Need some help and guidance . . .

[Craigh]

It's been 7+ months since I've written. After the passing of my 15+ year old male Alex I just had to step away from the Basenji world for awhile. My 15+ year old female had passed the year before. One I'd bought as a pup, the other was 1 year old rescue when I took her in.

I had not thought about getting another dog for awhile but a situation has presented itself:

At one time I was very involved with our local shelter / Humane Society. A couple weeks ago, our local animal control officer contacted me. She had been informed of a backyard breeder with a litter of Basenjis who had given up on trying to sell them ($100 each) and was wanting to turn them over to the shelter. She was wanting to know if I'd be willing to take one or more of them in if the event took place.

There is a a Tri female about 4 months old in the litter. She has been wormed, received her first round of shots but that's about it. I do know for a fact that there has been no Fanconi testing of the pups/parents. How would you proceed, and IF I did decide to give the pup a home what testing would you recommend?

[tanza]

Fanconi test for sure..... that is the most important, IMO. As long as otherwise she is healthly, then that is the best you can do right now.

[etzbseder]

I'd say don't worry about the tests until you decide if you want to get a pup or two to begin with. That way you're not basing anything on the outcomes.

As for tests, you can also get things like elbows, patellas, eyes checked pretty cheap at clinics different places. I think I got the eyes done for about $10 then just paid to get the results on OFA.

[Craigh]

Thanks for the advice. I guess the outcome of this will depend on the breeder. I very hesitant to buy from a backyard breeder, but would like to see this pup end up with a good home.

Not sure how hard housebreaking will be - from the look of things I doubt the dogs have ever been indoors before. :(

[lvoss]

The pups are still young and should respond well to good consistent training. You will need to make sure they get plenty of socialization and positive experiences because this is where their biggest deficit is probably going to be.

[Craigh]

You will need to make sure they get plenty of socialization and positive experiences because this is where their biggest deficit is probably going to be.

That's one area where I was completely surprised. I visited with the pups/parents, and all were very well socialized with humans. Very curious, sniffing, licking, tail wagging, etc. One of the pups even annoyed the mother and brought a corrective growl out of her. I immediately approached the mother and reached to see how she would react. She started wagging her tail and licking my hand. No signs of aggression towards humans or strangers whatsoever.

[lvoss]

There is a lot more to socialization than just people. TC the girl that I leased from North Carolina has a wonderful temperament and was very well socialized with people and at dog events. Her owners live in the country so she had a definate adjustment period when she came to live with us in California. One example was the first time she saw soccer being played, she had no clue what that was and was concerned about it. Because she was well socialized she adjusted well but when they don't have good socialization early on to new things they can have a hard time with new things when they are older.

[sharronhurlbut]

Do let us know if you get one or more of the pups.
They will be very lucky to land in your home.

[MacPack]

I would suggest getting 2 if he surrenders them. A sibling pair is great, they can keep each other busy and maybe less destructive, and will be happy to be together. I love having 2...or more.

I have found that the best dogs sort of fall into my lap, not necessarily when I planned. This may be one of those times for you!

[lvoss]

Though I like having two, I think it is better to have some space between them in age so that they get plenty of individual attention as puppies. If you get two at the same time, you really need to work to make sure that you give each puppy individual attention and training. You also need to work on taking them places by themselves so they learn that they don't develop separation anxiety so if one needs to go the vet or something the other doesn't freak out.

[tanza]

It can and usually is difficult with littermates.... if you do, make sure they are of different sexes.. as same sex littermates can really present a problem as adults.. IMO sibilings are not always the best pairing....even when of different sexes

[Craigh]

I ended up taking one of the pups. Right now I think one is all I can/want to take on. I tried the "two is easer" route last time, but I don't think it helped a lot. We've named her Bella, and will be taking her to the vet next week for 2nd round of shots. Once all the papers are back from AKC I'll be having her Fanconi tested as well.

She's 4 months old, and not very happy about being separated from mom, dad and her two remaining sisters. Hopefully we'll manage at least a couple hours sleep tonight. ;)

[nomrbddgs]

You may want to have her eyes checked as well when you get a chance. Just a thought. But she's very cute-congrats. (I love her ears they are soo small)

[wizard]

Nice looking pup! Give her lots of love and treats and she'll forget about her mom and siblings in no time.

