Thank you for your post. It has given us a ray of hope…no matter how small. We have gone for a second opinion and the 2nd vet is doing a complete work-up, including a 'seizure blood testing'. Hoping that even if the result is still a tumor we might be lucky to have 2-3 more years with our boy.
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My Basenji has displayed the following:
Sneezing uncontrollably
Rubbing nose
Drainage from nose, pus and blood
Fever
Loss of energy
Antibiotics for 5 days with no change, still feverish
Unsteady and off balance
Constipated/ or lack of voluntary muscle movement to have a bm, vomitingVet stated that he didnt see any infection and he believes there is an underlying problem.
Fyi: I read about foxtails -symptoms and treatment. I have this plant in my backyard. I took pictures of her nose and it doesn't look good but why would the doctor not see this?
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Have you told the vet about the foxtails? Can you see another vet who may have a better idea of what the problem is? I hope you find the answer soon!
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Go see another Vet!
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@2baroos Excellent advice! Small Animal Vets rarely inform themselves about these ancient breeds. I had ONE Vet who knew immediately what the Breed of my girl was.
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@lucy1140 Most small animal Vets do not inform themselves about the Ancient Breeds. Please look for another Vet. I think the BCOA would be a good place to start searching for a Vet that knows what the Basenji is and things like Fanconi, etc. I had my girl for 16 years and only ONE Vet knew immediately what her Breed was. She had never seen one but knew by the ears and Curly Tail that she was a Basenji. My Dog was always great for the Vets but she blew dander like snowflakes so I knew she was stressed.
Good luck!
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Another vet is sound advice, not all are equal. Did you do blood tests? If so, did it show anything abnormal? Not sure you can have fever without infection or a virus? Both should show on blood tests? For sure it doesn’t sound like you want to wait for things to get worse.
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I met a basenji who had very similar symptoms and he had a carrot that went up through his soft pallet into his sinus cavity. It took them forever to find it as it didn’t show up in an X-ray. You may want to look into a specialist for dog sinuses. It could be anything and very likely a foxtail. The infection for the other dog didn’t stop until the carrot was removed. Then he was fine!
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Please check the symptoms for aspergillosis, a fungal infection. My basenji boy developed one after he inhaled a foxtail. The foxtails can travel internally, and the only way to know if there's one there is to do a full scope. They'll also be able to spot a fungal infection that way as well.
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Good vets are hard to come by - you want one who will learn (from you and your dog). I have spent years making sure all the vets at the Practice I use know all about Basenjis. Over time, I have come to trust four of the five. . .
So get a new Vet, see if you can find one with a little knowledge and even more good sense and tell him about the foxtails - but not immediately. See if he can come up with a solution and if not, THEN you make the suggestion 'could it be. . . ?'
Hopefully the new person will be a better diagnostician.
Poor wee doggie
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I have never had a vet not know what breed my dogs are, even though when I got my first one they did not have any others in the practice. My vet immediately began reading up. And when I gave her info, she listened.
Foxtails can be very nasty and a vet that lives in an area with them should know you have to REMOVE IT before your dog will get better. So I join the others in begging you to get another vet.
