Baxter is 10 and he has always had a sensitive stomach. He recently had a pinched nerve and our vet perscribed Tramadol (pain), Rimadyl (muscle relaxer), and Librax (for nausea). After a week he is better but now he has diarrhea so I have taken him off the Rimadyl because she said it might upset his stomach and to stop if it does.

He has also lost some muscle mass through this. Now I'm trying to get him on a food that will help him gain muscle mass back, help my senior with arthritis, but most importantly be safe for his sensitive stomach. (I believe that my vet said that she believes that he has some sort of protein deficiency.)

Any suggestions?

swimming. really, one of the best things you can do with these senior dogs to help build muscle. No, he won't enjoy it, but my old guy will tolerate it. We're lucky enough to live close to a canine hydrotherapy pool.

Check with your vet first, please - but my boy loves porridge oats with goats milk, which helped him put back the near kilo he lost…

My 13 year old male got Giardia and lost weight/muscle mass. Never did put the weight back on, no matter what I fed him. Poor guy was just skin and bones but lived to be 16! He did enjoy eating white rice and chicken but never ate enough to really make a difference. But it made me happy!

My Basenji was diagnosed with IPSID it is an intestional disease that is prevelant in Basenjis. They have to do a biopsy of
the intestine. My girl has to be on a special diet Royal Canin makes it for gastrointestinal Issues. It is a very serios
disease and can take over their body quickely. She couldnt eat without vomiting and lost weight, and that how we found
out about it I had no idea they listed this disease as a disease seen in Basenjis. Diarrhea is another sign of it. Hers is in
the upper part of the intestine so thats why she vomits. When it affects the lower intestine they get diarrhea. My girl
is only 18 months old. It shows up in young to middle aged dogs usually. It is called Immuneproliferative Enteropothy.
or IPSID is another name for it, but in Basenjis they add the enteropothy word at the end.

@clokatys:

My Basenji was diagnosed with IPSID it is an intestional disease that is prevelant in Basenjis. They have to do a biopsy of
the intestine. My girl has to be on a special diet Royal Canin makes it for gastrointestinal Issues. It is a very serios
disease and can take over their body quickely. She couldnt eat without vomiting and lost weight, and that how we found
out about it I had no idea they listed this disease as a disease seen in Basenjis. Diarrhea is another sign of it. Hers is in
the upper part of the intestine so thats why she vomits. When it affects the lower intestine they get diarrhea. My girl
is only 18 months old. It shows up in young to middle aged dogs usually. It is called Immuneproliferative Enteropothy.
or IPSID is another name for it, but in Basenjis they add the enteropothy word at the end.

ISPID is a genetic problem and as noted in your other post, we don't see much of this any longer as Breeders were very careful to not breed Basenjis that produced this affliction.

My vet said it is not strictly genetic. And neither of her siblings or parents have it. And the only way to test it is if you take a sample of the intestine after they show signs. So I dont understand how you can breed away from it without testing the intestine in all your breeding stock before you breed. I guess I am confused

@clokatys:

My vet said it is not strictly genetic. And neither of her siblings or parents have it. And the only way to test it is if you take a sample of the intestine after they show signs. So I dont understand how you can breed away from it without testing the intestine in all your breeding stock before you breed. I guess I am confused

For breeders that have produced offspring with ISPID, they do not breed those dogs again, at least not to each other. And while it is correct that it is not "always" genetic, it is problem enough not to take the chance with the same breeding pair

Yes my breeder knows and has never had any problems with his dogs showing any signs of this. The mother of Kobi
has already been retired from breeding as she was 7 when she had Kobis litter and he does not breed them after
age 7. He contacted her litter mates and had kept one of her sisters and non are showing any of the signs. And in
all honesty the vet has not done the biopsy yet, we are trying the protocal diet first to see if that will work because
if it is conclusive she has it we have to do the diet anyway and he is trying not to over stress her with surgery if he
can control the problem with diet. If we cant than steroids have to be given and than he said he must do the biopsy
first. She ate good all day yesterday and today and kept it down. Boiled chicken and rice. Than we will try later to
transition to royal canin prescription intestional care brand. Keeping my fingers crossed.

@clokatys:

Yes my breeder knows and has never had any problems with his dogs showing any signs of this. The mother of Kobi
has already been retired from breeding as she was 7 when she had Kobis litter and he does not breed them after
age 7. He contacted her litter mates and had kept one of her sisters and non are showing any of the signs. And in
all honesty the vet has not done the biopsy yet, we are trying the protocal diet first to see if that will work because
if it is conclusive she has it we have to do the diet anyway and he is trying not to over stress her with surgery if he
can control the problem with diet. If we cant than steroids have to be given and than he said he must do the biopsy
first. She ate good all day yesterday and today and kept it down. Boiled chicken and rice. Than we will try later to
transition to royal canin prescription intestional care brand. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Good to hear that she is doing better, however… if it was me, I would have the biopsy done, because that way you know exactly what you are dealing with. Don't know if you want to share her breeding, as many of the breeders here might know the pedigrees or have similar pedigrees that can give you insight to possible problems they have had with their Basenjis.

@Baxterandbailey – my 12yo male just went through something very similar and he too had diarrhea issues with the rimadyl. He actually had better relief from prednisone than the rimadyl/tramadol combo. He had a sensitive tummy too and does well on Wellness Senior. Also for his stiffness and arthritis, (this may sound crazy) I use a dog-sized dose of horse vitamins my mom uses for her Arabian mares. I just mix it in his food and he loves it. It's called For-a-Flex Joint Support. It is pricey, but it'll last a long time for a dog vs a horse lol.