up and blister so I have to really watch him and make sure I put his bug spray on him.

I hope your pup is better soon. I do know that it can take a long time to treat pneumonia, and a 'tracheal wash' with cultures can point you to the correct antibiotic if puppy doesn't improve. Years ago our young dog had pneumonia and we went through 3 antibiotics with poor success, the cultures showed an unusual organism and we switched antibiotics and he was on them for another 3 months but recovered and lived to be 15. If you are not comfortable with your vet, go to a specialty group for a second opinion. We often go straight to our local specialists, saves time and money in the long run.