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  3. Poll: Where Did You Get Your Basenji?

Poll: Where Did You Get Your Basenji?

Basenji Talk
  • wizardW

    I saw my first basenji in high school (mega-eons ago) when I was working at a vet's office (instead of being a burgerflipper) but it wasn't until my "mid-life crisis" that I acquired my first. I was actually looking for a small dog, did my research on various breeds, and had decided on basenji, It.greyhound, or whippet. There was an add for a basenji in the paper and I went and saw and bought (sorry to say it was a byb/pmb but I didn't know that at the time). After many years together, last summer he was hit by a car and I began looking for a new one. I hadn't intended to get another one quite so quickly (within a month) but I met this great breeder who had one coming back because he was too destructive. So I tried him, with some trepidation, but "we fell in love" and the rest is EL D! :)

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  • CraighC

    1 from rescue - one from Breeder

    Bella (Tri female), Alex (Red/White boy RIP), Cassi (Red/White girl RIP)

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  • R

    One of my students gave us our Basenji mix. We had no idea of what she was, and didn't know until fairly recently. I sure wouldn't describe her as "quiet", since she has the loudest bark I've ever heard!! Maybe that's the heeler in her. Anyway, after puppy school was a bust, we just tried to socialize her at home. Now that she's a year old she's much better, keeps us running, and is a pure joy for our family.

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  • tanzaT

    My first Basenjis came from two different local breeders (IMO, responsible ones at the time).. I had gone and talked to both of them in April/May of 1991 and got on their reservation list for a male from one and a bitch from another… Believe me... I was "grilled" about wanting a male and bitch.. (big smile)... as their first thought was "BYB" in the making!!!! Both were co-owned by the breeders and both were my mentors..... That is my OJ and Maggii (now hopefully both will be 17 in August & September)... I was interested in showing and at some point breeding... My intention was to breed OJ to Maggii at some point... both finished their show championship fairly easy.. however along the way it was clear that a cross between OJ and Maggii would not give me what I was looking for... I then had the opportunity to add a 3rd to the mix, a Tri Bitch, Mickii joined the group.. she fit like a "glove"... With her, along with the show ring, we got into coursing... and in 1994 I bred my first litter with Maggii. And so it began... from then till now I have bred 3 litters myself and co-bred 2 litters with plans for another co-breeding this fall.
    I can say that from then to now there have been such great strides in health in our breed and the importance of testing before breeding. Seeing dogs with Fanconi, eye problems (as in blind from PRA)... and having both of them effect my breeding program has really made that important, along with temperaments. Our breed has come a long way in temperaments of Basenjis.. 40yrs ago they would "eat" you as quick as look at you....

    We are so lucky in Basenjis that most of the Fancy is open and honest compared to other breeds about health. The fact that the DNA Fanconi Database is open to the public is just on indication. The fact that we have a way to stop this horrible, horrible affliction is so wonderful. The fact that there are BYB's and PM's that do not test is sad, very, very sad.

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

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  • nobarkusN

    It started for me in May of 1975 when a friend of my mothers stopped by with this 6 month old tri color and asked if I wanted her. A Basenji? What's a Basenji? Here it is 33 years and 3 basenjis later and I'm still owned.

    Buddy, Paolo and Dan

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  • nomrbddgsN

    I have always had more than one dog. So when my boxer was about 7 1/2 I started researching what kind of dog I wanted next. I knew I wanted something easier to keep. I narrowed it down to 4 breeds, the beauceron, the Pharoah hound, the Basenji, and the Canaan. When I researched further, for any of the breeds, I knew I would have to travel further. I wanted a reputable breeder. I was searching around, and decided to start talking with breeders. For the approx. 50 breeders total I e-mailed, less than half returned my queries. Of those, I started looking and researching the breeders. The pictures of the puppies were priceless. I also saw pictures of the destruction caused by the Basenji, knew they didn't bark (supposedly), and was hooked. The breeder conversed with me, but was very hesitant. She didn't want to ship, (I don't blame her Lisa) so I said I would come down to Georgia. She also had never sold to anyone in Canada before. She took a chance and I became the proud owner of a bouncing baby boy (Shadow)! By this time, my boxer was 8 1/2 and had to be put down because (I believe) of leukemia. I received my second Basenji (Sugar) from the same breeder two years later. I sincerely am glad that the breeder took a chance on me.

