Evergreen Basenji Club publishes a great one, go to their website!
Also, check out the Basenji University on the BCOA website.
Terry
Just need to vent - *@^@#$ Fanconi!
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Debra - I didn't know that the Wimauma dogs are showing a high rate of Fanconi?
Pat, missed this before. Well we are about 18 percent of the ones TESTED and sadly a lot have not been tested, even with affected siblings/parents, even though Pam and a few members have generously offered to PAY for the test for them. So yeah, it's not only high but early onset. Very tough. Cara is a carrier, so I dodged the bullet with her, many others not so lucky.
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With Jazz I used to hide the bicarb in blobs of peanut butter and stick it to the roof of her mouth. It's stickier than cream cheese and very nearly impossible to spit out or dig a pill out of.
Just a thought.Jazz was also on PPA, which completely solved her incontinence issues for the last two years.
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I'm not sure that Tayda is incontinent, because when she pees, she squats like she's doing it on purpose. I'm still on the fence about what to do for tayda. I just feel like I have tried everything. We came home from vacation last night and in the first 2 hours we were here, she peed inside twice. The dog sitter said she had a few accidents while we were gone also. Though we left 2 full paper towel rolls out, which are gone, so I suspect it was more than a few. We have about 6 inches of snow here so maybe that's part of it, but this constant peeing indoors can not continue. I have tried for about a year and a half now to retrain her to pee outside, using ALL of the recommendations for potty training and nothing has worked. I just feel like I'm at the end of my rope and I honestly can not imagine doing this for another 3-5 years. How many gallons of pee and thousands of pills does it take before enough is enough? I wish I knew what she was thinking, that she could tell me when SHE'S had enough…. because otherwise I might always feel like I could have and should have given her more. The thing is, her bloodwork is not all that bad, which makes me second guess all of this even more. But, to look at her, she clearly is not the picture of a healthy dog. I've been trying to get weight back on her with some homemade food, but its slowgoing, at best. And i just dont know if she is comfortable or happy anymore. Sigh..... thanks everyone for listening.... this is tough. Tayda is my first dog, and even though caring for her has become difficult, I can not imagine NOT having her around.
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Michelle, I won't lie, I am not sure i could live with it either. I'd either have to design a diaper she couldn't get off or confine to one room unless I was actually holding her. If she was not so horribly thin, I would say hang in there. But something is obviously terribly wrong. Perhaps your vet can recommend some specialist to do extensive testing to find out WHAT so that you can make a better decision. My first thought with extreme weight loss is cancer, but one would think by now it would present itself. I just have nothing to offer but my sympathy and support for whatever you decide.
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I hope this may help a little. It's a link to thread about a Quality of Life scale. At minimum it is useful for starting the discussion on what to do and you can come back to it later when Tayda's health changes. An internist gave this to me when Nemo was really sick and it helped us.
http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?p=154918
visit BCOA on Facebook. http://facebook.com/basenji.org
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Good link Clay, I had totally forgot about that link… It too helped me with my elders
No choice is an easy one, Michelle, we are all here to support you... whatever you decide
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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.
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I'm so sorry your last moments with her were so stressful. Have comfort that she is no longer suffering. That is what got me through when I had to let Nemo go. Hugs to you and your family.
Clay
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Michelle,
I am glad you were able to spend the last day with her in your special way-so sorry for the last 10 minutes though. This thread was aptly named and thanks for sharing the details like you did. I hope that 'venting' helped you along the way, we do support you. The decision has been made and will be made by one and all at some time. Because of your experience, I know I will be ready have my decision ready when it is time, if there is time! You will always miss her, but hope the healing starts and it will in YOUR TIME and Lenny's too. That was great for him to have closure! In my prayers! Good bye sweet Tayda…. -
Michelle, I am so very sorry.
I know it is hard, but try to not focus on their screw up. They didn't hurt HER, they stressed you. Focus on how much loved that dear dog was and that you gave her a fantastic last day. I wish caring could ease your hurt, but it doesn't– but know you are, in fact, cared for. Thank you for sharing her with us. ((hugs))
