Basenji Feeding

Luckily I'm in Cattle Country, too–I've got a bunch of leads to follow up. Two of my nieghbours have offered to let me graze a steer with their herd, but we don't have a big enough freezer! Most of the stock is non-registered organic, and I'm told many ranchers who raise for the farmer's market will sell heart, tongue & green tripe for a very good price--provided they're not keeping it for their own dogs! @Debra, the Vet was mostly referring to fat and probiotics, and largely in the quality/freshness sense. But Non-medical diets (in Canada, anyway) may list their primary protein source as Duck, but are allowed a certain percentage of "off label" protein--I think it's 20, maybe 30%--and fat can be from ANY source. Duck has been my go-to protein source for years, even more so than fish...but who can afford prescription hypoallergic duck for multiple dogs? As for probiotics, my previous vet wanted me to try a probiotic blend from Nestle, but the additives to make it taste good were pretty much abbatoir rendering sludge. With two sickly puppymill "babies" and an old "Nannydog" I'm at the stage where I'm afraid to feed them Human Grade meat for fear of making them worse...what a world we live in!

Hey Jeff, Thanks for the information, and PS: really enjoyed your website. All the pictures of all the dogs, but of course the ones of the Basenjis being used as they are from your litters, OUTSTANDING WORK! Wish I lived closer!

i stay with the same brand, good quality kibble. thats all Hope gets with maybe a raw bone and/or bits of left over meat (such as chicken) and pumpkin to have in the evening. when i was working in a grooming salon she used to get other premium kibble (samples for our customers) as "treats" - she was none the wiser and thought "yummo!" hehe and never had issues with it :) also -when we have fostered dogs she has had some of their kibble and had no issues with eating it. im pretty lucky i dont have a fussy eater :)

I was feeding my Basenji brand blue and she started getting crystals in her kidneys. With the recommendation from my pet store owner (Pet Ranch), switched to Nature's Variety Instinct RAW. Withing 2 months…all crystals are gone. Now Basenji, Rotty, and Puppy Mastiff/Pitt all get Nature's Variety. Their coats are very shiney and teeth are so white.

We had organic peanuts (in the shell) this weekend at family camping and a few of them were dropped. Kentucky was brillant enough to learn how to take the nuts out of the shell and take the skin off them. It was amazing watching him hunt for the nuts.

I once had a pup under treatment at the Bristol Veterinary hospital. When they finally sorted the problem I was told now you'll be able to give him real food meaning kibble!1 I always feed raw and whatever but never complete dog food. Having said that it seems that over here we get a new dog food manufactutrer every month and all claim that theirs is the best!!

Thanks for the info!

I would say it is separation anxiety, and the easiest fix is to let him sleep with you. Since that doesn't seem possible, have you tried a bed or crate for him in the bedroom? (I don't hold out a lot of hope on this one, but perhaps worth trying) Since he is good when he sleeps with you and since he soils his own bed, I would also venture that he is sending you a message! Sometimes Basenjis can be remarkably like cats…..

I feed Evo, but will slowly change over to something on this list. Thanks for the info.

DO NOT add ONIONS - dogs can't eat ONions. Sounds good for people though

I love them all! My favorite is probably soft serve. I'd love to find soft serve in flavors beyond chocolate and vanilla! World news of celebrity Famous Gossip Celebrity News bulletin World Entertainment News

healthy and just eating nice treats on a satarday. But lunch time in work i tend to have a flapjack with a healthy tuna/bean or chicken salad. Im probabl World news of celebrity Famous Gossip Celebrity News bulletin World Entertainment News

I wash the sweet potatoes first then dry them off very well, depending on how thick you cut them will determined either how crisp or how chewy they will come out. I do not put anything on my potatoes at all. I slice mine about 1/8 of a inch thick and then dehydrate them for the dogs. I than keep them in a zip lock bad in the fridge. The thicker you slice them the more chewy they are. It takes mine about 12 to 14 hours to get to the point where my dogs like them. You'll have to just test times to see where you want them for your dog. World news of celebrity Famous Gossip Celebrity News bulletin World Entertainment News

when my puppy was teething I would stop up one end with just a dab of peanut butter, fill the rest with water and freeze it. He LOVED it. You could let them play with it outside, but really I diddnt find it too messy even for the house. The ice melts at about the rate the dog licks at it, and the little dribbles are easy enough just to mop up after. I have also put in chunks of apple (no core or seeds) or baby carrots. I also have added peanut butter from time to time. I just throw it in the dishwasher afterwards to clean it. Kong makes treats to go inside as well. World news of celebrity Famous Gossip Celebrity News bulletin World Entertainment News

I think it is ok to leave the peeling on it.. I leave the peeling on the banana when i refrigerate itand it turns out fine. The peeling will change but not the flavor of the banana. World news of celebrity Famous Gossip Celebrity News bulletin World Entertainment News

@pacificNWbasenji: Hi folks! I have recently switched kibble to Nature's Domain from Costco. The salmon & sweet potato variety. http://www.naturesdomainpetfood.com/ I've noticed the dogs have become itchy, my girl more than my boy, and am surprised because I have had them on a variety of the popular grain free kibble varieties. Origen, Acana, EVO, Taste of the Wild & Fromm's - and they have had pretty much every flavor/ingredient combo made by manufacturers. I have not had a reaction to any of them except for stool consistency/color which is due to the richness of the kibble varieties. I really like the value of Nature's Domain being it is less than $1/pound. I know a lot of basenji/sighthound people that feed this kind of food and haven't heard anything other than good reviews. Has anyone else had a similar reaction? To my knowledge neither of them have any food allergies, as they have had salmon & sweet potato on previous occasions and included in other kibble formulas without a reaction. Even after long years the link is still working.. Thanks for posting the link.. I'll try and look if there's a reaction on my dog's too..

@Rivermoon: Basilboy, I feed my girls Halshan raw which is raw meat and veggies. I doubt they have it up there but you may be able to find something comparable. I cook for my vizsla, he gets chicken and veggies…yam, carrots, kale, spinach, zucchini, whatever I decide to throw in there. They also get kibble. Thank you! I'll look for that or something like it.

A few dogs are very sensitive to the ingredient in cocoa, but many aren't bothered in small amounts. The darker the chocolate, the more dangerous. Milk chocolate, or things with 'chocolate flavor' but not much real chocolate are not a problem…unless the dog is highly sensitive. Nicky, Ed and Topper loved brownies and a few bites never bothered them. I do not give them anything other than a lick of fingers of rich, dark chocolate, however. Knowing Nicky, she could eat a pound of an 80% cocoa bar and never even burp!

I've just bought the Candidae as a back up in case i can't get hold of Evo - grain free, i haven't tried it on my basenji yet, but is it pretty much the same as Evo? Also, what's the go with the pumpkin? Will this help her (Chilli) gain weight??

The biggest difference in most puppy foods and small breed foods is the fat and protein contents. I have one that needs the higher calories found in the small breed and puppy foods. If he has a sensitive stomach then you will need to transition very slowly to any new food and he may not transition to a new food.