Youngest Basenji is too skinny

[Vicki]

My Basenji is too thin and doesn't eat enough.

The last Basenji I adopted is way too thin and seems like she is hungry all the time. I've started to hand feed her to get her to eat more. She has always been very thin but not a picky eater. I'm having her thyroid function checked and more blood work. The girl is a puppy mill dog from a pet store.
In addition, she seems mad all the time and pushy with the other dogs. She has no problem telling off my 100# Shep/Huskey. I can't believe how she gets in the big dog's face, ears back, snarling, and acting crazy. The old Shep just ignores her.

The poor girl spent the first 10 months of her life outside living in a shed and wasn't allowed inside. Since she has been here, she has become very selfish and jealous of the other dogs; especially when I have company. She wants all the attention!

I equate her hunger with her bad moods…that's how it seems to work with me, too. :p When I'm hungry, I'm a grouch.

[lvoss]

I think it was discussed in another thread but a possibility is EPI. What are her stools like? Light in color? Lots of volume?

[nobarkus]

Sounds just like the red/wht, Ringo I adopted in 1994. He was 2, very thin, hungry and was very angry, defensive and growly. He had digestive problem and had to have Pancrezyme powder in his food otherwise he would loose weight and get the runs. It took some time to get his weight back up but it did, his coat looked great and he calmed down. He would get a bit jealous for attention when I had company over and he would pester me when I was trying to talk. He would still get in any large dog's face and challenge them. He was a very good dog otherwise. Be patient and get her physically fixed. When she feels better physically she will calm down.

[Basenjimamma]

Let us know, I would be curious too as to what th vet says. It is sad when they don't eat and you know they need to. My foster Bana is real picky and did not eat very mmush the first few days, until my daughter started adding a squirt of hot water on top the food and swished it about…instant gravy..now she eats better and actually seems to love it. She is a very slow eater on top of it, she litterally will take one kibble morsel ata time and chew and swallow...so the other dogs take her food..and she just lets them, by walking away if they motion towards her bowl. I have ended up seperating her from the rest of the brood and now she is doing even better. She is finally ready to be adopted. She is on the Brats website...yeah. Finally because she deserves a great, no awesome forever home, not because I am trying to get rid of her..

[Vicki]

Bailey's stools are normal. No loose stools.
Sometimes, especially when it's raining outside, she'll pooh in the bathroom near the toilet. I've caught her eating her stools so I don't see her mistake. It really bothers me that she is that nervous, because I don't often scold or punish my dogs. She doesn't eat stools outside.

EPI. I'll look for the thread and discuss it with my vet.

Bailey is the sweetest little girl but she definately has some personality issues that I believe are a result of living alone outside without much company or attention during her formative puppy years. I'm trying to find out what kind of food she ate and if she was ever fed puppy food.

[lvoss]

Copraphagia is another symptom of EPI. Also light stool color, usually yellow which means it is passing through the system quickly. And a large volume of stool, basically everything going in is coming out without much being absorbed.

[Basenjimamma]

Poor little girl. I feel for her. Does her stool look greasy, like a brown pat of crisco?

[lvoss]

Here is the thread, http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?t=6287

[Vicki]

http://www.epi-research-fund.com/index.htm

Thank you for the information. I also found the above site that is informative.
I'm copying all the information to take to my vet. She is a holistic vet, but also practices traditional care. There is one other Basenji in the area that she treats so she is more familiar with the breed than most vets around here.

Few know what a Basenji is in North Georgia Mountains. People are very surprised to learn that Basenjis are "hounds" and hunters.

What would I do without y'all?

[ljsabo]

I am the one that has the puppy with the EPI diagnosis. With EPI that dog is usually literally starving to death because their pancrease does not work properly to absorb the nutrients. What your dog is going through sounds a bit different as usually the dog is starving and will each just about anything they can get their mouths on. As I am sure you read more from the link provided above you never know as it can takes on different signs for each dog.

Keep us updated and I am curious to find out what is going on with her. I am also here to listen as I know this can be hard when trying to find out what is wrong with your dog. I went through it with my little one and it was a long few weeks until we got the diagose not to mention we are still working on treating her and getting her back to playful self.

[lvoss]

In your original post you said she is always hungry but does not eat enough but is also not a picky eater. Is the statement she does not eat enough just referring to the fact that the amount of food she eats is not enough to keep weight on her? Other people seem to have read it to mean that she is not eating very much whereas I read it that no matter how much she is eating she is not gaining.

[ljsabo]

Thanks for clarification lvoss! I must have read her posting wrong. If she is starving all the time, eating everything and continuing to lose the weight then this does seem to be a concern especially when you mentioned eating of the stool as that is what my little girl does. My little one also then developed the agressive behavior as well which is so hard because she was such a sweet submissive little girl until all this started happening to her.

Definitely have your vet do a blood test!

[Vicki]

@Basenjimamma:

Poor little girl. I feel for her. Does her stool look greasy, like a brown pat of crisco?

Not at all.

"Is the statement she does not eat enough just referring to the fact that the amount of food she eats is not enough to keep weight on her?"

