Basenji Health Issues & Questions

@renaultf1: Acupuncture. The elderly JRT I used to care for had acupuncture treatments for arthritis in his hips and it helped him immensely. I can confirm this…. for Basenjis

The level of sound on a "debark" can range from a whisper to pretty loud, depends on the Vet that does the debark and how good he/she is….

Good vibes coming his way!!!

Sweet, Thanks. I guess I was looking up basenji specific information and I didnt see any thing in the books I have. I dont get sick much so i shouldn't have to worry. I'm actually feeling better today, not that he cares.

Thank you for letting us know. I am so glad that all is now well and that Paco is back to normal.

I always do the full panel. The issue is that a partial, you still only have partial. And if you suspect issues, you end up running them anyway. Of course it helps that a full panel here is not that much more than a partial (I think it was a bit under 60 or 140 for full). LOL though I did full on Sayblee because she WOULDN'T eat and full on Arwen because she gets almost nothing to eat in order to keep weight down. Both were fine.

Congratulations, that is great! Ayo sounds like he's doing well. Keep the updates coming. It's great that he's gaining weight. We would love to see some pics of Ayo with some meat on his bones.

this magical calculator will give you an idea of your puppy's future adult weight. not sure of the accuracy, but it seems to be pretty close so far…. http://www.puppyweights.com/

If you want to email me off the boards… bennyburnerbono at aol.com I have tons of information regarding living with Fanconi and treating your Basenji. I have been there quite a few times... and with perseverance, you will get through it!

Lets hope it's vestibular disease which is preferable to a stroke. Hopefully with the treatment she will improve, sending get well vibes to Aries.

Why hasn't this been deleted?

I e-mailed Dr. Dodds a few years ago with Eddie's results (lab recommended no treatment) but she recommended a low dose of soloxine. My vet doesn't have a big ego about it and wrote me the perscription, I think Eddie's disposition evened out and his energy rose, weight dropped a bit too. I send results after every test and she has kept the same dose, never mentioned any fee. And from everything I have ever read, "low normal" results usually mean treatment for a basenji. Dr. Dodds gave me a full explanation of her reasoning, which I showed my vet.

@Patty: Ellusionz, do you have one of the puppies that were found in a rural GA shelter, rescued in GA and eventually moved to FL (with a Facebook page, "Help Save 6 Basenji Puppies!")? What is his name? Any pictures? :) I was just wondering the same thing! I actually created that Facebook page after I got the idea from a pharaoh person trying to raise funds for a snakebit pharaoh hound. I can't believe how quickly it took off & how many people turned out & supported those pups!!!

Neither the sire, Bongo nor the dam of your dog is in the Basenji Pedigree Database. It is important to have the non-AKC registered dogs in it. Please e-mail Sally Wallis with all of the pedigree information at sally.wallis@btopenworld.com If Bongo was used as a breeding dog for many years, he may not get along with other male dogs. Was Bongo turned over to BRAT by Esh or did someone else own him? Many PA commercial dog breeders got out of the business when PA passed the new dog kennel laws. I could not find a USDA license nor a PA Kennel license for Esh. Thanks, Jennifer

Heres some info from the Merck Vet Manual about Giardia. http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/21300. I think that yearly checks for giardia is a little much. Like the manual says we usually look for giardia when a young dog comes in with diarrhea. We collect a stool sample (for Giardia a fresh sample is preferred) set up a float and also a direct. I actually just looked at a giardia sample taken from a puppy and Doctor Mark said its also hard to find the protozoa because after exposed to light for an amount of time the giardia loose its mobility and is hard to tell the difference from regular cells in the stool. The manual says that treatment with fenbendazole (panacur) is used this also deworms for a number of different zoonotic parasites. Which you should discuss with your vet when doing boosters and every couple of week check ups. According to the CAPC your vet should "Conduct fecal examinations two or four times during the first year of life and one to two times per year in adults, depending on patient health and lifestyle factors." http://www.capcvet.org/recommendations/guidelines.html

I agree with Nemo - as long as a dog's immune system isn't compromised they are unlikely to pick up diseases easily. They can eat the most disgusting things and aren't affected. I know mine eat all sorts of objectionable things whenever they can and are perfectly healthy.

Clearly I haven't got stats on Basenjis in Congo, but my colleague has just come back from Basankusu (where the mentioned recently-imported dogs were found, unless I'm mistaken) and she has several photos of at least three separate packs of 6-8 dogs. Who all look much more like Basenjis than Delta ever does :)

@Patty: smharr4 - the ISBN no is 1-57954-057-0. There is also a web site which I've never checked out (don't know why) - www.petspartofthefamily.com. I find it a very useful book, full of ideas for natural treatment of dogs and acts. Yay, it's on Kindle… I think I just found my Christmas reading...