Questions before I get my Basenji pup!

[Knipper]

Just because I made this mistake and it hasn't been answered yet… For a puppy I just got an adjustable collar for 8-10". It's really thin and works for now. Cricket is at 9".

[sharronhurlbut]

Knipper, what is the mistake your speaking off..??

[lakers13]

Thank you all for your replies so far, keep them coming! Tanza - they can really escape that well? Ha, what about placing chicken wire all around the pen then they couldn't climb?? Also, He was born on December 10th, so I guess he will actually be 9 1/2 weeks old when I get him.

And for the other suggestions, I appreciate it. I like the idea of taking a mommy towel with me for extra comfort.

The game room is upstairs, but when we're home he will be around us alot.

The breeder is out of the Houston, TX area and her name I believe is Mary Weiss. Does anyone have a relative from this breeder or is familiar?

[tlish]

just click on 'search' at the top, then type your breeder's name… then read from the beginning.

[Knipper]

I thought I bought a collar that would fit her. It will fit her when she grows up, but for now, I had to get her a much smaller one. She's very happy with it!

[lakers13]

Ok so I did the search and found out that my breeder (Mary Beth) is questionable…can anyone explain what is going on with her operation?? Please help me b/c I have a trip planned to Houston for this weekend!

[Schouiffy]

Her operation is making a profit off of puppies, sadly. These are not health tested puppies or puppies with solid breeding knowledge behind them.

Message BasenjiMamma (Petra) on the forum, as she has spoken with Mary Beth and is in TX, you can also talk to Tanza or lvoss.

[Shannanigan]

I think knipper is talking about buying a collar that was either too big or too small. I still have a collar that's too big for Paco and he's full grown.

edit: didn't realize there was a second page to this - it's too early for me, apparently!

[tanza]

@lakers13:

Thank you all for your replies so far, keep them coming! Tanza - they can really escape that well? Ha, what about placing chicken wire all around the pen then they couldn't climb?? Also, He was born on December 10th, so I guess he will actually be 9 1/2 weeks old when I get him.

And for the other suggestions, I appreciate it. I like the idea of taking a mommy towel with me for extra comfort.

The game room is upstairs, but when we're home he will be around us alot.

The breeder is out of the Houston, TX area and her name I believe is Mary Weiss. Does anyone have a relative from this breeder or is familiar?

Chicken wire will not even slow them down…. buy the top... or better yet, first find a responsible breeder instead of someone that is just in it to make a dollar. Here is a link on questions to ask the breeder
http://www.tanzabasenjis.net/selectbreeder.html

And you want to get the names of the Sire and Dam (AKC registered names, not just the call names) and check out for yourself health testing before breeding. I believe you will find that there has been none.
www.offa.org

And last but not least, consider going to a responsible breeder. There is Sherwood Basenjis in GA that has puppies available…. www.sherwoodbasenjis.com Robyn is also here on the Forum

[Basenjimamma]

Chicken wire will not even slow them down…. buy the top... or better yet, first find a responsible breeder instead of someone that is just in it to make a dollar. Here is a link on questions to ask the breeder
http://www.tanzabasenjis.net/selectbreeder.html

And you want to get the names of the Sire and Dam (AKC registered names, not just the call names) and check out for yourself health testing before breeding. I believe you will find that there has been none.
www.offa.org

And last but not least, consider going to a responsible breeder. There is Sherwood Basenjis in GA that has puppies available…. www.sherwoodbasenjis.com Robyn is also here on the Forum

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I second this…

[Kipawa]

@Basenjimamma:

I second this…

I third it. Initially it will be hard to turn away from the puppy you are looking at right now, but in the long run you will be thankful you dealt with a responsible breeder who will back you up no matter what happens in the future - such as taking the puppy back at any time in the dog's life if for some reason you are not able to keep him.

Responsible, quality breeders go many extra steps to ensure the puppies they raise are healthy. Proper health testing is usually not done by 'for profit' back yard breeders. Without proper health testing, you have no idea if you are buying a puppy that will have Fanconi Syndrome in its future. Fanconi is a serious and sad disease for a dog to have.

Another thing to think of is if you buy from an irresponsible breeder, you are basically telling that breeder that their practices are acceptable and that they can continue to produce puppies that will be prone to health issues. Responsible breeders select their breeding dogs based on many factors, with health usually being first.

I understand the situation you may be in right now, but please reconsider and talk to responsible breeders on this forum who currently have puppies.

