Hi Hoot,
Welcome to the forum. I wanted to introduce myself to you because I too adopted a dog for the same reasons. I wanted a companion for my Golden Retriever who is also my service dog. He had gained a lot of weight during a period where I was sick with my MS. I decided to go to our local shelter and found my baby Taz. He had a great personality and got along well with my Golden "Levi" . I too did not know what kind of dog he was until my BF figured it out. All we knew was that he was hound/terrier mixed. Little did I know he was Basenji or even what a Basenji was. I learned quickly. lol.. He too likes to chew a lot and we have to put everything out of his reach, especially cell phones (from experience) He won't mess with the remote control though. He does like to table surf and will take anything from gloves to mail to cellphones off the tables. He is a very loveable dog though. He loves to be in my lap and is a leaner. You will probably find she is very cat like as it is a trait of basenji's. My Taz likes to lean up against me when i am getting ready in the bathroom or when I am standing around. He is very partial to me though he loves my BF (not sure why) but he doesn't sit with him unless I am out of the room. I have to put baby gates up to keep him from going into the kitchen or from going upstairs to table surf in the bathroom or bedrooms or keep the doors shut. You will find baby gates very helpful. Also you will find that keeping lots and lots of chew toys around will be very helpful to keep her attention off of things she shouldn't chew. We use Nylabones for powerful chewers and they love pigs ears and will take them a while to chew them. Kongs are great as well because they can chew them and not destroy them as they tend to do to other softer plastic toys. I have also found he loves tennis balls and won't destroy them as well. He is fully crate trained but will sleep in the bed with me when my BF is not here. They are very playful as well. Females do tend to try to be more dominant but being a dominant person can offset that problem. Here are some pics of my Taz and you can see they look very much alike. Taz's tail is curled but not nearly as much as a full Basenji. His ears also tip more like a terrier as well. He sheds very little though when I brought him home he was shedding very bad and I don't know if it was stress related to him being at the shelter or if it was just his diet. I feed him purina pro plan sensitve stomach and skin formula which consist of salmon, brewers rice and oatmeal which are very healty for them and keeps their fur shiney and their skin healthy as well as their stomachs. You will find though the longer you have her you will fall in love with Basenjis. I hope you enjoy her and have lots of fun.
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Basenjis in Costa Rica
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Hi, My name is Sarah. My husband Alan and I are American expatriates who live on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. We just purchased male and female Basenji pups from the only breeder in Costa Rica.
I was so glad to find this forum as I have never owned Basenjis before. But, I can tell I am going to love love love these dogs.
This picture was taken when they first came home with us, about ten days ago. They are four months old. The tri-color is the female, named Bibi, African for Lady, and the tan and white is the male, named Chacho, shortened Spanish for Muchacho, or friend.
They are very bright and it helps that I carry ity bity dried bits of cooked beef liver in my pocket. They are learning "Come!" and "Sit!" already. They are very happy in this hot and humid climate, but I know I am going to run into problems with the "Leave it!" command. Ours is a jungle environment and there will be lots of things they'd like to chase and kill. Any advice as to how to accomplish this command would be greatly appreciated.
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Congrats on your pups…. Who are the Sire and Dam if you don't mind sharing
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Welcome.
I have never been to Costa Rica. My husband spent 6 weeks there in college studying capuchin monkeys.
I am studying Dole foods and and the banana trade there and am researching the country as well. Very interesting.
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Hello and welcome to the forum.
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Welcome to the forum! Cute pic, they look pretty comfortable
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Thanks for the big welcome, everyone. I should clarify that the dam and sire of my pups are "puro" only according to the owners. Apparently, the old North American who left the dogs in Costa Rica did not supply the papers to the current owners.
I am not into breeding; just wanted a couple of wild-child pets, so it wasn't important to me. My two will be neutered before you can say: i-n-c-e-s-t.
I look forward to all the forum threads. There have been several that have already answered questions I've had.
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You should consider having them DNA tested for Fanconi. Go to www.basenjihealth.org
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Thanks for the link, Pat. I will look into having them tested. From all I've read, catching it early, if they are affected, is the best. s
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Thanks for the link, Pat. I will look into having them tested. From all I've read, catching it early, if they are affected, is the best. s
Yes that is quite correct… but if you test now, then you might not have to worry about monthly testing...
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Hello & welcome from from Canada. Nice looking dogs you have.
G
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Welcome - where in Costa Rica are you?
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Welcome from Holland!
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Welcome to the forum!
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We live on the Caribbean side of the country in a little community called Punta Uva. On a map, it would be about half way between Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo.
If you visit my blog, http://www.scmorgan.com there is a map that clicks in and out to orient you. Also, more pictures of Bibi and Chacho, as well as our little zaguate (mix) stray we adopted.
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hi Sarah - welcome to the forum - not that I post a lot, only read and learn :-)) I have tried to email the breeder of your pups but have had no reply as of yet - hope all is well and the little ones are behaving …......
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Thanks - I asked where in Costa Rica because my father had some weeks at a resort on the Pacific side and I wondered if you were near there - going to try to visit sometime next year I hope.
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I have a basenji, looking forward to get a female for him, any ideas?
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Both lovely looking dogs, who will obviously love the heat of Costa Rica. Where on the east coast are you. My husband and I visited Limon and Tortuguero many years ago. Despite all the bad press about the east coast, we actually liked it more than the west coast. The humidity was really something else, though. T-shirts were soaked almost before we put them on.
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I have a basenji, looking forward to get a female for him, any ideas?
As you probably already know, B's are very rare in Costa Rica. I have had both my male and female neutered. I am no help. Sorry.
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Both lovely looking dogs, who will obviously love the heat of Costa Rica. Where on the east coast are you. My husband and I visited Limon and Tortuguero many years ago. Despite all the bad press about the east coast, we actually liked it more than the west coast. The humidity was really something else, though. T-shirts were soaked almost before we put them on.
Hi Fran,
We live just south of Puerto Viejo which is south of Lim?n central. Actually we are about as far south as Torteguero is north. We are actually only a few kilometers north of the Panama border. So, yes, it's hot and humid. Only place you will see basenjis panting.
They LOVE the heat, and our little male still gets cold at night. Can you believe it? I have no idea what he will do if we ever relocate. I'll have to buy him an entire wardrobe of woolies.
