Basenji Health Issues & Questions

His vet appointment is in three weeks and I'm taking the AVA information on Fanconi syndrome with me. We've been very lucky with Rocky. He was a rescue and has become the best family dog. I know the breed is not known for being good with kids but he is so incredibly patient with my two children (3 and 6 months). He even helped teach my eldest to walk by leting her hold onto his shoulders while she toddled along. I'll keep you guys posted and let you know what's up. We've had him tested for kidney, liver, and renal failure in the past as well as chronic UTI and blood-bourne illness. Nothing… "perfectly healthy dog". We'll keep looking until we figure out what's wrong. Thanks for all the info!

Gosh - Hope the vet helps Senji feel better. Duke gets a bath whenever he gets dirty - in summer, once a month. He's 1 yr. old. Right now, being winter - he doesn't get dirty because the ground is frozen. I don't know what would be a normal bath schedule for Basenjis. Sending a big wish to Senji for healing health.

My friend's dog at work has this problem. He is not a basenji. He does however have an allergy to soy, palms, poutlry, oak pollen and a handful of other things. the spaces between his toes would get beet red or have dried blood in them. you could try some benedryl. I buy the childrens chewables and dose it out by weight. or you could test the diet and try one of those foods that is hyper sensitive. when Beta was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Disease, the vets cut out wheat, rice, and corn. They said to find a diet that would mimick foods that were found in the basenji's native landscape. i believe there is an allergy panel that a vet can do, but it is really expensive. you could test it by feeding your basenji boiled chicken only and see if there is improvement. that may be a cheap way to test a food allergy theory.

how is your basenji now? do you see any improvement?

Stores also carry those bean bags that you can heat up (humans use them as heating pads). We got Lexi one at Petsmart recently. She LOVES it. You put it in the microwave for 30 seconds and it heats up the inside. We put it in her bed and she'll go circle on it and then plop down right in the middle. It's too cute!! You might want to try that- it's a nice alternative to having an electric heating pad.

@jenwilson: My basenji/whippet mix scratches alot too. I give her a children's benadryl (hidden in peanut butter) daily. It seems to help. She had an allergic reaction to something the Thursday before Christmas. We went to the vet on that Friday and got a steroid shot and pills. It rash cleared up overnight and hasn't returned. We still don't know what she is allergic too. The vet did suggest the benadryl and I would rather do that daily and hopefully not have to give her anymore steroids. Food allergy perhaps? We had that problem with one and it was anything with wheat flour in it. Little skin rashes or hot spots. I guess it could be any number of things.

keep us posted with the progress….

If the are the KetoDiastix with 2 tabs then they are OK if they are the Ketostix then they will not work.

Really you should test at least monthly for Fanconi starting at age 3… but that is not to say that they can't start spilling sugar earlier.. And really in the beginning it is possible that if you are only doing it once a month and only one day, you might miss it all together.. I know a couple of Basenjis that only showed spilling sugar 1 out of 4 days in the beginning, so really best to do a few days in a row every month. Since the strips do not last long, no use is wasting them.

Spaying a maiden bitch is a much less complicated procedure than spaying bitch who has had puppies. Basenjis can come into heat as early as 6 months old though mine have always come in for the first time at 10 months. As for being interested in breeding please read the thread in the Breeder Talk titled "Interested In Breeding". There are many things to consider before breeding a dog.

The only time mine did this was when she was spayed and in going to the bathroom, she strained the area that had been stitched. :( I hope yours gets better!

Hooray! Great news.

I agree with having them removed! and I WISH I had done it. I, too, have heard of dogs getting injuries w/ the dews… they get caught. My own dog has caught his a couple of times, thankfully, nothing serious (yet). So if the dog is under anyways - I say go for it! and yes, I cut my dog's dew claws like the rest of his nails.

Hi Mark, Boy if I had a nickel for every time Nala was on Clavamox! They actually never diagnosed what the rash(es) were but let me tell you…we even went to the doggie dermatologist in NH (Vicky Sheit?? something like that) All I can say is "hang in there!" Nala is now 8 and I can't remember whether she was on it past 2 years old (YIKES!) But it was fairly mild but as a puppy, she lost the hair around her eyes and spread out a bit from there... Don't stress too much about it, but keep an eye on it and take her to the specialist if it doesn't clear up or keeps recurring... Sharon & Nala

Joey sneezes a lot, but I don't think he has allergies. I think it is all the dust in our house. I hate to clean!! :D

Cali had the same thing…so I took her to the Vet on Sat.......they said it was common for puppies. so they gave me Clavamox for the lumps...twice a day also Hydroxyzine for the itching 1 tablet 8-12 hours as needed... and this shampoo Chlorhexiderm Shampoo....2-3 days aweek thats all the info I have..and will let you all know on how things go with that......cause i was going to try Benadryl.

Jessi-great idea!! Like you my dog is also crated so I'll hide it under her bed. I hope she finds it b/c she's such a sleepy dog lol :D Just when I thought I might give them run of the kitchen during the day…C3 surprised us one morning (as I was showering) ON TOP of the kitchen table with his nose in the kitchen sink :eek: So much for that idea!

@Duke: Is a collapsed disk the same as a ruptured disk? over-do it during this healing process. No, the disks are not ruptured! I have another vet visit at the end of the month for an X-ray to see if it's worst, same or better, then we'd see from ther what could be done! Thank you all for the kind word:)

Never mind. I just read another thread that answered that question. I will pick up some diastix from Walmart. I don't really think it is a possiblity that she could develop Fanconi's since she is a half B but it won't hurt to occasionally test her urine because I would feel awful if something happened to her and I could've done something. Thanks again.