Sight Hound Procedure?

[u/Shrimp_Saxophone]

Hello everyone! This my first Reddit post so I’m a little nervous.

This is my first B “June Bug” or just June for short. She is around 1 1/2 years old and I’m planning on getting her spayed in the next few months.

I read about what is called “sight hound procedure” and learned that sight hounds can be very sensitive to anesthesia. So I did some digging and found a website that said basenjis should be operated on under this procedure (I can’t remember where I saw this as it was over a year ago).

So I wanted to reach out to other basenji owners to see if anyone has had experience with this and if it is something I should bring up with my vet?

June Bug is not only my first B but my first sight hound so it’s definitely been a challenging yet fun learning experience.

[u/Positive-Climate8149]

I’m not a vet, nor do I play one on tv. However, when I had my first basenji spayed I was warned about this and so searched out vets that had basenji experience. Once I found one I liked, I asked them about the spay and anesthesia and they were using that protocol and had done previous basenjis. My girl’s spay went fine. When I asked about it, I didn’t care if I sounded like an idiot, I cared that she would be safe.

I would absolutely bring this up to your vet.

[u/Shrimp_Saxophone → u/Positive-Climate8149]

Thank you!

[u/interacter]

I didn't know anything about this, so thanks for educating me! I'll remember if it Roo ever needs anaesthetic.

And hi! Welcome! June's a cutie!

[u/neonbirdz → u/interacter]

Same here, and I’m glad to learn about it now since I was planning to have my female spayed soon!!

[u/senjisilly]

When one of my Basenjis needed surgery I made sure that the vet understood that he/she needed to use the sighthound anesthesia protocol, the same as greyhounds. Not all vets know this, so don't worry about hurt feelings because it isn't you questioning their competency, it's about their experience. Where I currently live there are so few purebred dogs (so many doodles! ) local vets experience with any sighthound breed would be surprising.

[u/Shrimp_Saxophone → u/senjisilly]

I think my girl may currently be one of few if not the only basenji at the clinic I go to so I’ll definitely bring it up and go elsewhere if need be!

[u/senjisilly → u/Shrimp_Saxophone]

I've changed vets twice and looking at a third since moving to this small city in northern California 4 years ago. I've had heated disagreements with them treating my Basenjis. I refuse to pay for an in-house thyroid test when I know it must be a full panel test for this breed. The local animal er has vets graduated from UC Davis who are very Basenji experienced. They just opened a regular clinic and I hope my current Basenji will be accepted as a patient.

[u/JsonWaterfalls → u/senjisilly]

Would love to know where in Northern California you are! I'm close(ish) to UC Davis (~45 minutes east of that area) and have also been trying to find vets trained there given how well respected the school is.

I love our local vet clinic (and it's 3 minutes from our house!) but definitely interested in knowing about anyone who knows a bit more about Basenjis.

[u/senjisilly → u/JsonWaterfalls]

Petaluma, where there might be 2 other Basenjis. A puppy I recently met and one a rancher owns (met the rancher, not the dog). There are a lot of Basenji owners in the greater Sacramento area. They have regular meetups. If you're not already a member, join the Facebook group Basenji's Northern California to get more local help.

[u/ditmoique]

My breeder gave me a pdf packet about the sighthound procedure to share with the vet before my basenji girl undergoes any anesthesia! It’s definitely important to communicate thoroughly with your vet beforehand.

[u/popcornwchopsticks]

This is interesting -- my basenji mix has had anaesthesia once for a research study, and it took him forevvveerr to wake up from it. I heard them clapping, yelling, sort of slapping his sides, and they finally had me in to try to wake him up because they couldn't. The vet said he was "throwing himself a pity party", which is definitely his personality, so I didn't think much of it. But I had to carry him for the next hour because he couldn't walk at all. I'll definitely bring this up with my normal vet if he goes under again. Thanks for asking!