New Basinji Foster Parent

[jys1011]

You'll really like it. It's short but very informative. I've also purchased her book on "Help My Dog Pulls" and it seems to be helping us very much. Dogwise was at a dog show so it was great to preview the items

[Petrie]

Thank you, everybody, for the tips. I'll get that DVD. I'll also get that book about dogs who pull too. Cody and Zorro both are pullers. Cody is VERY strong too. That will really help, I think. You're right about knowing your dog. I've had Zorro, my Shiba Inu, for two years now, and I know how he thinks and can read his behavior. Cody is different though, so I'm never sure if it's a Shiba thing, a Basenji thing, or a dog in general thing. Do Basenji's tend to be picky eaters? At first, Cody was, but now he looks foreward to dinner and cleans it all up. He also has a "saddle of coarse, lighter-colored hair on his back that I thought was a "winter" coat, but he's not seeming to shed that. I don't know if that's normal, or if his coat suffered from being kept outside all the time. I have no idea what he was fed before I got him. I read that Basenji's have problems sometimes with sensitive tummys and skins. His skin is beginning to look better already, but he still has that funny stiff-haired saddle.

[ChristyRutherford]

@Petrie:

He also has a "saddle of coarse, lighter-colored hair on his back that I thought was a "winter" coat, but he's not seeming to shed that. I don't know if that's normal, or if his coat suffered from being kept outside all the time. I have no idea what he was fed before I got him. I read that Basenji's have problems sometimes with sensitive tummys and skins. His skin is beginning to look better already, but he still has that funny stiff-haired saddle.

Squiggy has longer harder hairs on his saddle, but they are dark (normal for him) colors.
If it is lighter and looks cotton-y it is probably his undercoat. can you pick out tufts of them?
If you can, I could on squiggy when he blew coat, get a shedding brush. It looks like a metal loop with little metal teeth (not really like a brush). You can brush him with that and it helps TONS. I just got him finished the other night and he now looks sleek and handsome.

[ChristyRutherford]

Are you ever going to send us a picture of this little guy?:)

[tanza]

This is the season that Basenjis blow coat… so not surprising that he still might have the long dead hairs... and if he was not on a good diet or left outside, it might take a while.
Yes, some Basenjis have sensitive tummys, but most do well on quality food....

[JeepJeep]

Here is a photo of Cody the Jeep. I hope it shows up the right way!

[JeepJeep]

Oh, I thought it would show in the thread. You can see his shedding coat. What is a "mane" that I saw mentioned on another thread?

[Duke]

Cody's beautiful! Love this pic with the kitty on the other side. My prayers are with you and Cody for a baroooootiful union.

Please keep in mind that using training treats of very high value is a key to success. Good advice I received about this breed is: (addressed to me)

Breeds like jacks and basenjis have a different value system - they work for themselves, not for us. If they decide to do something for us, it is because the value of the reward means more than the task being asked - unlike other breeds that will work for us because they want to please us; your combination of breeds is only interested in what pleases itself. Understanding that can go a long way with training.

My boy Duke is a basenji-mix (1yr 4 mos old), I think with jack russell. In all . . a really big handful in his puppy time, 4 mos. before I knew what the heck he was. Today? Ahhhhhhh - he is my true baby love. Training him how he needed to be trained saved face for me and him. He is my loyal subject - with big wings that Daisy must trail. She is only 4 mos old, in training. She has another personality and we have some training problems, but I am more prepared than before. Big treat rewards . . . cheese, bacon, steak, corned beef. Yeah - I believe in spoiling a li'l.

[Petrie]

Hi Duke and Tanza - are those little pictures of your babies? I never knew Basenjis came in black and white too. They look so sharp - like they're wearing tuxedos! It's helpful to hear that Cody is a normal Baseji and that there's hope for training him. I know treats are how I discovered that he 1. knows his name 2. can sit on command and 3. will down on command. Up until then, I didn't know he knew anything, because there was NO response to my voice…not even an ear flick. Even my cats will give me that much. But I had a Puperoni (which is my Shiba's favorite snack and for which he will do ANYTHING), and you should have seen how fast Cody zipped over to me when I called him after he saw the Puperoni in my hand! So now some of the mystery of Mr. Cody is exposed -- he will respond if somethings in it for him. If he does something naughty, he appears to care nothing for my reprimands and just goes on his merry way. Zorro at least looks ashamed when he gets in trouble, and tries to cute his way back into my good graces. But not Cody! He cracks me up. He's my little foster juvenile delinquent.

[Duke]

@Petrie:

If he does something naughty, he appears to care nothing for my reprimands and just goes on his merry way. Zorro at least looks ashamed when he gets in trouble, and tries to cute his way back into my good graces. But not Cody! He cracks me up. He's my little foster juvenile delinquent.

I know exactly what you mean! The brain is hardly wired for guilt - no reward in that after all! Though after consistent training, you probably will see guilt. I've seen it before and (interestingly) see it now in Duke for things that Daisy has done. When Daisy has pooped in the house, Duke will put his paws up in a sense to keep me from finding it :eek: - or to say "If you see it, please know I didn't do it - Daisy did!" :eek: I just love him - for this reason, he has begun to be a better companion too. Daisy will surely catch on - in time . . . sigh

[Petrie]

Are your dogs both Basenjis? It's nice to know they have the capacity for guilt - Cody, now named Rowdy (we figured a name change is OK since he doesn't come to anything you call unless there's a treat, and then he'll come no matter what you call him) by Jeep Jeep, is getting better. His riding-in-the-car manners are improving, but now we have to work on letting me get out of the car before he does. His house manners are a little better, but he's still very busy and destructive if I don't watch him every minute. The cats all HATE him. So far he's had sense enough not to bother my Manx cat, who is almost as big as Rowdy, and would slice Rowdy to ribbons. He's only had two accidents (both peeing) in the house and that was the first two nights I had him.

