Posts made by mtins

@tanza:

No, not fecal test. Please see the links on https://www.basenji.org/joomla/index…166&Itemid=292

Link is broken!

@DebraDownSouth:

It could be chicken, but the eating then stop also can be "picky eater" issues. Try holding out and not adding things to it. Even giving an appetite stimulant is better than constantly changing foods or giving stuff in it to get to eat.

Your vet should have checked for the issues even if "she didn't suspect them"… my bet being if she has even seen ONE case I'd be surprised. If this doesn't fix it, insist.

Would those tests be done via fecal test? She did run a few tests on the samples I brought with me. She mentioned that as soon as he has the same issue on this new food, she will run a large blood panel, focusing on gastrointestinal issues and other possible problems.

Not sure if this is the correct info, but the father is "Tommy," AKC GCH Khani's Katoomba, and the mother is "Jazz," AKC GCH/UKC GCH/mBRIS Marjani Notaviva. Loki's AKC registered name is Marjani Think Different, if that helps. He is from Marjani Basenji in Purcellville, Virginia, USA. If you need different info, I can try to find his AKC papers.

@tanza:

Be sure to talk to the Vet about EPI or IPSID (read about it at https://www.basenji.org/joomla/index…166&Itemid=292). Also Giardia, testing for it doesn't always pick it up. I had a male that after more than a year of picky eating/loose/diarrhea bowels, we finally treated him for Giardia (that never showed up with testing. Finally after a course of antiboitics and two wormings with Pancur… he had normal eating habits and bowel movements.

I don't remember, but did you discuss with the breeders?

I just got back from the new vet. She said that she doesn't suspect the conditions you listed above due to the lack of symptoms, but actually suspects that Loki may have a chicken allergy. I didn't realize it until I put all of it on paper, but every food we've fed Loki the last year and a half has been "Chicken and xyz" flavor. So, she put him on Natural Balance grain free venison and sweet potato flavor, along with one capsule of Metamucil a day. She wants him on this for 6 months to see if this breaks the cycle. She also said to keep track of when he gets diarrhea again, and how long it lasts, and to call her when it happens. If he's still getting sick, then she wants to run blood panels to check for IBD or anything more serious, as well as putting him on an elimination diet. She did stool tests and a thorough physical exam, and said everything looked healthy. So, I guess here we go again!

And yep, I asked the breeder and she said that none of the other owners have reported this in their pups. She's also the one who feeds Purina Pro Plan.

I am 90% sure there is no obstruction, as his first poop of the morning is usually mostly formed. But I managed to get a 3pm today with a new vet, so I'll be sure to bring that up, too.

I'm calling around today to see if there's another local vet who could listen to the history and give me another opinion. I've seen dehydrated food before - is there a specific brand that everyone prefers?

Hi all, not sure if you'll all see this since it's an old thread, but I figured I'd keep the story together. It's been about two months since this original post, and we're basically in the same spot. We went along and fed Loki the Iams Vet stuff for about 4 weeks, and it actually did help. His stools went back to normal, so we were prepared to suck it up and just keep him on that food.

That is, until he stopped eating it. It got to the point where he would go a full day without eating (so stubborn). The only way he'd eat is if we mixed it with a tiny bit of peanut butter. Knowing that wasn't a permanent solution, we went out about two weeks ago and picked up a bag of Nature's Variety "Prairie" chicken and brown rice flavor. It's high in fiber, so we had been told by other pet owners to give it a shot. Two days ago, Loki stopped eating this new food again. So, again we're mixing peanut butter into it to at least get something in his system.

He is still struggling with bowl movements. On any given walk, he'll have one bout of diarrhea, followed by squatting and pushing so hard, I can see how red and enflamed his rectum is. I feel so bad. We're at the beginning of week 2 with this. Tomorrow, I call the vet. Again. This is getting so frustrating, and I feel so bad for my pup!

So, I guess this brings me to another question: At what point do you argue with her about the ingredients in the prescription food she's giving you? I don't want to come off as thinking I know better than her.

Hi everyone! Apologies in advance for the wall of text.