    Arlene, the Basenji Brats with the Boxenji![](images/smilies/biggrin.png "Big Grin")

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  • TuckerVAT

    I wanted a basenji so I emailed BRAT. They said 'Here ya go' and handed me one. Now I have a Basenji. :D

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  • L

    Took a year to find the right breeder, but in the end it wa all worth it. I didn't even get to Choose Zaire. Katie chose her for me based on our conversations as to what kind of a dog I needed for Charlie. And let me tell you, even with my years of dog experience I couldn't have made a better choice.

    To you

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  • gemurrayG

    Almost two years ago I found Samantha on this very website! There was a family that was having problems with her and their new baby. So the owner posted a message on this forum just days after I had began searching for one. Having had two B's before I knew I was late in the season to find a puppy, and my wife wasn't crazy about the puppy idea anyway.

    After some arranging, I found a flight for her and fortunately the temperatures cooperated so that she could fly from Dallas, TX to Salt Lake City, UT. When we first got her the sweet girl had a rough coat, was a little under weight (due to poor quality canned dog food), had long untrimmed nails, and after our first trip to the vet we found that she had 6 broken teeth. After $600 worth of vet dentistry (including the "friend of the vet" discount) and another $150 or so to get her spayed, we had a sweetheart of a dog! She is the best B I've ever had!

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  • youngandtiredY

    Well, it started when I was out with my 22yr. old son at the mall. He said, "Hey, Mom lets look at the dogs in the petstore ", I replied, "I don't have time besides your Dad has too many ideas what a dog has to be like for us to get one", I'll never find a dog like he wants". That was 3 yrs. ago this Jan., and I had never heard of a Basenji. I called DH about 3 times the night I found Sahara to persuade him we needed this dog, but she was very expensive so it took some work talking him into me buying her. She is owned by my son, me and my husband, she lives with my husband and I. She is the best dog I have ever owned, and I have had many through my lifetime. I would never get another dog from a pet store (didn't know about puppy mills)but I would have not known of this breed if I hadn't stopped and looked that night. My husband loves this dog so very much, he buys her whatever she wants or needs. I love her also, she is my joy and I can't stand to be from her for very long, we just got back from a trip and it was so hard missing her. My son said that she didn't eat very good while we were gone and was very destructive in the house. Guess she missed us as well!

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  • V

    Thinking of getting a Basenji but i have a few questions!

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    tanzaT
    @jengosmonkey - Correct depending on his conformation... it that and movement met the standard then yes.... years ago a friend had a black & white Male that was about 30lbs and was about 19 to 20" tall... he finished his championship. Chances of the "Neuticles" being discovered most likely would have happened, however. It had been tried in other breeds.... one was with a Golden that only had 1 testicle so they had one neuticle implanted when the pup was about 8 months... funny thing about testicles... sometimes can come down at the most inopportune times... image the judge when did his exam and discovered "3" testicles....LOL Opps! by the way the dog and the owner & handler were DQ.
  • K

    How did you get your basenji to walk off leash?

