This thread has been very helpful and reassuring to me. I rescued my sweet Jasmine Rose when she was three years old and lost her last October. She was r&w with a very short coarse coat and she never did shed much - that was my only basenji experience. In November, our sweet Ivy came to live with us - a six year old b&w girl with a soft thick coat. What a difference! Then, in February, she started to shed, and shed, and shed - it was like cat hair all over the place. I didn't mind dealing with it, but I was worried about her. She has a heart condition and she's on two medications and prescription food, and since I had never seen such shedding I was worried that something was wrong with her. Maybe an allergic reaction… No redness or itching or any other symptoms but I was worried enough to take her to the vet to have her checked out. Long story short - I was told to wait and see. Now I know she's not the only one to go through this and that blowing out most of her coat isn't unheard of. The shedding has stabilized now and she's all set for summer! The one strange thing is that the underside of her curly tail is just about bare, so when it curls up on her back it looks like there's a channel there - the rest of her tail is still pretty full!

Anyway, just wanted to thank all of you for posting about your experience and giving me some reassurance.

Thanks to you both, Ivoss and Wizard. This isn't my first basenji, but it's my first time with health issues like this. Ivy just came to me the weekend before Thanksgiving and she's a treasure - the sweetest little lady ever. I want to do the best I can by her and I want her to be with me for many years to come, despite the cardiologist's bleak prognosis.

Thanks Wizard. From what I've read, the formula contains specific things that are meant to improve heart function in cases where the problem is less severe than the one we're dealing with. While it may not be the miracle we'd like to find, if it will give us more time with our sweet girl, I'm all for it. I've completely lost my heart to her in just a few weeks and I'm going to do all I can to keep her here and healthy for as long as possible.

One concern I have is that the calorie count is low and the recommendation for her weight is 2.25 cups per day - that's a cup more than she's eating now. I'll have to monitor her weight carefully and watch for any weight loss. She's not an active girl, but I would like to put a bit of weight on her and I certainly don't want her to lose any.

Sorry to be so long in thanking you Ivoss. As you can imagine, I'm spending lots of time reading about this condition and treatment/diet options. Your help is much appreciated.

Does anyone out there have experience with or knowledge of this prescription food? Our cardiologist just suggested this for the basenji we just rescued. She's been diagnosed with Pulmonic Valvular Stenosis and we inquired about a diet recommendation. Actually, what I had hoped for was some guidance in terms of what to look for - high in x, low in y, none of z. Instead I got a recommendation to put her on this prescription diet, and I was unable to get additional information including an indication of whether this food will make any significant difference to her prognosis.

I'll do some research and compare the nutritional analysis of this food to some others, but I'd love some information from anyone who has experience with this. On the other hand, I'm hoping no one else has had to deal with this issue in their basenji…

Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.