Posts made by jayfabares

Hi Kipawa! Our last B had Fanconi, and my husband was very animate about getting a B without Fanconi, if we were to bring a B into our lives again. We don't plan on breeding, and if people are breeding the gene 'out' of the breed, it's just our preference to have a B that won't have this gene.

thanks! emailed the addy above, if we can find a B that needs a home- that's even better

Hello everyone!

It's been awhile since posting here, I haven't posted since Isis was put to sleep in April 09… It was an incredibly hard time for me and my husband.
July 2010 came around, and we felt like were were ready to get another dog.
We rescued Dee Dee (a beagle pitbull) from the shelter and while she's a brat sometimes- but we can't imagine life without her!

But we miss having a B and we think Dee Dee is ready for a new friend.
Can anyone direct me to fanconi free breeders in California? (San Diego - Hollywood?)
We have cats and plan to have children, so if there is a male Basenji (with proof of being Fanconi free) who likes cats and kids who needs a good home... my husband and I would be interested
to see him

But, we are also willing to wait for a litter in California, AZ or maybe NV.
I can't let my husband go through fanconi again, it crushed him, so any help in finding a B that fits the criteria would be very much appreciated!
Thank you, and I hope to chat in the forums again

Isis, our Basenji, was helped yesterday to ease her pain, after struggling with fanconi syndrome for over the past year.

She was a great dog, an interesting dog, and a great example of the breed. But most of all, she was our first dog. Any other dog that we get after her will be living under her shadow, because she set a high bar.

We'll miss you "little deer."

(here is a link to our little tribute on my blog)

@tanza:

…. we have lost 3 since last May... and while it was to old age.. it is still never long enough...
The good news is there is now a test for Fanconi and there is never, ever a reason to have another affected Basenji born with this horrible affliction....

yeah, i read your tribute on the RB thread. I'm sorry to hear that you lost the most recent 2 so close together. That's must have been a though week

My cat is now exhibiting some hair loss on her front limbs. She's 8 yrs old & healthy… so I am hoping it is just stress. We do what we can for our furr babies don't we?

And I agree, it's never long enough

@tanza:

I found with Maggii that it really helped her quality of life…. as with renal failure they are usually sick to their tummy... therefore they don't want to eat... it help her to eat better and hold her weight. Also Pepcid AC helps too, one a day... I felt as long as her quality of life was good then I would continue... when even with the fluids she was not eating ... then we knew it was time to let her go.

Is Isis still on the protocol?

We give her Tums, 2 a day, along with her other pills. Yeah, we were doing the protocol right up until the weight loss, but now we are just trying to get her to eat anything. Because one day she likes her "princess dinner" (we joke) the the next day she refuses to touch it. It's really fraustrating seeing her so thin and refusing to eat! We can make Isis take her pills, but food? We don't know what to do sometimes. Her appetite had no bounds a few months ago, now she's lucky to have one.

My husband and I talk about her qaulity of life. She doesn't care to clean herself, she lays in her own mess, she's confused when we take her on walks… the hubby says "she's a shadow of the dog she once was" and it's taken me a long time to see what he means by that. I think it was easier for me to think she's fine, a little thin but fine. Acting weird, but she's a B... But today's walk had me in tears.

We're going to try to get more weight on her (though she looks like she lost weight since last week), to stabalize her. Def do an update on the whole issue within a week or 2.

Did Maggie perk up on the subQ?

Yeah, Isis was in good con'd- considering she has fanconi. She had a sparkle in her eye… though we joke that the lights aren't on upstairs

Then, all of a sudden, rapid loss of weight, no desire to eat, "spazztic" behaviour, I think my husband said that she tried to bite him too (I don't remember).

I think we are going to try a little while longer with her food... so I'll post an update when there's news.

Writing on the forums has helped a lot in understanding fanconi, and to vent when things are little rough.

Best wishes with Jazz too

We haven't tried it, but during our last visit the vet mentioned doing this and he said that it could extend her life for a while longer (like in the case with your Maggie).

But he said that with her behaviour and the rapid weight loss (he doesn't know she's lost a pound or two since the last visit) it's kinda prolonging what's going to happen soon. Something like, the final stages.

I don't know. The hubby and I talk about the situation, and trying to sort what's best for her vs what we want. I want Isis for as long as we can have her, but it's hard seeing what she is going through, knowing that she is on borrowed time.

It's weird how fanconi can suddenly change pace in a matter of days.

Since my last post, Isis lost 5 lbs within a 2 week period. After going through the special diet we've had to do for 3 months, she started getting picky with her food, even to the point where she refuses to eat. When taking her out on our walks, it seems likes she doesn't know what she's doing, sometimes she doesn't even listen to us, sometimes she tries to run away

We took her to the vet and he gave us an estimate time frame of 6 months- or less. He mentioned that her behaviour is a result of toxins, result of the kidneys failing- sort of like dementia. She's fine now, but every now and then it sneaks in there (and it's only been a week since the behavoiur started).

His advice was to just give her any food that she will eat to try to maintain the weight she has now. The ride home from the vet, my husband and I started to get in the mindset that next time we see the vet, it'll be Isis's last.

