I want to thank everyone who took the time to post a reply to my question. You all had my husband and I in tears reading the messages. It's so nice to know that there are wonderful people in this forum to provide some guidance. We have a vet appointment on Friday, just to have him checked out. He seems to be doing okay now. Still aimlessly wondering around the house and wearing his diapers, but content and still interested in food. Thank you all!

@basenjimom2 I feel like you just described my basenji. Thank you so much for the insight. We have a vet appointment on Friday and I'm going to ask him about CCD.

Our basenji is just over 15 years old. We rescued him when he was only 9 months. He’s always been a very busy dog, but has definitely slowed down over the last few years. He can’t see or hear very well. He can’t go up or down stairs - we have to carry him. He wears diapers almost daily because he has many many accidents. And he just had a second seizure today (first one was a month ago). He sleeps a lot now and when he’s not sleeping he aimlessly walks in circles. However, he’s still eating normally and seems content. As a first time pet owner, I would like some advice when you know it’s the right time to say good bye. Does that even exist? I fear he doesn’t have a good quality of life now, but that can’t be a reason to say goodbye.

Thank you all for the support. We took Griffin to the vet today. Based on several factors, the vet believes Griffin has a brain tumor. We don’t know for sure bc I’m not doing an MRI, but the seizures and other things seem to indicate a tumor. He doesn’t think Griffin has much time left and suggested it’s best to put him down soon because the seizures may start happening more frequently and become more severe. We absolutely love our vet and he said a lot of things that made sense today. Like everyone said, it’s better to say good bye a little early than too late. We have a big decision to make very soon. I don’t want him to suffer. Thank you all for the support and advice. This forum was my first line of support and I’m so glad I came to you first.

I want to thank everyone who took the time to post a reply to my question. You all had my husband and I in tears reading the messages. It's so nice to know that there are wonderful people in this forum to provide some guidance. We have a vet appointment on Friday, just to have him checked out. He seems to be doing okay now. Still aimlessly wondering around the house and wearing his diapers, but content and still interested in food. Thank you all!

@basenjimom2 I feel like you just described my basenji. Thank you so much for the insight. We have a vet appointment on Friday and I'm going to ask him about CCD.

Our basenji is just over 15 years old. We rescued him when he was only 9 months. He’s always been a very busy dog, but has definitely slowed down over the last few years. He can’t see or hear very well. He can’t go up or down stairs - we have to carry him. He wears diapers almost daily because he has many many accidents. And he just had a second seizure today (first one was a month ago). He sleeps a lot now and when he’s not sleeping he aimlessly walks in circles. However, he’s still eating normally and seems content. As a first time pet owner, I would like some advice when you know it’s the right time to say good bye. Does that even exist? I fear he doesn’t have a good quality of life now, but that can’t be a reason to say goodbye.

Does anyone out there use a muzzle for their basenji? Griffin is a good dog 99% of the time. However, he does have his moments. Today, my mother-in-law took him out for a walk and a young girl riding her bike got too close and he bit her shoe, which then made her fall and then he bit her arm. This is the 2nd time he bit someone in our neighborhood. The first was just a little nip, but this one was deeper. Both times he was on a leash. But, something startled him and he reacted by biting whatever was closest to him. I don't want this to happen again and I think I'll feel better if we used a muzzle when we go on walks. Does anyone have any suggestions? I feel horrible about this.

We buy a large bag of food and biscuits every few months and store it in a large bin. The batch that he's eating now has been in the sealed bins for at least a month at this point. So, I don't think it's the food. We haven't changed a single thing in his diet and this just popped up.

I'm baffled by this whole thing. Thank you for the feedback!

My 5-year old basenji has been itching and scratching his whole body for a few days now. I called the vet and they told me to give him Benadryl for a few days and if the itching is still happening, to bring him in. In the meantime, I went to our local pet store and spoke to the owner about what she thinks it is. She asked me if he was biting his feet and I said that he was. She said that's most likely food allergies. When I explained that I've been feeding him Chicken and Rice food from California Natural for about 5 years and he's never had an issue, she told me that food allergies sometimes just appear. She also explained that the top food allergies in dogs are chicken, wheat and corn. I also feed him Mother Hubbard biscuits, which are apparently made of wheat too. So, she suggested that we slowly introduce new food which has a non-chicken protein base. Based on her recommendations, we're now going to introduce new dry food, wet food and biscuits made from fish and sweet potato.

So, my question to the group…

1. Has anyone else ever experienced food allergies that appeared out of no where.
2. Does her explanation have any merit to it?
3. If you don't think he has food allergies, what else can be causing all this itching? I've already ruled out fleas.

I was hoping to treat his condition at home and not have to bring him into the vet and pay a huge bill. But, if I need to bring him in - then I will. I thought this was going to be an easy problem to solve.

Thanks!

My other alternative was to have my dad stay at our house for a week, but we ran into the similar issues - so many rules to explain. In doing some research online, I also found this site www.abka.com. It's for the American Boarding Kennel Association - this is how we found the kennel we chose. It's a good resource. I also recall reading something online about how it's safer for them to be at kennel than to have a friend or family member watch them. Just imagine if the dog ran out and got loose - a pet sitter would have a very hard time dealing with that. If they are in a kennel, they are secure, safe and well taken care of.

I'm leaving better about our decision to do this, but I know I'm going to cry!

We're taking him to Lakeside Kennel in Voorhees, NJ (www.lakesidekennelcattery.com)). They don't allow any bedding since they provide this cot looking thing for the dogs. Knowing Griffin, he would totally destroy a t-shirt - but it may be worth bringing one and seeing if he can have it for the first few days. As of now, I'm planning on leaving him with his favorite kong and two natural bones. He literally destroys toys in a matter of minutes, so I'm afraid to leave him with any since he may eat all of it since no one will take it away at a certain point. We're also going to pay the extra money for some play time too - Griff LOVES to run. I know he's going to be fine - we've just never left him for this long.

By the way, we're located in Mt. Laurel. Not sure if you are in the area or not. We usually go to the Laurel Acres dog park every Saturday at 9 a.m. Their is a group of greyhounds that also meet at that time and Griffin LOVES to run up and down the fence with them (there is a side for larger dogs, so they aren't in the same area). One day he exhausted 11 greyhounds! We won't be there this saturday because we'll be on vacation, but I plan to take him on the 25th.

My husband and I are putting Griffin (our 1 1/2 year old basenji) in the kennel tomorrow for the first time. I honestly think I'm going to have a harder time with this than Griffin will. We visited all of the kennels and I feel very comfortable with the kennel we chose - clean facility, friendly people, etc. I'm just going to miss the little guy. We're going on vacation to Hawaii, so I'm sure once we get there I'll have an easier time dealing with it. Does any one have any advice/words of wisdom for me to feel better about leaving him?