That's so cute about your male dog telling you it wasn't him. Zorro, my Shiba Inu, always looks scandalized when Rowdy does something Zorro knows is not allowed. I can almost hear him saying, "Ummm, look what Rowdy did!" You all on this website have been so helpful for me fostering Rowdy.

[tanza]

Basenji typically come in four colors, Red & White, Black & White, Tri color (Black, Tan and white) and Brindle and White. There are other colors that pop up depending on the breeding and what is behind the pedigrees of some of the Basenjis.

In my picture it is a Tri (my most favorite color)…. and my Mickii (the Tri in the picture) is the tattle tale in my house.... when someone does something wrong/bad as soon as I get home she will sit there and yodel her head off....ggg

[Petrie]

Mickii is beautiful! I never saw a tri-color basenji before. That's so cute that she rats her fellow puppies out.

I had never seen a basenji in real life. I've only seen pictures of them, so when I went to the pound that day and saw Rowdy peering at me through the kennel gate, I was amazed. I knew what he was, and was really surprised to see what I though to be a relatively rare dog in the pound.

I don't know if I've heard Rowdy yodel yet. All I've heard is a bleating sound he does, and a strange little whimper he makes when he gets excited in the car. Once when he got his head stuck in my picket fence, he emitted this horrible screaming noise that made me cover my ears and Zorro run for cover. That's about all the sounds he's made in the three weeks I've had him.

[lvoss]

I think most people only know that basenjis come in Red and White since that is the most common color. I have had my dogs out and about town and gotten some strange and some just plain rude comments from people about my black and white. One that I found just kind of funny was when I my husband and I had taken the dogs on a long walk and he had run into the grocery store to get a drink for the walk home. While we were outside waiting, a person come up to me and said, "What a lovely basenji. Do you think your border collie mix may be part basenji too?" while pointing at my purebred black and white girl. It is because of that story that my obedience instructor teases that my newest one must be a smooth coated border collie since she is too well behaved to be a basenji.

As for just plain rude, I was walking downtown with Nicky (red) and Rally (black) and again had someone comment on how nice Nicky was and ask what I thought the other was mixed with. I politely told the person that she was purebred. He responded that was quite impossible since they don't come in black. I explained that there were 4 accepted colors in the breed but he continued to insist that I was wrong. Oh well.

[nomrbddgs]

Don't you just love it when someone comes up with something that knows NOTHING about the breed? No B/W, no tri's, all Basenji's are nasty! Hmmm, I'll have to tell my B's that they're not really B's and they can behave now!

[tanza]

Amen to that… ggg.... however years ago the "nasty" part was pretty much true....

[Duke]

@Petrie:

Are your dogs both Basenjis?

Hi Petrie, Yes both are half Basenjis. The first one I got is Duke. First I thought he was a mutt - b/c he was found abandoned in March, 2006 in a duffle bag with a brother (10-12 weeks old) in the middle of a parking lot in a rural area in Michigan by an acquaintance. I reluctantly brought him home and Duke was my little monster for 4 months until I was told by a dog groomer he is more likely Basenji - instead of what I would have settled as a "Border Collie / Jack Russell" b/c of his black/white mask. O.K. So I researched online about "Basenji" - all new breed to me . . . and his characteristics and quirks of Basenji are Duke - to the "T"!!

Interestingly, I found this "new" forum in July while researching the Basenji breed. This Forum really brought our lives together. I learned so much about how to train my little guy. All the advice here from Basenji lovers and veterans, pulled me through to help me train Duke. All the advice must be taken with an open mind set. My familiarity with dogs has been of the more docile breeds. These Basenjis are a challenge for the most part - real smart and self-centered - almost like a human toddler. (know what I mean?) That alone fascinates me to this breed. Duke was meant to be in my family's life. He is the center of attention along with now a new puppy, Daisy a tri-color. Daisy's mom, Abby is a full breed Basenji and was rescued thru BRAT in Wisconsin. We were lucky enough to be the recipients of one of her puppies.

Thanks for asking - I'll forever have a long story to tell. . .

I really think Rowdy is a cool name for a Basenji. Cody is a good name too, but Rowdy is original - good name! Also, I know exactly what you mean about trying to get out of the car first. It's pure chaos when we get there! My arm muscles have never been more challenged - like it or not! Hang in there Petrie and JeepJeep - Rowdy will become the most affectionate breed you will ever know b/c they are so smart. The trick is trying to stay one step ahead of them - however!!!

[JeepJeep]

Thanks for saying Rowdy is a good name. That's just been a favorite mischievous word of mine and since it ends like Cody, I thought it would be good. Thanks to everyone for all the comments and advice and encouragment, too! Petrie is coming up in late May with both Rowdy and Zorro to visit me, I can imagine that 500 mile trip with two energetic dogs! Good luck, Petrie.:)

Petrie tells me Rowdy pulls very strongly on the leash. I have arthritis and have taught my dog Jenny not to pull when we walk. Is it possible to teach basenjis to be good heelers?

[lvoss]

Yes, it is possible to teach a basenji to walk on a loose leash. It takes a lot of patience and consistency. In the training section there are several threads about it.

[tanza]

And with any luck something chase"able" will not walk by…. Hard to over come what comes natural....