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Tail end of a Basenji

Basenji Health Issues & Questions
  • I hope he gets his tail up again.
    I have never seen one down for a long period of time, unless there is an injury or pain.

  • Well, here some good news. He's tail goes up occasionally but certainly not like its normal self. He does not seem to have any pain in it. I gently massaged it and he didn't seem bothered by my touch. It still flops to the down position though. I'll see how he's doing tomorrow and call the vet if I feel its not perking up.

  • Keep us posted, I hope he gets the curl back soon!

  • I've never seen that either – except when they are getting a bath.

  • Not that this is what is going on with this guy… but puppies when teething will drop their tails... The first puppy that I had that happen with, freaked me out... (along with ears dropping also)......

  • Is he acting lethargic?
    How is the rest of his personality?

  • Riley drops his tail when he is not feeling quite right. I have seen it at the park before. Liz and I both noticed that he was acting off, like he was nervous. I noticed that he dropped his tail when a particular white German Shepard was near him. I suppose the GSD made him uncomfortable…..we were glad when he left.

    Best of luck for finding out what is going on

  • Ok so heres the deal…...I noticed a day before his tail went limp that it was real puffy. You know when cats get scared and they puff up to look bigger? Well that is what Mick's tail looked like, then it went limp now its back to puffy and limp. What in the world is going on with this? I called the vet and he has an appointment to get it checked out.

  • Oh to answer your questions BDawg, no he's not lethargic. He's playing and running like normal.

  • I agree with BDawg, impacted glands.
    It could also be a simple tail sprain or a problem in the lower lumbar or sacrum. I'd have a vet check done just to reassure yourself.

  • This happened to my dog, Tosca, about a year or two ago. I still to this day have no idea what happened, but I think it was some kind of injury. What happened was that my husband I had a long day, too long for Tosca to be crated…so we asked our aunt to come relieve her, let her out to go to the bathroom, walk, etc. and put her back in until we got home. At this point, we were also leaving her out short periods of time to see how she would do. Anyway, there was miscommunication, and our aunt left Tosca loose in the house, instead of putting her back in the crate. I was freaked out until we got home, and luckily found no damage. However, that night, and at least all the next day her tail was down, just like that. She was acting her normal self, but would kind of whimper if you touched the area, hinting to me that something was sore. I called the vet, and they said (it was a weekend) to just keep an eye on her, and call back on Monday if things weren't better. Well, by Monday the tail slowly began going back up again, and was back to normal before long. Soooo...I still have no idea what she did to injure her tail, but luckily it was no big deal...hopefully you are just dealing with something similar, and it will get better soon, good luck!

  • Well, his tail returned to normal just 2 days after. He has his 1 year check up this week so the doc will check it for any problems. Thanks for all your input and advise.

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    Yeah you told me about that before and I'm clueless, but I'll try it if I need to, lol. could be the noise of occasional thump, could be they can hear it even tho we can't. My chow would be drooling buckets before we got a mile away. I just had to keep towels down and take off and bag along the trip. But I took her for a 7 hr trip to atlanta and she threw up and threw up, then stopped. Never threw up again. :( on your back. I had been getting radiofrequency ablations in the US, and they really helped. But doctors here will only do them once or twice. I have had at least 6 on one side, 3 on the other. :( But it's miraculous pain relief when it is done right. Maybe your dog acupuncturists knows of a human one they'd recommend?
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    I am glad to hear of her improvement. Sometimes we live with dogs and don't see the changes they start so slow. It's good to make it a habit to actually inspect them monthly. I hope she keeps improving but as Sally said, too much weight gain isn't good.
  • Sick Basenji :(

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    P
    I too am sorry for not seeing this thread sooner and hopefully the poster will return. My Basenji had some teeth removed and the vet prescribed Carprofen as the follow up antibiotic. My Basenji turned out to be allergic to Carprofen which caused her liver to fail. I went through the same scenario you are describing. She gradually quit eating over the course of several days and then her water consumption started to go down. The eating had me worried since she had an excellent appetite upon return from the vet and the final purging of the anesthesia from her system. Nevertheless, her condition started to degrade. I followed her outside and watched her urinate. Her urine was a very bright yellow. I suspected then a liver issue. Once back inside she was shivering - off to the vet we went. LIver panel blood work up showed very high on specific indicators for failing liver. Vet prescribed Denamarin (containing SAM-e and silybin). SAM-e helps protect liver cells from cell death and aids in cell repair and regeneration. The Vet also started fluid injections. Fluid injections were everyday for two weeks. My Basenji showed a remarkable response to the fluid injections becoming much more her normal self even after the first day. She hated the injections and I could hear her cry when receiving them at the vet (believe me that will tear you up). But she was doing better and she (me) were going to have to tuff this out. Also a different antibiotic was prescribed to prevent liver infection during recovery. The Denamarin comes in dosages based on weight (medium for us). It is the size of a large human like solid oblong vitamin pill. Instructions want you to give it on an empty stomach and preferably not to cut it or place in something similar to a pill pocket however you can if necessary. My Basenji would not take that size (can't blame her). Cutting and disguising it did not work either. I was frantic and got the SAM-e in powder form. I couldn't slip her that either. All though some folks had success with peanut butter and liverwurst. I finally after three days had to have the vet pill her along with her fluid treatments. A week later another blood sample and her liver panel indicators were coming down. The pilling would last for a month and it took two people to get the pill down her. The important part is - she fully recovered from the liver failure. She is 13 1/2 yrs old. My experience after having 5 Basenjis is that the breed is sensitive to medications (anesthesia also). Many of the medications work just fine in most other breeds and mixes. The vet, if not that experienced with the Basenji, must be cautioned. Mine was not. Before accepting any medication have the vet go over any contraindications with you and to double check their resources for potential side effects when dealing with Basenjis. They may switch to something else if a medication has a bad track history with Basenjis. Know what to watch for should your Basenji start to react in a non-positive manner. The poster did not indicate if there were medications in play when the dog started showing degenerating conditions. I sincerely hopes this helps in some way and helps other Basenji owners
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    So many of those poses and positions are the same things I see Paco do. I'm also no expert, and Paco's my first dog that's mine-all-mine for me to watch all the time, but I feel like Tag's face is very Basenji-like…and if he yodels as well... if he doesn't have Basenji in him, I'd at least say you could describe him to others as a Basenji-like dog.
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