Skip to content

Itching Basenji!

Basenji Health Issues & Questions
  • for the last 3 days my girl has been acting pretty strange… a little more wild than normal (but in spurts) and constantly nibbling and scratching herself on her tail,back, and neck.

    Ive looked for flees/bug bites/dandruff and cant find anything unusual. After one day i bathed her in oatmeal bath and conditioned her with the stuff ive used for 3years. that lasted for about one day(no itch) and AGAIN last night she was back to scratching.

    ALSO this may be unrelated but, it was raining when we went to work (5:15am)(pouring) and of course she would not pee..... after multiple (me getting soaked) attempts and bribes. we had to go to work. when i came home at 2:30pm she wouldnt go pee again and still would pee untill about 5pm and i couldnt find pee anywhere...no where (serached for hours and then reserched)

    kinda weird right? but she peed this morning but the itching was kinda bad again... i sprayed her with conditioner spray.....and came to work
    any ideas?

    why would she be scratching herself so much? she had her advantax both this and last month even though we live in non wooded area and it cold (maryland) ..... i cant find anything shes itching at!!!!

  • nobody? nothing? I went home last night ansd she was at it again…. i gave her bennadyl ..... i looked in all her fur again and again and no bites or bumps.

    Is dry skin common without dandruff? i hate that she is itchy :( i feel bad telling her to stop itching.

  • There has been a significant weather change inthe past week or two. When it gets cold like that everything dries out. She may have dry skin because of the weather without shedding skin. Do you feed a raw egg occasionally? This helps AJ when his skin gets a little dry.

  • I would see if adding some salmon oil or raw egg like AJsHuman wrote wouldn't help her dry skin. Otis is really itchy now as well and he is not flakey, so I guess itchy does'nt have to mean dandruffy..we have the heat on down here in Houston and it really dries our humid air out, so skins are bound to get dry..even dogs.
    Itching can also mean that she is allergic to something like her food or an ingerdient in her food, little things can be enough to wreck havoc on dogs systems..what does she eat? I know chicken is very commonly associated with itchy coats (if the dog has an allergy to it), as well as some if not all grains..in some dogs..others do great on grains. Even if she has been on the same food for long, sometimes it takes a long while for allergies to show up, it is cumulative in nature so it builds up slowly over time..

    I hope you find an answer to her problems..poor girl, keep us updated.

  • If it gets really bad, you might need a vet visit.

  • If it is dry skin from temp change maybe try a fish based food. I've been feeding mine fish based food for their winter rotation for 2 years now and my b kids rarely have dry skin in the winter now.

  • :( im taking kiro to the vet today… on saturday night she was acting erratic... she would lay down and then JUMP up and run up stairs and then back down... seriously scary! she very rarley leaves the room im in, but she would run around like we were playing but not in a "fun" way more like she haerd something scary!!! The she slept not in my bed, not in her bed, but in the closet all night long!!!!!
    she was acting scared and whimpering.... i did everything i could to make a calm enviroment and the next morning she was fine!

    last night i noticed weird bruise like marks in her ear.... but she has been itching alll over..so now im really upset! im waiting for the vet to call me this morning. In her right ear (left in picture) she has tiny purple marks that look like bruises.. no puss, no odor, very strange.. i have notice her scrathing that ear more than the other.

    any ideas? her health is always very important to me but with wedding planning and christmas i dont have extra money for random test at the vet!!!! I cant seem to find her symptoms anywhere.....

    we ate fish (talapia on monday and tuesday last week and i gave her some of that, i wonder if that was a problem? I have put olive oil in her food twice now.... man :(

  • trying to post pictures..takemn from phone kinda blurry
    attachment_p_96949_0_kiro-ear.jpg
    attachment_p_96949_1_kiro-head-shot.jpg

  • the more i look into this i think she has ear mites.. its said that they can go on skin and coat too.. and she would be itching her neck back and tail (which she is)

    I feel like a terrible mother! she has been shaking her head for month but it wasnt frequent enough to worry me…. I remeber when it became more frequent but i thought i needed to clean her ears... i had the pet smart people clean them but all they did was rub a cotton ball in them for 2 seconds... POOR baby.... no wonder shes erratic! If its not mite then im really lost

  • It could also be a skin fungus.

  • Let us know what the vet says.

  • Buddy is really itchy in the last week with a rash all over his stomach. He was up in the middle of the night licking and chewing. I gave him some COD liver oil in addition to the salmon oil in his dinner but it seemed worse last night. I think once that saliva gets on there the bacteria just gets worse and it's a battle of keeping it clean.

  • the vet ran a blood test… $137 later.... nothing... she has no idea why she has little bruise like marks in her ear or why she acted erratic or why shes biting at her tail!!!!!!

    i came home last night and she had hives and welts on her whole right side (side with the ear) She acted like it hurt her!!!! i gave her a benndryl and it cleared up immed...

    now i wonder do i take her in again for a couple hundred dollars more of test or just watch closley???

    so many strange symptoms... the ear is very weird looking.. she looked inside and said there was no mites.

  • Hives? And Benadryl cleared it up.? Sounds like she might be allergic to something. Look for anything that has been added to her environment recently…new laundry detergent, fabric softener, even the Christmas tree if you have one. (Not that your house isn't clean) but are there insects in the house that weren't there before? It's hard to nail down allergies because the hives can show up hours after exposure to the allergen.

