All pet store puppies especially from "Petland" come from puppy millers…. With a pet store puppy you get what you get, you have no health history, nothing on parents, not raised well, not socialized well... etc... you get what you get... with work and especially with lots of training (positive reinforcement) many are great pets, certainly should not be bred... and of course by purchasing the pup you are supporting the puppy mill.... the more petstores that are "stuck" with pups the more they will see it is not a money making operation to sell puppies.
It's hit or miss with pet store pups unfortunately since you don't know a lot of their history you can't really determine whether dog is a good match for your home or not.
Well? So are you hooked? Did you get the puppy?
Yes puppymills are bad, and yes they can be treated awful, but that puppy might be calling you. Sometimes puppys are more of a spiritual endeavor than a planned purchase.
Corky is a pet shop pup. He came from a BYBasenji only breeder. I know this because I spoke with the owner who bought him from them. He is very healthy so far at 3.
If you can, I say get that little girl out of there as fast as you can. Unfortunately you'll have to pay the pet shop but it sounds like she needs to be rescued. Poor girl.
Corky is a pet shop pup. He came from a BYBasenji only breeder. I know this because I spoke with the owner who bought him from them. He is very healthy so far at 3.
If you can, I say get that little girl out of there as fast as you can. Unfortunately you'll have to pay the pet shop but it sounds like she needs to be rescued. Poor girl.
Hopefully now that this girl has been purchased…. she was at the pet store long enough (with an outrageous price I might add) that this store will think twice about selling Basenjis... Only by NOT supporting these stores and NOT buying the puppies will this stop.... At least the price was reduced enough that I doubt they covered the cost and the care for the months they had her...
well, welcome Queen Nyahbinghi to our basenji family…Felakuti and her are getting alone fine. we got her Sunday, the guilt was too much for us, as she had a very visible eye infection. she saw the vet yesterday and is fit as a fiddle except for the 5 toes and the eye infection. she is very tiny, only 12 lbs at 4 1/2 months...fela is 20 lbs at 5 months. tom was mentioning that puppies need "sleep" to grow and they dont get much sleep at Debbie's petland so maybe she will grow some more in a more relaxed warm loving invironment. 
Imagine, she had never seen grass before, never saw cars or birds or anything outside of the mall. she is a little survivor as are all basenjis. now tom and i can sleep nights without worrying about how she was doing at debbies. heh
<
Girls tend to be smaller than boys as well-and lighter boned structure. As Andrea said 12 lbs at four months isn't too unusual. Congrats again!
How old was she when the pet store got her? if she is 4 1/2 months now, was she only 6 wks?… (if she was there 3 months?)... And does this pup have papers?... Just wondering.... just off hand, did the Vet agree with her age of 4 1/2 months? It has been known that pups sent to pet stores are not the age they are claimed to be... easy enough with pups to know the age with baby tooth loss.... Also, it might be a good idea to have her eyes checked by a board certified Ophth (your vet can recommend one) just to make sure there is really nothing going on with her eyes that you should know about....
I agree, if 4.5 months, 12 lbs is not that small....
Good luck... with her...
thanks to all of you who responded to Nyah with such good advice. i have both her and fela on an every two hour schedule, 20 minutes out of the crate for exercise, training, love and meals, last being at 10 pm. they both are sleeping through the night and doing their business outside. Nyah has not gone in her crate at all. unbelievable. she is socializing beautifully. she has an eye infection and worms that are being treated, but the vet said other than that she is very healthy. She has been sleeping so soundly in her little crate, with all the distractions at debbies i dont think she was sleeping well. puppies need sleep to grow and be healthy.
great to hear that! keep us posted on her progress! there are so many puppies on this forum!!
Please make sure you get her into a puppy socialization class and work with her on her socialization.
She needs lots of work to catch up to be the good basenji she can be.
Good luck and send a photo!
Just curious how the little one was doing. Hope she is adjusting well and I know she is grateful to you for getting her out of that pet store.
How wonderful to have taken her! Please keep us posted on her progress!
When will we be able to see a photo?
