One of my Basenjis is also diagnosed with early kidney disease. The vet prescribed Enalapril Maleate (generic for Vasotec). My vet allowed me to choose whatever prescription food I wanted to use. After some research I chose Blue Buffalo BLUE Natural Veterinary Diet KS Kidney Support. I looked into and tried a more holistic food, Dr. Harvey's - a dehydrated food, but Kushika couldn't manage to eat it without getting it all over the walls, kitchen floor, and herself so we went back to the kibble. I liked the Dr. Harvey food AND you can call to talk to Dr. Harvey, who asked me to send Kushika's lab results to him so he could make specific recommendations dependent on those results. Kushika came to live with us at almost 10 years old and was immediately diagnosed with kidney disease. At age 12+ she is still with us, going strong and looking better than when she arrived.
Cushings Disease
-
Hello Basenji Friends,
Anyone have experience with a Cushings diagnosis with their basenji? Any experiences you can share which you think might be helpful would be much appteciated.
Thank you kindly,
Kathy -
Yes, my Naomi had Cushing’s. You will need to work with your veterinarian for the best treatment.
Lysodren was the first drug we tried. Trilostane was the drug that really worked for her. She regained her muscle tone and she strength and brightened back up.She did very well. She had her ACTH tested regularly, sitting quietly and patiently in the waiting room with me as she never liked the kennels at the veterinarian’s and threw unending basenji fits.
I do remember the first signs of Cushing’s. Naomi’s tail developed a strange kink. None of the veterinarians in the practice could find anything wrong with her tail. She was otherwise healthy and bright.
Next, she dropped a bar in agility. She never touched a jump before that, and could of course, jump much higher than her designated jump height.
It did take a while for her to get to the point where she could be diagnosed.Naomi fought inflammatory bowel syndrome for a good part of her life. She often had bad tummy days. We did the best we could to keep her comfortable and happy. In the end, a tumor was detected in her bowel, and we made the difficult decision to euthanize.
I don’t know how long she would have lived on the Trilostane protocol. She was a darling, beautiful little dog, and I miss her greatly.
I do wish you the greatest of luck with your baby, and pray that your sweet pup and you have many, happy, healthy years ahead of you.
