Basenji Feeding

Nina, that was my first thought too! Nicky carries his heart on his sleeve…er...neck???:D

Yeah, Jack is like that with broccoli- when he sees me pulling it out of the fridge to cook for me, he gets all excited and trembly with anticipation. He immediately sits and watches until he just can't stand it anymore and then he's HANGING TEN COUNTER SURFING!!!!!!

I just switched from EVO to Orijen– and guess what... they're now picking out all the Orijen and leaving the EVO!! Crazy!!

I'm glad Lenny is home and feeling better! I feed my boys a raw diet but use Evo sometimes too. It's hard to find where I live, but if you google Evo you can find their website. From there you can click on the link to see who sells it in your area.

These are not suitable as a diet for a dog but I give them to my dogs once and a while to keep them entertained. A note on by-products….if a person gives their dogs bully sticks, pig ears, rawhide, or cow snouts they are giving their dogs "by-products", ie non-meat but edible parts of an animal. Small amounts of "by-products" will not harm a dog but they are not really appropriate for a "complete diet".

Oh… very nice! Thanks!

Re the thowing up, try a couple of dry dog biskets. My boy used to throw up in the am, until we gave him one before bed.

EL D will eat pretzels if I let him but I worry about him eating too much of the salt so I'll only break off little pieces. He'll also go nuts about bread - again I just let me have little pieces so he doesn't choke.

I bow to your advice Pat. I retract mine.

Great, now a tip, give the b's the bones frozen. Also, if you don't crate your dogs for treats I don't make sure you have a towel over the couch, if that is where they chose to chew. The bones do bleed a bit, but a towel will take care of that. If they use the floor use some proxide on the floor, it will break up any "mess" that is left, but is very little. Let me know how they like it. Oh, you can also restuff the bones and freeze them for crate treats.

@JazzysMom: Well, yeah, but….. my concern is this: the meat that the wild dogs eat comes straight from the source, and it is a prey source that is natural to their environment -- no bacterial build-up in a dirty butcher shop or barn, you KNOW that they are eating only natural foods and no additives, or fillers {wild animals don't eat hay, oats, etc} that are perfectly matched to their dietary needs, and no dog has as its natural prey domestic cattle and chickens. Raw feeding has always intrigued me, but I'm not ready to make that leap yet. I have been thinking more and more, as I pass our local butcher shop each week, that I am leaning toward occasional treats of raw.....but am just too nervous to jump on in. May wind up being a raw feeder yet, though. :-) I think I will most likely start supplementing Roo's EVO Diet when he is completely switched over, with some Raw vegetables. Since Miranda and I are on the South Beach Diet anyway, we have a lot of fresh veges around so it just makes sense to give what I can to our pets. I do not know about anyone else, but the walks and time I now spend with my Basenji Roo, and my Boston Terrier Bonzo, have really impacted all of our life's in a healthy way. Last week I lost 6 lbs just doing our daily walk and the South Beach. Bonzo has lost the few lbs she needed to and is eating less and differently since we started the walks. Roo is achieving good muscular development and growth and is not Rolly Polly. I really think paying attention to Diet and exercise is really good for all involved. Jason

So of course, this weekend she seems to be fine. We took her to meet her new family (hopefully) and I think she will fit in well. She will only be about a mile away so I am loving that I will get to see her on walks! Keep your fingers crossed all goes well.. Jen

@ComicDom1: So have they closed all investigations? Did the FDA pull their investigators out of China? I have not seen the anything that has been finalized about all of this so if you could provide a link with that information I would appreciate it. Thanks Jason I don't have a link handy, and don't have time to do a search this morning, but I do know that the pet food recalls ended late last Summer and there haven't been any more since then. In Feb of this year, the FDA did indict two Chinese nationals, one Chinese business, one US company, and the president of that company for their roles in importing the tainted gluten, which was imported between Nov. '06 and Feb. '07. I'm sure the info can be found at the FDA website. I'm almost positive that's where I got my information.

Had to take Alex off Merrick's (both wet and dry). He likes it, but it was giving him HORRIBLE gas! He could literally clear a room for 15 minutes, or wake you from a deep sleep with the smell alone. Now he's eating Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul with raw egg mixed in. Cook both for 25 sec in the microwave. The gas has dropped off dramatically after taking away the Merricks.

Welcome! We at this forum have various dogs that are show dog champions, pet store dogs, shelter dogs, puppy-mill dogs, and all are loved companions so the only 'standard' is that you love your basenji and want the best for them! My 3 are rescues, and I feed dry. I mix 2 foods because as I changed from one to another I didn't like the looser stools, but found a 3/4–1/4 mix to be perfect for all 3. They seem to really like their kibble and eat enthusiastically, though they have had the same food for several years now. I also give mine vegetables, meat, a bit of whatever we eat. As someone else said, people feel very passionately about food, but as long as you feed a high quality food that agrees with your dog, and they are healthy and glossy with solid poop, you're good! Go for the best food you can afford, it will save you bet bills down the way and your dog will be healthier and feel better than if you feed a 'junk food' full of filler. Good luck, welcome and good for you for getting all the information you can! Anne in Tampa

I went with one of the solid golds.. and mix with the Wellness 95% salmon, chicken, turkey, or beef.. I really like those Wellness mixers! My dogs love them and I think they have really improved the dogs coats..

Wonderful…he didn't wake up with a tummy hurting! Good job.

@Robin_n_Jack: I was having the same problem with Jack recently…he's 2...he wouldn't eat, I called it his anorexic phase. He would eat acouple of bites in the morning, ad about half of his food in the afternoon. There has been a lot of excitement around lately (Dad's home, and we are packing to move) so I thought that might have something to do with it, and I figured he would eat when he was hungry. He hasn't been acting lethargic or sick, just not eating. Finally, after trying everything I could think of, treats in with the food (worked for a little while) pretending to eat it my self and trying to hand feed him(he looked at me like "If you think it is so good, why don't you eat it?) this morning I mixed some water in with the food. Next thing I know, it was all gone. Yay! no more Ally McBeal doggie! Glad to hear that he is eating again. :-) I think we all know what its like to worry that your B isn't eating enough. :rolleyes:

We had a 15 1/2 yr old basenji who was hard to keep any kind of weight on because of renal failure. We felt great when we could even get a few ounces on him. Sadly he was claimed due to his disease. We also have a 13 yr old elkhound in the same boat. He's not in renal distress yet but has become skin and bones especially in the rear end. With all his hair its hard to notice till you put hands on him beneath all that hair On his trip to the vet for a good check last week she suggested any kind of protein added to his food. She said added protein will help keep and make muscle mass So perhaps this is something that just happens to old dogs regardless of breed. My elkie is a good eater so no problems feeding him the extra protein

If they are too hard - how about adding some Flax Seed - I'm think that more fiber might help. or a small bit of Karo Syrup.