Hi Quercus!

Tano's breeder was Maripat Webber of Etukon. I believe both her siblings went on to be show dogs. Tano took after her mom as far as coloring…being the only red and white of the litter. ^_^

I'll push up Tano's appointment for her physical and request the full thyroid thing. If this is all related to thyroid I definitely want to get it looked into asap! Thank you for pointing out that it could all be related!

She really develops a thick woolly undercoat in the fall/winter. You'd think the house wasn't near 70 degrees all winter! If her hair was a little longer I could possibly clean it up and felt with it--she sheds that much!

Hi! My name is Merry and I am an artist and craftsperson living in Redmond, WA with my hubby who makes video games for a living and my rather lazy, 13 year old Basenji named Tano.

Tano didn't used to be so lazy but I think after so many years living with a pair of crazy Boston Terriers who needed constant reminding who was 'top dog' she's decided to kick back and take it easy now that we've moved into our new, Boston-free, townhouse. Nowadays she's satisfied with curling up on her sock monkey blankie and going for the occasional tear up and down the stairs.

My 13 year old, Tano, has recently started doing a very odd, very involuntary-looking twitching when she gets excited. Since it usually happens when she'd normally be drumming her paws on the floor to get my attention I didn't notice it at first but after some observation I've determined it's an involuntary action.

It really looks like a half second seizure. I saw a video about fainting goats and Tano's symptoms look almost the same. I know the goats 'faint' due to hereditary reasons but, aside from the toppling over, it looked so similar. Her legs (front legs…but she's usually sitting) just sort of stiffen up for a second. She also gets a rather startled expression on her face but the whole event happens so quickly and she's back to normal.

It only happens when she's excited in a 'positive' way. Like while I'm preparing her meal or as she is, ever hopeful, watching me eat. If she's negatively stressed she just shakes but there is no tensing up or apparent loss of control. Negative stress pretty much only happens when she's about to be crated (though once she's crated she's perfectly fine) or if I leave the house for a moment to fetch the mail or something (she has always had varying degrees of separation anxiety).

Does this sound like true seizures or am I being hyper-sensitive? Since it's not very consistent it's been very difficult for me to get a bead on the situation well enough to warrant a special trip to the vet. She's due for a physical soon though so I'll bring it up with him then. Any advice before then would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Hi, I'm new and came across this forum while searching for reasons my basenji is shedding like crazy. She's always shed a bit and as she's gotten older (she's 13 now) it seems to get worse and worse. This year it seems exceptionally bad though perhaps it just seems so because I have a new, dark brown chenille couch. :p

I'm glad to read the constructive suggestions in this thread. A few years back on a different forum I had asked the same question and had been told my basenji could not possibly be purebred if she was shedding so much. She may be a pet but I have extensive paperwork proving her lineage and her parents and siblings have been excellent show dogs I was, understandably, rather taken aback with those accusations.

My vet has been concerned with thyroid levels in Tano (my dog) due to discoloration on her tummy. Tests show she's normal though. Since the discoloration tends to show up in the summer and fade in the winter I suspect it may have more to do with her sunbathing.

Another suggestion made to me is that it has something to do with the protein levels in her food. Over the years we've tried different foods and that doesn't seem to make a great deal of difference (she's on Nutro Senior now which I hope is good food since she loves it and processes it well enough).

Anyway, thank you again for posting up good suggestions!