Posts made by wsuraci

We have been to a dermotologist. She was given a topical cream and suggested that we use a leather product.

We have two different types of harnesses. Both are the walk in type. One is leather and one is nylon, but lined with fleece. She seemed to not mind the fleece one as much, but wherever the fleece touched her fur, the fur would vanish like you shaved it. The harness was adjustable and we tried loose and tight, but the fur still came off. That is when we went to the leather one. Now she will not wear any of them. We have a leather collar on her now. It still irritates her neck, so we remove it in the house. We just need to be careful with the front door. Thankfully she has not demonstrated any escaping or bolting actions yet.

It may be that the harness irrates her in some way. She runs when she sees the harness.

Thanks,
We have temporarily gone back to the slip on nylon leash. She actually runs to you when it is time to go for the walk, but will not come close when she sees the harness. We will try to gain her trust again so that we can minimize the rash that she gets from the slip on.

Patty,

This basenji girl normally lets you touch her all over. She is a little sensitve about her feet and will mouth you if you touch them, but she will not usually bite. She allows us to grab her tongue, teeth, ears, tail and almost every part of her. The only time she gets at all agressive is with the leash and when she is woken up on the couch. I think there must be some previous issue with the leash, or maybe it is related to the rash on her chest.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I think in the long run, a little work and rewards will help to resolve the issue. I will update her progress.

Yes, we had a complete check done shortly after we got her from rescue. The only issue was the rash on her chest. We are giving her fish oil and we have put her on a good diet. The rash is much better, but she has some skin issues. She has the shortest fur I have ever seen. It is like she was shaved, but in almost four months, it has not grown at all. I have two other basenjis and one that died two years ago and I have not seen this short of fur before.

I don't think it's her vision, but it will be worthwhile to investigate further. We were putting a harness on her because she had a terrible skin rash from a standard collar. For almost two months, she was fine, but slowly started the biting. We went back to a traditional collar, but need to remove it after the walks because of the rash. Have tried both nylon and leather collars.
Good luck on finding your perfect basenji. In my mind with a little work, they are all perfect.

We recently got a 3 year old female rescue with no known history. We were told that she was aggressive toward other canines on walks. Having another B that is the same we new how to deal with it. The problem we are having now is aggressive biting when we attempt to put a leash on her. Some days she is fine, but other days she is wild. My partner has been bitten several times and I have come close. We now just put her back in the crate when she acts this way and take the other two out without her. The next walk she goes willingly but then again repeats the cycle.

She seems to have some training (basic commands) and is very food motivated. I fear that putting her in the crate will be associated with punishment.

Any suggestions?

In late May our Teimo had an episode that I at first thought was a stroke or heart attack. He bounced back to normal within 15 minutes. Since then he has had 4 more episodes that we have witnessed. The frequency and duration of the attack has increased. Before the attacks started he would display and uncontrollable head shake that would almost cause him to lose balance and fall over. We assumed it was some sort of Parkinson?s. The frequency became greater every week. Since he is 14 years old we chalked it up to old age.

After the last episode, I brought him to the vet. We had already discussed the issue after each previous occurrence and had discussed a treatment plan if the frequency increased. The only thing we needed to do was a blood test to rule out any other issues and then we could start treatment. He is now taking Potassium Bromide once a day in his food. Within one day of taking it the head shakes have stopped. It has been two weeks since he started and there have been no new episodes or attacks.

Also Teimo has not displayed any of the common side effects that other dogs have experienced (loss of hind leg control, frequent urination and lethargy). So far it has renewed his life and ours. Will keep you updated.

We do use a flea product on them, but not Advantixs and we have used the same product for years. Although every batch could be a little different, and who knows how regulated those products are. I did look at the possible side effects listed on the package, but of course not enough information is provided. Thanks for the advice.

The involuntary leg movement are a series of rapid kicks to mid air. Only have observed them three or four times over the last 36 hours, but enough to be concerned. My vet called back to check on Elzaer and I informed him about the face swelling which was not noticeable when we visited him. He then told me that it was likely a reaction to a bite from an insect and to continue to treat with the Benadryl until the swelling subsided. Thanks for the response. Sounds like we are on the same page.