[lakers13]

I completely understand your concerns and you want to stop people like this from breeding. I have decided to stay with this pup though. This woman is done breeding and is selling the sire. My pup is from the on site sire and dam and I am not showing or anything, just want a pet! The mother and father have only been tested for fanconi using strip tests and were negative for fanconi. The pup has had his up to date vacs and so forth. I know I sound irresponsible now, but I have decided to go with this. Me and the lady have a deal worked out where she will take the pup back in case of any problems and so forth. I am getting him nuetered around the age of 1, so no breeding. I hope you will understand and allow me to be a part of your basenji family!

[Basenjimamma]

I understand..but please understand this….striptesting for fanconi only means this..the dog or bitch didn't show sugar in the urine at that very moment the test was done...they still can very much be carriers or even affected, just not showing it yet. ..you will have to keep on doing that test all the time, every so often, unless you know for sure your dog can't get it..You can have your dog tested for fanconi via a DNA test, easy peasy to do, swab his mouth send it in and with two or so weeks you have the result.

I wish you luck..and I especially wish you luck should something come up in the future and you realize you might have to give him back to her..she won't be there..

[Kipawa]

@lakers13:

I completely understand your concerns and you want to stop people like this from breeding. I have decided to stay with this pup though. This woman is done breeding and is selling the sire. My pup is from the on site sire and dam and I am not showing or anything, just want a pet! The mother and father have only been tested for fanconi using strip tests and were negative for fanconi. The pup has had his up to date vacs and so forth. I know I sound irresponsible now, but I have decided to go with this. Me and the lady have a deal worked out where she will take the pup back in case of any problems and so forth. I am getting him nuetered around the age of 1, so no breeding. I hope you will understand and allow me to be a part of your basenji family!

Of course you will always be part of this basenji family! Everyone on this forum loves the breed and wants to share their stories/pictures of their crazy companions and breeding dogs.

Just understand that the comments people are giving you are done with the very best intentions so that you can have a healthy puppy for a long time. It's not even about a future possibility of breeding - we are trying to avoid heartache for you, high health costs down the road and the well being of any dog you bring into your family.

Since you mention this breeder is getting out of breeding, make sure the contract you sign specifically indicates the breeder, regardless of whether or not they are still breeding dogs, and wherever they may reside, will take back your dog for whatever reason. This would include you not being able to keep the dog (for personal reasons) or due to the dog's failing health.

BTW, I too only wanted a companion puppy. Breeding was not my interest at all. But I am happy that I can trace back 5 generations of Kipawa and know that he genetically has good hips, tested eyes and will not develop Fanconi. I love animals so much, and I actually have a pretty much open wallet when it comes to vet bills (they can get ridiculously expensive so fast). But I just didn't want to be involved in a life with a suffering animal.

What you might want to do is type in 'Fanconi' in the search area of the forum. There are a number of posts you might want to read so that you can feel totally informed on the illness. Some dogs die very young from it. Others can survive longer, but not unless they follow Dr. Gonto's 'protocol' of proper nutrition, vitamins and medications.

Once again, regardless of your choice, everyone will be here for you.

[ownedbyspencer]

@lakers13:

I completely understand your concerns and you want to stop people like this from breeding. I have decided to stay with this pup though. This woman is done breeding and is selling the sire. My pup is from the on site sire and dam and I am not showing or anything, just want a pet! The mother and father have only been tested for fanconi using strip tests and were negative for fanconi. The pup has had his up to date vacs and so forth. I know I sound irresponsible now, but I have decided to go with this. Me and the lady have a deal worked out where she will take the pup back in case of any problems and so forth. I am getting him nuetered around the age of 1, so no breeding. I hope you will understand and allow me to be a part of your basenji family!

Nothing you nor this breeder can do will prevent this dog from suffering from Fanconi if it is in the dog's genes. The only thing that striptesting does is tell you when the Fanconi is becoming symptomatic. That won't be until the dog is 4-7 years of age. If you want to know if the pup will contact Fanconi, you will have to pay the $65 and have the DNA test. If your pup has Fanconi, good luck getting a BYB to return your phone calls, much less take the pup back. Been there, done that, won't do it again.

Your breeder is not being straight with you about the striptesting, and there's only one reason not to test her dogs– she knows exactly what the test will show. My BYB's line was filled with Fanconi. My dog didn't have a chance. He striptested clear for six years. Until one day, he didn't.

I posted in your other thread about what it's like owning a Fanconi dog. I sugarcoated it. It's actually worse. If you buy this dog, I hope it works out well for both of you. But I would keep Dr. Steve Gonto's phone # and email close at hand. He may become your BFF.

