Oakley went in for his neuter this past Thursday, he is doing well and for the most part seems unchanged so far in his behavior, not that I expected immediate results! He is healing nicely despite the B500's and has not been a big licker like I would have guessed. A few questions though.., I have noticed a ton of shedding- I cant tell if it's a result of the stress of the procedure or just a yearly blowing of his coat? Are there ages or seasons basenjis typically blow their coat? Also, I have noticed, ( and this is TMI) but his anus has been very pink if not looking like blood when he has to poop. This has never been typical for him and I've checked his stools and there's no obvious signs of blood- could this just be an irritation of the surgery? Lastly, i haven't had a dog neutered in say ten years so I forgot oraybe they did it different but he still has his "sac"…. How long (if ever) does that take to shrink down because right now it looks as though he still has his "twins"?? Maybe odd questions but all things I'm puzzled about... Looking for insight!
The swelling can take several weeks to go down. The more active he is the longer it will take.
What is his poop like? He could be getting an impacted anal gland if his poop is not firm and bulky enough.
Shedding is most likely due to both, blowing coat and the surgery stress. Seems that they all decide when to blow coat, I have never really found a "normal" time.
It takes about 4 to 6 months for everything to shrink down, some dogs even longer. Usually it is like one day it is there and by magic, next time you look, gone…. 
Not sure what to say about the anus color, but if he is having no problem with stools, I would just keep an eye on it. Most likely it is nothing.
if your concerns about anal glands, you can add raw pumpkin to his food. Glad he is doing well otherwise.
His stools have always been a problem being firm but his low residue food seems to keep them firm… His poops are as normal as they get but I will say for the past three weeks he has been licking his anus constantly everyday and he seems to be expressing himself more and more! That is a distinct smell I could definitely live without! Do you think this could all be pointing to a gland problem such as impaction?
What you describe is typical "full glands" that could lead to an infected gland. Usually a Vet Tech can do this at a pretty small costs. And if you are not grossed out by it, they will usually show you how to do it.
We had Blaze neutered back in June and it took awhile for the swelling to go down where you could no longer see the sac. I don't remember exactly how long it was…maybe a month? At any rate, it's gone now and has been for some time.
I will call the vet and have his glands expressed… The last thing i want is to put him through anymore stress but I imagine that having them expressed will alleviate any discomfort more than doing nothing...
... So I called the vet and they seemed more concerned he can even reach his bum to lick because his inflatable collar shouldn't be allowing that. First of all, they sent Oakley home in a contraption of gauze rolls to keep the cone on that looked like a combination of a gentle leader and a harness... I could t leave him like that for seven to ten days, I wasn't even thrilled they did that to begin with! Hence why I got the inflatable collar and truthfully when I'm home I take it off, I always watch him and he shows no irritation and licks rarely and I stop him... I reminded the vet tech that my concern was for his glands and I wasn't calling about his surgery but I was so annoyed! I mean, do they really expect me to keep my 9mo. Old basenji "coned" for ten days- give me a break! Ok, end of rant!
LOL…. you are too funny and way to much like me... I have never kept a "cone" on my kids... if home, I just watch them (and use tea tree oil lightly around the surgery area) and I have made my own E-Collars in the past. Works quite well, but I will say, they could reach their butts or regardless of home made or store bought cones, but not a surgery site on the belly areas. That said, they can still rub their butts on the rug... if their glands were full.
Thankfully, he has never rubbed his butt on the floor but after he comes in from pooping you can tell he wants to… Just sits on the rug and looks at me as of to say " my bums itchy mom!" thankfully also because I just bought new rugs! It's bad enough they told me I shouldn't run with him in the afternoons bc long walks don't work and he's a looney bin making my life a living circus at home... From determination to get into the trash that's secured by a 48" lateral gate to tearing up my toilet paper to running around with his 20th bed with me yelling at him not to tear it up or he won't get another one ( yeah right) to exploring the house where you can tell by the look on his face that he's TRYING to find something to get into trouble for doing and already trying to fray and pull on the corners of my two day old rugs! I'm telling you, no one who has has never owned a basenji will ever understand the term " typical for the breed" but boy is he typical and boy does he ever give me a run for my money!
Honestly, if the surgery was last Thursday, I think that short runs would be fine. If the surgery site looks well starting to heal, I would opt for short runs then him finding his own amusement.
I think he would be less likely to cause himself a problem running in a straight line with you than he would tearing around the house in a B500! BTW, anal glands are usually not that hard to express…...just watch where you do it. (bathtubs are good) in case you miss collecting it in a tissue or whatever, because it does tend to stink if it shoots across the room (been there, done that!) :eek:
Eeeefarm- it's more like a zig zag swaying from side to side with Oakley, lol- he is not the best running partner but he's getting better!! 
How often do you estimate his glands need to be expressed? I imagine some dogs are worse than others but judging by the fact he has always had issues with not having firm stools and that he's only 9 mo. and I'm already having to express him, I'd guess he will just be "one of those dogs"… I just wonder if this is one of those, " once you do it, your going to have to keep doing it" kind of things?
P.S.... What age does the destruction stop? I'd love to know....lol
once suki starts scooting her butt on the floor, i know it's time to get her anal glands done. at the time i usually just take her to petsmart for a bath, that way they do the 'expressing,' nail cutting, etc. that just makes it much easier on me.
I generally notice my dog's behavior…..scooting is generally a sure sign. Some dogs seem to need help in this area, others do not. My previous boy used to visibly discharge the anals when he defecated, but I also had a problem with an impacted anal gland that abcessed with him, so you just never know....
At what age does the destruction stop? Good question! I haven't had a truly destructive Basenji, but all of mine have had their moments. Some things they just never outgrow (tissue ripping, for example, although my current boy doesn't do that at all)
Kipawa seems to express his anal glands on his own when he poops (his stools are firm). Perhaps firmer stools would help out?
Sharron mentioned pumpkin. It has helped us when Kipawa's poops have been soft/loose.
As far as destruction, make sure to have lots of good chewing toys and lots of exercise.
Our vet didn't even send us home with a cone when we had Blaze neutered. They did tell us about the inflatable collars, which we got. It didn't take any time at all for Blaze to figure out how to get it off! So, all during his recuperation, he never wore any kind of collar…fortunately, he never bothered his incisions! (I now use the inflatable collar as a pillow when sitting in the recliner watching TV! )
Spencer had one of his anal glands impacted when he was just under a year old, and ever since, I keep an eye out for swelling, scooting, licking or tail biting. It's usually obvious when he's having issues. Except… I took him to the vet last week because I thought he might have an eye infection. I always have his anals expressed while I'm there and was shocked when the vet tech said he had an infection in one of them. I had seen no signs at all! So now he's on antibiotics for ten days, then back we go for a re-check.
Glad to hear Oakley is doing well. He's a handsome boy!
