Basenji Health Issues & Questions

Totally unrelated. Jabari, I can't tell you how it warms my heart to hear "aloha" and "mahalo". Oh warm and fuzzies :) My family is still on Maui as my little sis is only in high school. Our Riley is getting the big snip in probably about 10 days. Poor little guy. I think it's the non-laser kind. We haven't had a comprehensive exam w/ the new vet yet but she comes highly recommended from a breeder out here. I just wish she accepted AKC's comped vet visit certificate you get for registering :/

to serenjane, We live north of Jax in Yulee and use the nasau veterniary hospital . We see Dr Kim Carter. She has been great in our basenji's care She took care of our old basenji until he passed and she has had our new babies since they were a pup. I don't know if she is the best basenji vet in our area but she had certainly been great for our kids. Ours are not the first ones she has had. We always see her because her partner is not as versed in basenji's as kim is. Good luck on your hunt for a vet. I am sure there are vets in jax with lots of basenji experience. if you ask around you'll find the right one for you. Word of mouth helps alot.

our 15 year old basenji had seizures because of age and renal/liver issues. They started out at once a month and over a 1 year became more frequent. He passed away at 15 1/2 so I guess he started at about 14 1/2. We did the infusion therapy 3 times a week for a month till they didn't help his blood values any longer. He ate special food for renal disease which he hated and we stood on our heads to get him to eat. He could feeling them coming on because he would run away from them. We got to know the signs but sometimes they would just happen. We would hold him tight and talk and sing to him. I would rock him after the seizure stopped during that post ictal time. Our vet recommended a small amount of valium after the seizure to calm everything down. He unfortunately had a seizure that would not stop and we lost him. I also had a elkhound that had seizures it was due to a pituitary tumor. My 13 yr old elkie is now in mid stages of renal/liver failure and I so worry about going down the seizure road again. They are so very scary for everyone my heart goes out to you. We were so lucky that we could work out a schedule so that our basenji was never alone to go thru his seizures by himself. Hopefully you will find the cause for them it doesn't make them any easier but at least you know why

Tea tree oil is great, it smells so strong that mine won't get their faces near it! Anne in Tampa

Lynn if it weren't for you and your kind ears listening to me blubber on the telephone, I don't know how I'd have gotten through it all - you were my biggest supporter and greatest friend through all of this! You'll never know how much your friendship means to me!

You do know me, and you're right. I will find a way to pill my little guy if the time comes!!!! When it comes down to it…we will do everything within our power to keep them as healthy as possible!

@Janneke: Yeah, thought about it.. I think it's from a plant. I believe it is cald hogweed in English. We were at training this morning (yes, again the training) and they grow there. Could well be that it was the hogweed as I have heard of it irritaing humans skin and causing blisters.

Thanks Pat, always good info you share.

Rami did that when we first got him and we thought it was nerves. It continued after a few months, so we changed his food (same brand) from chicken to lamb. He had been eating chicken all his life and somehow had recently developed an allergy to it. He still has flaky skin every now and then, esp this past spring when everything started blooming (he's a sensitive guy ;) ), but for the most part it's much better. I also give him fish oil pills, one with each meal. I would try a better brand of food and maybe stick with chicken, but if that still doesn't help, try beef or lamb instead.

@JustJunie: Hi, I am new. I am owned by 3 basenji's, one of which was just adopted. I was told that he has that disease and that I need to have a blood test every 6 months. Do you think this is the one that costs $60? I would like to take as good of care as I can for Banjo and I really do not understand all of the ins and outs. I was told to feed him bananas to keep his potassium up, but alas he doesn't seem interested in them. Any information you could share would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Hello! I was hoping we would see you on this site!! Thanks so much for adopting Banjo there!! He has quite a long thread (in the Rescue/Adoption forum) of admirers. We would love to see pics of the gentleman. :)

Having had and lost a fanconis b made me realize lots of things. One is that knowledge gives you power to watch and maybe delay things. BUT dwelling on the end, and I did this as well…until someone I loved said, hey, we are all going to die. None of us know when...if you live dreading the death, then that is NO life. So, take time to get your head and heart together, reflect on your beliefs and know we share the joy you have each day with your basenji. If you find, down the road, your basenji is ill, we will share the caring and support with you. Sorry this is so much into beliefs, but in my mind, this is what these dogs teach us...live and enjoy each day...

Jayden says "Yeah for Dad"!! Congratulations but we really expected no less. :) :) :)

@Craigh: Pat - I had an off-topic question since you've got so many older dogs. I know you're usually against free-feeding, but how do you feel about this with older dogs? If Alex (15 years 6 months) eats too much at a time he usually ends up throwing up. Therefore I feed him two small portions twice a day. However, during the day he gets hungry (it's impossible to put/keep weight on him) and I've been keeping a small bowl of dry food around for him to pick at. He'll usually go by every 3-4 hours and eat a couple bites between meals. Do you see a problem with this? It's so hard to get him to eat and keep his food down that this is the only thing that seems to work longterm. The way he's been acting the past few months I doubt he'll see another birthday so I try and indulge him any way that I can. Since you only feeding one dog, I certainly would do whatever works for him… and at his age... if he were mine, I would do exactly like you and indulge him totally

Glad its nothing worse!

@tanza: I have not… So I would say it is just due to shedding... they do get undercoat on the tail too, so would not be uncommon Good to know! Thanks :)

that is great information that you posted….

@LiveWWSD: Yea, she has quite a bit of African in her Dam's bloodline. Her mother and most of her siblings all test indetermint. I was totally prepaired for the indetermint result, as that seems to be the standard test result for alot of her breeders bloodline. To date none of the Avongara Dogs have had Fanconi and only when crossed with American (include really worldwide Basenjis) has Fanconi cropped up. However there has been ISPID, hips, eye problems with the Avongara imports. Remember that in Africa, there is nature selective breeding for the most part and also remember that you need the gene from both side for Fanconi as it is recessive. If nature selection, could be that if affected they would have died before reproducing.

@sharronhurlbut: I would take the dog to the vet and have the dog checked and glands expressed. BUT in the meantime… I would start adding a large tablespoon of pumpkin canned not pie makings into the food at every meal, this will keep the glands from becoming an issue in the future. at least that has worked for my dogs. What I meant by being "proactive" was to take the dog to the vet (like Sharron recommended)–but also just to keep an eye out for any problems (like you've been doing) and take action. I happened to have a B who needed to be manually expressed every couple of weeks for about the last 6 yrs of his life--his glands were situated abnormally--and I didn't want to put him through surgery. But I have heard that adding pumpkin to the food can really help.

Get better soon Wriggley!

If you are concerned about the coloured Kongs, get the black ones…no dye in those. The smell is natural rubber....rubber has a strong odor. And actually, from everything I've read on the internet (granted you can't believe everything you read), the regular Kongs (that sort of resemble snowmen :D) are made in the USA... Maybe it is the other stuff they make that isn't made in the USA? Oh, and like Tanza...I too use stainless bowls for food & water.