Hello! New to the forum… Love the feedback from everyone.. Was hoping someone could help with a problem I've noticed in my 2 year old male. He seems to be dropping weight FAST. We have not changed his diet, we have him on Nutro. We added some Nutro wet to his dry and he seemed to gain some. His ribs show and his little butt bones are sticking out too. He doesn't act like anything is wrong, still as hyper as ever and eats well, drinks lots, regular potty and all is good there, no worms... I'm getting worried about him, but not sure if this is normal? Does a 2 year old have another grow spurt? He dropped weight before but he was under a year old... Before putting him through a vet visit ( HE HATES THE CAR RIDES) I was wondering if anyone had any ideas... Thanks much!
I think you should make a vet visit..
If he is dropping weight as fast as you say and already has his hip bones showing, I doubt diet is the issue. Whether he likes the car or not, he needs to see the doctor. At two years, he should have almost all of his height.
You better get a full blood work up ASAP to check his thyroid. Has he been checked for Fanconi?
Hi,
welcome to the forum, look foward to hearing more about your Basenji, have you any pics.
I agree with what everyone else has said about seeing a vet, hope you get some answers
I just made an appointment with his dr. for the morning. I will let them know what you suggested. We have had fairly regular visits with the vet and all has been fine. As for the Fanconi test itself. Yes I believe he has because he had an alergic reaction to his food prior to putting him on Nutro. We didn't know what was wrong and he ended up at the vet ER and then to his regular vet for several follow ups. it's not his favorite place to go and now doesn't like to get in the vehicle. Even freaks out when driving to the dog park… I will have him re-tested though. Thanks everyone for the quick feedback. !!
LOL Shelley! Any pics???? Why of course!!! I'm sure like everyone else - TONS! LOL.
I will get an album together and post it soon. I just came across this forum while looking up the sick event that happened VERY local to me. That idiot in Wimauma FL and all the " wild" Basenji's. I hadn't heard about it on the news, and someone at work told me so I was looking it up on the net and came across some posts from ya'll.. I just had to sign up. My husband and have been reading so many comments and I thought the helpful feedback from everyone was so incredible!
Great site!! Thanks for the welcome Shelley!
Look foward to seeing your pics. This is an incredible forum, i feel like i've made friends on here, it's great for socialising and exchanging info. I find it quite addictive,lol.
We are dogless at the moment, having lost both of ours this year. We had a Basenji and a giant crossbreed. We will be getting a female Basenji Pup very soon 
Hope everything goes well at the vets
@Lexi&DC'smom:
As for the Fanconi test itself. Yes I believe he has because he had an alergic reaction to his food prior to putting him on Nutro. We didn't know what was wrong and he ended up at the vet ER and then to his regular vet for several follow ups. it's not his favorite place to go and now doesn't like to get in the vehicle. Even freaks out when driving to the dog park… I will have him re-tested though. Thanks everyone for the quick feedback. !!
Did you get him from a breeder? Fanconi testing is done by DNA test with OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) not by a vet. You get a DNA kit from them for $65 and a swab sample is taken from the dogs mouth and sent to them by mail.
I don't remember getting a kit… but I did ask him to do the test for us because of the issues he was having and I had read about the disease and the breed and was concerned. I will definately make sure the test is done if it hasn't already. Yes, we got him from a breeder in north florida. Per the internet, there are only two breeders in FL. I find that hard to believe, but we didn't know much about where to get them at the time.
@Lexi&DC'smom:
I don't remember getting a kit… but I did ask him to do the test for us because of the issues he was having and I had read about the disease and the breed and was concerned. I will definately make sure the test is done if it hasn't already. Yes, we got him from a breeder in north florida. Per the internet, there are only two breeders in FL. I find that hard to believe, but we didn't know much about where to get them at the time.
Call the breeder. The breeder should have had it done and know what the status is of the parents are.
