Welcome. Your Bella is so beautiful! Hope you two have many happy, healthy years together!!!
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I sure would limit the pig ear strips…. or stop them all together. Have you tried the 100% dehydrated chicken strips or they also come in bite size pieces ..... That is really a much better choice, IMO
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Thanks all of you, it is wonderful to have found you! I now have Pete (and Lily, too) on a rice and chicken diet, and will add omega 3 fats. Sweet potatoes were sneered at for some reason, and they have never liked fish much (tuna is occasionally accepted).
Lily looks so much like the photo of the Tanza tri in your post, Pat F. She is such a comedian! And I agree, my gut tells me to try the diet and medication route first while working with my Vet, but it is tempting to want to find out what is going on…although I wouldn't opt for surgery at his age and the ultrasound, etc will be expensive. Pete is such a cuddle-bug! He doesn't appear to be in pain but I do believe he feels slightly "sick to his stomach". And he yearns for his evening treat which I stopped when his diarrhea got worse (and why during the night?). Any thoughts about treats which might be tolerated? Both Pete and Lily loved pig ear strips more than anything else in life, I think.
I appreciate all your thoughts, replies, and advice.
Try some canned pumpkin instead of the sweet potatoes.
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Just a caveat - when using the dried chicken, do NOT purchase or use it if it was made in China.
Last year, Dr. Gonto saw a tremendous increase in induced Fanconi in many different breeds - the common denominator appeared to be chicken jerky made in China.
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Lycopodium is a homeopathic remedy for liver problems - it won't do any harm to use it with the conventional treatments and diet. One of mine died at the age of 17 having had liver problems for 3 years - he was solely treated with Lycopodium 30c. Apart from a liver friendly diet that is.
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Any time AJ gets pork products other than incidental tiny amounts in bits of table food (like the Chinese food I share with him on occasion) he gets sick to his stomach and develops a case of the runs that can last for days. I avoid pork products as much as possible.
Also, since you're new here, you won't know I drive a truck. I have picked up freight from pig ear factories. The processing is disgusting, refrigeration is nominal and the smell is overpowering. There's no telling what myriad of organisms such as bacteria are present in the process. Having seen this, I would never dream of giving pig ears to any animal. Not even an iron-stomached mutt.
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I stopped them entirely several months ago, but the dogs sure loved them. Perhaps I'll give the chicken strips a try when Pete is more stabilized. I am going to try diet and medication before any further testing. The rice and chicken for the past few days has been well tolerated.
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Thanks all of you who replied, I appreciate your thoughts.
By the way, my vet recommends Pete take SAMe and metronidazol while following a low protein diet.
Any other treat recommendations? Both Lily and Pete were so used to having a treat at night.
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If you are going to be homecooking for a long period of time (more than 3-4 weeks), you may want to get a book written by or with a nutritionist or get a consult with a nutritionist that can help you balance the nutrients, especially the calcium:Phosphorous ratio.
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making your own chicken stirps is not very difficult. Slice chicken breasts into thin pieces (the thinner, the quicker), put the slices on a cookie cooling rack (might want to spray with nonstick first) into the oven at 200 degrees for 4 hours or so. Turn over 1/2 way through. Might want to season with garlic, cinnamon, or??
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Thanks all of you who replied, I appreciate your thoughts.
By the way, my vet recommends Pete take SAMe and metronidazol while following a low protein diet.
Any other treat recommendations? Both Lily and Pete were so used to having a treat at night.
For treats, just use their food, if cooking chicken and rice, pick out pieces of chicken for them, if using kibble, use that.
I think just following your Vets recommendations is the way to go, sounds like he/she is on the right track. As I have said, when you have elders, 99% of the care becomes just keeping them comfortable
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making your own chicken stirps is not very difficult. Slice chicken breasts into thin pieces (the thinner, the quicker), put the slices on a cookie cooling rack (might want to spray with nonstick first) into the oven at 200 degrees for 4 hours or so. Turn over 1/2 way through. Might want to season with garlic, cinnamon, or??
Great idea!!!
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Since you know where the chicken came from, you can share the chicken jerky with the dog…and watch the funny looks you get. ("Hey, that's MY cookie!")
