Anyone give their B sub q fluids at home and can give me some tips and tricks? Lenny is in acute renal failure and the vet suggested flushing him with sub q fluids over the next 2 weeks to see if we can get him back to just the chronic kidney failure that we have been dealing with over the last couple years.

I've got the Lactated Ringers, line and needles on order and would welcome any tips or encouragement on doing this at home myself. I've watched a few youtube videos as well as gotten instructions from the vet, but nothing like some first hand advice from fellow basenji owners to ease my nerves......

Well here we are again! I posted a couple years ago about the random seizure Lenny had while were on vacation, never found a cause for it (nor has it happened again, thankfully) but that ER visit led us to a diagnosis of stage 2 renal failure. I have been cooking for him for the last 2 years.... up until the shelter in place started and things got crazy with home schooling and remote working and all other parts of life. Then I found a low protein kibble that he liked and spruced it up with some pasta/rice and veggies and other goodies to keep him excited about his food, always added a lot of water and fish oil tablets and Vitamin B supplement. Took him to the vet recently and seems he has advanced to stage 3 renal disease. The vet recommended a Royal Canin prescription renal diet. I gave it a try... it's been a week and I swear it's terrible for him. He's an oldie at almost 15 years old.... before the switch to Royal Canin he did sleep a lot, as these older guys do, but when he was awake he was still pretty solid on his feet - despite having vision and hearing problems. He would trot around the house and sniff things and search for dropped food, occasionally steal something off the table... you know, typical Basenji stuff. I tried out the Royal Canin food and I feel like it was killing him. He suddenly couldn't walk straight... he was super wobbly and disoriented all the time. It seemed like his legs were going to give out on him and he'd have a hard time even circling to lay down. Enough of that! I sat down and reformulated his nutritional needs based on his latest bloodwork and urine results from the spreadsheet from the K9KidneyDiet yahoo group and created a couple recipes for him that balanced his protein/phosphorus/calories/calcium. I have fed him 2 of these new home cooked meals so far and he's back to normal Lenny! What on earth is in that Royal Canin that was making him seem so out of it??!?!?!?!?! No more!

@tanza

I will email you! We are ok - hanging in there with all of this craziness. Hope you are well!

@donc

Thanks for the info - and LOL re "I'd have to czech". Thanks for the tip about the car taking us to CZ. My husband also found out today from the Polish Embassy that we would NOT have to quarantine in Poland for 2 weeks - we could simply transit on to CZ either by rail or by car... so that may have solved our problem. I see that LOT airlines flies directly to Warsaw from SF, and I could get Lenny on board with me as an ESA. According to their website it's possible but I want to verify with an actual person. I've spent a total of 3 hours on hold today with their call center. I'll keep trying... thanks!

@basenjimom2

Yes, I really don't want to fly him in cargo. I"m 99.9% sure that I would not do it. I have been posting on some Czech ex-pat pages where people regularly fly back and forth (in this case, from Canada) with their dogs and I hear, for example, that Luftansa - is great with pet transport. I'm trying to find out exactly what that means.

I have a friend in MN that has offered to take him for the duration of our trip - which is wonderful and I trust her. But I don't want to be without him.... so trying to find a way to make this work....

Hey Pat,

I am in the process of calling airlines now. According to their websites, they all (except for British Airways) allow ESAs on board flights directly to/from the U.S. But I know things may have changed since COVID so I'm definitely going to confirm. Hoping someone has some insight into how strict they have found the airlines to be in Europe with regards to the stated sizes/weights for the in cabin pets. I was hoping since we'd be transiting and therefore already past the ticket counter and security they might not notice..... and then worst case if they do notice, we could put him in cargo for the 1.5 hours.... :(

Hello! My family and I are going to stay with my husband's family in the Czech Republic for a few months starting around October of this year. I've been looking into all of the different complications of getting Lenny there and it's just overwhelming and I don't know if it will even be possible. I can get him registered as an Emotional Support Animal, but ESAs are only recognized on flights directly to or from the U.S. Right now, there are NO flights to Prague from anywhere in the U.S. :(. We can get from the US to another nearby country (like Poland) with him in cabin. And then from there it gets more complicated.

So seems my options from Poland to CZ are to either:

1. Take my chances that the airline would allow Lenny to be a normal in-cabin pet, even though he exceeds the weight/height limits to be an in-cabin pet? He's about 22 lbs.

