Basenjis are popular..

[renaultf1]

This is really interesting…and interesting article...
None of my 3 seem to have this, nor have I ever seen it on mine or any basenjis - except those that are crated a ton...and well, we KNOW that isn't the case with Tillo :D:D:D.

I wonder if it has to do with coat type...some coats being thicker than others...although that said, I'd guess Brando would be a prime candidate since he has a razor short coat but he's never had it. My 2 girls have really thick coats. In fact, my pup Aaliyah has quite a bit of hair on the inside edges of her ears...kind of funny.

[Buana]

So what our B's have, is not similair to the thing on the internet!
Or what they say at the university.

Our B's get it every year in spring when they loose their hair, the ears are always less hairy and whitin a month, they get all new hair over their ears!

At the story you searched on the internet and what the prof says, says it will keep bald, that's not true with most of the B's..
Most of the B's get that hair back when their fur is changed into summer coat.

[Janneke]

@Buana:

So what our B's have, is not similair to the thing on the internet!
Or what they say at the university.

Our B's get it every year in spring when they loose their hair, the ears are always less hairy and whitin a month, they get all new hair over their ears!

At the story you searched on the internet and what the prof says, says it will keep bald, that's not true with most of the B's..
Most of the B's get that hair back when their fur is changed into summer coat.

The prof. didn't say they stay bald.. And of course it isn't the same for all dogs.. that would make it 'easy' for the vets.. And it's never easy ;)

[Janneke]

@renaultf1:

This is really interesting…and interesting article...
None of my 3 seem to have this, nor have I ever seen it on mine or any basenjis - except those that are crated a ton...and well, we KNOW that isn't the case with Tillo :D:D:D.

I wonder if it has to do with coat type...some coats being thicker than others...although that said, I'd guess Brando would be a prime candidate since he has a razor short coat but he's never had it. My 2 girls have really thick coats. In fact, my pup Aaliyah has quite a bit of hair on the inside edges of her ears...kind of funny.

No.. Tillo and being crated is a 'no no' ;)
The ears on the pics aren't Tillo's, I'm glad it isn't that bad! You can see them here (this was in August I think): http://mirtillo.weebly.com./uploads/2/2/1/0/2210777/1493158_orig.jpg They looked like this when he was a pup: http://mirtillo.weebly.com./uploads/2/2/1/0/2210777/7613517_orig.jpg The back of his ears are fully haired.

And yes, I do find it very interesting!

[Nemo]

I've seen that on two of Nemo's relatives but not nearly to that extreme. It seems to come back though. Nemo will loose some hair along the rim of his ears on occasion but I can't really find a pattern to why. It doesn't appear seasonal and it grows back.

[tanza]

Sometimes it is just something as easy as "fly strikes"…. doesn't take much for flies to "strick" on ear tips...

[MacPack]

When we got Nicky her earl were bald and leather-like. I think she had been an "outdoor dog" and it was probably flies. Good nutrition and being indoors allowed her fur to grow back and she has had "velvet ears" since then.

[ibi_n_sane]

some basenjis have it because of thyroid problems. And some basenjis have it because of shedding. It is normal for a dog to have shorter and less close and less thick fur in summer, when basenjis are kept outside a lot when it is cold it seems to appear too, in this case the fur doesnt come back. It is also seen more in red/white basenjis then in the other colours, and when you take a close look at all basenjis you can see that some have thicker fur on their ears ( and body ) then others anyway.
In a lot of shorthaired breeds, especially the ones with a single coat like basenjis, you see a lot of specimins that have very thin fur on the back of their ears, legs, chest and in their armpits, nothing to worry about just the way it is, and the ears of the basenji of the pictures you show look like their is really something wrong, but it is not right to think that a basenji with a bit thin fur on his ears also has a condition/ disease that causes this.

[Janneke]

@tanza:

Sometimes it is just something as easy as "fly strikes"…. doesn't take much for flies to "strick" on ear tips...

I was wondering, wouldn't be very itchy if it is caused by flies?

[Janneke]

@ibi_n_sane:

the ears of the basenji of the pictures you show look like their is really something wrong, but it is not right to think that a basenji with a bit thin fur on his ears also has a condition/ disease that causes this.

Of course, this dog is diagnosed with pattern baldness. And no, you can't say that every basenji/dog with less fur on the ears has this condition. Like Tanza said: it could be flies, or maybe cold, malnutrition..

I do think that Tillo's bald blackish ear rims are more than just 'loosing hair because it's winter/spring/summer..' And I would love to know what's causing it. That's why I wanted to ask it at the University and that's why I was suprised to see the B-ears on the screen and to hear about this 'pattern baldness' :)