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Thanks everybody, I like all the suggestions. And I agree, making Pete comfortable is the number one priority at this stage in his life.
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My almost 15 year old basenji, Pete, seems to be doing okay but when I took him for blood work after being on a low protein diet and metronidazole and SAM-E for 6 months, his liver enzymes were worse than before. He isn't having the symptoms he had in January (diarrhea) and he appears to be very well. His coat is shiny, eyes not jaundiced, he has gained a pound, and he walks with me and my other basenji, Lily, 2-3.5 miles every day. My vet now wants him to have an ultrasound and biopsy for diagnosis, but because of his age and apparent appearance of doing okay, I am hesitant. Additionally, he has been hypothyroid for most of his life and takes medication for that condition.
Any thoughts? I want to be compassionate to my old friend, but I also don't want to ignore something that could be corrected easily.
Kath
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My almost 15 year old basenji, Pete, seems to be doing okay but when I took him for blood work after being on a low protein diet and metronidazole and SAM-E for 6 months, his liver enzymes were worse than before. He isn't having the symptoms he had in January (diarrhea) and he appears to be very well. His coat is shiny, eyes not jaundiced, he has gained a pound, and he walks with me and my other basenji, Lily, 2-3.5 miles every day. My vet now wants him to have an ultrasound and biopsy for diagnosis, but because of his age and apparent appearance of doing okay, I am hesitant. Additionally, he has been hypothyroid for most of his life and takes medication for that condition.
Any thoughts? I want to be compassionate to my old friend, but I also don't want to ignore something that could be corrected easily.
Kath
Ultrasound is not invasive as procedures go, not sure that I would opt for a biopsy at his age, unless they for sure found a tumor. Then on the other hand, he is reaching the top end of a normal Basenji life span…. and depending on what they found, would you really put alot into long treatments (saying that there was cancer, etc)... that would only extend his life for a few months, it that?
In my opinion, I might go for the ultrasound just to see what might be going on, but if nothing really found and he is happy and doing OK... I am not sure that I would go much further. -
Thanks for replying. I would not opt for surgery or chemo at his age. Medications would be a different story. I agree, the ultrasound and consult with a specialist, although expensive, might help. But even that will stress him.
K
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Thanks for replying. I would not opt for surgery or chemo at his age. Medications would be a different story. I agree, the ultrasound and consult with a specialist, although expensive, might help. But even that will stress him.
K
Again, there are lots of things to consider… if it really stresses him out even for the ultrasound and he is feeling OK... I am not sure I would put them through that stress... If they found something like a tumor, I doubt that there would be medication that would help.. and since he is already SAM-e which is usually good for liver functions, you might be better off just continuing with that. Have you tried Dr. Dodd's liver diet? Many have had good results with that.
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Well, Pete had an ultrasound today and it showed he has a diseased liver…the vet doesn't think it is cancer but can't be sure what actually is going on. His liver appeared to have a coarse texture instead of being smooth like it should be. No large mass or tumor visible. She wanted me to go ahead with lots of other tests but I didn't today, just a urinalysis. I opted to add actigall and milk thistle, medications she suggested as well as continuing the SAM-E and a low protein diet. She wants him to try a special prescription diet called L/D, which is especially for liver issues. I didn't go for the biopsy or other x-rays today. I am going to try the things mentioned above, proceed cautiously, and perhaps get blood work again in a few months.
I haven't tried the exact Dr. Dodd's diet because Pete doesn't like fish or potato, unless the potato has lots of butter on it. He has been on a rice and chicken diet, and I have given him a child's liquid vitamin.
Thanks for any thoughts.
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I haven't tried the exact Dr. Dodd's diet because Pete doesn't like fish or potato, unless the potato has lots of butter on it.
Thanks for any thoughts.
well, can't really blame him for that - i like my potatoes with lots of butter on it too! hopefully he's on the upswing. have you tried a holistic vet?
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Thanks for the update, i think you are doing the right thing, seeing how things go with diet and medication.
We had an elderly Basenji with liver problems and the vets never got to the bottom of it, he had a scan and i think a biopsy but all they could tell us was that something was destroying his liver.
We managed the condition and he had a few more happy years with us.
Good luck with Pete and keep us posted.
