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My basenji Rusty is very sick and my vet doesn't know why

Basenji Health Issues & Questions
  • I have a 10 year old male Basenji named Rusty. I have had him since he was 6 weeks old and he has always been healthy up until about a month ago.
    I have spent around $500.00 at my vet who has seen him since his first
    check up 10 years ago, and they are clueless about what is wrong with
    him. Unfortunately he is the only Basenji that office treats. Rusty
    went from 26 lbs. to 18 lbs in the last month to 2 months. He can not
    get enough water to drink and urinates everywhere, which is very
    unlike him to go in the house. The vet checked his urine and said it
    is almost all water, not concentrating hardly at all. We have rulled out diabetes and fanconi disease that runs in the Basenji breeds. I am desperate
    at this point. If anyone has any knowledge on a good basenji vet in my
    area, St. Petersburg, Florida or any information you could share with me, I would be so grateful. I love my dog with all of my heart and this has been so
    hard for me because I can not help him get better. Thank you , Sheila Shumaker

  • The vet has ruled out fanconi and diabetes mellitus, but this sounds like diabetes insipidus to me. DI can be an indication of a pituitary tumor or it can come from damage to the kidneys. The symptoms are pretty much the same, the excessive thirst, excessive urination, and clear almost colorless urine. I know it's treated with vasopressin in humans, and pituitary surgery if necessary, but I don't know about dogs. Rusty probably needs and MRI or brain scan which not all vets have the facilities to do. Ask your vet to refer you to a good veterinary school in your area. Let us know what happens. Lenora

  • Thank you for your reply. I have selected another vet just a few moments ago. This new vet owns a Basenji herself and has 6 Basenji's that she currently treats. With any luck she will be able to pinpoint what is wrong with my baby boy!!! Rusty's appointment is Monday, if anything changes or we get any more answers, I will post them Tuesday to let everyone know what we find. Thanks again :)

  • I wish you the best with Rusty! Keep us updated. My thoughts and prayers are with you & Rusty.

  • I'm so sorry to hear of you little guys health problem. Sounds like you're in luck with this new Basenji vet. All the best for you and Rustyroo.

  • What a stroke of luck. Let us know what happens! Lenora

  • I sure hope so!! I can not picture my life with out him and trying to stay positive. Thank you :)

  • I'll keep Rusty in my thoughts and prayers, please let us know what happens after the appt. Great to have a vet with a Basenji!

  • The symptoms you describe are text book Fanconi. How did your vet rule it out?

  • It is funny that you mentioned Oakhurst because that's where I took Rusty Monday morning They referred me over to Florida Vet. Specialists in Tampa. Rusty does in deed have Fanconi But at least now I know what to do for him to help him stay as healthy as possible. I went yesterday after our appointment and got all the vitamins and supplements he will need to take. We are now on the right track and I feel better because I will do EVERYTHING in my power to get Rusty back to good health.

    Update from Rustyroo

  • Thanks for the update. Oh, the poor baby…so glad you've got him on track. I'll keep the little boy in my thoughts and prayers. Keep us updated after you've been following the protocol for a while...((healing hugs))

  • Thank you :) Rusty gets personal hamburgers twice a day now, lol. He's loving it!!! That is the only way I found to get him to take 12 pills aday, 6 in the morning and 6 at night. But it works and the vet did say to get him food with all beef, I'm sure he will laugh when I tell him!! I will update again after our March 5th appointment. I'm hoping he will gain a few pounds back before then.

  • I am so glad to know Rusty is on the road to improvement. Bet those hamburgers taste pretty good!!!

7/14

16 Feb 2007, 20:42

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    I am glad to hear of her improvement. Sometimes we live with dogs and don't see the changes they start so slow. It's good to make it a habit to actually inspect them monthly. I hope she keeps improving but as Sally said, too much weight gain isn't good.
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    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
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    My basenji is 10 months and exhibiting the same behavior… what did you discover?
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