Hello...

[uconolly]

Basenji puppies can really be a handful for those who are unprepared for it. I think girls are generally better behaved than the boys. No surprise! All Basenjis are different, but as the mom of an 8 yr old blind male (bad breeder, he has PRA), our experience with Bongo (from 11 wks to about 18-24 mos.), was that he was a total sweetheart who had an appetite for secret destruction! This adorable little baby chewed holes in every single piece of furniture in our living room. AND we had a crate. He would do it when I was around but not looking at him! My husband had this v expensive sculpture and one day I came home to find Bongo up on a console table delicately biting and licking the most expensive thing in our house!

We had some trying times for sure. But he has taught our family so much. We all love him so much. Basenjis are aristocrats and they LOVE to be naughty. Give your new girl lots of exercise, use the crate, and teach her the rules. Even if she won’t always follow those rules, make sure she knows them. I think Basenjis are the most lovable creatures I’ve ever had the privilege to know.

[packmom]

Thank you all so much for the kind words. We are starting scent introductions next week between our current dog and our new girl while she is still with the breeder. We purchased her a blanket that we can use to get her scent, then bring home to Buddy to start getting used to. Have any of you had any issues with bringing a new family member into the house? I've read that Basenjis can have problems in that area, but hoping that starting young and taking things slow will alleviate those problems.

[tanza]

@packmom - The meet and greet should be on neutral territory, not in your home/yard..... take them both to a park or some fairly quiet area on leash and walk them around together.... then go home..... make sure that you treat your current dog first.... pet first, feed first, etc.... so he doesn't think he is being replaced

[Sass7656]

We just introduced our new puppy to our 2 existing basenjis and we did everything wrong! Unfortunately I flew in late and it’s winter so no introduction was possible at a park. My breeder lives in Seattle so no scent blanket available. We had to do it the hard way, ta da! Here’s a new puppy! My girl I was worried would be grumpy and she was great the first day, my boy who I thought it would be fine was all sorts of put out. In the next couple of days it reversed and Maia was pretty cranky and Remy was fine. They growled at this annoying little brat a bit but that’s all. They are all from the same breeder so she smelled like home. They are also all very mild mannered so that helped a lot. It hasn’t been a week yet and we have had full blown basenji 500(once you get one and watch it run you’ll get the reference) and they are all sleeping together on the couch and in bed. It was a pretty easy transition thank goodness!she has settled right in and seems pretty happy with her new digs. She also really loves our dogs and they are all playing like puppies. Potty training is going well but it is our only struggle at the moment, the cold and the snow is not helping. I hope when you bring your girl home it goes as well as ours did. I can’t wait to see a picture of your new fur baby!

[coyohti]

@sass7656 I don't mean to derail the thread but I am curious as to who your breeder in Seattle is. I got my girl from a Seattle breeder way back in the day and I'm kind of hoping I might find someone who has dogs descended from her parents.

[tanza]

@coyohti - Do you know your girls pedigree? Breeders (responsible ones) use their kennel name in their registered names.

[Sass7656]

My breeder is Rita Webb she is originally from Hawaii. Her kennel name is No Ka Oi. What was your kennel name of your breeder she might know where you can find a descendant. She is pretty involved in the basenji community there. She also shows up and down the west coast.

[Redial]

"A Basenji is a slob's best friend"
Remember that and you will be right. It teaches you to pick up and put-away things you don't want destroyed, chewed, or nibbled. Especially the crotch out of underpants, the right thong/flip flops (so that you finish up with left ones untouched), your Mother's best coffee table, your best plant, (they will always pick the "best" that you have if you have multiples). I feed mine RBBB cut into chunks by the butcher - but wait until the pup gets their adult teeth. Good luck with your pup.

[packmom]

I want to thank all of you for welcoming me into the group. We were waiting on bringing home our new puppy in a couple of weeks. We were so looking forward to watching her grow up and being a silly basenji kid. Unfortunately, I was just told that our little girl had an adverse reaction to her vaccination this morning. We are heartbroken and completely devastated, I don't know what to say. Thank you all so much.

[YodelMa]

@packmom Oh my goodness, this is so awful to hear! Did the breeder say if any of the other pups reacted in a similar fashion? I've never heard of this happening, ever!

[Gigi]

@packmom Oh, I am so so sorry. I'm truly heartbroken for you.