LOL…. If you only knew where this breeder was.. Deliverance comes to mind. I will contact them tomorrow and see if they ever did any testing and keep your fingers crossed we get solid results. Is this a test that has to be done on all parents prior to being able to breed the dogs?
@Lexi&DC'smom:
LOL…. If you only knew where this breeder was.. Deliverance comes to mind. I will contact them tomorrow and see if they ever did any testing and keep your fingers crossed we get solid results. Is this a test that has to be done on all parents prior to being able to breed the dogs?
A reputable breeder would know the Fanconi status of the parents before breeding. What's called a "backyard breeder" may not. If I may ask what's the name of the breeder?
Thanks Dan for your info… i'm curious now to see what that breeder has for results. they had many different types of dogs that they were breeding, but i was able to meet DC's mother and father while we were there. I just hope it's nothing major. He's such a lover and if he's sick, it will just break my heart...
Even though you may have been feeding the same food for quite some time that doesn't mean the food itself hasn't changed. Companies reformulate and do not always announce that they have made changes. Also depending on the Nutro formula you are feeding, it may be pretty low in fat and protein especially if you dog is very active.
Another question, what is his stool like? Is it firm or does he tend to have soft stools?
@Lexi&DC'smom:
LOL…. If you only knew where this breeder was.. Deliverance comes to mind. I will contact them tomorrow and see if they ever did any testing and keep your fingers crossed we get solid results. Is this a test that has to be done on all parents prior to being able to breed the dogs?
DNA testing for Fanconi began in July of 2007 (and it is not something that your Vet can do, other then checking his urine for sugar). DNA testing should be done before any breeding takes place. If you are taking him to the Vet tomorrow, you can have him check the urine for sugar and at least you will know if "right" now he did or didn't have Fanconi. The DNA test will tell you if you need to be concern in the future if he tested Affected and then you would need to strip test him monthly. To read about the DNA test, go to www.basenjihealth.org and www.offa.org.
Also if you have his papers and know his sire and dam's registration name or registered name you can seach the OFA site (www.offa.org) and see if they were tested because any Basenji that has the DNA linkage test is on the public web site with the results.
Even though you may have been feeding the same food for quite some time that doesn't mean the food itself hasn't changed. Companies reformulate and do not always announce that they have made changes.
+1…I have had to change foods twice because of formulation changes that didn't work with my dogs. For me it happened with Timberwolf (they added chicken fat and my boy would no longer eat it) & Wellness Core (neither of my adults could hold their weight and my girl started getting sick everyday).
Interesting!! When we first had DC, we had him on Iams. When we came home to diarrhea up the walls and all over him in his kennel we rushed him to the ER. Multiple test and IV's later, we fed him chicken and rice and had him on 5 different things the vet gave us. i finally got tired of cooking so much for him, we searched food brands and went to Nutro. Immediately he was fine. We started him on the puppy food - small bites, i think its lamb/rice/oatmeal… or chicken/rice/oatmeal... as he was under a year old at the time. he had been fine, and so we got the adult formula after he was a year old, then decided to get a female. She was 16 weeks when we brought her home and we couldn't separate them for feeding so we put DC back on puppy food with adult treats. he gained some and was very active, but lately he started dropping the weight fast and very noticeable. we have been mixing the puppy and adult food to get lexi ready for adult food and then started with the wet nutro to fatten DC up. Lexi was always stockier than DC, but he shouldn't have his hips and ribs showing... As far as his poops, they vary. After waiting all day, they tend to be more soft, but the evening and mornings are normal and same as Lexi's.
Why can't you separate them? I always feed mine in crates, that way the get their own food and I know how much they are eating.
You might want to try something like Natural Balance Duck and Potato (after a Vet Check up)
I don't really care for Nutro since the first ingredients are Chicken Meal (not real meat), ground rice and Rice Flour and Rice Bran… You don't get to "meat" till the 6th ingredient. If you look at the Natural Balance duck and potatoes, it is potatoes, Duck and Potato protein
Do you have a current photo of DC you can post?
