Intro from Canada's "Wet" Coast
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Dream has decided one of his missions in life in this household is to take my 3yr sons favorite stuffy toy (a monkey that's seen MUCH better days) - my son can't sleep w/o Tico so this should be interesting. Dream pulls like mad on leash as he's not used to regular walking but we've been going through the house with a leash clipped and doing the foot stomps at the stairs & doorways to reinforce who is alpha. He is starting to learn the sit too so all those obedience courses with Tucker and Vi are still rattling around somewhere in my brain!
We used to take our B's to off-leash parks, and up in the mountains where there were no other dogs or vehicles. Had to be careful in open areas where bears might lounge, but otherwise there were some nice routes that woud take around 2 hours…you'd never see the dogs again for the rest of the day after getting home as they'd be out cold (much like after lure coursing). You can never stress enough that a tired Basenji is a good Basenji!
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Dream is from Orru Basenjis in Ladysmith (Vancouver Island). They have retired from breeding but we used to lure course against their Basenjis when Tucker and Vi were competing. I knew Vi would not take as well to an "all on" pup so if we got another Basenji, it would need to be an adult male, and one that Vi could meet and get along with, which would make taking in a rescue a bit of a challenge. The Verzyls had two that fit the bill and the family met both around Christmastime and Dream was the best personality fit. Tucker & Vi's breeder has also retired from breeding, and the newer breeder when we were lure coursing moved to PEI (I think). The only one I'm aware of locally now is Terrarust.
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Dream was in the backyard doing his business this morning pre-walk and there were 3 bald eagles circling above. I think that helped him decide not to explore much and bolt back indoors! All the rocks I lugged in to reinforce the base of our chain link fence has not been put to the test yet, and the squirrels are wisely staying clear of our yard for now. Even if the dogs never test it, if it stops the occasional skunk from coming in it was worth it! Vi was skunked in our backyard about 4 years ago when I was just getting over morning sickness w/child #2.
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Oh how I envy your place of living. We live on the 'we(s)t' side of Scotland and have some lovely scenary and wildlife. I have an obsession with Bald Eagles and Killer Whales and dream one day of visitng your neck of the woods to see them in the wild.
Your Bs sound wonderful. I'd love to do lure coursing with mine but there's not a lot of it in this country.
Welcome to the forum. :) -
My Ty was skunked last year, and Katie last month:eek: Hope now they have learned their lesson–--the skunk, too!!
Would love to be able to see those eagles. I'm on the wrong side of Illinois. They prefer the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan:(
Is my envy showing:o?
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Hi everyone,
Just wanted to send out a quick update - Dream has been with us about a month and is fitting in very nicely to the household. He loves stuffed toys but has become more selective about the ones he plays with…mostly actual dog toys, and will even "fetch" his favorites Basenji style. While we still have the belly band on him indoors, he has not attempted to mark for several weeks and has been fairly good on leash during walks. He is very patient with the kids and is quite a snuggler. He and Vi still really won't have much to do with each other but there's very little snarkiness.
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Now if I can just get a yodel out of him!!!
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Hi all,
No yodels yet from the "new guy", but Hakeem (renamed from Dream) & Vi will share the sunny spots now! Unfortunately I let them outside before dinner Sunday to do their business (and thought Vi had caught sight of a squirrel) and they did their B group hunting on a young skunk which was attracted to our freshly mowed lawn…Hakeem got a little on his back which went away with the first dose of Natures Miracle, but Vi got some along the right side of her face around the mouth/muzzle/nose and into the ear...that takes way longer to clear out. She has been skunked once before about 4 years ago and it took weeks for the smell to completely dissappear as it was around her right eye then. So, all you folks loving the wildlife in Vancouver, there IS a downside!
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Badgers here are our problem- mine insist in rolling in badgers' poo which has a horrendous smell which clings for weeks, like skunks I assume, if not cleaned off. I too use a specialist product but as you say to clean round the eyes is very tricky. I feel for you!!
The joys of living in the countryside!! Mind you I'd never change it for town life and I expect you feel the same
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Just wanted to say a quick hello and say that our basenji girl turned 13 today! Vi is almost toothless after surgery a few weeks ago, but is still trotting around with energy…not bad for the equivalent of a 90+ year old human!
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Badgers here are our problem- mine insist in rolling in badgers' poo which has a horrendous smell which clings for weeks, like skunks I assume, if not cleaned off. I too use a specialist product but as you say to clean round the eyes is very tricky. I feel for you!!
The joys of living in the countryside!! Mind you I'd never change it for town life and I expect you feel the same
One time I "babysat" two German Shepherds for a friend who was out of the country for two months. They were out back of their house, which backed up into the woods, and came home totally skunked! One at a time, I took them into the shower with me, put their paws on my shoulders and doused us all in huge cans of tomato juice - after about four whole cans apiece, I washed them with regular dog shampoo, and it did take the smell away, so I recommend tomato juice to everybody whose dog gets skunked. Face and all, they kept their eyes closed so it didn't get in there. I must say however, my husband thought the whole scene was very funny, me in the shower with huge GS's and all that tomato juice to clean off the walls later.:eek:
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Sorry for your loss, glad you found our group.
