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Vitamin/mineral deficiancy?

Basenji Health Issues & Questions
  • Ever since the weather has (finally) gotten nice Gossy gets to spend more time outdoors both before I go to work and after I come home. I've noticed, however, that she now chews on anything plastic - the plastic on the sprinkler, the plastic guard on the lawn mower, plastic garden edging, plastic plant pots, etc. There are plenty of little creatures for her to chase while in the yard so it's not boredom. I'm wondering if she might be missing something in her diet?
    She gets the new grainfree Canidae (was getting Innova) kibbles with a chunk or two of raw steak every day and often a marrow bone when I go to work (not every day).

  • That's a possibility. Though I'm not sure what's in plastic that could be missing in the diet. Mine have eaten dirt/clay to get the minerals. Can you get Steve's Raw Dog Food? It's sold mostly at Whole Foods Market. http://www.stevesrealfood.com/.

    I'm picking up a new tri today from BRAT and I'm going to try it. The woman who runs BRAT said it help her B that had chronic diarrhea. You can mix it with kibble. I'm also going to use Organix dry dog food to mix it with.

  • I think plastic is just 'junk food' for them, my Nicky will chew plastic anytime she can!

  • @nobarkus:

    That's a possibility. Though I'm not sure what's in plastic that could be missing in the diet. Mine have eaten dirt/clay to get the minerals. Can you get Steve's Raw Dog Food? It's sold mostly at Whole Foods Market. http://www.stevesrealfood.com/.

    I'm picking up a new tri today from BRAT and I'm going to try it. The woman who runs BRAT said it help her B that had chronic diarrhea. You can mix it with kibble. I'm also going to use Organix dry dog food to mix it with.

    Let us know how it goes.. and we would love for you to join us next weekend in Livermore for the BCONC lure trial/puppy match/club meeting….

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    NemoN
    I usually give the fish oil as the whole capsules in their food. They must like them because they will usually pick them out and eat them first. I am giving a few different supplements to one dog, but that is mainly because he likely has IBD (supplements to help heal the intestines) but don't really give any to the other dog other than fish oil. I do give probiotics, but from a pet food/supplement perspective (like every other supplement) it is definitely buyer beware, as it is un-regulated. Not all strains of probiotics are equally shelf stable. L. acidophilus, for instance, is notoriously unstable and won't last long at high temperatures or in moisture unless it has been stabilized in some sort of carrier (Pearls, for example), or refrigerated. So, buy ones that have a measured number of organisms (or CFUs - colony forming units) or some sort of "viability date". If it's just a weight of organisms, that really doesn't tell you if they are viable or not, they could be dead. And probiotics are not effective unless a sufficient amount is given on a consistent basis. You may have to adjust the amount you are giving if you are not seeing whatever results you are expecting. Probiotics is an area with a lot of potential but unfortunately it is mired in a bunch of marketing hype and the science is still developing on how to effectively use them. It's hard to tell what is real and what's not, unfortunately.
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    Kris_ChristineK
    @wizard: Makes you wonder what the vet schools are teaching too! Indeed it does!
  • Allergy/inflammation

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    We are going to talk to the vet again Thursday, and I will discuss all various suggestions with him. When reading on EPI, IPSID and IBD, all include symptoms as weight loss and diarrea. She does not suffer from any of these 2 symptoms. Her only symptom is vomiting on an empty stomach, and the stomach empties in no time at all which makes her vomit without the cortison. I will still go through the various conditions with the vet and take necessary tests to see if any of the mentioned diseases might apply anyway. IBD should have been tested during the Gastroschopy, only that it is called something different in Swedish. I will ask the vet. But more and more, I believe the problems were caused by myself giving her too big a variety of proteins, and too much food, when she was little. I am hoping to be able to go around this through finding the right food for Della, and cure her with a good nutritional balance rather than with medicine. Fingers crossed for Thursday/Sofie
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    N
    At the beginning there were a couple of little spots, this was about three weeks ago, I thought that they could have been the result of playing at the dog park so I just put a little bit of aloe vera on them, but then they started to show on different spots and not only on the black but on the white coat as well. I do not see him scratching himself on those spots but what I notice is that is getting dandruff, it is like his coat is going through something and all that comes to my mind is the food, I do not know.
  • What exactly is PK Deficiency?

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    tanzaT
    @noodle: I have had my dogs tested for PPM and Fanconi. What is HA? I have heard of it, but don't know what it is. Are there any other tests that you would recommend I do? Hips and Thryoid should be done IMO… there is Hips problems in our breed, while low right now but that could be because owners do not have to permit the results if dogs are dyplastic to be on the open data base. Hemolytic Anemia Description Pyruvate kinase-deficient hemolytic anemia was first diagnosed in Basenjis in the 1960s, although prior to that date Basenjis had died of a then-unknown form of anemia. Research began in the 1960s, with a carrier test available in 1972. Testing and inheritance The gene is a simple recessive. Affected dogs may faint, typically have very white gums and mucous membranes, are likely to have low energy levels, and have light, "golden" colored stools. Affecteds typically die by age 2, with age 4 being the outside limit of survival. Most Basenjis are now descended from tested clear stock. A few carriers still exist in the gene pool, so it is a good idea to use only dogs descended from tested clear stock or dogs that have themselves been tested. A DNA test, available by cheek swab, is available from VetGen and the University of Pennsylvania. A blood-based test is available from Dr. Johnson at the University of Missouri. OFA has an open registry for hemolytic anemia DNA status. DNA testing gives an actual reading of the dog's status as a clear, carrier, or affected, so the testing does not have to be repeated.
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    luzmery928L
    I can't use the fish oil for my B since he is allergic to fish but I started using olive oil in his food (no nutitional value really) any other suggestions?