Elzaer a 21 month old male weighs 23.5 lbs. He normally is very active. The other night at about 2AM he started to act strange. He started running around like he needed to go out, but that was not the case. Through the rest of the night he continued to get up and down and in and out from under the covers. After his four mile walk in the morning he normally goes in his crate and sleeps for the next four hours. On this morning he could not stay still in the crate and started to wine and move in circles. When I let him out he proceeded to run between the bedroom and the family room trying to find a comfortable place to sleep. He also tried to get under blankets or pillows or anything that would cover his body. I also noticed some involuntary rear lag movement. It was evident that he was tired, but could not go to sleep. I gave him 25 mg of Benadryl, waited an hour and then took him to the vet. By that time the Benadryl had kicked in and he mellowed out. The vet thought that he looked good and said to just observe for the next 24 hours. We came home; he went in his crate and slept the remainder of the day. When he woke up, I noticed his face was puffy and swollen. I checked with my fingers, but it did not seem to bother him. On his evening walk, I observed more involuntary rear leg movement. I gave him another Benadryl before bed time. He was better through the night, but still got up and down many times and was very tired in the morning. Not sure if that was residual effect of the Benadryl or lack of sleep. On his reduced morning walk (2 miles) today I also noticed involuntary movement in his front legs. His face is still swollen. I am hoping this is caused by a reaction to a bug bite and will go away soon. Anyone else having this kind of experience please comment.

Thanks for the advice. It may be worth a try.

Thanks, I purchased a leather harness yesterday. Hopefully it will do the trick. She is a good walker and does not pull unless of course she sees bugs bunny on the lawn. Then all bets are off.

We are feeding all of them natures balance dry - no wheat with some wet canned food also by natures balance. We were feeding Elzaer and Teimo Inova for years, but had too many bad batches where both dogs would get sick. Teimo and Elzaer both have wonderful coats. This condition was pre existing on Akiki. I asked the rescue shelter about any possible conditions or allergies, but they did not know of any.

Teimo and Elzaer Update
Teimo, almost 14 now has slowed down considerably over the last several months. We were up to walking about 10 miles a day and he outlasts Elzaer every time, but in the last 10 weeks he has suffered two seizures. He seems to come out of them okay, but they are not easy to watch.
Elzaer has also been a little frustrated, because Teimo does not want to play as much. The younger dog will often just sit silently in front of Teimo and watch him sleep. We decided to introduce another young B into the pack to act as a bridge between Teimo and Elzaer. A roughhouse mate for Elzaer and a caring female for Teimo. So far at least part of that is true. Teimo asserted his dominance the first day we brought Akiki home from the rescue group. Since then we only allow them together under close supervision and with leashes on. We think Teimo would back down, but Akiki has a stubborn mind and is physically more agile and stonger than Teimo. Hopefully they will learn to adjust.

Elzaer is in heaven. He still is able to lay on the sofa with his best bud Teimo and do the B-500 with Akiki. They wrestle, play tug of war and laze in the sunshine when they finally tire. It is exactly what he needed and by how happy Akiki seems it is good for her as well.

Akiki seems to have a skin condition. Just below the collar line on her chest, the white is discolored from the red skin irritation underneath. She also emits a very dog like smell, something none of our other basenjis have ever had. We are treating her with a topical antibiotic that the vet provided and it seems to be somewhat better. We thought that the nylon collar was causing some irritation so we tried a harness on her. She walks well with it, however everywhere the material touches her body the hair has been removed as if she has been shaved. This is only after one week of use. Her fur/hair is the shortest I have ever seen on a basenji. There is nothing to brush and no place for flees or ticks to hide. She seems happy; I hope we can find a solution to the skin irritation.

That the latest…

Here is the video as promised.

http://cid-f87801e009b81548.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/.Public/E%20and%20T%20Now.wmv

It has been since last April that I last updated the Teimo and Elzaer saga, so I am providing an update. The two male basenjis have become inseperable. Teimo is 13 now and Elzaer is 1. Teimo has had a revitalization of life. He does not play like he did in younger years but still wears me out just watching. They play so hard that I have to make them stop so that Teimo can catch his breath. It is nice to have Teimo to cool down some of Elzaer's endless energy. It is funny that in all the attacks and snarling the Teimo did, he never once hurt Elzaer, even though listening to Elzaer you would have thought he was run over by a car. The opposite was not true, Elzaer's razor sharp teeth marked teimo up several times and still he did not bite or harm him. Once we observed carefully, we stopped coming to Elzaer's rescue and just let them be Basenjis.
Teimo is still grumpy at night and Elzaer has learned to avoid startling or even playing with him in the late evening, but they always manage to sleep side by side. It is great to see how Elzaer continued to play with him even though he was rejected for so long.
I will post a video so that you can see the two in action.
All for now…

Teimo and Elzear

The now inseparable duo has turned the house into a racetrack. Elzear the puppy has found out that he can now bank off of furniture rather than slow down. Teimo has found his youth and the two of them are nonstop play. Teimo now goes on walks and runs with me only to relax and get a break from the sharp teeth of Elzear. Teimo has yet to realize that though his spirit may be young, his body is still that of a 13 year old dog. This morning their morning b-500 turned into one limping dog. It does not appear to be more than a sprain, but still a bit uncomfortable. We are thankful for his youthfulness, but are afraid he might hurt himself with all of the rapid play. We will just have to slow them down a bit. Yeah right! Easier said than done.