[Quercus]

She's so sweet! Congrats and good luck :)

[Ninabeana26]

She is a cutie! Congrats! She is lucky to have you :)

[Craigh]

Didn't want to leave her home alone the first day, so she's taken over my office.

[EskiLovr]

Awwww, how cute is she??

Just a question, how long after you got up did she wait to hop up in the chair?

I'm betting it was still warm.....

Lucky Bella!!

[Craigh]

She was in it before I got out, and just stayed there after I left.

Surprisingly, she's the best mannered Basenji I've ever come across. A quick "no" will stop her from any undesired activity (besides whining).

To my knowledge, she'd never been inside a house. The whole lot of them lived in a large outdoor doghouse. Regardless, she hasn't had an accident inside the house / office yet. I'm hoping as long as we keep taking her out every 2-3 hours that she'll house train herself. :cool:

[YodelDogs]

You may want to have her eyes checked as well when you get a chance.


I was thinking the same thing. Do her eyes have that blue haze over them in person or is it just the camera?

[Craigh]

I was thinking the same thing. Do her eyes have that blue haze over them in person or is it just the camera?

It was just the camera (flash in dark room with crappy camera). No haze or cloudiness in the eyes.

[agilebasenji]

what a cutie pie! Welcome back to basenji-dom

[MacPack]

She is darling! Congratulations!

[Craigh]

Update on Bella:

So far so good. We are now getting about 7 hours of whine-free sleep per night. She's sleeping in a doggie bed next to ours and doing well. I still have to crate her when in the shower. After raising 2 other B's, I'm scared to death to leave a puppy unsupervised; even for just 5 minutes. ;)

Only one potty accident in 4 days, and that one is my fault. She was standing in front of me whining, and I thought it was because my wife had gone to bed and she wanted to play with her. Not so - she needed to go outside to pee.

In the last 24 hours she has figured out how to: do a solo Basenji 500, jump up on the couch, nab food out of the pantry when we open the door to get something, chew everything in sight, and walk fairly well on a leash. Tomorrow she goes to the vet for her 2nd round of puppy shots. Tuesday will be her first all-day home alone. She seems to have bonded really will with both my wife and myself.

One of my good friends and his wife have adopted her last remaining sister from the BYB, so she should have a good home as well. They've never had a dog before (much less a B) but do have 7 cats. So far, everyone is getting along fine and I've hooked them up with all kinds of info on B's.

[ComicDom1]

Craig our Basenji containment system consists of a metal baby gate with vertical bars across the Bathroom door. Our Basenji's Crate/Kennel resides in the bathroom. When we leave the house he is always in the gated area for his protection and ours. Since our bathroom floor is ceramic tile we have been doing this since he was a puppy. Of course at night we crated him until we had the housebreaking and walking schedule under control.

We found our metal gates at Wal-Mart for about $30. Since then we have bought an extra one so we can double the height if necessary. So far he has not jumped this one so we are keeping our fingers crossed. We have plenty of toys we bought at both Big lots and Walgreens on sale to keep him busy. We have been lucky that our Basenji did not become destructive. I think the exercise and mountain of toys have something to do with that. We do keep extra toys in a bag just so we can replace one when it gets damaged or needs repair.

Sounds like you have a good handle on things.

Jason and Miranda

[Craigh]

I'm lucky enough to have a fairly large multi-level backyard. It is 80% shaded, has a tall rock/wrought iron fence (escape proof) and a large covered patio. When we're not around, she can always find plenty to do out there. When the weather was nice, I couldn't keep my other two inside. Lots of squirrels and birds to chase. :D

[Craigh]

Below is a shot of my first B (Cassi) in the yard torturing a squirrel; or vice versa.

[Schouiffy]

love that pic!!!

[wizard]

I'd still be careful about leaving her unattended in the yard (nice looking yard BTW).
The other day mine squeezed through the railings on my deck fence, which is wrought iron like yours. I didn't think she could fit through it but she did - she was going after a squirrel. You might want to put up some chicken wire or garden fencing to cover the bottom of the wrought iron. Just a thought.

[agilebasenji]

about leaving the dog outside-

It seems like, perhaps due to the current economy, there have been a lot of dogs "missing" lately. I'd be afraid to leave a cute little dog like a basenji out side by himself.

[Craigh]

about leaving the dog outside-

It seems like, perhaps due to the current economy, there have been a lot of dogs "missing" lately. I'd be afraid to leave a cute little dog like a basenji out side by himself.

Not an issue where I live.