Our year and a half-old boy, Loki, has always had tummy troubles. Sometimes it's from stress, other times from a bug, but he seems to be a very sensitive boy. When we got him at 8 weeks, our breeder had him on Purina Pro Plan. I promptly switched him to Natural Balance grain-free, wanting him on less processed stuff, and also because I had read that so many owners found that grain free worked well for their Bs.

However, Loki intermittently will have problems. He'll vomit occasionally (foamy bile, we've been told it's from an empty stomach), and about once every 6 weeks, he'll have a combination of diarrhea and inability to pass any stool. We've changed him to 2 feedings a day to combat the vomiting, and whenever he has the intestinal problems, I make him boiled chicken and rice per the vet's instruction.

Today marks a week that Loki's been having bathroom issues again. Now, I know there are other factors. We moved down the street to a new house about a month ago (although he has adjusted nicely, save for the 3 angry Yorkie-Poos next door). In addition, we're getting married out of state in a month, so he has been at his "grandparents'" house most weekends while we are traveling for prep appointments. Their place is like a second home for Loki, and he has never had any issues there.

The vet looked at his chart today, and said that she suspects that Loki may be part of the small percentage of dogs that get intestinal problems from a grain-free diet, and gave us a bag of Iams Veterinary Intestinal Plus/Low Residue dry food to try for a week.

Has anyone had this issue with their B? Does anyone have experience with this food? I'm happy to keep him on it if it keeps him healthy. Any thoughts appreciated!
+M

P.S. Including a picture of him laying above me as I type this.

Just as a quick aside, if you're still looking for a local breeder, check out Marjani Basenji in Purcellville. Julie (the breeder) should only be about 40 min away from you if you're in Fairfax. She was great with us. I was also worried about my allergies, so she had us come spend an hour with one of her house dogs to make sure I didn't have a reaction. She's fully AKC, etc. Our Loki does shed a tiny bit, but it doesn't affect me at all. Everyone's allergy tolerances are different. Let me know if you want more info about Marjani!

So, here's our first night update. I got into bed while my fianc? was walking Loki for the last time before bed. The hope was that maybe if I was already in bed, he wouldn't freak as much. Fiance walked Loki upstairs on his leash. However, once he let go, Loki jumped up on the bed and immediately went into digging and biting the sheets, so it doesn't appear that me being in bed first helped. However, we immediately pulled him off of the bed with the leash on and made him sit (no treats, but praise) and calm down. This probably went on for about 10 or 15 minutes - he'd jump up, dig, and then get pulled off and corrected.

After the last couple times of leash corrections, Loki decided that it was time to assert more, and started his sprinting and biting us. I immediately grabbed him, "bear hugged" him, and stopped him with a corrective "NO biting." We went through this probably three or four times, as when I'd let him go after he calmed down (and received praise), he'd go right back to biting and sprinting, but the last time, he stayed seated on the floor while I got back into bed and fianc? brushed his teeth. He waited to come back up on the bed until fianc? called him, and when he jumped up, immediately put a toy in his mouth, laid down, and went to sleep.

So all in all, not an awful start. I must be honest that I was relieved to hear you say that you use a "bear hug" on your dogs. I have done this before with other dogs I've owned, but was told that "you can't do that with a Basenji." However, I think different techniques work better for different dogs, even of the same breed. We will see how tonight goes.

Thanks again for everyone's suggestions!

I'm comfortable taking any measures necessary to train this out of Loki. I don't know if that's what you mean by confidence level - I'm great at following directions once I know what I'm doing. I think that's the main question here - where do I start?

In terms of what you asked before - I think he favors me. I have always been "mommy," and I spend more time with Loki, since I work from home twice a week, and it's me that takes him to the dog park on weekends. Oddly enough though, he always starts the night sleeping on Ryan, and only moves to my side during the night.

He gets similarly aggressive/"bitey" when he gets too riled up during play. Ryan and I know not to roughhouse with him, but sometimes when we have him around other friends, they will sometimes play rough with him, which ends up in biting 100% of the time. He will also sometimes bite when one of us comes home for the day. It seems to be an over-excitement issue, but not related to how worn out he is. I am working from home all week this week, and am making sure to take him on multiple half-hour plus walks a day (so that he will nap or play and I can actually get some work done). Next week when I'm back in the office, it's our plan to take him to a cage-free daycare in the area and see if being completely exhausted does anything.

