I'll be in the same boat next month. Kananga's 1 year bday and neuter, but i'm still debating whether or not I want to have it done.
Why would you consider not having him neutered? I am a bit surprised that it was/is not a requirement of the breeder?
Yes, do get him fixed.
All the family including him will be happier.
Have a Happy "B"-Day, Roo!!!:D
Why would you consider not having him neutered? I am a bit surprised that it was/is not a requirement of the breeder?
Well for one, he never is off-leash. The other part is that he hasn't developed any bad habits whatsoever (marking territory, etc). I've read quite a bit of literature from both sides of the argument. I'm still on the fence considering I don't feel it's necessary for my dog's well being. The breeder simply won't give me the limited AKC registration without proof of neutering. Again, I want what's best for the dog and there's nothing significant at the moment that shows it will truly benefit him. I have zero intentions of breeding but I am concerned about his future health/behavior. It's not exactly a defined choice, at least from what I've seen in the past.
Happy B-day Roo!!!
@ Kananga: Kudos for you for researching the pro's and con's!
Happy Bday! He'll be back to his old self in a few days!
Happy Birthday Roo. I'm miss seeing your adorable pictures here. You're such a handsome man.
Happy Birthday…lets hope you get a toy next year!!
Happy Birthday…lets hope you get a toy next year!!
Well I think that Miranda and I are going to buy him some Neuticles next year so he can chase them around the room and have something to lick. I do not think that Roo was really Nuts about getting Neutered.
As far as follow up care goes the Vet wants us to keep him calm and keep him from jumping and being too active for 14 days. When they called me and I was told that I asked them "Are you Kidding? Do you realize this is a Basenji? Even in their sleep they are active!" It's funny, but I would have never thought that the Sports Vet I go to would have wanted a two week recovery period. So I asked the girl to talk to our Vet and ask if he thought a mild sedative would be beneficial and to please let me know when I called back around the time I was scheduled to pick up the dog.
When I did call back, I was told that the Vet did think that based on the high energy and activity that Roo normally has a mild sedative was in order. So he prescribed 1/4 of Acepromazine 10MG every 6 to 8 hours.
Miranda and I have mixed feelings about this but certainly trust our Vet so we are going along with his decision.
_Here are some important things we chose to do for our dog Roo that we would encourage others to do as well.
_
First and foremost, with encouragement from Tanza and others we made sure our Basenji Roo was Fanconi DNA tested at an early age.
Since the test is only a cheek swab now and inexpensive to do, I can see no reason not to do this test to know whether your puppy has the possibility of suffering from this medical problem. Doing this will help you understand and have some preparation time and allow you to mentally deal with the issue and research treatment. We wanted peace of mind, so we did the test.
We made the decision to do the responsible thing and Neuter our Basenji because we are not breeders, nor are we showing our dog.
I remember the Friday night that I took Miranda out to Dinner at Billy Baroo's.
Since Roo was very young age and always with us, we took a walk with him as soon as we were finished eating. After walking about a short distance from where we had dinner, a woman stopped her van in the middle of the street and asked us to wait. The Woman pulled into the parking lot and got out of the Van with her daughter and another friend. As it turned out this woman was involved in the local AKC club, and had been a Judge and a handler on many occasions. She commented on Roo's temperment, build(structure), gait, and then said if we were not going to show him, that would we please consider either letting her or her daughter show him. I told her at that point, I was not sure of the situation of his papers and I would get back to her. After investigating with the breeder( who by the way had been in touch with us on several occasions inquiring about how Roo was working out), I came to find out that the parents of Roo had both been previously owned by his sister(a breeder for 20+ years)who lived in another state. He contacted her on our behalf but she refused to give up the AKC information in regard to the Sire. So that pretty much was it for us.
Even though we know for sure that our dog is a Pure Bred Basenji and our Basenji is registered by another organization, we do not have complete AKC papers on him because his breeder(who will be remain nameless) sister and previous owner of the parents, was one of those who had gotten angry with the AKC when the selling of AKC puppies were being sold at Petland. As many probably know, this created controversy because many of these AKC puppies were from Puppy Mills and several other registration organizations sprung as a result.
Even though we can trace the complete side of his Dam, the information in regard the Sire has been withheld from us, and the litter was never registered.
Now that Roo has been Neutered, we can finally get a limited registration with the AKC that will allow him and us to participate in AKC Agility and Coursing Events that Roo, Miranda, and I are looking forward to.
Of course until we actually get involved in these events, we will not know exactly how much involvement we will choose to have.
