Hello,
we have a six month old female basenji that we brought home a week ago. We bought her from a reputable breaded and she is very well behaved. But she doesn't eat much. We feed a high grade dog food that the breeder was using. The bag says to feed her two cups a day, but we are lucky if she eats 1/2 to 2/3 cup. She seems healthy and she is very energetic so I do not think this is health related, but we have not taken her to a vet so I can not confirm that. Her elimination is working very well as she poos and pees regularily. Any ideas?
My adults eat 3/4 cup 2 times a day and it is like a child, sometimes they eat it all and sometimes i give them a little more if they still act hungry. doc always said they will eat when they are hungry. 2 cups a day is a lot for a puppy so you might be giving her too much. i see many feed their adult dogs 2 cups per day. i might add my dogs get peanut butter or a biscuit every day also, and so they do eat a little more than 3/4 cup 2xday.
You just brought her home and that's a big change and she needs to adjust and get comfortable. It depends too on their activity level. If it's low they will not eat much because they are not burning much energy. Give her some time.
Two cups for a Basenji is way to much, IMO…. if she is only eating 2/3 of a cup, then just only give her 2/3 of a cup. As they say, unless seriously ill, they will not starve themselves.
How do you feed her - do you free feed (where food is always available) or do you do controlled feeding (food is out for 15 - 20 minutes) and then it is taken away?
I agree with the others that 2 cups is too much food. I would cut back to half that and see how it goes. Also, at 6 months she may not be done teething and her mouth may hurt. Take a look in her mouth and see if you see any baby teeth still hanging in there, inflamed gums, or crooked teeth.
It is controlled feeding, only available to her in the morning, at lunch and dinner.
She is starting to lose weight, but just a little. So I am a bit concerned.
A friend recommended putting the food in some chicken broth. Do any of you have experience with mixing the food with chicken broth?
Be careful re peanut butter, my b is allergic.
How are her poops? Solid, soft?
If she is losing weight, I would get her to a vet.
Who is the breeder, if I can ask?
Tanza is right, they never starve themselves ever if they are healthy. My puppy went through a faze where she just wasn't interested in eating much. It seems like a common B thing. I personally would not recommend changing her feed (as long as it's a good wholesome food-what is she eating by the way, I didn't see you mention that) because the more you cater to them the more picky they tend to become - they are that smart. 
Her poop is soft, but not runny.
My intuition is saying that this is just a faze, because otherwise she seems really healthy.
We feed her Orijen, which can be found at PetPlanet in Canada
Possibly she is only wanting one meal a day?
Personally I would be a little concerned if she is losing weight even though she is otherwise healthy. I don't know of these feeds but assume Origen is a reputable one. I would get her checked at the vets as well as following the advice given.
I didn't realize you were feeding her 3 times a day. By 6 months of age mine only eat one meal a day.
At 13 and 15 wks, mine only eat two meals with a snack inbetween. By 6 months, only two meals a day, as I think they do better with a feeding in the morning and one in the evening…
+1, Ms. Tanza.
AJ gets sick if he only eats one meal per day. I split them up just as you described, with as close to 12 hours between as possible and one cookie at bedtime.
For all who don't know, AJ is neutered 7-year-old male. He gets about 1/2 to 3/4 cup at each feeding with the contents of a salmon oil capsule on it, or some other goodie he likes.
I have 3 basenjis 2 older males pushing 30 pounds and one 3yr female at about 20. They each get about 1/3 c twice a day of Evo (grain free kibble) and about 2-4 Tablespoons of home made muttloaf. While the boys weigh more, the girl is younger/more active. They get a little more food in the winter b/c they burn more calories trying to keep warm.
I will second everyone else and just go down to the two meals a day. You can give her a mid day snack like a few cookies. But her poos can be soft because she is eating to much food and causing the slight weight loss because it is just coming out LOL
Also like most, my adult only eats 2/3 of a cup a day. With the amount on the bags they are just "recommend" amounts. You have to adjust to what is best for your pup/dog and feed them what works to keep them at an ideal weight.
