Finding a Vet who knows Basenji?
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I agree wiht you, Sinbaje. Any vet should be willing to learn, regardless of the breed. I am lucky enough to have a vet in my town who the first time I brought Rocky in said "oh my god it's a Basenji! I've never seen one of these before! But I've always loved the breed!" and proceeded to tell me the history of the breed and some of their idiosyncracies. He's a very open and straitforward vet. A hard thing to find at times!
Best of luck in the vet search! Remember, it really all comes down to who you feel comfortable with and who your dogs are comfortable with. If they specialize in a particular breed, great for those who own that breed. But if they don't, they all still have D.V.M. at the end of their monikers and had to pass the same boards to get those initials.
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I agree wiht you, Sinbaje. Any vet should be willing to learn, regardless of the breed. I am lucky enough to have a vet in my town who the first time I brought Rocky in said "oh my god it's a Basenji! I've never seen one of these before! But I've always loved the breed!" and proceeded to tell me the history of the breed and some of their idiosyncracies. He's a very open and straitforward vet. A hard thing to find at times!
Best of luck in the vet search! Remember, it really all comes down to who you feel comfortable with and who your dogs are comfortable with. If they specialize in a particular breed, great for those who own that breed. But if they don't, they all still have D.V.M. at the end of their monikers and had to pass the same boards to get those initials.
So I wasn't real comfortable with the vet where Duke had his shots and neutering because vets didn't know of Duke's breed. He hasn't had any problems either. Last week I called another nearby vet and the gal answering the phone knew the breed. Said she thinks a couple Basenjis have been there. I had to make an appt to talk to a vet there - and got Dukes blood drawn for heartworm test while I was there. Once again, this vet did not know of the Basenji breed. I asked her if she knew what Fanconi was. She looked like she didn't know and asked if it is a blood disorder. But advised me I might be "jumping the gun" (maybe) and that they would refer me to "specialist" if need be. Not feeling comfortable . . I should just stay with original vet and if Duke does develop any problems - take him then to referred vet several miles away. We will soon be getting another B-mix puppy and want to establish vet for her too.
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Jill, the most important thing is that you feel comfortable with the care the vet (and staff) is giving your dog. Lots of us have been the ones to 'educate' our vets about Fanconi. It isn't very common, and lots of vet practices have no Basenji clients. I would guess that Fanconi isn't something that vets spend much, if any time on in vet school…and that is fine...I would rather they spend more time on anesthesia and surgery ;)
It isn't uncommon when a dog is diagnosed with Fanconi, that the client and the vet learn together by following Dr. Gonto's protocol. So, in a way, you *may be jumping the gun...but I can understand your concern.
Focus more on your rapport with the vet. If you feel comfortable with him/her, and you sense that he/she will listen to your concerns and suggestions...stick with that one!
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Jill, the most important thing is that you feel comfortable with the care the vet (and staff) is giving your dog. Lots of us have been the ones to 'educate' our vets about Fanconi. It isn't very common, and lots of vet practices have no Basenji clients. I would guess that Fanconi isn't something that vets spend much, if any time on in vet school…and that is fine...I would rather they spend more time on anesthesia and surgery ;)
It isn't uncommon when a dog is diagnosed with Fanconi, that the client and the vet learn together by following Dr. Gonto's protocol. So, in a way, you *may be jumping the gun...but I can understand your concern.
Focus more on your rapport with the vet. If you feel comfortable with him/her, and you sense that he/she will listen to your concerns and suggestions...stick with that one!
OK - I'm such a worry wart! :eek: Want nothing but the best that I can give my babies. Human or not. The rapport with the original vet is fine. They've spent more than enough time with me when we first brought little Duke home with all his sad problems. Can't say I didn't try to get a vet with Basenji knowledge. Will put the *gun away and try to keep my little ones healthy and happy.:)
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The Vet's interaction with you and your basenji is what is important. My vet who I took Beta too had not had a lot of basenji's in there belt of experience. They did however, have a group of doctors that teach in a vet school and review all cases together.
I found with blood and urine testing that the doctors were looking for major irregularities in the results, where Beta's results where slightly different pointing to her illness.
Find a vet that is interested and cares. I frequently will call vets and ask them for an interview visit if I have moved to talk with the vet before committing to anything. I typically will ask if they have experience with basenjis. If they dont, I skip them.
I am also a firm believer in research. Take info on basenji diseases and give them to your doctor to keep on file as additional resources. There is so much information on the web.
Heart worm prevention seems to be pretty safe now with regards to the chewables. There were several articles I read in the past about heart prevention shots that were very dangerous for basenjis. I believe that the shot has been removed from the market.
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I live in Boise, ID. Water and Gun dogs are popular. Sighthounds are not very popular, there is an active Greyhound adoption group though. Most vets in this town have a distaste for Basenjis, if they know what they are.
My present vet, loves Basenjis. My former neighbor had an Afgahn, 2 cats and some ferrets. She had nothing but good things to say about the vet down the street. So I brought my hooligans down for an interview with the staff. This office treats about 6 other Basenjis. They had only seen the red and whites in person. They knew of the other colors, but had never seen them. So when I walked in with my red and white, black and white and tri, they stopped what they were doing to met them. They also knew about the African project.
Those of us who are passionate about Basenjis are few and far between. Vets are the same way. When they are they passionate, their staff is also passionate about the breed.
There might be 50 vet schools between America and Canada. This is a small community. Just start cold calling and asking what they know about Basenjis and who they would recommend.