Bailey does not eat enough to keep her weight on. I have to coax her to eat more and can do that by hand feeding or adding a little grated cheese to her food. She wants people food, not dog food. I don't know what her eating habits were at her previous home. (IMO, someone who puts a young Basenji puppy outside to live is likely clueless about good nutrition.)

As soon as I find out what is wrong with Bailey, I'll post the information.

Last blood work showed high white cell count and she was given antibiotics for several weeks. I don't think antibiotics are a cure-all and sometimes they mask the real problem.

[lvoss]

I have had really good results with homecooked food for my dogs and was pleasantly surprised to find changing to homecooked for their dinner instead of canned is cheaper.

I am currently using Happy Dog but have also used Honest Kitchen. I also have friends that use Sojourner Farms. All have formulas where you just add water and meat. I also mix in probiotics like Fresh Digest or Prozyme.

[Basenjimamma]

I can attest to Honest Kitchen, or should I saw my dogs can. They love it and are thriving on it. I do, however add raw meats to it, instead of cooked, but cooked is definitely better then some dogfoods out there of not all, right?

If she wants to eat people foods, have you tried "Satin Balls"? It is like a doggie meatball mixture that you make and either serve raw or cook up, it is "made" to get a dog to gain weight, and she will get people food… Either search on the forum or google, there are lots of recipes out there.
Have you tried serving her on one of your not so favorite people plates/bowls..pretending you are eating it and then offering her some. Might sound silly I know but hey it might work.

[tanza]

@Basenjimamma:

I can attest to Honest Kitchen, or should I saw my dogs can. They love it and are thriving on it. I do, however add raw meats to it, instead of cooked, but cooked is definitely better then some dogfoods out there of not all, right?

If she wants to eat people foods, have you tried "Satin Balls"? It is like a doggie meatball mixture that you make and either serve raw or cook up, it is "made" to get a dog to gain weight, and she will get people food… Either search on the forum or google, there are lots of recipes out there.
Have you tried serving her on one of your not so favorite people plates/bowls..pretending you are eating it and then offering her some. Might sound silly I know but hey it might work.

Satin balls, IMO, are not a good choice to put on long term weight. They were most developed by show people to put quick weight on a show dog for the ring… or a dog that didn't travel well.... Satin Balls are supposed to be made with the highest fat content of ground beef... works for the short term... not that great for the long term.

[Basenjimamma]

That is true, I do know about that, but if it is a matter of her getting interested in food, by all means true different things and see what works. You should not give any dog Satin Balls daily for their meals for the rest of their lives, only to get some weight on and also to tease that appetite enough so she sees how good it feels to have a full tummy.

[tanza]

@Basenjimamma:

That is true, I do know about that, but if it is a matter of her getting interested in food, by all means true different things and see what works. You should not give any dog Satin Balls daily for their meals for the rest of their lives, only to get some weight on and also to tease that appetite enough so she sees how good it feels to have a full tummy.

The only reason that I would disagree is that Satin Balls are the highest fat content of gound beef… with will without a doubt cause the runs... If you are going to do something like this, use a low fat ground beef or chicken/turkey instead. I have seen many that use Satin Balls with then gastric problems have a worse eating problem... better to go slow and use the highest quality food you can afford... regardless if "human" or product of a good company for dog food....

IMO.. if you baby them with food, hand feeding... buying all kinds of different food.. to try and get them to eat... you will always have a problem....
I never gave in to OJ... he had his food to eat... he either ate with the others (all fed in crates) with no more then 20 min tops to eat... he ate or didn't... if he didn't he waited till the next meal... he was not sick.. very happy and healthly... he just didn't have good eating habits... then it was like the light bulb went on... and after that... he was an eating machine... but it took till he was between 3 and 4 yrs old....
On a young dog... you just need to go slow... let them build up to good eating habits and this might take up to 2 or 3 yrs.... My OJ never had good eating habits and always looked way under weight until he was 3/4 yrs old... then it all at once kicked in that food was good.... It takes a long time with dogs with poor eating habits... or not much interest in food... the thing to remember is that they will not (provided they are not sick) starve themselves...

[Basenjimamma]

Actually Bana, our foster, has learned the "hard" way that we eat when we do and once the bowl is picked up no more until dinner time. She came from having a bowl down at all times so she grazed through the day…I am not about to have that. So here she eats in the am and in the pm. For the first week or so she would take litterally 1-3 kibbles and then walk away and not touch the food anymore...Ok be hungry, is what I thought..Now, 3 weeks later she has figured it out...they all just finished breakfast and she ate all of hers, which might be a first..I could've bought different brands food or handfed her, but NO, that would only, IMO breed more problems for me and not necessarily solve her problem with eating.

Vicki, does she eat around the other dogs?

[Vicki]

There is nothing wrong with Bailey per the vet (except that she is a Basenji :rolleyes:).
I decided to stop trying to coax her to eat and no more hand feeding. If she goes without, too bad.

Guess what? She is eating fine. Grrrr.