[Sass7656]

I’m sorry but I don’t understand, is she ok? One of mine had an adverse reaction to her shots and she survived but ended up with a lifelong autoimmune disease. We managed it until she was 6 and we finally lost the battle. Sometimes they can be fine they just develope a fever and they recover after a while. I hope she will be ok! I’m so sorry if you don’t end up getting your basenji as you were hoping.

[eeeefarm]

Terribly sorry to hear this. Yes, for clarification, did she not survive the reaction? I think this is unusual but perhaps this unfortunate pup had an unknown problem. If not, was a mistake made? Do you know which vaccination was involved? I understand if you don't want to discuss it. So sorry for your loss.

[Gigi]

@sass7656 Sorry to hear about your dog ending up with a lifelong autoimmune disease and after 6 years lost the battle. I hesitated to post this at such a sad time, but even though it’s not the norm, dogs are having a lot more negative reactions to vaccines than most people realize, it’s more the adjunctives/additives in the vaccines that cause problems. The lower the weight of the dog the worse they can react. Can search about this online and find lots of info on it. Will also find it to be as controversial as children's vaccines. This is why I chose a holistic vet - my girl received all her core vaccines mercury free and thimerosal free. She also did not receive any multiple vaccines, all were given individually. It was a decision I made after researching both sides. So sad to hear these stories.

[packmom]

Sadly I was told she passed away this morning. I don't know exactly what happened, but it sounds like all of the pups had a reaction to the vaccine and our little girl along with a 2 of her siblings didn't pull through. This has devastated our family. We were all very attached to her, my daughter wanted to name her Opal. We will miss her without ever getting to know her.

[ChrisF]

So very sorry, I did not even know this happens. What a crushing blow to the heart.

[Sass7656]

I am so heartbroken for you guys! That is truly devastating news. Even I all the way in Canada was excited for you guys. It is even harder when kids are involved, they just have a hard time understanding these things and it hurts so much when their little hearts break. Where are you guys located? Is there any way to find another dog for your family. I know it won’t be the same and it’s awful to feel she could be replaced but to have your child be so heartbroken is truly devastating as a parent. Maybe consider adopting another breed? I hate to say that too as I would hate to not have a basenji, but if they are super hard to find it can be hard to wait a whole year for their breeding cycle to happen again. Maybe put your name out here and see if there are any breeders with puppies still. I think my breeder still has one available, she is in Washington. Is that too far for you guys?

[DebraDownSouth]

Such severe reaction...I've never heard of. Please let us know what vaccine and who made it if you can so others can be cautious. Please make sure the breeder reports to the drug company and fda. One of my Rottweiler pups had a reaction to lepto. Her head was swollen like a manatee. Fortunately, her breeder is a very experienced vet tech and treated her fast.

I am terribly sorry. Such a sad loss for the breeder and waiting families.

[eeeefarm]

This seems like an extremely rare incident. I would suspect a bad batch of vaccine, and presumably the veterinarian involved will be looking into it. Such a painful loss for you. I do hope that you find a way to heal your heart and comfort your children. The breeder must be devastated to lose three puppies in such a tragic way.

There is a take away message here. We never expect "routine" vaccinations will bring tragedy, but it does happen. Years ago I was in a Vet's waiting room, the client ahead of me had just left. She returned and asked the receptionist for paper towels, as her dog had just vomited in her car. Amazingly, the receptionist supplied the towels and did not alert the vet! I asked what the dog had had done, and the answer was vaccination. I yelled at the tech and the vet that they had a problem and they hurried out to the parking lot, returning with the dog which they took to a back room to work on. He recovered from a vaccine reaction, but it was touch and go for a few minutes. The client might have just driven away......and lost her pet. Reactions like this are not common, but they do happen and can be life threatening.

There is a reason humans are asked to wait a few minutes after receiving a flu shot at a clinic. In my experience, most veterinary offices do not request this after shots, but they should. Always keep a close eye on your animal after these "routine" office visits if any medication has been given. Any unusual behavior in the days following vaccination should also be a red flag. Auto immune reactions can take a while to show up, and can be very serious. If the dog seems to be a little "off", you need to pay attention....

[packmom]

@sass7656 We've been scouring the BCOA site and AKC to see if we can find another breeder with puppies available. It's not easy, and the ones we've found are not close. I feel like we've already been waiting forever for her, and I'm starting to wonder if it just wasn't meant to be. Emotions are still raw, so it's not easy to think rationally right now. I figure we should sit back and regroup before we jump into something that may not be right for our family or the puppy. Because of the distance involved (and I'm squeamish about shipping puppies), the cost quickly becomes prohibitive when you figure in travel.