Posts made by BlueBell

She has gone to the vet to receive her shots but after doing some research wonder if dogs are being over vaccinated. Here in Jackson, TN our shots are yearly. They don't offer any 3 year shots. This may be the downside of living in a smaller city. Up to this point she has not been boarded and except for spending time once a month with her basenji cousins she is not around many other dogs. We don't have a dog park. This is why I would question needing a Bordatella every 6 months.

Except for the rabies shot has anyone ever given their dog a vaccine shot. It's my understanding that we can. Would want to make sure the vaccine comes from a reputable place but I was thinking of possibly doing the Bordatella myself.

Since the forum has said I haven't been on in several weeks which is probably more like a couple of months I will add my two cents which are probably only worth that much. Griffin does have his quirks. Snarky I think it is called. I have taken care of him up to 3 months at a time since I am his Grandmother or whatever I would be called. It also seems that it is hard to make assumptions or whatever if your knowledge is of only one breed. I know there are breed specific behaviors but they may not be that different than another breed so I sometimes have a hard time saying I should deal with something a certain way because that is how you would deal with it because the dog is a Basenji. Hmmm wonder why I have wanted to have Bella DNA tested to see how much Basenji she is? See I said my two cents wasn't worth much. Hi everyone. Bella, my Basenji mix, is doing really well. An empty soda can filled with penny's took care of her jumping up on people when they come in the door and I had tried treats, the shoulder thing, a no jump harness, etc. I do think some good suggestions have been made and can be tried.

Wow maybe Christa's Vet really was on the ball. You have validated his theory on how Griffin got it. Christa lives in a condo and they had half of their driveways torn out and replaced. So whether it was from a cut in Griffin's paw or inhalation that really must have been how. Recently the other half of the driveways were replaced so Christa sent both Griffin and Phoenix over to stay at her boyfriends house. Thanks for your post.:)

As I type this I was reminded that Griffin was suppose to go back to the Vet to have his lungs x-rayed this week and I have not heard from my daughter how that went or if it happened. He visited for Thanksgiving and except for some places on his skin that haven't totally healed he looked like a picture of health. Strange how a Nashville subburb just doesn't seem to fit where blastomycosis would reside and even the Vet thinking he got it through a cut which is more rare than the infection itself. We will pray that the relapse doesn't ever occur.

Greetings and welcome to the forum. This is a great place to exchange stories, find information, and make friends. Always nice to have people who understand where you are coming from in our experiences with our Basenji's purebred or mix.

It has been a little over a month since Griffin was diagnosed with Blastomycosis. All his sores are now healing and the coughing has stopped. He continues on his meds as well as an anti-inflammatory. My daughter was concerned over the long term use of Remadyl but the Vet assured her it was safe and that in a couple of weeks he will wean him off. If Christa does not give it to him he feels rough and will not eat. In two weeks he will have a complete checkup and hopefully the signs of the infection will be gone. If he gets a good report he and Phoenix will have both survived a near death experience.

Griffin continues to be a fighter. He still battles the sores on his feet that aren't healing very quickly and the other lumps on his body. The Vet now feels that he contracted the fungus through a cut which according to my research is as rare a way to get Blastomycosis as it is to even contract the fungus. He will be on the meds for several months even after the symptoms disappear.

Do you have the BRAT link? I am not on that particular email list probably because I and not part of the people who are actually rescuing,fostering and transporting.

Update on Griffin's (my granddog) battle against Blastomycosis: He is no longer getting any outward lumps and only a few have not drained yet. He has overcome not being able to walk due to an enlarged hardened lymph node in his back leg. Tonight Christa was able to take him on a short walk with socks on his feet to keep his sores from breaking open and to keep him from licking them. He is on an anti-inflammatory and his fungus med two times a day. His appetite is getting better. He sleeps most of the time but when awake seems to feel a lot better. Christa checks in with the Vet tomorrow. Thanks for your continued prayers and concern.

An update on Griffin. His second day on meds did not go as well as the first but after a trip back to the Vet, being put back on an antibiotic, and now two doses of his medication a day, by last night he was feeling better. He was running a high temp so we are praying that today it will be coming down. Her Vet said he is the first case they have seen in Nashville for several years. Before that they would see 3 ot 4 cases a year.

Christa's (my daughter) dogs are Griffin and Phoenix. They are both males and they are cousins. They live in Nashville but visit here at least once a month. I will ask her whether her Vet said anything about Phoenix and suggest what you have said. Griffin has had two doses of the med Itraconazole. So far so good. She said he wanted to go outside and walk with her and Phoenix but she thought best that he not do that. She is giving him his med with a canned puppy food as suggested by her Vet so that he eats. He loves it. He has the cough at night since starting the medication but I think that goes with it. Christa has been asked to post on the BRAT website but said she was not ready to do that but will.

For clarification. It is my Nashville daughter's 8 year old male Griffin who was diagnosed. She also has a 9 year old male Phoenix. Bella is my 1 year old Basenji Mix. They have all been in each others environment.

Christa's pharmacy couldn't get it done before today so her Vet called all around Nashville last night to find him just one dose so he could get started. She said he tolerated the med pretty well but did cough off and on through the night. This morning he seemed fine but she was going home over lunch to check on him. She assumes the first 72 hours is the time of the greatest concern. Also I assume the real compounded form may affect him somewhat differently. Did you have other B's at the time? How do you get over wanting to put them under house arrest? If it was my yard then even my little grandsons who I care for could be exposed. We are going to make sure that all our Drs. have this noted as a precaution.

I am so sorry for your loss and was reticent to contact you because I was afraid of the outcome. Griffin doesn't fit the profile except being a hound. We don't live where there are woods, we don't live by bodies of water, he is isn't taken hunting. To answer one of the other posts yes, states that are humid like Tennessee and I am sure Texas have higher incidences of this rare illness. Skin lumps were what sent Griffin first to the Vet where he diagnosed an infection. When more lumps continued to appear and he was not tolerating the antibiotic so she took him back to the Vet yesterday and was diagnosed. I am going to call my Vet and have it noted on Bella's chart and to let them know. From what I have read we will never know where whether he got it here in Jackson or in Nashville.

Thanks. I have been researching it. Just wondered if it was even rarer for a Basenji to contract it.

My daughter's purebred 8 year old Griffin has just been diagnosed with Blastomycosis. It is a rare systemic disease and I am concerned about where he got it since he has been at my house a couple of weeks ago and Bella stayed with them 5 days while I was away. Does anyone on this forum know much about it or their dog been diagnoses with it? We are not sure at this point what his survival chances are. The Vet gave the inmpression that they caught it early. She lives in Nashville and I in Jackson.

Happy to know that there have not been adverse reactions by those who also like to partake. Bella also likes the big seed pods that come off our magnolia. She thinks my trying to get the acorns and such out of her mouth is a game. She puts them as far back in her throat as possible without swallowing them in hopes I won't reach that far. Good thing she isn't a biter.

When Bella got her AKC puppy training certificate there was a book of information tucked in her goody bag. It had a list of poisonous foods, plants, etc. Oak was listed and upon further research I found it is the buds and acorns. We have said tree in our backyard and Bella likes to chew and/or eat the acorns. It seems to be a game for her to find where a squirrel has buried them so she can dig them up and eat them. Should I be concerned? Does anyone else's basenji eat them? Any adverse effects?

@lvoss:

When was the pic you are using for your avatar taken?

A month or so ago. Why do you ask? Sorry I have'nt been on here for a while.