• @Buddys:

    well, why would they feed one meal raw and the next kibble? If you would kindly look at Dr Becker's site that I have embedded in the previous response, maybe it will answer why I see the logic and the physiology of keeping to one kind of food…..just me, but it makes sense.

    Maybe because Dr Becker is a quack? I could give you a dozen but ….

    http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2012/04/more-misleading-and-unethical-advertising-for-alternative-veterinary-medicine/


  • Debra,
    I get my enzymes at the Vitamin Shoppe and they are there house brands.
    Before I started adding these to Diva's food she would throw up. Now, she eats better and no
    vomit. They have helped her put on weight and keep it on with less food.
    She eats about 1/2 cup of grain-free kibble in the morning and 4 or 5 nuggets of the Primal Beef at night.
    She weighs 20 lbs now and has kept her weight as before she only weighed 18/19 lbs.


  • Thank you Rocky. Btw, in researching vitamins and supplements that pass analysis on whether they have what they say, I found Vitamin Shoppe OFTEN not only passed but top cost efficient. I'll look into them now. Any particular one you use?


  • Hi all, not sure if you'll all see this since it's an old thread, but I figured I'd keep the story together. It's been about two months since this original post, and we're basically in the same spot. We went along and fed Loki the Iams Vet stuff for about 4 weeks, and it actually did help. His stools went back to normal, so we were prepared to suck it up and just keep him on that food.

    That is, until he stopped eating it. It got to the point where he would go a full day without eating (so stubborn). The only way he'd eat is if we mixed it with a tiny bit of peanut butter. Knowing that wasn't a permanent solution, we went out about two weeks ago and picked up a bag of Nature's Variety "Prairie" chicken and brown rice flavor. It's high in fiber, so we had been told by other pet owners to give it a shot. Two days ago, Loki stopped eating this new food again. So, again we're mixing peanut butter into it to at least get something in his system.

    He is still struggling with bowl movements. On any given walk, he'll have one bout of diarrhea, followed by squatting and pushing so hard, I can see how red and enflamed his rectum is. I feel so bad. We're at the beginning of week 2 with this. Tomorrow, I call the vet. Again. This is getting so frustrating, and I feel so bad for my pup! 😞


  • I would be looking at getting a second opinion at this point. Have you ever tried a dehydrated food? Or for that matter a canned food? IMO, the processed dry foods are the most unnatural thing you can feed.


  • I'm calling around today to see if there's another local vet who could listen to the history and give me another opinion. I've seen dehydrated food before - is there a specific brand that everyone prefers?

  • First Basenji's

    If there is straining, how positively sure are you that he may not have a 'partial' obstruction in the bowel somewhere? When I first got Uzie, he had indiscriminately swallowed a tail to one of those unstuffed toys….he was able to eat food, but finally the truth came out (quite literally) and the biggest hairball I ever saw!!!! surrounded by food was the tail!!!! Gross, but was I so relieved. can't believe what a dogs' digestive tract can accomplish.....btw: not going to comment on mixing raw and kibble. everyone can do what they want.................


  • I am 90% sure there is no obstruction, as his first poop of the morning is usually mostly formed. But I managed to get a 3pm today with a new vet, so I'll be sure to bring that up, too.


  • Be sure to talk to the Vet about EPI or IPSID (read about it at https://www.basenji.org/joomla/index…166&Itemid=292). Also Giardia, testing for it doesn't always pick it up. I had a male that after more than a year of picky eating/loose/diarrhea bowels, we finally treated him for Giardia (that never showed up with testing. Finally after a course of antiboitics and two wormings with Pancur… he had normal eating habits and bowel movements.

    I don't remember, but did you discuss with the breeders?


  • @tanza:

    Be sure to talk to the Vet about EPI or IPSID (read about it at https://www.basenji.org/joomla/index…166&Itemid=292). Also Giardia, testing for it doesn't always pick it up. I had a male that after more than a year of picky eating/loose/diarrhea bowels, we finally treated him for Giardia (that never showed up with testing. Finally after a course of antiboitics and two wormings with Pancur… he had normal eating habits and bowel movements.

    I don't remember, but did you discuss with the breeders?

