Posts made by Mia

they get 1 1/2 per day, and Mia my other basenji lost 3 lbs since starting, she went from 28 to 25, so how does this explain that they eat the same amount but Nike gains, and also what is causing the hair loss and lethargy?

he does get the 3/4 twice a day.
as for treats they only get 1 piece of dried chicken, the size of like a chicken finger, but thin
Activity level is a lot lower in the past month since we got snow, but before then they would go on an hour walk and run back and forth with the dog next door for about 15 min straight a few times per day. I have noticed he is a bit more lethargic than he used to be when we were in Florida.
The one gripe I have about my vet is that when I told him to also test the TGAA, he was like well it's not necessary, then I told him Basenji's were kind of an exception and should get it tested, he then said, all people think their breeds are special, they are all the same lol. He is a good vet overall, but this comment kind of burned me.
I emailed the Dr Dodds, so we'll see what she said, I did see on her website that she can do a consult for 35$.

So my little boy Nike has been having some weight issues and also loss of hair on his left shoulder blade. I looked up his symptoms and it said possible hypothyroidism.
He weighs 35 lbs, and gaining, he used to weigh 28lbs 8 months ago. We used to live in Orlando and moved to Canada in May.
So I brough the poor puppy to the vet to get his thyroid tested.
The results were t4 17.6, the norm is 15 to 52.
I then asked to get his tgaa tested also , this result was on the low normal.
His TSH is .22 , they say .50 is the minimum. The vet said that the numbers don't show hypothyroidism, but I can't imagine why he is gaining so much weight.
He is on the "go, NOW" diet, which is manufactured in Canada, grain free, and has 10% fat. He is supposed to get 1 3/4 to 2 3/4 cups, but I only feed him 1 1/2, so by rights he should have lost weight, not keep gaining. They used to be on the BARF diet, but I have not found a kind they liked here in Canada, that is why we switched to the NOW diet at least 3 months ago, before that they were on TOTW for 5 months (which had 18% fat, but even then he didn't like it enough to fully eat his meals).

Any advice?
Should i go to a different vet, they all use the same lab so I know the numbers will be the same.
I am very desperate to get him back to health. He is only 3 years old, and is of the Sarengeti line from Florida.

@Ninabeana26:

Hahaha. I never knew the gb stood for Garth Brooks! He is certainly awesome

I got my boy from Midge Greenlee, who is in Ocala Florida & listed on the BCOA website. Although I don't think she's planning to have a little this year [as she kept 2 pups from last years!] she may be able to help you find a breeder in the area. She's been in the basenji breeding clan for a long time & is very helpful & knowledgable! Good luck finding your pup & be sure to post pictures if/when you get one

I have Dallas's brother Nike, and he is great…if you call eating over $1000 worth of shoes, bugging his sis B Mia when she sleeps, trying to eat her food, digging holes in the back yard, etc. But I would never trade him for the world! he has a great temperment with people, loves to cuddle (lives for it actually) and has the cutest face!

I got Mia from Tommy in Orange city. She is so calm, the only downside of her temperment is that she does not like to be woken up lol...typical girl
She was the runt of the litter, and I actually chose her despite this fact.
He has his pups in May and will probably have one last litter in 09 and then retire the parents. He has 2 red/white (Bonnie and Clyde), but Mia is tri, and his last litter had a mixture of both. Let me know if you want his contact info.

Mia doesn't like blue buffalo lol…she's just like her momma was when I was young, I would eat nothing but cereal lol...I guess it's coming back to bite me in the butt. I actually just cook it then put it in the fridge, so I could make quite a large batch and freeze it. So we'll see, hope it works

so here is what I tried…Europa which is a veggie mixture with some other stuff such as garlic and kelp. You mix that with water and raw meat and serve. The only problm is that they would not eat it, not even Nike which would eat a tire if he could! So my mother cooked it, and they loved it, is this bad?

why is it that we feed our dogs better then we feed ourselves lol…I am going to try the Merrick before grain (if my store has it) and try mixing it with the canned. Hopefully the intestinal problems will be kept to a minimum. When you switch dry brands I know they say to mix for a while, but I doubt it would be a good idea to mix the kibble with raw until Nike gets used to it right?

