Posts made by Brodie79

that paw raised picture is just the best!! and Maya is beautiful!

that's really interesting - I know I have some of those bulbs in my house I'll have to try changing them and see if that helps.

However, Brodie starts his whining as soon as we drive onto my street and gets worse as we walk up to the house. Is it possible something like that could have given him such an aversion to the house?

If it's raining outside my guy has gone up to 20 hours without going :eek:

I thought I would revive this thread to see if anyone has any suggestions for me. It has now been 7 months and while Brodie has improved slightly (no more panting and a bit less crying) he still shakes every night when I bring him home, he is still pacing and whining.

I got another dog back in December and I thought this would help him but it hasn't made a difference either way. My parents recently went away for a couple weeks and so I had to leave Brodie at home during the day with my parents dog - the new puppy comes to work with me everyday. The first day was fine but the 2nd day he tore my curtains out of the wall and shreded the roman shades that I handmade for my bedroom. So day 3 he went in his cage where he proceded to slide the pan out and tear up the carpet underneath down to the bare floor (the whole room needs to be recarpeted now). After that he spent the days alone at my parents empty house and he was fine.

He has his annual checkup/heartworm appointment on Monday and I was hoping to try out prozac but it sounds like my vet has never prescribed that and I would have to go somewhere else to get it. My Dad is now on a campaign to have Brodie go and live with them and while this is looking like the best scenario for the dog I can't imagine giving him up after 7 years.

If anyone has any suggestions they think could help so that I can keep him I will try ANYTHING at this point!

oh, and neither of the other dogs have any problem with the house so I really don't think it's ghosts. Brodie has always been a very anxious dog, used to have really bad seperation anxiety but I'm not even sure what kind of anxiety this is!

Thanks!

For all those of you living in cold climates - I got a "Chilly Dog" coat (http://www.chillydogs.ca/) for Brodie a couple Christmases ago. It is a great design and super warm and has held up really well. A bit expensive but worth it. He also got a matching head muff which was supposed to keep his ears warm (this was when we were living in Ottawa and the -40C weather) but he hated having his ears covered.

I just moved to Port Weller…..but considering my parents live off Lakeshore Rd. it's about a 4 minute drive from where I used to live.
I can't remember her name....but we've met Jigsaw and I know she got another puppy since then. There also used to be a tricolor we'd see at Woodend back in the day when it was a make shift dog park. Brodie never seemed all that interested when he saw another B.....I was definately way more excited than he was!!

Thanks for your replies. My co-workers had suggested ghosts too!!

It is a much older house than my parents and we painted basically the whole thing so I know it probably smelled bad but I think that is all gone. We are still doing work so the place is a mess with tools and stuff. Also that house is closer to the street so there is more outside noise he can hear. Plus there is a cottage at the end of the yard rented to an older lady. He can also see the beach and park through the chain link fence and he stands there watching this a lot. My parents redid their family room at the same time I moved so we moved everything (couches, chairs, even the carpet) into my basement. I thought Brodie would like it down there because it would smell familiar but he doesn't seem to care.

I tried during the first week to bring his brother over for a sleepover but that didn't help at all. When he was younger and we lived other places he was an only dog and sandwiched in between he lived briefly with my parents last dog. It does seem to me to be more the house than seperation anxiety since he's only been left alone in the new place for 2 hours max. He's a little better on nights when he's been to the dog park but I can't get him there everyday and with cold weather coming he'll go even less often. Walks don't seem to help. He really just seems to want out of the house. He had me up at 5 this morning whining to go back to my parents - he definately has caught on he gets to go back every weekday morning. Not sure if this is just extra confusion for him or not.

Prior to this he NEVER panted. He used to shake when we first moved in with my parents and he would shake every morning when I left for work but there wasn't any crying going along with it.

I'm hoping to adopt an older basenji around the same age as him - almost 7 - I've always wanted 2 and this is the first time I've been in a situation to have that. In one way I think it might be good for him to have the company but then I don't want to bring a rescue into a house with such an anxious dog.

Argh. I keep thinking he HAS to get used to it eventually, I just didn't expect it to take months and months.

Thanks for your suggestions…..if anyone has any tip or technique they think would help I'd be all ears!

SIDE NOTE : Arlene I see you're in Welland - I'm in St. Catharines! I've only ever seen 2 other basenjis in the Niagara Region so it's nice to see some more!

About a month ago I moved into my own house from my parents. My boy Brodie and I have lived in 3 different cities together and the moves were not easy but nothing like how this last one has been. We were at my parents house for about 3 years, during which time they brought home a new puppy who Brodie would play with daily. Since my new place is so close I am bringing Brodie back to my parents house every morning before work for "doggy daycare" since they are retired. He is fine when he is here, but at the new place he is constantly whining, screaming and shaking and panting severly. I thought he would get used to the new routine but it has been a month and he is still acting the same.

He even acts this way when my parents, me, and his brother are ALL at my new house. It seems he would rather be in the old house by himself than in the new house with his whole family. I'm having to crate him again if I need to run errands (haven't needed the crate in years) just so that I can get out of the house. At night he is constantly scratching at the door to go out (there is a nice sized fenced yard) but when he scratches to come in and you open the door he just stands there and refuses to come in. If you close the door he immediately scratches to come in again (but again won't come in). Also one night he voluntarily went out in a torrential downpour and stayed out for 5 minutes!!!

