Spencer is 14 today!

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  • MothM

    Guess who had his first birthday today…

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    P
    Happy Birthday and many, many more to come.
  • Chealsie508C

    Went to see the puppies today

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    How exciting for you Chealsie508. I would like to comment on the old wives tale about calcium. Supplementing a puppies diet with extra calcium in the hope that it will build up the ear cartilage is not scientifically or biochemically valid. Adding calcium above the usual balance of that mineral in the diet has actually been shown to cause growth problems in some dogs. Do not add calcium to the diet in the misguided hope that it will strengthen the cartilage. EVERY PUPPY IS DIFFERENT. For example, the two extremes of my native imported pups were my boy's ears were standing straight up when he was ~10 weeks old; and one of my females had one ear flopping until she was ~5 months old. But, it did go up on its own and stayed up. So, look at your pups pedigree and don't sweat it. As I have come to understand, the general rule is that if the ears are standing or have been standing by between 3-5 months (the time teething starts), they will come back up after the adult teeth are in. Yes, calcium is one of the building blocks of cartilage growth. The body uses calcium as needed and when teeth and bone growth are developing, the calcium isn't being used for nonessentials like the cartilage at the base of the ear frame. Supplementing calcium is NOT a good idea and can actually be harmful. Be forewarned that most over-the-counter calcium supplements are NOT absorbed by the body and are a waste of money and time. With calcium that is absorbed, too much is given. Calcium will settle in joints when there is too much in the body, setting your pup up for bone spurs, hip problems, arthritis and other problems when they are older. If you really feel that you need to do something, provide natural calcium found in bones. I would strongly advise that you talk this over with your veterinarian. To be fair, you really need to give your dog until the age of 8-9 month range before you even think about the ears.
  • S

    Look who I saw today!

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    @smharr4: I wonder who this Wheat-coloured nose belongs to… [image: IMG_20100807_114011.jpg] it reminds me of our Wingco when he was young….........i used to laugh and say` to him boy, i hope you grow into those ears hahaha:p he did .
  • BasenjimammaB

    Today at the dog park..

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    :D:D:D Your description of Otis meeting the other Basenjis had me in stiches Basenjimomma:D
  • luzmery928L

    Chamis 2 today!!

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    luzmery928L
    yuck..seems messy..lol..thanks for the great info
  • JazzysMomJ

    Vet check up today

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    My basenjis are very well known at my vet's office. Since we are in so much when we have a litter everyone in the office knows my dogs. When I call, I just give my dog's name and they know who they are talking to. I always know when there is a new vet tech when they dogn't know my dogs when I call. Everyone there loves my dogs. When we first started there we were the "good basenjis" now I think we must have set the standard for basenjis since we are now "the basenjis".