We lost our dog Bing last November with hypoparathyroidism.
We are now seeing a steady deterioration in our 7 year old bitch Rosie.
She is losing weight (every bone now showing) and is difficult to feed. She will eat only certain food for a few days & will then refuse to eat it. When we try something else this pattern is repeated. We have given her only hypoallergenic food and this too will be tolerated for, say, a week before she tires of it. She has diarrhoea, though usually thick liquid with some solid parts. This does not vary much with hypoallergenic food or non-hypoallergenic.
She suffered two possible stress-inducers last year: 1) the loss of her lifelong friend Bing and 2) an op on a small umbilical hernia that became swollen.
Yes, of course, she will be returning to the vet this week but in our experience with Bing we know that specific knowledge of Basenji predispositions to particular conditions is not well-appreciated by all vets.
I like to get some idea in my mind about the likely possibilities so as to not be totally in the vet's hands in this respect.
Does anyone here recognise these symptoms which appear to me to be closest to IPSID than to, say, Fanconi or hyperthyroidism (let alone hypoparathyroidism which we have experience of)?
Thanks.
Mike & Jenny Ramsay
Somerset, UK
Hello Mike and Jenny,
i'm afraid i cant offer any suggestions but hope you get to the bottom of Rosie's problem.
Hi Mike and Jenny first have you looked in her mouth right at the back of her tongue to see if there is anything going on there? Bebe my basenji ,suffers like that sometimes ,recently she has had canikur it did help also the raw diet have you thought about homeopathy i have gone back to that for Bebe plus healing my husband calls it mumbo jumbo she wouldn't eat this morning but after my friend did some healing on her we offered her her breakfast and she cleared the bowl
When u go to the Vet {Witch i would be going ASAP} Make sure they do an Ultra sound on her Intestine area . NOT an Xray that won't show as well. Good Luck
First thing is to have blood work done, this will give you a clue as to how her internal organs are working, include a full thyroid test. This is the beginning. You can narrow it further by checking for Fanconi by strip testing her yourself for sugar in the urine. If she has the herina fixed, I don't really see that would be a problem, obviously the loss of Bing would of course have some effect on her. It could be a number of things, but as noted above, first you need to see what the blood work might be able to tell you. What is her water consumption? Has it increased? How about her peeing? More then before? Both of which are signs of Fanconi.
You can go to www.basenji.org and read about IPSID (and Fanconi), however that is only really diagnosed with a biopsy as the only reliable way to know.
Also if there are problems with the liver and/or kidneys, this can easily lead to eating problem and weight loss.
Good luck with her and yes, I would get her to the Vet as soon as possible
Thanks, one and all, for your helpful & supportive posts. I don't think it's Fanconi because her fluid intake/output seems normal & unchanged but, of course, we expect our vet to do her bloods &, maybe, stools to get to the root of her problem.
Mike
For Fanconi, will need to test her urine for sugar. Good luck and let us know
I would be looking at testing PLI/TLI/Cobolamine to see how digestion is going. Another concern esp. after any kind of surgery to the abdomen area if there was unforseen and/or unseen complications she is reacting too. I think an ultrasound might be in order, to get a more rounded, more definitive picture. (If you email me privately sinbaje @ comcast.net I can send you more info on the PLI et al tests). Good luck.
Thank you both - I'll post outcome!
Mike
We had Rosie's analysis of blood, urine & stools yesterday. Nothing specific except mild anaemia & protein deficiency. The suggestion is inflammation of the large &/or small intestine.
She is now extremely thin & wasting away, having refused to eat much in recent days. She has had a precautionary course of antibiotics pending the outcome of the above tests and this is now not needed. She is having steroids to reduce the inflammation and stimulate her appetite which is starting to happen.
She is physically not strong enough for biopsies which could shed more light on things so it is a matter of trying to get her through, particularly by getting her to eat properly. We remain hopeful though not confident about the outcome…
Did they do a ultra sound ? It sounds all to familiar with what i had happen he actually had a tear in his intestine and if they had done the ultra sound earlier they would have found it .. i am praying for her recovery but please get ur vet to do an ultra sound ASAP ..
Thank you, Phoenix, for your suggestion - I will ask our vet about it.
Meanwhile, some progress: she's had her third meal in 2 days (Hills Science Diet!) and is producing normal motions. Also she's less depressed (as are we!).
Mike
Mike,
so pleased Rosie is eating and feeling better, hope it continues.
Hi Mike we have been having similar problems with our six year old we found steriods stopped the inflamation but brought with them other problems Bebe is now having zantac to ease her throat diarsanyl to help her stomach i have been back in touch with the homeopathic vet in Norfolk told him the problem and he sent pills bebe has been on them for a week now and does seem a lot better but like you its early days i see you live in Somerset have you thought about asking your vet for a referal to a homeopathic vet i know there is one Taunton Ithink its worth a try you can always ring me on 01803850011
Even better, this evening she perked up and started being a little like her old self though it would obviously be quite a while before she really turned a corner.
I have to admit, Jules, to have no great reason to believe homeopathic treatment would work but then I'm willing to consider anything that might help.
If in a week or so there has been no sustained improvement I might ask you for further info.
Thank you so much for your suggestion.
Mike
Hi Mike like you i had no faith in homeopathybut 2years ago while living in Norfolk the steriods had a real bad effect on Bebe everytime she was weaned off them the problem came back twice as bad then we got to the stage of the steriods side affects after being on them for two plus years the vet said we wouldnt have her very long in fact she was dying so in fact i had nothing to lose i saw this homeopathic vet -he used to be a conventional vet he said he could help well i was scepticalbut the pills worked well she had to take them until she was better then stop well it worked for two years until december 2009 then not so good but in fairness to him we are too far to visit so it was done over the phone well we went to our local vet mega problems she said all she can do is try to mask it but it will never be cured so i phoned the h-vet in Norfolk told him what had been going on he said he would blast her =well she has been on his pills for a week and is more like her old self if we can keep her comfortable and she can have a happy life we will be happy
Mike - this doesn't really sound like IPSID - if it was I think you would have had the same problem before. It is normally inherited and can be brought on by stress which may be why you had considered it. Why not just check with her breeder to see if he has had the problem in his other dogs?
I'm pleased to hear that Rosie is eating again. Osmonds do a digestive product which I've heard has had good results with a Basenji dog I know who had diarrhea and losing a lot of weight.
Please remember to advise your vet that their temperature is 1 degree lower than most dogs and therefore what would be seen as normal could mean an infection. Most vets are unaware of this!
Thanks, Patty. I was unaware of the temperature difference, too, though Jenny will know of it I'm sure.
I remain determined to try to find answers and will follow up your feeding suggestion too.
Mike
Jules, I always keep an open mind because without one I'd never have found out about aloe vera.
The questions I have about homeopathy are:
How does it work? I know recent studies have cast doubt on its efficacy.
How can a practitioner identify what issues are present when a vet can't?
How can you tell a good practitioner from a poor one?
I obviously don't - can't - doubt the success you've had but cannot see how Rosie might benefit.
Mike
Patty, could you please tell me where I can find Osmonds online - I've googled it without luck!