It's too bad you're in Canada! I'd gladly invite you to come witness the crazy.

Hi all, so it's been a couple of weeks. I was out of town all of last week for a death in the family, and while I was gone, Loki only had one bad night with my fianc?. He just made sure to make the pre-bed ritual as short as possible, and Loki was back to normal. However, since I got back two days ago, it seems that I myself may be a trigger. Last night, I walked upstairs and got right into bed, and Loki went from 0-nuts in two seconds. He was definitely worn out and excercized enough, so I don't think being tired enough is the issue. A switch just flipped. We got him off of the bed and did some sit/shake practice with a treat and he responded well, but went back to crazy as soon as it was gone.

Tonight, we'll keep a leash in the room, and the crate, if needed. I'm just so confused. All of the normal solutions don't seem to work with Loki. Getting up and walking away doesn't help - he just follows me and continues to bite. Yelping doesn't help, neither does removing him from the bed entirely. We don't go into the bedroom with him for any other reason than to sleep, and this pretty much just started out of nowhere. He used to be so good on the bed. The breeder suggested crating him in the bedroom with us with a kong, and beyond that, a behavioristt, for the bed issue as well as "bite control."

Do you think we're at the point of a behaviorist yet? Am I being too whiney about this? I love Loki, I just don't understand this.

Thanks,
+M

So, little update. Loki has gotten much better about going into the crate with the help of a Kong frozen with cream cheese and peanut butter. I put the Kong at the edge of the crate, and lock the door to tease him (like was suggested) and get my stuff packed up in the morning to leave. So, most mornings, by the time I open the door and push the Kong to the back of the crate, Loki is sitting in front of the door whining for me to open the door.

Some mornings are smoother than others. Yesterday, he paced for a solid 10 minutes whining, but not fighting me, because he gets the routine now. This morning, he walked right in on the first try and didn't even look at me when I said goodbye and closed the door.

Progress, I think!

However, we've had another issue pop up. Loki's aggression has come back full force. Not sure if I should continue this question here, or start a new thread, but it's kind of scary. It's the worst at bedtime. Loki sleeps on the bed with us, and has never had a problem. However, for the last two weeks or so, when we close the door for "bed time" and get into bed, he goes absolutely bonkers and starts sprinting, biting, and then sprinting away again. It's actually scary. He got me so hard with his front teeth a couple of days ago that it's already turned black and blue. Is Loki trying to dominate us? It's at the worst time of day, too, since by the time 11:30 rolls around for bed time, my fianc? and I are both tired and not terribly full on patience…
+M

Hi all! Small update for you all while I'm on the train into work - Loki is great at getting in the crate when we're practicing, but when it comes time for us to actually crate him and leave for work, he's still having none of it. At this point, it's making me late for work.

I found a pretty large pen on craigslist that I may try next, as long as i can find something to put on top of it, and perhaps some flooring to go under it so he doesnt lift up the floor.

Other than that, does anyone have any suggestions for a video/book that will talk about clicker crate training?

As always, you've all been super helpful!

Thanks!
+M

Loki doesn't know "stay" yet - that's proven to be the most difficult to train, I'm sure because of his separation anxiety. He does know sit, shake, outside, inside, and "off!".

I just used some cheese (his absolute favorite treat) to see if I could begin training "box." At the end of the 5 minute session, Loki would (hesitantly) walk into the crate and wait for me to tell him to sit before he'd get his piece of cheese.

This seems promising! I may go buy him a Kong over my lunch break and put some cream cheese inside and lock it into the crate to make him want to be in there.

Fingers crossed, all!
+M

Thank you all for such detailed replies! We'll figure out which to start with as a plan of attack.

Just a few more details for you: Loki never loved being crated, but he never fought going in before. We keep toys in there and the door is always open. He stops crying (screaming) as soon as we close the front door, but has been known to shred the fleece we leave in there if he's annoyed enough with us. We no longer leave soft toys in the crate for this reason.

