Skip to content

Food options???

Basenji Feeding
  • Hi. I have 2 eight years old basenjis. I been feeding my girl (Henna) Natural Balance (Potato & Duck) for last 6 years after discovering her allergies to everything else. But, recently, i have rescued a boy (Rosie). He had a very nice dark red, rough coat. He has been on the Potato and Duck now and his coat has changed. Its not as dark and tight…and is changing to smooth coat just like my girl. I love my Henna's soft coat but kind of liked the color of Rosie's coat. Should i switch to different food for Rosie or stick with the current? If yes, which one? BTW...i feed them 3 duck and potato treats each in the morning and a cup of food at night. Is that good?

  • Could be that your rescue boy is starting to blow coat… I would wait it out and see if maybe that is what is going on.

  • Blow coat….that means winter coat right?

  • @Henna420:

    Blow coat….that means winter coat right?

    Sorry, that means plain old shedding… Basenjis will shed at least usually once a year and it never really relates to the time of year... but he may be getting what most would call a winter coat... I have also found with spayed/neutered B's that every couple of years they will really get a terrible coat and then shed out to their normal one...

  • I agree with Pat regarding the coat. It is very common for reds to be "washed out" when they loose their coat. It unusally returns. But if he is doing well on the food, don't change it. The old saying, don't break what not broken.

Suggested Topics

  • Raw food

    Basenji Feeding
    28
    0 Votes
    28 Posts
    15k Views
    L
    We switched our 2 boys to raw from kibble about 6 months ago. The switch came because we were simply exhausted from walking them 3 times a day because they had loose stool (we don't have fenced in yard, so we need to walk them to go to the bathroom). Our vet recommended more fiber in their diet to help with loose stool. This intuitively just didn't resonate with us. Basenji are one of the most ancient breeds of dog… why on earth would more fiber be a solution to their problem (I know the theoretical why, but logically it was counter-intuitive)? We read many sources or literature on the raw diet and thought this would be a good switch for them. Again, they are an ancient breed so moving toward raw foods seemed appropriate and logical. It took that about a month for them to get really accustomed to eating raw chicken quarters, rabbit halves or pork shoulders but now they have no problem gulping their meal right down, bone and all (for those of you who don't feed raw, gulping is a normal behavior and bone is an essential part of the diet). Their digestion issues have vanished and we've even seen marked improvement in their destructive behavior. Two super happy boys now, two super happy Basenji owners!!
  • "human" food or dog food?

    Basenji Feeding
    30
    0 Votes
    30 Posts
    15k Views
    P
    I once had a pup under treatment at the Bristol Veterinary hospital. When they finally sorted the problem I was told now you'll be able to give him real food meaning kibble!1 I always feed raw and whatever but never complete dog food. Having said that it seems that over here we get a new dog food manufactutrer every month and all claim that theirs is the best!!
  • Best Food?

    Basenji Feeding
    9
    0 Votes
    9 Posts
    5k Views
    tanzaT
    @Patty: Interesting that you had a problem with loose stools, Pat, because I had exactly the same but with a puppy who was eventually discovered to have Giardia. It did take us a very long time though and in the meantime the pup was suffering. It also happened to a friend of mine herself who for years had a stomach problem that finally was discovered to be a Giardia infection. Because of my experience with the puppy, I had jokingly suggested the problem to her as well. Yes… Giardia "hides" very well..... Many Vets will write it off to a sensitive digestive system when in fact it is not. Like I said with my OJ, once it was cleared up, he could eat anything...
  • Food Question

    Basenji Feeding
    7
    0 Votes
    7 Posts
    3k Views
    tanzaT
    @agilebasenji: If you and your vet are happy with their weight, I would not change the amount you're feeding them. However, my pups need more calories in the winter to maintain their weight. Treats - my pups love sweet potatoes and raw (or cooked) zucchinis. sometimes dogs like green beans or carrots. at my house, tri-ing is really bad about taking the carrots, chewing them up and spitting them out all over the place. Yea, thanks Jet. Otherwise, they also like cheese, waffles, eggs, etc, but given you pup's allergies, you may not want to try the later. LOL…. leave it to the "Tri-ing" to make a mess out of the carrots!!!!
  • What Food And How Much??

    Basenji Feeding
    22
    0 Votes
    22 Posts
    9k Views
    MacPackM
    Topper,12; Nicky 10, ; and Eddie 8 all eat a combination of 3/4 EVO by Innova, and 1/4 regular adult Innova. We free feed, dry kibble is down all the time, but I think I put about 3 cups out a day, some days they eat it all but some days I don't add kibble at all. Mine do get a bit of whatever we have for dinner, mostly veges, they love all veges as long as they are cooked, especially broccoli and sweet potatoes. IT acts as an appetizer, as soon as they finish their plates they run to the kibble bowls to finsih their dinner. We used cheaper grocery store foods for many years but I felt my dogs deseerved a better quality food so tried several premium brands and settled on Innova. Then when they came out with EVO, I slowly added that but when I went 100% EVO, their poops were a bit loose, so we re-added the regular Innova and it seems to suit them perfectly. Eddie's coat was very coarse when we rescued him, he is soft and silky now. Even though it costs about twice as much as the cheaper stuff, I know they are getting good nutrition and their coats glow and their teeth are clean, so it is worth every cent to me. We are what we eat, and if we eat 'animal by products' (hooves, bones, feathers and even sawdust in some) sprayed with flavors and dyed with food colorings, we may be saving money now, but inviting health probelms in the future. Just MHO, but strangers compliment my dogs on their gloss and vigor! Anne in Tampa, off the soapbox
  • Food decision

    Basenji Feeding
    14
    0 Votes
    14 Posts
    7k Views
    luzmery928L
    i was so concerned about the recall when it first happened I took for granted checking the labels again.