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    DebraDownSouthD
    @eeeefarm said in How did you get your basenji to walk off leash?: What I find interesting is the change in attitude to dogs on leashes. At that time, many people walked their dogs off leash, and many left them loose on their properties all day long. First, and probably foremost, you're a excellent owner. We disagree on a lot of training things (like e-collars) but you are uber responsible. On the "in the old days"... I see parents talk about not how they roved the neighborhood or all over small towns and how safe. But I also worked with women over the age of 70 who had been sexually assaulted as children and never reported it. I am not sure kids were massively safer in the good old days except for the fact that back then, your neighbors DID look after your kids... they'd scold them or call you without being fearful of being called meddling... because it was about caring. We've lost that. As for dogs, yep... we're similar aged and I remember my grandmother's farm and the fairly steady stream of new farm dogs because they got killed by wild life/snakes etc or roving dogs. It was business as usual. Dog disappeared or dead-- get another one. I know many still feel that way. Rather have to dogs run free and happy and dead young than "cooped up." Our value for dogs as companions has dramatically changed, and our view of our responsibility for them. We always had cats and dogs who were allowed out, and like you, most stayed on the property. But I remember 3 dogs who didn't (one small, probably stolen) and cats didn't live long. We just took that as the norm. Obviously I have look back at that and am horrified. (Though there was an Irish setter who would NOT stay on his property and if the owners weren't there, he followed me about a mile to my house when I walked home from school. His owners laughed, would come get him when they got home if he didn't go back. I thought that was kewl back then but not so much then.) But my experience, and I lived in a very small town then, and a smallish one now, is very different. Then and now, dead dogs and cats on the road are incredibly common. The litmus test is research statistics. Cats who are even allowed out a few hours a day loose have dramatically decreased life spans. I haven't bothered to look about dogs, though a look at shelters should be enough to prove that dogs loose are often dogs lost. The number with electric fence collars demonstrates how ineffective even that is if prey drive kicks in. (for the record, your dog your choice. Loose cats however have an almost unimaginable impact on wildlife, so it IS my business if your cat runs loose.) Yep, times have definitely changed.
  • C

    Thinking of getting a Basenji

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    C
    I have a general question. Does anybody elses Basenji not like to be picked up. Ours sometimes loves it, and sometimes not. Also sometimes she runs up to dogs as quiet as can be and plays, and than other times she makes a squeeling noise, and people are afraid she is picking a fight with their dog. But I think shes just talking. She squeels at our new Whippet puppy, and loves to play with her and is as gentle as can be, considering the Whippet puppy is really rough on my poor Basenji baby girl. does anyone know what the squeeling means. The baroo I get she does that all the time. The squeeling is confusing.
  • R

    Mistake getting a Basenji?

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    PearlsMomP
    Hello! I wish to comment on my dog Pearl. She is Very quiet, hardly a sound. I try to encourage her to speak. She does a lot of nonverbal communication. About the child issue. Pearl came to us as a puppy. My kids (12 & 13 at the time) spent time with her, the neighbor kids played with her, and she loves kids. No problems socializing with young people. I guess the point is, your pup will love anyone who treats it well and cares for it. At 5 , I'm sure your child understands the importance of being gentle with dogs. Pearl has done her fair share of chewing. Interesting what she likes. She will be 2 in October, and is better, but she has lots of bones! I love Pearl, however, I am easy going, and enjoy taking her on walks, playing with her, and having her as a family member. Its up to you what you want from a dog. Pearl is pretty free, and thats what I like!
  • AlexA

    Poll: Basenjis at Work

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    J
    When I got each of my b's I brought them into my office as little babies - I didn't want to leave them home alone when they had just been through such a big change (they are a year apart - each one came into my office for about the first 4 weeks after they came to live with me). They were so easy then because they slept so much. Although they are very different personalities, they are basically the same in my office. Sweet and sleepy as babies, total nuts as adults. I bring one or the other in occasionally and can't leave either one off-leash. They hit every garbage can in the place, and would run out the front door (and have) when anyone comes in. Too curious. All they want to do is walk down Main Street and smell all the other doggie smells, so there is lots of whining and boredom on their part, but they are welcome as long as they don't do anything destructive. (My boss has actually put up with a fair amout of that from other dogs in the office). So I do have a dog-friendly office, it's just that my dogs are not easy in the office.
  • K

    Thinking about getting a basenji…

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    tanzaT
    @JazzysMom: Well, it's a good thing we went straight to a breeder! I'd considered BRAT, but decided to get a puppy instead. Good thing, because with six kids at home and lots of other kids in and out, we'd have never gotten a dog! Sad isn't it….