So in the past few days Mia has been very picky with her food. I used to use BARF chicken but it's so sporadically available at the local dog shop that I switched a few times to raw Nature's variety and a local brand called raw health. She didn't like either and will sometimes only take a bite. I want to put her back on dry kibble which she loved the Merrick's version, but with my other B Nike, dry kibble gives him diareah, no matter how slow I transition the switch. So is there an easier alternative out there to satisfy Mia's pickyness and Nike's dry kibble digestion problems? I was thinking of the canned Merrick, but I am not sure if that would pose the same problem for Nike.

@dash:

I saw a Yoda costume for dogs. I can't for the life of me remember where, but that is what I thought Dash could be.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3307+11828+17973&pcatid=17973
this site use to have it but now just has a smaller selection of the star wars team lol…they still look cute, they even have a shrek costume

living in Florida mine chase geckos on their walks, but of course when ones comes into the house where are they then huh, just pretending nothing is there and mommy has to get rid of the darn thing lol

yeah not sure if it's the Florida climate but Mia and Nike seem to shed every 2 months, I wonder if it has to do with the raw food diet, someone once said they might need a supplement for their coat?

It's so weird Alex watching your video I would think you puppynapped mine, they look so much alike!!! Although my video is a few months old, so Nike is about the same size as your r/w now. I guess everyone does have a twin somewhere lol…but there is one key diffrence, at teh end of your video they actually share the bed, that would never happen in my house

Well I wish I would have known about this brush last year. After spending over 40$ on useless types of brushes I finally found one that works amazingly, the zoom groom by Kong. It is the only thing that I found removes the pups loose hair. I

how funny, Nike did the same to Mia, and weird how it's the same color combo lol….and no it's not a baby, it really is Nike
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I also think B's are the smartest or at least very cunning might be the word I am looking for. When Mia wants to go out, she goes to the front door, takes my sneaker, comes to my desk looks at me straight in the face and when I tell her to drop the sneaker she pursues to run to the living room lol…You have to wonder what goes through their minds! I swear when they sleep they really are plotting ways to get into more trouble lol....As i type this they are sleeping and they look so adorable, it almost makes me forget about all the happenings of the day, but then i look at the messed up beds lol....:D

So I really admire people who have Basenji's and children!!!!

Here is what Nike and Mia started doing:

I have 3 extra bedrooms that I just keep the doors closed. Nike has learned to jump on the handle (it's a door handle and not a door knob) and open the doors. Then he gets Mia to follow him in there, they jump on the beds, mess them all up then leave, then go on to the next bedroom and do the same thing!

Seriously, it's like having 2 6 year olds just up to mischeif all the time

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I know it sounds like a baby crying, but it's indeed Nike. Maybe telling Mia he wants the blue bed?!?

So Nike's teeth chatter once in a while, most times right after he smells Mia's butt, I know great visual huh lol. So I am wondering if this is normal, and if it will go away once he is fixed.

Yes it is in the backyard, and no it's not fenced
I wished it was. He is fine when we are going on walks, but as soon as he is left alone for more than 5 min he chews it up in a matter of a few minutes! Would a martingale collar work? I think the reason teh harness doesn't work is because he wedges his jaw on the shoulder part of the harness, and I figured that maybe a martinglae collar would work better since he can't get to it. Ahhh why can't he be more like his calm sister Mia lol…

Ok I am going to make the AKC very rich by buying all their harnesses size medium! lol…
Nike has chewed through 5 already in teh past 3 weeks. The only time they have them on is when I put them outside on a leash. And I know it's my fault for not watching them the whole time they are out there, but is there a better collar or harness that he can't out of?