2. Let him fly cargo from Poland to CZ. It's about 1.5 hours. (I hate even thinking about this).

He's 15. He's never been on a flight before. He's generally healthy with some minor kidney issues and sight/hearing issues.

Anyone have any insight?

Thanks both of you for your responses. Yes, I was happy to see his UPC went down - the only thing that changed between June and August is that we switched him from his high protein grain free food to the senior diet by recommendation of the Canadian vet. His August tests were also conducted right after his seizure so not exactly his normal state. I talked to his local vet yesterday and we agreed that I'd fully switch him to my homemade diet and recheck his values in a few weeks and see if they come down even more. If not, I will start him on the Benazipril. Fingers crossed!

@flbasenji - I joined that same FB group and posted about lenny a couple times. The first time a couple people told me he had a UTI which is why I got it checked again - but it came back negative. I posted again yesterday and no one responded. :( I'd be interested to hear more about what you've done with your B's with kidney issues - what have you fed them? Any supplements?

Hi Everyone - it's been a LONG time since I've been on these forums - looking for some advice from you experienced basenji owners.

Lenny is 12.5 years old and always been really healthy until about a month he suddenly had a seizure while we were on vacation. We took him to an emergency vet who did some bloodwork and urinalysis and told us he has stage 2 kidney disease. Probably unrelated to the seizure but a side finding. They recommended putting him on a senior diet, as well as a kidney health supplement and 2.5mg of Benazepril per day. We put him on the new food immediately but have not yet started the Benazepril. We came back from vacation and I started researching home made diets for kidney disease, re-joined the yahoo k9kidneydiet group (i was a member years ago when I had Tayda, our Fanconi-afflicted B), and unfortunately they have not been very helpful. I think the moderators have too much going on in their real lives to answer all of the member's questions. Anyway, they did look at his test results and suggested that he probably had a UTI - so last friday I took Lenny to our local vet and they did a urinalysis. It came back negative for bacteria and WBC but I still asked them to do a culture and sensitivity test to be extra sure. That test came back with no bacteria grown. So we are sure there is no UTI. I'm attaching photos of his bloodwork and urinalysis from June and his urinalysis from last friday. Noteworthy values:

June results:
BUN = 37.52
Creatinine = 1.75
Urine Specific Gravity = 1.026
Protein = ++
UPC = 1.4

August Results:
Urine Specific Gravity: 1.033
Protein = 500 mg/dL
UPC ratio = 0.76.

Only difference between June and August is that in June we were feeding him a grain free high protein diet, and in August we switched him to the senior kibble that presumably is lower in protein.

Questions:

1. Is it correct to say that he's got Stage 2 kidney disease AND proteinuria? Or are they one in the same?
2. Anyone else give their B's Benazepril? The emergency vet said to give him 2.5mg but the local vet said 5mg was the right dose. He weighed in a couple pounds different between the two visits so maybe he's right on the cusp?
3. What side effects can I expect from the Benazepril?
4. Can anyone advise on a homemade diet for Lenny? Based on materials I'm finding I'm targeting about 25-30 grams of protein per day and less than 400mg of phosphorus per day. The recipe I just made contains: 555 cal/30g protein/381mg phos/136mg calcium. To that recipe I add about 1/2 tsp of ground up eggshells to balance the phosphorus and I'm not adding any additional phosphorus binder since his phosphorus is currently in the normal range.

I think that's in for now! Thanks to anyone who has any advice for me!!!

Michelle

Thanks everyone for your input. I'm pretty confident it's not a UTI because when he does pee, he empties his bladder, it's a large volume of pee. Not, small frequent amounts of pee that you see with a UTI. He has had a total of 3 accidents over the past month - possibly 2 months if I think back more specifically. And I actually think one of those incidents was him knocking over his water bowl and soaking his bed. I have been going home at lunch and letting him out mid-day and sometimes he doesn't even seem to want to pee at all. And he has never had an accident when we are home. He usually gets let out at about 5pm and then not again until 7am, and he has had no issues with that long overnight stint.

