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Flakey skin…

Basenji Health Issues & Questions
  • I disagree that it is a "common" problem with basenjis… usually it is food related. Good quality kibble or a raw diet will address any possible allergies

  • By the way… many times during teething... strange things go on with puppies... so I would just make sure that you are using a good quality food... and LOL... favorite for any dog is "horse poop".... besides the obvious of rolling in it! Can understand the bath reasons!

  • I would try a shampoo with oatmeal which can be calming for the skin. You could also try using a very dilute form of Mane and Tail (a shampoo used for horses and people) and try to follow it with the Mane and Tail Conditioner. If you are bathing quite regularly use something very gentle or try to dilute it. I understand the whole dog around horses, my dogs love cow poop and love to roll in it.

  • She has a really good quality kibble and this is a problem she's had since I got her, so was looking for new suggestions. I'll defknately try the oatmeal shampoo and supplements you mentioned…and yes, poop is her fab on the yard...along with foot trimmings...she can be very unladylike!!

  • @tanza:

    I disagree that it is a "common" problem with basenjis… usually it is food related. Good quality kibble or a raw diet will address any possible allergies

    I certainly don't mean to suggest that all basenjis have skin issues, but its common enough that our vet (who owns two basenjis herself) warned us that it could be an Issue with the breed when we told her we were thinking of getting one. It also came up in pretty much every description of health issues with the breed when I was researching them, stating that "Among 78 live dogs in a 2004 UKC survey, the most common health issues noted by owners were with their skin and urologic problems".

  • @MissEvie'sMum:

    She has a really good quality kibble and this is a problem she's had since I got her,

    Have you tried using a different food? "Good quality", fine, can you post an ingredients list from the package? It may have ingredients that disagree with her or lack ingredients that she requires. Not every dog does well on the same food…..

    Skin issues are very often related to food or environment, and I would agree with those who say frequent bathing is a bad idea. I also have horses, and my guy has baths very infrequently, but then I don't allow him to roll in horse droppings, either! :)

  • of course the other option might be a waterless shampoo or some baby wipes.

  • @Ambushbug:

    I certainly don't mean to suggest that all basenjis have skin issues, but its common enough that our vet (who owns two basenjis herself) warned us that it could be an Issue with the breed when we told her we were thinking of getting one. It also came up in pretty much every description of health issues with the breed when I was researching them, stating that "Among 78 live dogs in a 2004 UKC survey, the most common health issues noted by owners were with their skin and urologic problems".

    Again, I am going to disagree, I think that you can apply skin issues to every breed since there is so much outside influence that can cause problems. Food being the biggest and grains being one of the highest on the list causing issues. In all of my Basenjis and their offspring, I only had two with skin issues, both was a food allergy to corn.

    Biggest problem in our breed was Fanconi (until we got the DNA test), eye problems (PRA being genetic and no DNA test at this time) and to an extent thyroid (which of course can cause skin issues)

  • I totally agree with Tanza - skin issues in Basenjis are very often food related. However Bathing to me is a no- no. My dogs roll in both badger and fox droppings if they can get to them. I use an enzyme spray (Bac to Nature) on the area affected together with Baby wipes and the 'dirt' and smell soon disappear.

    On the occasions I have had to bathe I use a very diluted gentle shampoo. As we have free range sheep our yards and fields are often extremely muddy and churned up as you can imagine. When I get home I merely wash paws and leave the rest of the cleaning to them!!

  • I totally agree with Tanza - skin issues in Basenjis are very often food related. However Bathing to me is a no- no. My dogs roll in both badger and fox droppings if they can get to them. I use an enzyme spray (Bac to Nature) on the area affected together with Baby wipes and the 'dirt' and smell soon disappear.

    On the occasions I have had to bathe I use a very diluted gentle shampoo. As we have free range sheep our yards and fields are often extremely muddy and churned up as you can imagine. When I get home I merely wash paws and leave the rest of the cleaning to them!!

  • Hi All, Thought i'd give you a little update! My lil lady had her food changed from Eukanuba medium pup to Royal Canin Mini (she's a very small basenji and doubt she'll get bigger than 10k when fully grown so thought this one best) I also bought her a Pet Head shampoo 'Royal Treatment' with oatmeal and aloe.

    She loves her new food and never leaves a crumb now, has a bath once every two weeks (instead of every week) and has a treat of sardines or yogurt every couple of days.

    Her skin is much better, little flaking and her coat looks much better now.

    Thank you guys for all the advice!

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    @prasadvaze There are wipes which you can use instead of baths, I imagine most of them neutralize odors and have a fresh scent. Perhaps try those? Mine have always had no detectable smell except after I bath them, then they smell “doggy” for a day or so. Here are a couple of ones I looked up but I have never tried any. https://www.chewy.com/natures-miracle-spring-waters/dp/108468 https://www.chewy.com/tropiclean-deep-cleaning-deodorizing/dp/128836 What kind of smell / odor?
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    @Burma: they said that the vet did do a skin scraping, i dont recall them saying for mites. she eats beneful healthy radiance dry dog food-we thought that could help her skin stuff… You might want to try a better quality food and one without any grains, there are a number of them. And you should check and make sure that she was checked for mites. If you call your Vet they should have it on her records.
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    Hydroxizine AKA Atarax is a great drug for treating severe allergies, it is by far the best antihistamine for reducing itching. It does have a high amount of sedation as a side effect and is also marketed as a sleep aid. OTC Zyrtec is a good alternative since it is a metabolite of Atarax and has less sedation. You may want to find a vet that specializes in allergy treatment and have the dog skin tested to identify exactly what it is and isn't allergic to. You could consider allergen immunotherapy to reduce and potentially eliminate the allergies.
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    @FortheLoveofStella: Stella has very short hair, and she is flaky a lot (in more ways than one!!) Do you need a prescription for the omega3 or fish oil? Or can you just the human equivalent at cvs? Human equivalent is fine to use