New to basenjiforums, not basenjis :-)

[agilebasenji]

welcome -
sorry to hear about Mystique. I have a 16+ year old with CRF. it can be so hard sometimes.

[stash]

Welcome to the forum, all our pets have been our children as well, easier than the real children but they never leave home and don't bring home their boy/girlfriends and mostly don't talk back. Old pets are always hard especially since they can't really tell us how they are feeling and what's wrong, but they are so delightful when they are old especially when they act like a puppy for that second or two. Enjoy the forum.

Jolanda and Kaiser

[shelly]

Thanks for the welcome! I look forward to being able to talk to fellow B owners. And I agree that when our oldie goldies act like puppies it is so exciting and endearing.
@agilebasenji – how have you coped with poor appetite in your basenjis with CRF?

[agilebasenji]

@shelly:

Thanks for the welcome! I look forward to being able to talk to fellow B owners. And I agree that when our oldie goldies act like puppies it is so exciting and endearing.
@agilebasenji – how have you coped with poor appetite in your basenjis with CRF?

it's a lot of trouble. i home cook for Digital. i rotate protein, veggies and the carb sources. Canned tripe is a hit (i like the tripett brand), but even that is sort of wearing off. he seems to like dark meat chicken the best, but even that doesn't last for very many days any more. he's now on subQ fluids, once a day. but he's always been a difficult eater. I love this boy like crazy, but it's sooo hard to see him so frail and skinny. his prime was 26 pounds; now i think he hovers around 20 pounds. sad. very sad. but i remind myself that at 16.5 years, that's a goodly long life span and i've been so lucky to have him for this long. He was my first comeptition basenji, and he was awesome at everything i've asked of him. my only regret is that i wish he'd had a better, more experienced, handler.

if you haven't already, you need to joint the K9 Kidney list on yahoo. they are a wealth of info. more info than i can take in.

[agilebasenji]

should have also added that there are days that i have to put the food in his mouth and wait for him to eat it. yes, i feed him his meal a mouthfull at a time. try to remember that this is the disease not the dog. <sigh>yes, it sucks.</sigh>

[shelly]

@agilebasenji – thank you for the quick reply! I'm having to do similar things for Mystique. She has always been petite, around 20-21lbs, but she's now hovering between 17.5 and 18.5lbs. I'm having to cook also but she gets sick of things so quickly. She was eating lamb fairly well, and mashed potatoes, but now it seems those aren't palatable. Chicken thigh is currently working, as is rice. I'm considering trying oatmeal.... baby food is also something she'll eat (if meat flavored) but I'm so cautious of the protein. Sometimes I wipe the food on her gums/roof of her mouth to remind her that she likes it. sigh indeed. it is the disease, not the dog. Talk about OCD -- I have an MS Excel spreadsheet with all her food and daily calorie, fat, and protein intake. sigh She's also getting subQ fluids -- we have tried to cut back to every other day, but she doesn't seem as perky. She's also on Epakitin, but I can't tell a huge difference.

Thanks for the advice on the K9 Kidney group -- I did not know about it!

[agilebasenji]

oh the kidney group is HUGE support! you really need to be careful of your phosphorus levels. if you're doing home cooking, make sure your calcium and phos are balanced. all of this will be on the kidney group. this site will be a good start:

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2667/2

and here:

http://www.dogaware.com/

and food info for my favorite tripe brand:
http://www.petkind.com/index-us

there will be lots of info on the kidney list, just try to read what you need. some dogs have stones, heart problems, etc. i tend to skip over that as it was a lot to take in that applied to my dog without the info that didn't.

[DebraDownSouth]

Welcome to the forum. Taking care of the older ones is hard, watching them age is hard. Glad your mom's dog has you to help.

[shelly]

@debra – thanks for the welcome! Old dogs are a challenge, but I wouldn't trade my time with them for the world. My parents are overseas and the vet care where they are sucks, so I'm happy to have Mystique with me!
I'm "down south" too -- in AL. Where in the south are you (if you don't mind me asking)?

@agilebasenji -- thanks for the tip! I joined the group and they do have tons of stuff -- almost too much for me to handle at times LOL

[agilebasenji]

@shelly:

@agilebasenji – thanks for the tip! I joined the group and they do have tons of stuff -- almost too much for me to handle at times LOL

yes, loads of info, but glad it's helping