(just thought I'd quickly add that despite his lameness, he has no issues with incontinence or going to the bathroom - it makes everything that much more mysterious, as he tries his best during walks, but his hind legs' nails are often dragging due to the weakness)

Hi there - it's been a while since I posted last, and I hope everyone's pets are doing well! My current basenji problem is really difficult for me, and I'm wondering whether anyone has ideas:

To wit, my boy Grady just recently turned 7 and was of perfect/ideal health and vigour. About 5 weeks back, he was randomly bit by a wasp or bee on one of our walks, and immediately stopped and screamed in ways I'd never heard (nor ever want to hear again!). Since then, he has been extremely lame with a curved spine and tail that rarely goes back to its curl. X-rays, blood work, and ultrasounds picked up nothing, so the vet has always thought it was a soft-tissue injury. Problem is, after some initial success with anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxants, he has returned to being almost "lame", with a curved back and very little strength in his hind legs. His stomach is always "taut" too, which leads me to assume he is "flexing" for pain reasons. Finally, he often grimaces/growls now just moving about.

As x-rays can't seem to find any structural issues, I'm left wondering what on earth could be afflicting him? Did his violent reaction to getting stung make him pull a muscle in his back? Did he give himself a slipped disc (although I'm unsure why x-rays wouldn't catch that)? Could there be some sort of spinal damage that's rendered him barely mobile? He has always been completely up-to-date in medical and vaccine terms, and so this mystery is killing me.

Currently, he is on an anti-inflammatory/painkiller, and there was soon relief in the early days - but he has reverted to not being able to stand on his hind legs or want to use them for any power (ie. jumping up on a sofa). As it's been 5 weeks, I'm at a complete loss as to what further to do or how to think about his healing - will our walks be forever changed to just going around the block?

I guess I'm just putting this out and wondering whether healing takes more time, or what alternatives I might want to pursue (steroids? massage? surgery?). Again, the vet and I have zero idea what this might be, but 5+ weeks now seems like a long time for a soft tissue to not have healed up. Would anyone happen to have any ideas or thoughts as to what I may be dealing with? (doesn't seem "neurological" as his personality seems intact - only weird difference is that he's too "timid" now to not even get annoyed by things that used to make him cranky, like being petted to much - he seems to actually crave that now).

Thanks SO SO much, and my apologies for taking so long with this!!

Thanks so very much for all your responses!! I've been reading them, and I'm grateful there are others who understand this unique pain! Lately, I've been practicing patience, and waiting for the growling (which comes before the biting would start) to die down. It takes quite a while longer than the usual "rush out the door", but he DOES calm down and let me put the legs through the leg holes - victory!! For now, it really does seem to be an exercise in patience - but I'm hoping that he likes the little treat he gets when it's all over, and that he gets used to being calmer as time passes. Again, thanks very very much all!! :)

Hello everyone!!

My 2.5 yr old male basenji becomes extremely aggressive and will growl and bite my hands as I try to put on his winter coat (which he needs from time to time to avoid freezing on our walks). This occurs mostly when staying over with my parents -- oddly enough, he is completely fine with them putting on the coats, it's just me - his owner. And when we're alone back home on our own, he's mostly better and accommodating.

What I'm wondering is, can there be any way to reduce his "anger" at me in this regard? Treats won't cut it, and he's old enough to have given me a bunch of scars by now. Is he confused by who his owner is when multiple people take him outside? Is he wanting to challenge me for some strange reason? Also, it appears the worst part is putting his front legs through any jacket holes. He hates it.

Any ideas/strategies/suggestions are most welcome, as I'm going crazy trying to figure out how to keep an otherwise calm + loving boy from tearing up my hands over 20 seconds of activity. Thanks so very much!! (also - he doesn't have any underlying pain or physical issues to speak of in regards to this, so he's not responding to pain)

I'm so sorry for your loss -- I've had my lil' guy for only 1.5 years now, and on the rare occasion I'm away from him for a day or two, I still flinch and react as if he were there. I can only hope to have as long a run as you had - it sounded so fun and rewarding! My deepest condolences.

Hi there,
Funny enough, my guy is from a breeder in Pembroke - just down the road from Ottawa! They've had litters on and off over the years, but I'm not sure whether they're active at the moment (last I heard, one of the moms was in a "false heat" and they might try again with her in the summer). In any event, it's easiest to politely contact whatever active breeders you can find in Ont/QC, and I find they're very nice and often able to refer you to others should their bookings be full. That's how I did it. Best of luck!!

Just STUNNING!

UPDATE
He woke up today completely frisky and happy to eat his kibble. Went to the vet, and they said all blood/electrolyte samples were normal and that his intestines felt fine. We are going to take a wait-and-see approach for now, and he'll be given some gastrointestinal friendly food over the weekend. The theory is that he was likely dealing with a virus/flu-like bug for 4-5 days. I'm tired from all the drama, but extremely grateful for everyone's help and suggestions -- I'm a very vigilant dog-walker, and yet I'm always surprised at how quickly he can snap something up whilst on a 6-ft leash!

Again, I'm extremely, extremely grateful for the suggestions and comments!! I'm sending out all the most positive vibes I can to you & your dogs, and I'll post a few pics of my Grady in the photo section so you can see what an iron-stomached crazy boy looks like :)

Yeah, there isn't much I can do living in an urban environment - there will be the odd food wrapper or napkin everywhere. The vet appointment is tomorrow, and he's resting comfortably right now after having had boiled chicken (phew). But I kid you not -- on the walk beforehand, everything went well for ~45 minutes, and then he gobbled up something "furry" (like a cat's full tail? 2 blocks later, there's a missing poster for a cat not seen in a long while - this was no piece of rodent, I can assure you). Anyways, I can't believe my bad luck - and his mischievousness - but I'm definitely opting for an xray tomorrow....

I'm grateful for the comments, and I'll keep you all posted!

Thanks very much! I'm also concerned about his very recent habit of wanting to eat "trash" - it's made it extremely difficult to walk with him this last week. I'll need to get to the bottom of that behavior soon enough too!

Thanks very much for the reply! We're going to the vet later tonight. Having normal poops and still being energetic is a bit of a puzzle to me, but that'll be for the expert to figure out. In the meantime, I'm going to try some boiled chicken for him to taste. Fingers crossed!

Hello! My lil' guy is 1.5 yrs old, very hardy, and very adventurous. Problem is, he also has a little naughty streak -- a few days back, he thought it would be fun to eat garbage along our regular walk (discarded kleenex, food wrappers, we know the type). He threw it all up later that day, but would not eat his food (kibble). After 24+ hours of trying to convince him it was ok, I got another bag (different "flavour"). He ate a couple meals, before throwing up again this morning - now he won't eat the new food!

Does anyone have suggestions as to what to do? I've been told to wait 24-48 hours, at which point he'd start eating again - which I'm happy to try. Here's the curious thing: his energy levels are high as usual, and his pooping is fine/regular too!

Thanks for any help you can provide :)