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Spencer is 14 today!

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  • Guess who had his first birthday today…

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    P
    Happy Birthday and many, many more to come.
  • Kipawa had a basenji play date today…

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    MrBaRooampBittyM
    It's been a little over 3 months since Mr Baroo came to live with us and Karin and I are grinning most of the time because of the wild play times with Bitty. She had been developing a severe case of couch potato untul he came. Now every time they go out the back door it is at a dead run and Mr. B leads Bitty on multiple circles of their 1/4 acre yard.They are so awesomly beautiful when they run likle that.
  • Went to see the puppies today

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    How exciting for you Chealsie508. I would like to comment on the old wives tale about calcium. Supplementing a puppies diet with extra calcium in the hope that it will build up the ear cartilage is not scientifically or biochemically valid. Adding calcium above the usual balance of that mineral in the diet has actually been shown to cause growth problems in some dogs. Do not add calcium to the diet in the misguided hope that it will strengthen the cartilage. EVERY PUPPY IS DIFFERENT. For example, the two extremes of my native imported pups were my boy's ears were standing straight up when he was ~10 weeks old; and one of my females had one ear flopping until she was ~5 months old. But, it did go up on its own and stayed up. So, look at your pups pedigree and don't sweat it. As I have come to understand, the general rule is that if the ears are standing or have been standing by between 3-5 months (the time teething starts), they will come back up after the adult teeth are in. Yes, calcium is one of the building blocks of cartilage growth. The body uses calcium as needed and when teeth and bone growth are developing, the calcium isn't being used for nonessentials like the cartilage at the base of the ear frame. Supplementing calcium is NOT a good idea and can actually be harmful. Be forewarned that most over-the-counter calcium supplements are NOT absorbed by the body and are a waste of money and time. With calcium that is absorbed, too much is given. Calcium will settle in joints when there is too much in the body, setting your pup up for bone spurs, hip problems, arthritis and other problems when they are older. If you really feel that you need to do something, provide natural calcium found in bones. I would strongly advise that you talk this over with your veterinarian. To be fair, you really need to give your dog until the age of 8-9 month range before you even think about the ears.
  • 1 year ago today!

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    Family of CrittersF
    Happy Anniversary! Kismets Humans
  • My rescue bit me today!!!

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    AJs HumanA
    Don't feel bad about getting bit…she probably was sorry as soon as she realized what happened. Darting movements can garner such a reaction from any animal (and some humans) when they aren't used to contact. Chasing a Basenji, even when you really need them to come to you (sometimes especially when you need them to come) quickly becomes a game and they will play tirelessly. You could try a training exercise wherein you have really good cookies in your hand and call her just to give her a cookie. It won't take long for her to come to her name if she associates it with something good. Don't give up.
  • Beeji played today!!

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