Hi Everyone,

Lenny, my 11 year old male brindle has had a couple of accidents in his crate during the day. This has never happened in the 11 years I've had him, and he has not ever peed in the house outside of his crate. It's happened probably 3 times in the last month or so, so not THAT frequent, but it's definitely a change from his normal "camel-like" behavior. He had the Fanconi test done years ago which came back that he was a carrier, so I believe it is not possible for him to start showing symptoms? I'm not positive about that though. I have an appointment with a vet recommended to me that specializes in kidney issues, but couldn't get an appointment for a month. I don't think it's a UTI because when he does pee, he empties his whole bladder - not the typical small amounts here and there that we see with UTIs. Maybe it's just his old age? He still seems to like his crate - goes in there when we are home to get a little quiet time from our kids (lol). And we feed him in there. He doesn't have a problem holding his pee overnight or at other times during the day. We've just come home from work to find his crate wet and him upset a few times. Anyone else have this happen with an older basenji?

Hi imbj,

Where in the Bay area are you? We live in Foster City with a male brindle B, and we are looking for someone who can look after him when we are out of town. Would you recommend the person that watched yours?

Michelle

Oh great! Here is her website if you want more info and her contact information

http://www.rubsandwalkies.com/

If you call her - let her know you first found out about her from my thread! She'll get a kick out of that!

michelle

Thanks for the replies - Oh I agree… and my husband, who is an Evolutionary Biologist - agrees 100%. He also contends that dogs are carnivores, not omnivores - based on their teeth/jaw. I know there's some controversy about that as well. I will probably feed mostly raw with some kibble - mainly for our convenience when we have to travel, it will just be easier to feed him kibble if we are out of town and staying with family, or staying in a hotel and don't have access to a fridge or whatever. It wouldn't be that often but I still like the idea of it being an option without upsetting his stomach.

Since the meat I will be buying will be from the grocery store - do I need to worry about salmonella and other bacteria? I never worried about it before ( i fed raw for almost a year before Tayda was diagnosed w/ Fanconi) and never had an issue, but now that I'm re-researching, it's worth asking what other people do. I've heard some people will rinse the meat in vinegar (and then rinse the vinegar of with water) to kill off some of the bacteria. Does anyone do that?

Hello all - I searched the forum for this but didn't see anything about this aspect of raw feeding….

I'm thinking about putting Lenny back on a raw diet. I had both Tayda and Lenny on raw before Tayda was diagnosed with Fanconi - and now that she has passed on :( I'm thinking of starting Lenny back on it again. But now he is 5 years older than before. He just turned 7 a few months ago - which I know is considered "senior" for some dogs. Although I can not get it through my head that he is an "older" dog, he is 7, so I want to make sure I do the right thing for him.

So. one thing I wanted to ask about it is feeding raw is, is it okay for "older" dogs? Is it a myth that older dogs need lower protein foods? Most of the kibble out there for senior dogs has reduced protein so that it is easier on their kidneys. I think the senior diets are around 18-23% protein.... and a chicken leg, for example, has about 18grams of protein per leg which is about 100g. So that would be 18% protein. So.... seems like it's okay? I suppose if many of the grain free foods are up toward 35-40% protein - then that really would be a lot more protein than a raw diet? Maybe I answered my own question here, but I wanted to throw it out to you all....

Also, I am reading that it is okay to feed raw at one meal and kibble at another?

I know many people do many things in terms of raw/kibble and if/how they mix it in their dogs' diets. Just wanted to see if people could share what they do?

Thank you everyone for your support - It's so helpful to log on and see all these messages. We are doing okay. I miss her and still expect to see her lounging in her favorite places around the house. Lenny is also grieving - he is not being himself, it's quite sad to see. I've been bringing him to work with me so he doesn't have to be alone all day. We have a long weekend coming up so we'll work on leaving him for short periods of time. The good thing is I still feel 100% that it was the right decision - and I feel confident that she did not suffer. The vet stressed ME out, but Tayda did not suffer, and that's all that matters.

Thanks everyone. It was very hard, but I was sure it was the right thing to do. I loved her enough to let her go with some dignity….. the seizure was just too much. I could not chance that it would happen again without us there.

