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Skin Issues?????

Basenji Health Issues & Questions
  • Great article for allergies and pet food as well as another one on pet food. Love that they mention the importance of rotating your protein sources

    http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/05/07/protein-diets-for-pets-allergy.aspx

    http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/05/10/my-top-3-pet-food-picks-from-an-upscale-boutique-shop.aspx

    There are some different plants and herbs that can help with allergies - nettle for instance (I use it in capsul form but you can also do tea) is helpful wth allergies

  • After reading this post, and thinking about what you have experienced, we wonder if your dog possibly got into some poison Ivy or poison oak. While we have no experience ourselves, we have read that some dogs are susceptible to poison ivy. Maybe someone more experienced can add this post and tell us how susceptible Basenji's might be to this. It would also be good to know what symptoms show up and how to best treat them.

  • I don't know about all Basenjis, but mine have shown no sensitivity to poison ivy. Unfortunately, I do! Walking my guy down forest trails where there is a considerable amount of it, I ended up with rashes on a number of occasions…...and yes, I do know what it looks like and try to avoid it.......but my dog was unaffected. He does seem to have a seasonal problem with ragweed, however. (guessing a bit here, he hasn't been tested, but there appears to be a correlation that indicates a contact allergy, not airborne......he is affected when he runs through it in the fields, not if we stay away from it by walking on the road)

  • Just a quick update on Zola's skin condition. So she certainly has seasonal allergies. Poor girl. But….. after using her antibiotics, her skin looks BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! So the vet put her on Temaril-P which she has taken now for about 3 weeks. Temaril-P is known as "Benadryl on steroids" so now we are giving her the Temaril-P only 2 times a week, and we put the liquid from a benadryl gel cap in her food every night. She looks gorgeous!!!!! This combo should get her through allergy season. I am just so glad we figured this out.... and found a competent vet in the process!

  • Pertaining to your comment about a life long sufferer of allergies….may not be true. Canine pups go through a lot of hormonal changes before they are adults...(varies with breed, physically about 2 years +_) So, she may just outgrow them, hopefully!!!

  • @Mimi:

    Great article for allergies and pet food as well as another one on pet food. Love that they mention the importance of rotating your protein sources

    http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/05/07/protein-diets-for-pets-allergy.aspx

    http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/05/10/my-top-3-pet-food-picks-from-an-upscale-boutique-shop.aspx

    There are some different plants and herbs that can help with allergies - nettle for instance (I use it in capsul form but you can also do tea) is helpful wth allergies

    Thanks Mimi, good reading…I will pass it on to my clients for their information....

  • You might want to try a soap-free shampoo. Virbac makes Allergroom and Epi-Soothe which is an oatmeal shampoo. I am sure there are other brands that offer this.

    Jennifer

  • Shampoo and conditioners are great for aiding with symptoms, but they dont fix the problem and they only offer help for the short term, the number of times I've had clients come in with vet shampoos and have me do their dogs every week with the stupid things….. only help about half the time. You have to get the the cause or you wont get anywhere.
    12 years grooming and I still havent found a shampoo or conditioner that really makes that much of a difference unless you are dealing with a yeast problem where once the yeast is killed off things start to improve. Regular allergies, dry skin and itching cant be cleared up with a shampoo or conditioner.

  • I am going to get into this by only saying that if you give your baby benedryl then you can give as much as 1 mg per pound of body weight. It's a simple formula. 1 mg = 1 lb of body weight. I use it every day for my dogs due to allergies mine have to the bugs. My golden retriever takes 3 every day and can even be given twice a day if need be. This is the information I got from my vet whom I trust very much.
    Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

  • I was only recommending a shampoo to use in the future, not one that would clear up any skin problems. If the dog has allergies, she needs to be careful about what kind of general shampoo to use.

    Jennifer

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    Periodontal disease is a tough one to get on top of once it takes hold (in both humans and dogs) because the bacteria gets down in the pockets and it is very difficult to keep clean. People have better luck because they have the ability to floss daily, but that is very difficult with a dog – and believe me, I've tried. :D Periodontal disease is not the same as an auto-immune disease that dogs can get (lest I be accused of getting them confused). I believe the reason our furry companions, and especially the dry-mouth (non-slobbering types) often get it is because of a couple things in addition to not being able to floss. 1. They don't slobber so their mouths really don't get a good natural rinse, and 2. they are fed an unnatural diet. In the wild they would be crunching up bones which acts like a natural toothbrush/floss, and they wouldn't be eating cereal grains which are carbs on steroids turning to sugar once it hits the saliva. There are kibbles out there that do not contain grains which may help by keeping the sugars at bay in the mouth. Evo is one, Instinct is another. Feeding raw is a great alternative. I am also a big fan of the PetzLife product and think it works wonders to keep plaque at bay on the teeth, but not sure how well it works with the plague and bacteria already under the gumline. My rat terrier does not have periodontal disease. I feed him Evo and brush his teeth daily (with a three-sided toothbrush) with Petzlife and he has the teeth of a two year old which isn't bad considering he's almost 11. If his gut could handle it I'd feed him raw, but that has not bode well with him unfortunately. FWIW, in a past life I worked as a chairside assistant for a dentist so I do know a bit about teeth and periodontal disease. I came away from that experience realizing that if I were on a deserted island I'd rather have an endless supply of dental floss vs. a toothbrush. I would be more likely to keep my teeth with the first rather that the latter. Now if we could just figure out how to floss a dog's teeth. :)
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    you could use olive oil, also fish oil works very well, and flaxseed oil is yet another. there are other supplements you could add for a better coat too, minerals and vitamins. I'm fond of sea meal - contains minerals, vitamins, amino acids, and flaxseed meal. you should find out if it's truly just dry skin though. sometimes it can be cleared up w/ just a change in food.