Is it IPSID?

[Patty]

Mike, www.osmonds.co.uk - sorry I should have included it in my previous post. The product is called Canine Gut-Rite. They also do Digestor but Gut Rite is for digestive problems related to stress. Anything is worth a try. I feel so sorry for you and your little girl - you have not had very good luck with your Basenjis.

Relating to homeopathy recommended by Julie - I use homeopathic products on my dogs and sheep with much success but I know it is a great leap of faith if you haven't tried it. My vet is a homeopath as well as a conventional vet and so combines the two where appropriate. I have had miraculous results. The system is designed to enable the body to heal itself. A veterinary homeopath normally has a five year training on top of the usual veterinary training and should always be a member of the BAHVS. Many people I know have gone down the homeopathic road when all else has failed and have had good outcomes. Recent studies as you say cast doubt on its efficacies but these studies have been done on human beings who could be affected by the 'placebo' effect. Animals can't be fooled!
I can, however understand your scepticism and here is not the place or time to discuss this. The very important thing is to get Rosie on the way to recovery.

[Patty]

Mike - sorry about previouys post - I missed to read your afternoon post!!!

[mramsay]

Well, Rosie has, thankfully, stabilised with no return of diarrhoea and a reasonable, though not hearty, appetite. Her antibiotics course finished 5 days ago and she has a few more of her steroids course so we wait to see whether she can start to put on condition soon. She is certainly less depressed though not yet her old exhuberant self…

[Patty]

Very good news that Rosie seems to be on the mend. Thank you for keeping us posted.

[thunderbird8588]

Glad to hear Rosie is feeling a bit better.

[mramsay]

Thank you, both. Progress is very slow - she is still extremely thin. If there is not a gradual improvement in the coming days it will be a cause for concern but I remain optimistic for now.

[mramsay]

Here's an update coupled with a plea for ideas.

Rosie initially made good progress, eating solely Hills Science Diet (small tins). With the help of steroids the diarrhoea went and her appetite improved.

Right now the diarrhoea, mainly a bit soft rather than liquid, is back, sprodically, and her appetite varies.

She seems permanently hungry except regarding what she has been eating for a while, ie she goes off that and we find something else she likes. This has happened with the Hills (she went off it), Winalot tinned, raw mince, cooked mince, chicken, rice and, recently, cat food (after we saw her ravenously Hoovering up small amounts dropped by our cat around her bowl!). One by one she enthuses for a few days & then we have to find something new.

The net result is no increase in weight and our ongoing concern about whether she'll make it.

If anyone has experienced anything similar and found the answer we're desperate - and would be very grateful - to hear about it.

Thanks.

Mike & Jenny

[thunderbird8588]

Sorry to hear you are still struggling with Rosie, once she's gone off the food does she then eat it if offered it again in a few weeks ?
Our last Basenji was always very indifferent to food even before he became ill. Sometimes he would have days were he wouldn't eat at all.
It is a worry and i'm sorry that i don't have any advice for you both.

[mramsay]

When she goes off something it can happen that she gets interested again after a week or two, meanwhile she will be into something else. Just now, for example, she begged me for a piece of the flapjack I was eating. When offered to her she nearly had my hand off!

Strange to think that a few years ago her late breeder (not that far from you) told us off for letting her get too fat!

[thunderbird8588]

I'm glad for you that she will eat the same foods after a break, so you don't have to keep racking your brains for new foods
When Benji was ill, he refused food and i used to spoon feed him, he used to enjoy mash potatoe, carrots, chicken and gravy when we had a sunday roast. He lay there languishing on the settee whilst i tempted him to eat. Once i'd got him going he would usualy eat the lot, then get of the settee and eat his dish of dog food as well.
Have the vets no idea whats going on with her?
Who was her breeder?

[mramsay]

Interestingly, Shelley, I've said to Jenny that next time she cooks a roast (tomorrow!) we should give a mini-version to Rosie. Are potatoes OK? I've always thought they weren't good for dogs. Proof of the pudding I guess.

Our vet has not pinpointed anything after all the tests and has just said she'll need to be on steroids for a while but hints that there may not be a long term answer. But if I can only get her to sustain a healthier appetite I feel we could yet turn a corner. But then I have always worked on a 'where there's life there's hope' basis.

She was bred by Barbara Williams of Leigh near Manchester.

[lvoss]

Was she tested for EPI? I know there is at least one dog in the US that had it onset at 10 years old. The dog is now having enzymes added to his food and is doing well.

Email me privately if need more information and I can see about connecting you with the owner of the dog.

[mramsay]

No, I don't think so. But she's not thin despite eating well, she just doesn't eat much.
Earlier she ate less than half what she should and tonight nothing at all. I'm considering feeding her 'Healthy Instinct' featured on the Crufts programme today which contains raw meat, bones and vegetables, with no cereals, to see if that helps.

[k.rass]

Has Rosie has an ultrasound of her liver and spleen? My Max had suddenly become anemic and was starting to refuse food - only eating little bits at a time of pure protein (normally he would eat rice, veggies, along with the meat and anything else that came his way). He'd act ravenous when he did eat. His stools were either really runny or sometimes mixed. Sadly, he ended up having an enlarged spleen and liver with tumors in the spleen. They had suggested a splinectomy, but it was too late and since he was a senior -13yrs old- he was possibly having autoimmune problems. If I had known earlier, I may have been able to save him.

[thunderbird8588]

I'm not sure if potatoes are good for Dogs or not Mike, i'm sure there are better things but Benji was an old man and i reckoned it was better that he ate something rather than nothing. It was lovely to see him enjoying something.
Do you think it's possible Rosie is playing you up a bit ? I'm not saying there is nothing wrong with her but it doesn't mean she's not manipulating you
As we know they are a very smart breed
Hope she enjoys her Sunday roast !

[mramsay]

Well, of course, I'm well used to dealing with finicky eaters, having learned a lot from our first Great Dane puppy 35 years ago! There may be an element of that but we never had a problem with her or Bing, our late male Basenji, in their first eight or nine years! But it's roast beef today for her! And potatoes - you're right: now's not the time to be too restrictive…

[mramsay]

Well, Rosie's had her Sunday roast - beef, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, green beans, sprouts & parsnips! Not only did she eat the biggest meal in many a day but, had there been a pattern on her bowl, that would have gone too!

So, guess what her next meal will be tonight!

[k.rass]

I'm so glad to hear Rosie is eating! Great news. I'm sorry I wrote such a scary post previously, but I feel if I had any hints from others with experience, I could have possibly saved Max.
Best wishes for Rosie for a continued hearty appetite!

[mramsay]

No, not scary at all - it made me think and you could yet be right so I appreciate your concern and advice. we will be talking to our vet in the morning so we'll ask about an ultrasound check.

Thank you!

[thunderbird8588]

Glad Rosie enjoyed her roast, i'm not surprised it sounds delicious
Benji was indifferent to food all his life for some reason, so when he became ill it just exagerated the problem.
Hope everything goes ok for Rosie at the vets today.