Hi everyone, I had to let Tayda go today. :(

She was the model Fanconi patient but she's been declining for the last year (probably more like 2 years if I'm honest with myself). I've been struggling for a long time trying to balance her quality of life with my want to have her around. Then she had a seizure last night. First time ever. It was scary and awful. It lasted a minute or two. When I realized it was happening I just sat down on the floor with her petting her telling her it was going to be okay. She was foaming at the mouth and drooling. it was awful awful awful. I have read that low potassium can be a cause for seizures so I took her downstairs after she stopped seizing to give her a potassium pill, in case that was the reason. As I was carrying her she was very limp and her head was droopy. I actually checked to see if she was breathing, to make sure she was still alive. I put her down to get the pill ready and she just laid on her side very limp. She didn't seem able to stand - I tried to put her on her feet and she just swayed sideways - her legs obviously were not going to support her. I gave her the pill and just held her in my arms hoping she would come out of her daze. After a few minutes she seemed a bit more stable, so I took her outside so she could pee. Normally after she pees she comes straight in, but this time she was wandering around outside in the snow all confused. She was kind of walking around aimlessly and bumped into the side of the steps so I went down, picked her up and brought her in the house. She continued to walk around aimlessly like she was confused and maybe couldn't see. She bumped into a few things. I picked her up and placed her in front of the water bowl and she wobbled a bit and then started drinking. Over the next few minutes she seemed to be able to reorient herself a little, I think, though I carried her back up the stairs to the bedroom. She slept for the rest of the night without any issue and in the morning she was seemingly unaffected. However, I had made my decision already that it was time to let her go.

I took the day off work today and spent it with her and Lenny. We had a nice day. Fed her all kinds of forbidden stuff (yummy high protein stuff she has not been able to have in years due to her kidneys) and cuddled on the couch. Lenny probably gained a pound today also with all the treats. She was happy all day and that makes me happy. It's just how a farewell day should be.

The experience at the vet was not what I wanted, but she did not suffer. I asked them to give her the catheter, bring her back to me, and then give her a sedative before injecting the stuff that would knock her out. When they took her back, I heard her scream - that was awful. I thought it was when they put the needle in (even though she has gotten blood drawn many many times without a peep) but when she came back the tech said she just screamed when nothing was happening. She has done that with my husband many times. I guess it's a nervous thing. She's been doing it for a while. :( When they brought her back to me, I started feeding her treats and while she was eating them I could see she was getting drowsy. I asked why. They said they had already given her a little bit of sedative. I got upset and told them they weren't supposed to do that until I was ready. He "reversed" it, whatever that means and she perked up a bit, but probably only about 80%. I spent a few minutes with her and it seemed the catheter was a little uncomfortable for her so I gave them permission to inject the other stuff. She went limp very quickly.

I'm trying not to be "angry" about it, but I am. It sucks that there was confusion at the end and I spent that last few minutes wondering "WHY IS SHE ACTING LIKE THIS, IS SHE OKAY???" It was just unnecessary stress on me and I just feel like my last few moments with her (alert) were rushed and kind of stolen? :( They kept telling me to take as much time as I needed - what did they mean, afterward? Wouldn't I want to take that time BEFORE they made her drowsy and could no longer respond to me???? Ugh?. She was obviously not stressed and she did not suffer, that's the most important thing. What i have to remember is the whole day we spent on the (forbidden) couch eating (forbidden) food and all the cuddling. Those are the moments I'm going to remember. Not the 5 minutes at the vet before she passed. It sucks, but it won't do any good to be mad about it.

Lenny was there with me. He wasn't particularly interested in what was going on, but afterward I put her down on the bench and he sniffed her a few times, walked around the room, sniffed her a few more times, and that was it. He sat down with his back leaning against my back. He didn't whine on the way home or anything. When we got home he seemed calm. There was some food left in Tayda's bowl and I put it on the floor for him to eat. He sniffed it and walked away! He is acting off. Definitely not interested in the food we cooked in the kitchen. He went and stayed in the living room curled up in a dog bed. He NEVER leaves the kitchen when we're cooking.

So? I'm okay, I'm happy her last day was a good one, and she seemed normal - rather than rushing to the vet because she's in pain or already on her way out. Everything about today was perfect, except for the last 10 minutes. She doesn't have to take any more pills, be anxious in her crate, or be confused about where to pee anymore. I miss her already. It's so weird without her here. Even though she mostly just laid around - I walk around the peninsula in the kitchen and expect to see her laying there? I looked at the clock at pilling time and remembered I don't have to do that anymore. I wonder how long I'll continue to do that. Goodbye Tayda.

Thanks everyone for being here for me.

Hi everyone, Just wanted to update this thread.

