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  3. Anyone dealing with skin lesions? Cancer? Thyroid Issues?

Anyone dealing with skin lesions? Cancer? Thyroid Issues?

Basenji Health Issues & Questions
  • K

    My 8yr old male had what looked like a bite on his neck. I shaved him a little so I could look at it to make sure it wasn’t a tick (fairly sure it isn’t). Upon closer inspection if had a black surface, circular in shape and had actually formed a lump under the skin as well. It was not tender to touch at least.
    Cleaned him up a little and kept an eye on it for about a week now.
    Never bothers him. It’s just there. The lump under the skin is gone but the black marking is still there. It does not look like a scab either- no edges to it, no tenderness.

    Might or might not be related but his coat has been quite poor for the past few months as well. He’s on a fish based diet and gets fish oil supplements to try and combat the dryness/lackluster.
    Usually his is a soft deer-fur like coat, especially in the winter :)
    We thought initially it was stress related from loosing his littermate to Fanconi, and dry winter air.
    But it’s not gotten any better.

    Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome- we are trying to avoid a vet visit with the COVID crap but my gut feeling is that this is either thyroid related or possible melanoma....

    He also has been more irritable and his ears have been bothering him too- I do clean them. So does his benji-sister... he’s never had a report of bad health all around. So yeah, I’m starting to get a little nervous.

    I’ll see if I can get an image up here for reference.... thanks in advance :)

    0
  • T

    Best to have it seen by a Vet professional... I would not avoid a Vet visit as this site are not Vets...

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

    4
  • K

    @tanza
    Thank you!! I’ll post back with results-

    0
  • Z

    Vet - instantly !

    Good luck and let us know -

    Sally Wallis

    Zande Basenjis

    www.zandebasenjis.com

    https://pedigrees.zandebasenjis.com

    SKYPE zandeuk

    0

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17 May 2020, 13:17

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    Thyroid issues.

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    @Patty: Personally I would take her to the vet to get her checked out for bowel or urinary infections. If she is losing sight and hearing she may be frightened. It sounds as though you need to step back a pace to calm your reactions. I can appreciate that you are getting fed up with all the work but she is an old dog. My present oldie (15) has taken to peeing (and pooing) indoors at times but I know I need to put her outside more often as she doesn't have the control she once had. She has also become blind and is certainly more aggressive with the others because of that. Any way first things first and do take her to the vet, please. Let us know how you get on. I have to agree with everything Patty wrote. Changing behavior ALWAYS needs a vet check. Increase aggresssion can be due to thyroid issues, pain, tick-born diseases, constant hunger (due to other things), etc. You didn't say in your post if you'd recently seen a vet and discussed her new issues. My oldest (16 in December) has failing kidneys (nonFanconi) and does need to pee more often. So, I put pee pads down in the house in his favorite pee spots. He's usually pretty good about that, but he does still pee in other spots if I'm not watching him carefully or if he gets a bit aggitated about the sitting arrangements. Would your pup stay in an exercise pen? That would give her a little more room than a crate.
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    Flakey skin…

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    Test results got back today….yay no thyroid issues....just fat puppy I guess. I will have to watch exactly what she eats and cut her back from there if she does not start to lose some of the 'winter weight'.
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    Right, but "not uncommon" is kind of evasive wording, if that's the official stance on the problem. Kind of like "It has been known to occur…" But Shiba breeders, by and large, aren't registering thyroid information with OFA, unless there's some mistake with the chart of statistics sorted by breed. MSU does have numbers which suggest that it's not common with Shibas, which I think makes it a low priority for Shiba breeders. But just from what I'm gathering anecdotally, it's definitely something worth looking into, especially for shibas with allergies, which a LOT of them are plagued with. I'm not a member of any breed clubs, so I can't say with authority if the stance on thyroids is changing. I think it's generally of low concern, at the moment, compared to hip dysplasia, patellar luxation, eyes -- which good breeders ARE testing for.
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