Adding another Basenji

[Manny]

Hi everyone - my first time posting so here goes - I have been a Basenji owner since 1969 - just love the breed - won't have any other - we had 3 Basenjis up until this past May - thats when our 4 year old came down with a very agreesive type of cancer and despite all of our efforts and those of several vets and hospitals we couldn't save him - before his death we had 3 Basenjis - a 12 year old male - a 2 year old female and the one we lost, a 4 year old male - the 2 and 4 year old played and ran all the time - the 12 year old joined in occasionally but mostly watched - the 4 year old is now gone and the 2 year old doesn't get a lot of excercise any more - we would like to add another Basenji but not a puppy - but we can't decide whether it should be a male or female - we have gotten so many opinions from breeders and other owners that we are hesitant to do anything - you know the stories, you can't have 2 females in the same house or another male will challenge our 12 year old for leadership and we don't want that.

So my question is what has your experience been in a situation like this? We want to enhance the quality of our 2 year olds life but we do not want to add any dificulty to our 12 year olds life. Suggestions? Opinions? Experiences?

[Quercus]

@Manny:

Hi everyone - my first time posting so here goes - I have been a Basenji owner since 1969 - just love the breed - won't have any other - we had 3 Basenjis up until this past May - thats when our 4 year old came down with a very agreesive type of cancer and despite all of our efforts and those of several vets and hospitals we couldn't save him - before his death we had 3 Basenjis - a 12 year old male - a 2 year old female and the one we lost, a 4 year old male - the 2 and 4 year old played and ran all the time - the 12 year old joined in occasionally but mostly watched - the 4 year old is now gone and the 2 year old doesn't get a lot of excercise any more - we would like to add another Basenji but not a puppy - but we can't decide whether it should be a male or female - we have gotten so many opinions from breeders and other owners that we are hesitant to do anything - you know the stories, you can't have 2 females in the same house or another male will challenge our 12 year old for leadership and we don't want that.

So my question is what has your experience been in a situation like this? We want to enhance the quality of our 2 year olds life but we do not want to add any dificulty to our 12 year olds life. Suggestions? Opinions? Experiences?

Personally, I would get a puppy….maybe an older puppy (less than six months old), probably a male. In my experience it is far easier to add a puppy of either sex to adults. You can limit how much pressure the puppy puts on the older male by controlling how much time they spend together.

I hope it works out for you, and sorry for your loss of your four year old...far too young

[tanza]

I would agree with Andrea… and of course by spay or neuter regardless of which sex you get will help also. And I would get a puppy too... and also make sure there is a "safe" haven for the 12yr old if he wants it....

[Manny]

thanks for the feeback - it pretty well follows what others have told us - here's my problem with getting a puppy - i'm 71 years old and i do not want to outlive my furry kids - that's why i would prefer a 2 - 4 year old as a playmate for our 2 year old - any additional thoughts?

Manny

[BasenjiDiva]

@Manny:

thanks for the feeback - it pretty well follows what others have told us - here's my problem with getting a puppy - i'm 71 years old and i do not want to outlive my furry kids - that's why i would prefer a 2 - 4 year old as a playmate for our 2 year old - any additional thoughts?

Manny

I'm a bit younger than you but I'm also one of the "older kids on this block" and here are my thoughts - strictly from the age perspective because we only have one basenji and it's our first. You shouldn't let your age be the main consideration - not at 71 anyway. (Funny how that doesn't seem very old to me now.:) ) EVERYONE should have at least some contingency plan for their pets in a worse case scenerio. So, if you have such a plan in place and you have no reason to think your life may be unduly shortened, get what ever age dog is best for your current basenji buddies and you personally. Maybe an older puppy. Our pup was 9 months old when we adopted her and it was GREAT - she was housebroken and crate trained. By that age you have a better idea of personality. She was past the puppy teething and just into predictable basenji mischief chewing. Some breeders and BRAT probably have some 10 - 11 mo old puppies. Might be a good compromise.

Hey…I have a 94 yo uncle who jumped out of planes for his 70th and 80th birthdays; went to Scotland alone at age 88; rode in a glider at age 90;and took tap dancing lessons last year. He walks two miles a day and used to run regularly until his MD made him stop. He has a theory that if you stay busy the grim reaper will pick off the slow ones first!

Pat

[MaxBooBooBear]

@Manny:

thanks for the feeback - it pretty well follows what others have told us - here's my problem with getting a puppy - i'm 71 years old and i do not want to outlive my furry kids - that's why i would prefer a 2 - 4 year old as a playmate for our 2 year old - any additional thoughts?

Manny

Have you thought of working with either BRAT or Basenji Rescue of SoCal to find a suitable match for your family? Oregon isn't too far from CA–Karen who has the SoCal basenji rescue had a pair of basenjis for two years while she was trying to find a good home for them--and she decided mine would be perfect for them. Mine are a father/daughter pair--6 yrs old and 4 yrs old. And Karen did a great job matching us. They have a lot of wonderful basenjis that need good homes.

[Manny]

my thanks to all of you for your wonderful advice - i will take everything that you all have said into consideration before making a decision - however my wife and i have decided that our grieving over the loss of our 4 year old is not over yet so we are going to delay any decision until we can get past this point - with that in mind, and realizing how difficult these discussions have been for me, i am going to unsubscribe myself from this site until such time as we can come to better terms with our situation - again, my thanks to all of you for trying to help - Manny