Tayda had a seizure last night. First time ever. It was scary and awful. It lasted a minute or two. When I realized it was happening I just sat down on the floor with her petting her telling her it was going to be okay. She was foaming at the mouth and drooling. it was awful awful awful. I have read that low potassium can be a cause for seizures so I took her downstairs after she stopped seizing to give her a potassium pill, in case that was the reason. As I was carrying her she was very limp and her head was droopy. I actually checked to see if she was breathing, to make sure she was still alive. I put her down to get the pill ready and she just laid on her side very limp. She didn't seem able to stand - I tried to put her on her feet and she just swayed sideways - her legs obviously were not going to support her. I gave her the pill and just held her in my arms hoping she would come out of her daze. After a few minutes she seemed a bit more stable, so I took her outside so she could pee. Normally after she pees she comes straight in, but this time she was wandering around outside in the snow all confused. She was kind of walking around aimlessly and bumped into the side of the steps so I went down, picked her up and brought her in the house. She continued to walk around aimlessly like she was confused and maybe couldn't see. She bumped into a few things. I picked her up and placed her in front of the water bowl and she wobbled a bit and then started drinking. Over the next few minutes she seemed to be able to reorient herself a little, I think, though I carried her back up the stairs to the bedroom. She slept for the rest of the night without any issue and in the morning she was seemingly unaffected. However, I had made my decision already that it was time to let her go.

I took the day off work today and spent it with her and Lenny. We had a nice day. Fed her all kinds of forbidden stuff (yummy high protein stuff she has not been able to have in years due to her kidneys) and cuddled on the couch. Lenny probably gained a pound today also with all the treats. She was happy all day and that makes me happy. It's just how a farewell day should be.

However, the experience at the vet was not what I wanted, but she did not suffer. I asked them to give her the catheter, bring her back to me, and then give her a sedative before injecting the stuff that would knock her out. When they took her back, I heard her scream - that was awful. I thought it was when they put the needle in (even though she has gotten blood drawn many many times without a peep) but when she came back the tech said she just screamed when nothing was happening. She has done that with my husband many times. I guess it's a nervous thing. She's been doing it for a while. :( When they brought her back to me, I started feeding her treats and while she was eating them I could see she was getting drowsy. I asked why. They said they had already given her a little bit of sedative. I got upset and told them they weren't supposed to do that until I was ready. He "reversed" it, whatever that means and she perked up a bit, but probably only about 80%. I spent a few minutes with her and it seemed the catheter was a little uncomfortable for her so I gave them permission to inject the other stuff. She went limp very quickly.

I'm trying not to be "angry" about it, but I am. It sucks that there was confusion at the end and I spent that last few minutes wondering "WHY IS SHE ACTING LIKE THIS, IS SHE OKAY???" It was just unnecessary stress on me and I just feel like my last few moments with her (alert) were rushed and kind of stolen… :( They kept telling me to take as much time as I needed - what did they mean, afterward? Wouldn't I want to take that time BEFORE they made her drowsy and could no longer respond to me???? Ugh…. She was obviously not stressed and she did not suffer, that's the most important thing. What i have to remember is the whole day we spent on the (forbidden) couch eating (forbidden) food and all the cuddling. Those are the moments I'm going to remember. Not the 5 minutes at the vet before she passed. It sucks, but it won't do any good to be mad about it.

Lenny was there with me. He wasn't particularly interested in what was going on, but afterward I put her down on the bench and he sniffed her a few times, walked around the room, sniffed her a few more times, and that was it. He sat down with his back leaning against my back. He didn't whine on the way home or anything. When we got home he seemed calm. There was some food left in Tayda's bowl and I put it on the floor for him to eat. He sniffed it and walked away! He is acting off. Definitely not interested in the food we cooked in the kitchen. He went and stayed in the living room curled up in a dog bed. He NEVER leaves the kitchen when we're cooking.

So… I'm okay, I'm happy her last day was a good one, and she seemed normal - rather than rushing to the vet because she's in pain or already on her way out. Everything about today was perfect, except for the last 10 minutes. She doesn't have to take any more pills, be anxious in her crate, or be confused about where to pee anymore. I miss her already. It's so weird without her here. Even though she mostly just laid around - I walk around the peninsula in the kitchen and expect to see her laying there… I looked at the clock at pilling time and remembered I don't have to do that anymore. I wonder how long I'll continue to do that.

Thanks everyone for being here for me.

I would love for her to be retrained to use the litter box - but in the last year and a half all attempts to retrain her have been unsuccessful. I have some washable pee pads as well - but they have a non-permeable backing on one side, so if i fold them in half, it doesn't really help. Do yours have the waterproof backing?