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Health

General

Some Basenjis are prone to Fanconi Syndrome and Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA). These issues can be eliminated with careful breeding. When deciding to buy a Basenji it is important to ask the breeder for evidence of testing for these known problems.

The health of your Basenjis can be maintained by providing a balanced diet and regular exercise.

Care Requirements

The Basenji is a natural hunter, with the ability to make the best use of sight, scent and sound – there are very few creatures the Basenji cannot outwit or outrun. This can make them completely oblivious to the dangers of cars or situations that could get them into trouble. For this reason it is extremely important to provide a safe environment by having good fencing.

Grooming is simple as the Basenji rarely ever requires a bath, and will actually clean itself, as does a cat.

Fanconi

Based on BHAQ’s experience so far in Brisbane with assisting Basenji owners to understand Fanconi we recommend that before one makes a commitment to purchasing a Basenji that you seek from breeders evidence of Fanconi testing, or the Basenji can be cleared from Fanconi by parentage. Whatever way the breeder chooses to show Fanconi status they should be able to provide you with official evidence of this. One would be expecting to see a certificate from the Orthopaedic Foundation for Animals (OFFA) for both parents, or the /puppy in question.

We understand there are a number of breeders in Australia who do Fanconi testing. So these breeders should be able to easily provide a prospective Basenji owner with evidence of Fanconi status. It should also be noted that many breeders in Australia also do a lot of other health testing of their Basenjis. These other tests are very important as well, for example, it is not unreasonable to expect that a Basenji puppy would also have their eyes test under the ACES (Australian Canine Eye Scheme), and their hips and Thyroid. Australian breeders who are doing testing for Fanconi and other diseases are taking a responsible approach to breeding and are striving to breed Basenjis that are strong and free from disease. Also refer to the Australian National Kennel Club Code of Practice for Hereditary Diseases:

To get in front of the Fanconi problem prospective owners should be doing their own due diligence before purchasing a Basenji. However given that the Fanconi DNA test has only been out for a few years, it is expected that there are people who have Basenjis and they are not aware of their dog’s Fanconi status. If this is the case then the safest approach is to do a DNA Fanconi test. Knowing the Fanconi status of your Basenji is very important, firstly to ensure its long-term health outcomes are good, and secondly, if the Basenji is going to be used for breeding then it is important to take a responsible approach and avoid breeding Basenjis that could suffer and/or die from Fanconi. A DNA Fanconi test can be order from the OFFA website:

One can also do strip testing to look for the presence of glucose in the urine. Strip testing should be done each day for 7 continuous days in each month, and should also be backed up by doing a DNA Fanconi test. In understanding Fanconi for their Basenji all the relevant tools should be used so as to avoid reliance on one approach.

In the case where a Basenji returns a Fanconi DNA test result of "Carrier" or "Equivocal" then the owner should still remain vigil and do strip testing until the Basenji is 11 years old. The probability of a Basenji getting genetic Fanconi is very rare after the age of 11. If a Basenji returns a Fanconi DNA test of "Affected" then the owner needs to get the necessary tests done. This result indicates that the Basenji tested is likely to develop clinical Fanconi Syndrome during its lifetime and is likely to produce puppies with Fanconi Syndrome if bred to other Basenjis that test as "Carrier"s or "Affected". A result of "Normal/Clear" means no DNA indicators for Fanconi have been found.

If you have any questions on Fanconi Syndrome in regards to your Basenji then contact Ethel Blair 0402580898 or serrano@ozemail.com.au

Also refer to the following link that lists all the Basenjis in Australia who have had a Fanconi test. This link is updated daily by the OFFA.

This is a link to a support group for people who already have their dog diagonised with Fanconi Syndrome:

Links to other sites on Basenji Health issues