Liver issues

[Janneke]

I'm so sorry to hear this.. I wish you a lot of strength.. Both you and Rocky are in my thoughts.

[thunderbird8588]

I am so sorry to hear your news about Rocky. Maybe with paliative treatment you will have him longer than you think. As i have said earlier Benji had an abnormaly small liver and the nearest we got to a diagnosis was that something was destroying the liver cells.
He was treated with Destolit and samylin for his liver and we had another 18 months with him, although your Rocky is considerably younger so you never know.

[hdolbow]

Thanks guys.. Were going to do whatever we can to make him comfortable.

I actually have another question for you guys though. I told his breeder exactly what I posted on here, and she didn't even act upset she instead started asking tons of questions and continued to tell me that dhlpp shouldn't ever be given after a year and a half and the L part can kill basenjis and I feel like she's trying to blame this on me because the vet said he thought he was born with it… Am I wrong? Should I not give my dogs that shot?

[tanza]

@hdolbow:

Thanks guys.. Were going to do whatever we can to make him comfortable.

I actually have another question for you guys though. I told his breeder exactly what I posted on here, and she didn't even act upset she instead started asking tons of questions and continued to tell me that dhlpp shouldn't ever be given after a year and a half and the L part can kill basenjis and I feel like she's trying to blame this on me because the vet said he thought he was born with it… Am I wrong? Should I not give my dogs that shot?

Hdolbow, please contact me privately, email link is on my website.

And just a quick comment…. While many of us do not give Lepto or feel it is necessary (L part), I would not say this was a cause. And honestly, if you were going to stop at 1 1/2 yrs, why give it at all? Unless doing titers.

[hdolbow]

Just sent you an email.

[lvoss]

When it comes to vaccinating, the current recommendation is to vaccinate on a 3 year schedule. You can do titres for Distemper and Parvo but it is more expensive so many people opt for a 3 year schedule.

Ask your vet about Intervet's Continuum DAP vaccine. It does not contain lepto and it is labeled for 3 year efficacy. Here is the website for Continuum so you can read up on it before you talk to your vet. http://www.continuumforpets.com/

[Basenjimamma]

I am so sorry to hear about Rocky and how he is doing..Sending warm hugs and hoping he will do better..it is so hard to loose your beloved pet, young or old..
My thoughts are with you all.

[hdolbow]

that contiuum doesn't have the Parainfluenza part either.. Do you not give your dogs that either? I'm definately going to mention this to my vet.

why don't you give the leptospirosis vaccine? Is there a reason or is it just preference?

[hdolbow]

@Basenjimamma:

I am so sorry to hear about Rocky and how he is doing..Sending warm hugs and hoping he will do better..it is so hard to loose your beloved pet, young or old..
My thoughts are with you all.

Thank you so much for your kind words! He gained a pound this week, so hopefully that's a good sign.

[lvoss]

@hdolbow:

that contiuum doesn't have the Parainfluenza part either.. Do you not give your dogs that either? I'm definately going to mention this to my vet.

why don't you give the leptospirosis vaccine? Is there a reason or is it just preference?

I have not given lepto because my boy, Nicky, has a brother who had a severe reaction to the lepto vaccine. So I have never given it but in recent years, my vet has stopped recommending it for any of their clients because serovars found in our area are not the ones in the vaccine so the dogs wouldn't protected anyways.

I have started using Continuum with last year's puppies upon the recommendation of my repro vet and do not plan to add Parainfluenza for those puppies.

[Knipper]

I don't want to give false hope, because this might be something completely different, but I thought I'd share, just in case.
Two years ago Blaze (who was 14) dropped half his weight in a month. He would eat, but nothing was getting absorbed. His stool was the colour of wheat and was barely solid, almost like pudding. It was also extrememly acidic and burnt his butt hairs away.
We did every type of test we could, but nothing was so far out of wack to explain it. The X Ray showed that he didn't have a liver. It was gone. There was nothing else wrong that we could see
Now at his age, we were given the option of the MRI to look closer, but there was no way I was going to put him through surgery at 14, and the cost of the MRI would have used up all of my funds. I talked it over with the vet and we decided to just treat him for the no liver and overworked pancreas issue.
He gets 1 tsp. of pancrease-v powder on his food and half a flagyl pill everyday. The powder has to sit on everything he eats for twenty minutes. If he feels frisky and eats the garbage or anything without the powder, he feels it for the next three days.
He is a healthy weight now, and the stool is pretty normal most of the time. We did an X Ray not too long ago, after her had his first and knock on wood only seizure, still no liver visible, but again, we haven't opted for the MRI.
I hope everything works out for you and your pup.

[Patty]

I've been following these threads with much sorrow. Remember while there's life there's hope. I pray for you both. I don't know whether you are open to homeopathic treatment but I gave one of my old dogs who had a very diseased liver due to an infection, homeopathic remedy Lycopodium. It kept him going for three more years without more problems.

[thunderbird8588]

@Patty:

Remember while there's life there's hope. .

I couldn't agree more and i'm sure however long you get with him will be precious.
I refused to believe Benji was dying because he wasn't, he was living !

[thegriffswife]

I haven't been on the threads is quite sometime. I took my 3 yr old basenji into the vet saturday for weight loss, digestion issues. I thought she had some sort of acid reflux but the vet suspected something different. We did blood work and it turns out she has high liver enzymes and high red blood cells. I would have to go to the university for an ultrasound. or our vet could do an xray but she said they may not find anything in the xray. I am devastated right now and I hope every turns for the better for your basenji!

[lvoss]

For those of you having issues with your basenjis, liver or otherwise, please be sure to sign your basenji up on the Canine Phenome Project website and fill out or update your dog's health survey to include this information. This is the easiest way for the basenji health committee to gather information about what issues may be upcoming problems in the breed.

The canine phenome project website is http://www.caninephenome.org and registration is free.

[agilebasenji]

@thunderbird8588:

I refused to believe Benji was dying because he wasn't, he was living !

That is the most beautiful thing I've read in a long time.

[thunderbird8588]

thegriffswife, sorry to hear about your Basenji,you must be devastated, i hope the vets get to the bottom of it, please keep us updated.
There is some great info on the forum about diets, alternative therapies to try ,so at least you can perhaps try them out and not feel so helpless.
I wish i'd been on the forum when Benji was ill.

[thegriffswife]

Ok well Layla has an appt at the Michigan State University Vet Hospital. Just the initial visit is $100 - I had my vet fax her blood work to them and to me. Her ALKP should be somewhere between 23 - 212, hers was over 2000 and her ALT should be between 10-100 and hers was 733 most everything else was in normal range or very close to normal.

I know they will want to do an u/s so that will be next after this initial visit. Wish Layla luck!!!

[hdolbow]

Just another update:

were doing another two weeks of antibiotics, then well do another round of blood work to see if it helped any. The vets also going to start introducing new meds in slowly and were
switching him to a prescription diet.

I just wanna thank all of you for your kind thoughts and words. It really means a lot. We're very hopeful he will bounce back a bit and stay with us for a long time.

[thunderbird8588]

Layla,
wishing you all the luck in the world at the vet hospital !