I left him with my Dad for a couple hours the other day while he has laying some carpet. When I got back my Dad joked that if I had been 5 minutes longer he was going to cut Brodie's throught with the utility knife just to get him to shut up. My vet recommended a DAP diffuser but the only thing I could find around here was the DAP spray which I put on a bandana around Brodie's neck. $50 later and it didn't seem to make any difference. I tried benadryl and gravol but neither made much difference. I've tried ignoring him and soothing him. He does eventually settle down when we go to bed.

I'm very close to thinking he might need doggie Prozac.

Is there anything anyone can suggest?? I'm desperate!

Thanks!

OMG…..I thought my guy was weird for doing this!! He plays in the doggie park just fine but when he goes for a walk with his brother he does this and attacks him! The problem I have is that his brother is a schnoodle and my guy never had a problem passing another dog on leash until we got the other one. But the schnoodle barks every time we pass another dog so I can't distract my guy very easily (although I doubt I could distract him either way).

It definately makes me not want to walk them together. Also he could really hurt our schnoodle (who is very submissive).

I've bought a couple of collars from aroundthehounds (I discovered them at a local show) and they are really beautiful. I find though that the dupioni (sp?) silk ones are best for special occasions since they tend to fray when your dog scratches. They have other ones that are better for everyday wear.

I also bought some adorable Christmas collars last year from 2houndsdesign.

Ever since I discovered the martingale collar that is all my boy wears….and we think he looks especially handsome in the thicker width collars!

thanks, it's nice to know this is totally normal!

Thanks Pat!

I can't believe I've never noticed this before. I did notice crazy amounts of shedding at the start of the summer….but it seems late to be losing a winter coat, and being where I am he'll need to start growing another one in a few months! So even though there is no regular hair under these fuzzy spots now it will start to grow back?

Also, he is not free fed. He used to be but it was impossible to tell how much he was eating after we got a second dog. We had a hard time getting him to eat his meal at one time when we first switched over but we added pumpkin to his kibble and he gobbles it up in one go!

My boy had the WORST case of bum smell….I was constantly washing blankets and sheets and febreeze-ing the house. It was so bad I even asked my vet if his anal glands could be removed but she said she would only do that if it was necessary due to infection. I started adding a scoop of pumpkin to his dinner and it has definately helped!! Plus, it made him eat his dinner in one go instead of grazing!

Hi all,

I have just noticed that in the past two weeks the hair on the back of my boy's head and behind the ears has changed. It has gottn much lighter and become more like fluffy down and not the texture it used to be. This is also happening on the back of his legs….but there it is getting longer and lighter. I'm worried because it is such a drastic change in texture in only 2 weeks.

He is 6 years old. Is this normal as he gets older? Do you think it is just from sunning and will revert back in the fall? Maybe from something he's eating? (he gets grain free kibble mixed with pumpkin but has been eating that for months)

Any ideas would be appreciated so I can stop worrying!!
Thanks!

Do I have to do the OFA procedures in order to get the full panel? I kinda thought from their website the testing was more for breeders.

The crying when picked up under the arms has been going on for years….it's not every time but fairly often. I talked to the vet about it once and she didn't really make a big deal of it and since I can't feel anything wrong I wasn't that worried. The new crying when he moves in his sleep, etc. does have me a bit worried. This is more recent, I think since his last physical in May. The reason I thought he might just be sore is that it started happening after he went to the dog park where the last couple times (to my joy) he actually ran around so I figured he was just stiff or sore muscles or something. It's definately not when you touch a certain area and seems completely random to me whether he cries or not. Should I be worried that it is something internal?

Our other dog is going for his yearly check up in the next few weeks - do you think I should bring Brodie (my basenji) along too?

Thanks!

Hello everyone,

Just found this forum - what a great resource! My basenji will be 6 in January and the first 3 years he was a trim 24 pounds…..then the last 2 years he's around 32-34!!! No matter what he doesn't seem to lose....I have him at the dog park in the nice weather and he used to run around at top speed for hours and now I'm lucking if he'll run for 2 minutes so he's not getting any exercise there. With the winter weather here he doesn't like walks anymore. He's eating 3/4 - 1 cup of some grain-free senior food (our schnoodle can't eat grain and it's too hard to get them to eat different things - they always want the bowl that's not in front of them!) plus we sometimes mix in tomato sauce, veggies or pasta leftover from dinner. I asked the vet to test him for thyroid 8 months ago and was told everything was fine, but I'm not convinced I got the "full" thyroid panel.

I'm wondering if someone can tell me exactly what I should ask my vet for - do I need to go through the OFA procedures to be tested at their approved labs (there are 2 in Ontario)? Also if I ask her for the actual numbers from the test he had earlier what would be considered low for a basenji?

I really think he would be much better at 28-30 pounds but he never seems to lose anything! He has also started to cry sometimes when he moves in his sleep or if we try to move him or just bump him - things that wouldn't hurt in a million years and he cries. He also cries a lot if you pick him up under his front legs. We're wondering if he is developing arthritis?? And all that extra weight definately can't be good for that.

I know thyroid must have been discussed a lot around here, but if someone could tell me exactly what to say to my vet to make sure the right testing is being done I would be greatful!

Thanks!!!
Erin