Starting last night and this morning, we're giving him his meals and after-walk treats in the crate, placing the bowl all the way in the back and leaving the door open. Loki will go in to eat, but he makes sure to leave his hind legs out of the crate.

He's been so quick to pick up other commands that we've trained him with so far, so I'd love to be able to say "box" and have him stroll into his crate of his own free will, but I have a feeling that this will not be an option with his personality. I've always let my dogs have free roam of the house, so I am also adjusting myself to having to crate Loki when we're gone. (But I knew this when we were researching Basenjis, I know what I signed up for!)

We have not clicker trained Loki, but I think I may have a clicker lying around the house somewhere that I can try to locate for these purposes.

Thank you for your continued advice!
+M

Hi all!
Our 6 month old boy, Loki, seems to have forgotten how being crated works. (Apologies in advance for the long story.)

He was accustomed to being in the crate for 4-5 hours at a time 3 days a week, when my fiancee and I both worked. However, my fiancee was laid off from his job about 3 weeks ago, and so Loki has had almost constant company in the house for that whole time, save for a couple of short trips out to dinner, the store, etc. per week.

Tonight, we tried to put him in his crate when we left for dinner. We have not been able to train Loki to walk into his crate of his own free will, so we have always had to pick him up and insert him into his crate. He's never thrilled with being in the crate, but he has never fought the way he has begun to fight this last week. I am not physically strong enough to get Loki in his crate when he fights - my fiancee has to do it. Tonight, it took us 10 solid minutes to get Loki into his crate, and we were able to only when he literally had to be -thrown- into the crate and the door slammed behind him. He struggled against us so forcefully, I'm afraid that he's going to get hurt the next time we have to crate him.

I should note that Loki was crate trained to sleep overnight when we had first gotten him, but he sleeps in our bed with us at night. He has always been crated when we've been gone. Putting him in a pen when we're gone is not an option, because we're renting a townhouse right now, and I can't risk him escaping and destroying the carpet, blinds, etc. He has also always exhibited some separation anxiety. If he watches one of us leave the house, he cries and sprints around for almost 30 minutes after we've gone. If I gate him downstairs with my fiancee and then run upstairs, even just to grab something quickly, he paces and is visibly upset until I come back down.

What do we do? Has Loki forgotten how to be crated? Do we need to go back to puppy square one and start leaving him for 30 minutes at a time? I've also read on here about maybe giving him a Kong with cream cheese only when he is in the crate so that he associates the crate with a treat - should we try that next?

If needed: Loki is 6 months old, was just neutered last Thursday, and comes from Julie at Marjani Basenji in Virginia.

Thanks in advance!
+M

Thank you to everyone for all of your advice! Loki stayed in his crate last night in our room, and I ended up sleeping at the foot of the bed so he could see me, and it really made a difference. Much less crying for him, much better sleep for us. It's not the most convenient thing to carry the crate up and down our stairs, but hopefully he'll graduate to his own bed soon.

We think he may also be cold, making the crying worse than just being lonely. His crate is loaded with fleece, but it threw my electric blanket in his crate this afternoon just to test it, and he is very obviously waaaaaaay happier in it now. He still prefers to sleep in my lap, but he stays in his crate when I lay him in it as he's sleeping. Definitely a temperature issue. We left him alone in the crate for 30 minutes today, and he cried much less, even stopping briefly by the time we walked back in (we left a video call on my laptop so we could watch him while we were gone.)

He's still not messing in his crate, which am supremely thankful for. No accidents today, either. Now, to just work on the biting…

Thank you all for your support! Here are a few photos to show you all what we've done. You'll notice that I have part of the blanket under the door, so he can't chew the cord. Puppy life is so rough

@tanza

Pat - We have heard SO many things from so many different people/breeders/books about overnight crate training. We've been told everything from "keep it in the bedroom with you so you can comfort him" to "keep it downstairs where he'll be far from you and it's quiet and don't go to him" to "if you're eventually not going to crate him overnight, why would you give him the mixed signal of crating him in the beginning?"

How do we know who to listen to? Yes, we will eventually allow him to sleep in our bed/his bed in our bedroom at night, but only once he's 100% housebroken.