    I just got back from the new vet. She said that she doesn't suspect the conditions you listed above due to the lack of symptoms, but actually suspects that Loki may have a chicken allergy. I didn't realize it until I put all of it on paper, but every food we've fed Loki the last year and a half has been "Chicken and xyz" flavor. So, she put him on Natural Balance grain free venison and sweet potato flavor, along with one capsule of Metamucil a day. She wants him on this for 6 months to see if this breaks the cycle. She also said to keep track of when he gets diarrhea again, and how long it lasts, and to call her when it happens. If he's still getting sick, then she wants to run blood panels to check for IBD or anything more serious, as well as putting him on an elimination diet. She did stool tests and a thorough physical exam, and said everything looked healthy. So, I guess here we go again!

    And yep, I asked the breeder and she said that none of the other owners have reported this in their pups. She's also the one who feeds Purina Pro Plan.


  • Would you mind sharing your Basenjis pedigree? And keep in mind that not all the symptoms may be present…. There is a bitch that I co-bred that did have a chicken allergy along with that IBD.... removing the chicken totally from the diet did help.... Did you every try worming with Pancur? Can't hurt...


  • Not sure if this is the correct info, but the father is "Tommy," AKC GCH Khani's Katoomba, and the mother is "Jazz," AKC GCH/UKC GCH/mBRIS Marjani Notaviva. Loki's AKC registered name is Marjani Think Different, if that helps. He is from Marjani Basenji in Purcellville, Virginia, USA. If you need different info, I can try to find his AKC papers.


  • It could be chicken, but the eating then stop also can be "picky eater" issues. Try holding out and not adding things to it. Even giving an appetite stimulant is better than constantly changing foods or giving stuff in it to get to eat.

    Your vet should have checked for the issues even if "she didn't suspect them"… my bet being if she has even seen ONE case I'd be surprised. If this doesn't fix it, insist.


  • @DebraDownSouth:

    It could be chicken, but the eating then stop also can be "picky eater" issues. Try holding out and not adding things to it. Even giving an appetite stimulant is better than constantly changing foods or giving stuff in it to get to eat.

    Your vet should have checked for the issues even if "she didn't suspect them"… my bet being if she has even seen ONE case I'd be surprised. If this doesn't fix it, insist.

    Would those tests be done via fecal test? She did run a few tests on the samples I brought with me. She mentioned that as soon as he has the same issue on this new food, she will run a large blood panel, focusing on gastrointestinal issues and other possible problems.


  • No, not fecal test. Please see the links on https://www.basenji.org/joomla/index…166&Itemid=292


  • @tanza:

    No, not fecal test. Please see the links on https://www.basenji.org/joomla/index…166&Itemid=292

    Link is broken! 🙂


  • The breeder of the sire (Katoomba) is Kathy Britton (Khani's Basenjis in Portland, OR). She is sometimes on this list. You might want to reach out to her and see if she knows of any issues with any the the Basenjis in the pedigree, both the sire side or the dam side. Let her know that you did ask the breeder, but thought can't hurt to reach out. You can find her information at her website www.khanisbasenjis.com


  • https://www.basenji.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=166&Itemid=292#ImmunoProliferative

    Try this. If not go to www.basenji.org, About Basenjis, Health Issues, and then Immuno Proliferative Small Interstinal Diesese (IPSID) and Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI)


  • that one works Pat.. but in case they break it up to not work you can copy this, then remove the spaces

    https://www.basenji.org/joomla/index.php?
    option=com_content&view=category&layout=
    blog&id=166&Itemid=292#ImmunoProliferative

    OR just use the tiny url: http://tinyurl.com/py29ngl

  • First Basenji's

    @DebraDownSouth:

    Mercola site should never be trusted ever. Full hooey. Do a google search for Mercola and lawsuits/hoax/etc.

    In fact research has proven the "don't mix" (btw they had same nonsense for people meals) to be utterly without scientific basis. This is an excellent debunking, with more info (and pictures/xrays) than I needed. 🙂

    http://therawfeedingcommunity.com/2015/01/08/digest-this-kibble-may-actually-digest-faster-than-raw/

    the vet is dr Karen Becker and though I don't care about mercola, Dr Becker's forum has good info, mercola sponsored or not…..

    oh, and our intestinal tract is soooo different than a dogs. only some humans gulp the food after tearing it off and swallow whole (where there is gi upset later), where most masticate with the molars in the back to accommodate both meat and roughage from veggies etc....there is scientific basis and won't go to listing all the info, really............

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