[tanza]

@lakers13:

I completely understand your concerns and you want to stop people like this from breeding. I have decided to stay with this pup though. This woman is done breeding and is selling the sire. My pup is from the on site sire and dam and I am not showing or anything, just want a pet! The mother and father have only been tested for fanconi using strip tests and were negative for fanconi. The pup has had his up to date vacs and so forth. I know I sound irresponsible now, but I have decided to go with this. Me and the lady have a deal worked out where she will take the pup back in case of any problems and so forth. I am getting him nuetered around the age of 1, so no breeding. I hope you will understand and allow me to be a part of your basenji family!

I hope that you will take all this information and think about it very carefully, especially the post on your other thread about living with a Fanconi Affected Basenjis.

Are these pups even AKC registered? I do not think they are.

As was pointed out, strip testing only means at that time he/she was not spilling sugar, does not mean that he/she is not Fanconi affected and will not develope this in the future. This is a big deal, because she could have done the DNA test for 65.00 for each dog.

Showing has nothing to do with it…. these are all our pets first... if we show or do performance events that is after the fact that first and formost, they are our pets.

[lakers13]

Yes she said I will receive a care package that includes his AKC registration papers, sample of his food, his toy, training pads, shot records, and his eating schedule.

[Patty]

lakers13, i see you're going ahead with this puppy. Please get him tested for Fanconi Syndrome as soon as possible - it's not really expensive and you will then be prepared if the result is bad. However I pray that it's good. There is plenty of information on this forum and of course nobody would refuse you advice.

That a dog is not to be bred from to me is irrelevant. It's the same dog and is to receive the same love and care.

[curlytails]

Welcome, lakers13. Sorry you had to be confronted by bad news almost immediately upon joining the forum, but you are still welcome even if you are unable to walk away from this breeder after it all. Puppies do something both magical and irrational to the best of us… for better or for worse. While I would also urge you to reconsider purchasing from this breeder, I would, frankly, prefer a forum member to be one of her new puppy owners, because at least I know that forum member will have some good support. I agree though that you should get your pup DNA Fanconi tested with OFA (http://www.offa.org) ASAP. It's $65 and it'll help prepare you for your puppy's future, which will hopefully be a long and happy one, regardless of his origins.

All that said, I've also been there/done that with a puppy from an irreputable source. Fanconi is probably the "worst case" scenario related to this breed, but even if the pup tests clear, it's not like everyone's warnings disappear. As an anecdotal example, my adult Shiba was stricken with unrelenting adult-onset allergies, diagnosed with hypothyroidism when he was 6 (which Basenjis are also susceptible to), and has had a pretty difficult, sharp temperament all his life, all of which might have been less of an issue if we had gotten him from a better source. But when he was a puppy, we thought ourselves lucky because he didn't have any "real" health problems. Of course we love him despite his faults. And we were so in love with him after such a short while, there was no way we could have returned him if that was even an option. I think your breeder is counting on that bond to cover her butt if/when something happens to your pup's health further down the road… you sound like you're going through with this because you're ready to take on the responsibility for another living creature, and in that respect, you're already more committed than this breeder sounds like she'll ever be.

So I'm just saying... I'm in no place to judge how "responsible" or "irresponsible" YOU are as a puppy buyer, but puppies bought under less than ideal conditions are going to test you even moreso than the average, already impish little puppy. I think what comes afterwards is going to be the real test. Good luck, and please stick around!

[lvoss]

I truly do not understand the "I only want a pet" excuse I hear all too often. Why do people sell themselves short when they are looking for a companion animal?

I added my first basenji 13 years ago. All I wanted was a pet but I also had never owned a purebred dog before so I thought maybe a dog I could try things like agility, coursing, or obedience would be fun but really I just wanted a good pet. When I contacted the breeder, even though I had been following the litter on an email list for several weeks, I still asked her all the questions that I had researched. Were the parents health tested? How old were the parents? grandparents? greatgrandparents? If deceased, how old? what cause? I asked if the breeder was a member of a breed club. I asked what activities she participated in. I told her what I wanted. She turned around and asked me a ton of questions. We both needed to be comfortable with each other because we knew we would be stuck with each other for a long time. Health, Temperament, Conformation, and Longevity are all things she breeds for. I am glad I went to a responsible breeder. I got the dog that was right for me, he has introduced me to many things and many people. 13 years later, I still talk with his breeder on a regular basis. I know how long his sire and dam lived and what they died of. I know how his siblings are doing. All the research paid off in spades.