We made sure that before our Basenji Roo was put under any anastheisa that Pre Operative Blood Work was done.
This helps makes the Vet aware of the possibility of problems that could arise prior to anastheisa and surgery. There are many people who do not want to pay for Blood work prior to surgery, but in Miranda's and My opinion, they are risking the life of their dog. Some Vets will have the owners sign a Waiver releasing them of all liablity if you decline to have this Blood work done prior to anastheisa and surgery.
Since Basenji's have a delicate system we feel this is something that is very important to do. At the same time, if your Basenji is a year or more old, it is a good idea to have a heart worm test done to minimize the discomfort of additional occasions of blood draws for your dog. It is also a good opportunity to get their teeth checked and cleaned if needed. After all they are going to be under anastheisa anyway.
Last but least, we had our Basenji Roo Micro-Chipped while hile he was in for his Neuter.
Our Vet used the Avid Microchip and it was injected into the tissue in Roo's neck. This greatly raised our opportunity to recover Roo if for some reason beyond our control, he becomes separated from us. It also serves as proof of ownership. While we are registered at our Vet we still need to contact the company that makes the Microchip and provide our personal information.
Our next step will be to get Roo his Limited Registration with the AKC.
We hope that what we have posted here is helpful to others that might be sitting on the fence about Fanconi Testing, Neutering, and Micro-Chipping their dogs.
By the way the cost of Neutering, Bloodwork, Micro-Chipping and Meds was $268
Please forgive my Grammar and Spelling errors. I will correct them as I find them or Miranda points them out to me as usual.
Jason and Miranda
I think that Roo and his people are acting very responsible… and I totally respect their comments on neutering... they have done the best for Roo.... and his/their comments are right on....
And I hope that you have great times with him in events that he can now join....
Now that Roo has been Neutered, we can finally get a limited registration with the AKC that will allow him and us to participate in AKC Agility and Coursing Events that Roo, Miranda, and I are looking forward to.
Of course until we actually get involved in these events, we will not know exactly how much involvement we will choose to have.
I know I'll be going to Illinois most of the time to participate in basenji activities so there is a good possibility we'll see you and Roo if you decide to try coursing.
Best wishes for quick and speedy healing, Roo!
Jason, thanks for this post.
Hopefully, others will take your words to heart.
Hugs
Happy Birthday Roo!!! 
So, how is Roo feeling today???
So, how is Roo feeling today???
To be honest with you, Roo acts like nothing happened. He is still full of piss and vinegar. After talking with Tanza who is always helpful and gives good advice, we decided not to continue to use the sedative that the Vet's office had given him and sent home with us. Tanza confirmed what Miranda had said the practice always was at the Vets office she worked at in the past. That was that the Dog would stop themselves if they do something that becomes painful to them.
Although I do respect both Tanza and Miranda, I was still very concerned that Roo might rip out his stitches if he became too active. Roo likes to Pogo and Jump up on a living room chair and do the Basenji 500 in the house.
I do know that I can tire out Roo walking him. The weather is starting to break here, but we were also cautioned about walking Roo until the 15th of Feb. I gave this some thought and because of Roo's energy level and the information and opinions given by both Miranda and Tanza, I decided to take a chance and walk him anyway.
Roo and I have hit the park with Bonzo (our Boston Terrier) and Roo has done just fine. We are back to doing at least 3 miles a day and have done so at least 3 out of 4 days this week. We will probably go another 3 today and continue as long as the Rain holds off and the weather makes it tolerable. Since there is no swelling or indication of broken stitches, and everything is clean and dry, we will continue to walk in the park and eventually get back up to our 6 miles a day.
The only thing that surfaced since Roo's neuter is that about 3 days later, he ate his collar but that's another story that you can find in the Swap Stories thread.
Jason and Miranda
Happy birthday Roo, hope you recover quickly
I have a rescue male, who was being used as a stud dog. He was neutered two weeks before I got him. He was aggressive towards other dogs when I first got him, but he has settled down a lot since then - although he still "has to" mark his territory.
I have a rescue male, who was being used as a stud dog. He was neutered two weeks before I got him. He was aggressive towards other dogs when I first got him, but he has settled down a lot since then - although he still "has to" mark his territory.
Did he come from a puppy mill situation? That would account for the marking… because typically Basenjis are one of the few breeds that males don't mark, in fact, it is usually the females that tend to mark.
Also you should get them both DNA tested for Fanconi (for your own peace of mind)... www.basenjihealth.org
