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  3. When should we get him fixed?

When should we get him fixed?

Basenji Talk
  • L

    We don't plan on breeding our basenji dog and will get him fixed. He is almost 6months old now, but I have heard theat if you want your dog (especially boys) to grow to their full potential you should wait a full year so they have completely gone thru puberty? Anyone have any recommendations?

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  • E

    we waited the full year. We thought we might want to do agility and lure coursing, and had read that early neutering could lead to thinner bones. Thinner bones means more chance of injury, so we figured we'd wait.

    He seemed to sail right through the surgery, recovery wasn't too bad.

    I say, why not wait, if there is no intact female in your household, and the dog is properly contained.

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  • H

    Thinking about getting a Basenji

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    Wow! Somehow, I never got emails letting me know I had responses to this thread and just assumed there weren't any. But now that I'm back in the loop, I did want to thank everyone for their feedback and provide some thoughts of my own. That makes me laugh about the rescue person who wouldn't let young families or lawyers adopt her dogs. :-D I can understand her rationale from both perspectives. It's a compelling argument on her part about lawyers, but not all lawyers are the same, of course. I know a lot of extremely busy lawyers in large firms who struggle to hit their billable hour requirement each month. They're machines instead of people, and I wouldn't even let them dogsit my babies for fear of neglect. That's not my situation, fortunately. The young family part will be, but I've been thinking really carefully on how I'll balance this when the time comes. My dogs are my first children, and I would hire as many trainers as needed and try as many alternatives as I could before I would give them up. Unfortunately, I don't think a lot of people have that mindset about their dogs. :( I would absolutely be open to the idea of having the breeder choose a puppy for us based on their experience and prediction as to personality. All basenjis are gorgeous to me, and as long as the markings aren't completely off-base and I can get a tightly-curled tail (I've seen that the Avongaras can be lacking in this area, and I need a cinnamon bun in my life), personality is the most important thing. I wouldn't nitpick it to death. I'll have to decide on a breeder at some point, and I'd love one who's relatively local so I could visit. The man I got Penny from had great pet Basenjis that he bred… I'd like to go with a more reputable breeder this time around. At the very least, he tested for Fanconi. I can be grateful for that, as all is well so far and I more than likely dodged a bullet when I ended up with such a fantastic dog. My plan would be to decide and get on a waiting list far enough in advance that if there were a couple litters that just didn't produce what my family and I were looking for, we wouldn't be waiting forever. In short, what I'm banking on is that the right pup with the right personality will fit in pretty flawlessly. I know what sets my basenji off in other dogs, and I'm hopeful that I could find one that would suit her and suit our home. Daisy certainly worked out well for her, and I'd love to have that same success again. I've done three puppies in my lifetime, and all of them have grown up to be well-adjusted adults. I know what it takes, and I know it's hard work. I would never go the route of having an infant and a puppy at the same time (isn't THAT actually the definition of insanity?? ;) ), but I am still trying to shoot somewhere in the next 3-4 year range so my two aren't past ten and too old to handle a puppy.
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    Hello, I have some ideas for your stains. Everything these ladies have been saying is correct. Hairspray definately works for ink stains, it has been tried and tested many times by myself. It works on all fabric types from synthetics to vinyls and all polycotton and cotton blends. Just spray your carpet (I like to over spray usually) and take some carpet cleaner and it should wash out. The Tide pen is a miracle in it's self, I too have recently discovered. Spot shot works really good on most stains, it used to be a household necessity until we got our Hoover Steam Cleaner. No pet owner should be without one!:D As far as the Basenji, good ol soap and water does the trick with some elbow grease! I am disgusted to say that my boyfriend one day decided he was going to give Tang a tatoo using a black sharpie marker. I got mad at him and took Metinga upstairs and washed her head until it came off. It did not take that long maybe about 10-15 min of washing and the white was good as new. I used a bit of dog shampoo as well.:D
  • K

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