I just got back from a walk with her, and it hard to see that her body is not keeping the weight. She's not excited to see us and she's more tired than usual.

Our last visit to the vet was going to be our last, but the vet said that she could still live "happily" with her weight. If she lost anymore, he said he can understand if we want to put her down. I mean- any more weight is half her body weight – I didn't want to give up on Isis, because I really thought she was fighting to live... but after today's walk... I feel awful that we are making her live through this.

We've been going through her photo album, laughing at the good times, but also a little melancholy. I think we're ready to do right by our dog.

Yeah, we really don't care about the furniture, we care about her and our fights have dealt in what's best for her.

We feel like bad pet-parents sometimes, entertaining ideas of a rescue and such- things we've never even discussed before this hit us- it's not the dogs fault, but we understand why some people give up thier pet now. But no one can understand our dog. We're doing the best we can for her, sometimes I feel maybe someone else can do better for her.

i am glad I found this site– because of support from people who understand this conflict.

thanks :,)

she is my 1st dog (my hubby's dog) and when we learned that she had fanconi it hit me hard… we were in shock for about a week.

It's so conflicting... we've had many arguments over her. We love her, and hate this situation.

never thought of using the crystals.. sounds like it could work
guess the hubby has some building to do!

Hi-

well Isis- fanconi pos since last Feb- is holding up okay. She can be so unpredictable sometimes, but we've learned to "live with it".

I had a question about her going in her bed. When left indoors, she goes on our bed, the floor etc. Thankfully, our new apt had a patio and that's where she stays most of the time during the day. Sometimes I see her pace about outside, and then go to her bed to do her business (just pee).

You'd think a dog wouldn't go where they sleep, but there she goes.

Has anyone else had thier B's do this? Has anyone tried those "outside dog box garden" things, where the dog can go on the grass & the grass is replaced? I'm afriad she goes to the bathroom so much that it'll just turn into mud But I feel like she is sooo darn picky that she doesn't want to go on anything that isn't soft.

hey there– it has been a long time writing. i last wrote when we thought isis (our 6yr old had signs of fanconi back in Feb-March(??)

it was a real shock... when we realized she had it. but things are stable now mentally... and wanted to get back here

one of our neighbors here has a cute little (3 month old) B named Loki... and it got me thinking about people who may want to test thier Bs for fanconi.

i have test strips here if anyone wants them (in the Burbank, CA area) maybe we can meet at a dog park? Had the strips since March, so they may not be okay any more (not sure how long they last).

just putting it out there!

@lvoss:

Because of the sugar in the urine, Fanconi dogs are prone to UTIs. They can be hard to detect, often the bacteria from the urine doesn't culture well. Many vets will treat based on symptoms which Isis is exhibiting.

thank you for the quick response and for the lesson in fanconi 101! letting my husband know that there's a reason for the 'insanity!'

vet here we come!

@lvoss:

It sounds like she has developed a UTI which is really common in Fanconi dogs. A vet visit is probably in order to get antibiotics to treat the UTI.

been reading other ppl's post– and it does seem a lot like UTI... we are still waiting for the results of the 1st urinary tests- would that have shown early signs of UTI? if it did i am surprised the vet hasn't called us (???)

do fanconi dogs get UTI often?

as some of you know i posted here a week or 2 ago about isis having 2 accidents in the house and freq. going at the dog park… and the testing of fanconi with strips, the vet and the family history proving she had it.

well- it seems like everything is going zero to 60! she NEVER went in the house besides those 2 times before we got her tested-- and ever since we learned she has it-- it seems she goes knows this little fact and goes in the house practically everyday since then!

almost a day or 2 after the vet she went in the house...
the night before last we discovered that she just goes in her bed at night... she doesn't even get up.. she just goes!

and last night she went right in front of us! (funny story to this- watching battlestar season 2 & a guy was holding a bottle upside down- spilling beer allover the floor- making the 'peeing' sound- I say that sounds just like isis peeing in her bed the night before'- and my husband screams and sees isis peeing right next to him)
you could say isis timed it just right! argh!
:o

has anyone else had this problem? we are giving her the petcal and tabs everyday.

do the pee pads work? should we get her a diaper? we live in an apt with no porch, and my husband and i both work.... it's just a shock to go from a dog that never had a problem to this-- in such a short amt of time.

we are at a total loss.

thanks for the support… and i know that the stress of doing those fonconi strips every month doesn't get any easier with each passing month, but already i can see that there is a strong support here on this site.

good vibes being sent out there!

yeah we just got off the phone with the breeder. she said that the father had it and that the father was actually given to her by another breeder. she was shocked to discover that the father had it too… for she never had a dog with it. he lived up to 2 years after being diagnosed. apparently isis siblings have it too, one of them recently too... printed out the FP- thank you.

thanks again for the support! she is my first dog & i find that i am going through a lot of mixed emotions!

thank you everyone. yes i am taking her to the vet tomorrow morning. i am glad that i am going to a vet with B experence– to me that is making a lot of difference. i am really sensitive with medical stuff & i can't even grasp my mind what is happening to our baby... a bit shocking. i was tricking myself all day that she had a urinary infection...