    The bruising in the ear might be from aggressive scratching. It's difficult to tell in the photos. Hope your girl feels better soon...:(

  • It's most likely a yeast infection. They get it in the ears quite often. Buddy has a yeast infection right now on his stomach.

Suggested Topics

  • Age of your basenji?

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    42
    2 Votes
    42 Posts
    10k Views
    DebraDownSouthD
    Yeah you told me about that before and I'm clueless, but I'll try it if I need to, lol. could be the noise of occasional thump, could be they can hear it even tho we can't. My chow would be drooling buckets before we got a mile away. I just had to keep towels down and take off and bag along the trip. But I took her for a 7 hr trip to atlanta and she threw up and threw up, then stopped. Never threw up again. :( on your back. I had been getting radiofrequency ablations in the US, and they really helped. But doctors here will only do them once or twice. I have had at least 6 on one side, 3 on the other. :( But it's miraculous pain relief when it is done right. Maybe your dog acupuncturists knows of a human one they'd recommend?
  • Sick Basenji :(

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    8
    0 Votes
    8 Posts
    5k Views
    P
    I too am sorry for not seeing this thread sooner and hopefully the poster will return. My Basenji had some teeth removed and the vet prescribed Carprofen as the follow up antibiotic. My Basenji turned out to be allergic to Carprofen which caused her liver to fail. I went through the same scenario you are describing. She gradually quit eating over the course of several days and then her water consumption started to go down. The eating had me worried since she had an excellent appetite upon return from the vet and the final purging of the anesthesia from her system. Nevertheless, her condition started to degrade. I followed her outside and watched her urinate. Her urine was a very bright yellow. I suspected then a liver issue. Once back inside she was shivering - off to the vet we went. LIver panel blood work up showed very high on specific indicators for failing liver. Vet prescribed Denamarin (containing SAM-e and silybin). SAM-e helps protect liver cells from cell death and aids in cell repair and regeneration. The Vet also started fluid injections. Fluid injections were everyday for two weeks. My Basenji showed a remarkable response to the fluid injections becoming much more her normal self even after the first day. She hated the injections and I could hear her cry when receiving them at the vet (believe me that will tear you up). But she was doing better and she (me) were going to have to tuff this out. Also a different antibiotic was prescribed to prevent liver infection during recovery. The Denamarin comes in dosages based on weight (medium for us). It is the size of a large human like solid oblong vitamin pill. Instructions want you to give it on an empty stomach and preferably not to cut it or place in something similar to a pill pocket however you can if necessary. My Basenji would not take that size (can't blame her). Cutting and disguising it did not work either. I was frantic and got the SAM-e in powder form. I couldn't slip her that either. All though some folks had success with peanut butter and liverwurst. I finally after three days had to have the vet pill her along with her fluid treatments. A week later another blood sample and her liver panel indicators were coming down. The pilling would last for a month and it took two people to get the pill down her. The important part is - she fully recovered from the liver failure. She is 13 1/2 yrs old. My experience after having 5 Basenjis is that the breed is sensitive to medications (anesthesia also). Many of the medications work just fine in most other breeds and mixes. The vet, if not that experienced with the Basenji, must be cautioned. Mine was not. Before accepting any medication have the vet go over any contraindications with you and to double check their resources for potential side effects when dealing with Basenjis. They may switch to something else if a medication has a bad track history with Basenjis. Know what to watch for should your Basenji start to react in a non-positive manner. The poster did not indicate if there were medications in play when the dog started showing degenerating conditions. I sincerely hopes this helps in some way and helps other Basenji owners
  • My basenji

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    10
    0 Votes
    10 Posts
    2k Views
    nobarkusN
    @snorky998: Were you thinking of Vestibular syndrome, Dan? http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?t=8577&highlight=vestibular+syndrome That's it Snorky!! :D
  • Basenji in Alaska

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    22
    0 Votes
    22 Posts
    8k Views
    wizardW
    I saw that you have a sewing machine – its not hard to make your own coat. I made one for my previous beasties with fleece and wool. I made it with a high colar (for the backside of the neck) and an indentation for the tail and a big belly and chest band (I used snaps at first but then switched to velcro). It worked pretty good for our single digit temps (and the occasional below zero walks to the corner). My current beastie refuses to go out the door with a coat on, however. When the outside temps are below 10F she won't stay outside any longer than necessary to go potty - the squirrels can run around all they want then! With respect to booties, mine will at least tolerate them when we go for walks but it's more for the road salt. However, the good pair I bought this year leak somehow (maybe through the stitching?) and she doesn't like them with they get wet inside. Nevertheless be sure you get the best you can find.
  • Basenjis are popular..

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    14
    0 Votes
    14 Posts
    5k Views
    JannekeJ
    @ibi_n_sane: the ears of the basenji of the pictures you show look like their is really something wrong, but it is not right to think that a basenji with a bit thin fur on his ears also has a condition/ disease that causes this. Of course, this dog is diagnosed with pattern baldness. And no, you can't say that every basenji/dog with less fur on the ears has this condition. Like Tanza said: it could be flies, or maybe cold, malnutrition.. I do think that Tillo's bald blackish ear rims are more than just 'loosing hair because it's winter/spring/summer..' And I would love to know what's causing it. That's why I wanted to ask it at the University and that's why I was suprised to see the B-ears on the screen and to hear about this 'pattern baldness' :)
  • Is it a Basenji???

    Basenji Health Issues & Questions
    13
    0 Votes
    13 Posts
    7k Views
    MandyM
    I have gotten the comment of min doberman. lol…. could have been her spiked Harley collar.