@mikesull I posted recently about my finicky eater (at 12 weeks old). I was willing to try anything because she was getting bigger yet losing weight. When ribs start showing on a puppy it's not good, imo. Things have turned around for us. I started feeding raw which she would mostly eat (chicken w/ veggies preferred). She walked away from raw turkey/beef heart.

I was hard core about timing. MY timing. I learned in the last couple weeks - leave the fixed portion down for her to eat when she was ready. It worked. Mixed in kibble slowly. Her eating habit is to eat 10% now, 50% 30 minutes later, the rest in the next hour. Fine. She ate. She gained weight. Now I mix in chicken broth (Petco's Petcoach that looks more like human chicken stew) with Honest Kitchen kibble and we're good! I will start making my own cooked "stew" for cost and convenience and freeze in small portions.

The lesson for me is to let go of hardcore pedantic methods. I will probably never "free feed" but this puppy eats on a different schedule than any other dog/puppy I have ever cared for. This schedule works for us.

@elbrant @NancySS - hilarious! ok, can't wait for the adventure! and keeping my baby safe ...

My yorkie mix (13 pound dog) did this on a regular basis so not just Basenjis. But only soft surfaces like couches and bed. I have to admit I found it amusing and I watched her with fascination. She was so intent on digging to the center of the earth, or so it seemed. That said she did no damage. I kept her nails short and rounded (no sharp edges via dremel tool).

Thanks for all the input and reality checks. I think I will add "desensitize to muzzle" at home to the list of training stuff. I will also opt for a mobile vet that comes to my home - we have lots here in CA. NH? Probably not so much.

A possible factor in CA (the lawsuit capital of the world) is vets simply won't take any risks. No vet that I have been to here in the last 15 years has allowed me to restrain my own dogs. And I was a vet tech long ago! They don't care; most vets here won't take the risk.

@jengosmonkey good info, thanks.

@zande A local breeder helped me via email and determined the female was born in the Ukraine (I've been speaking with the breeder's son who speaks Russian). No record of the male. Neither of the pair has any record of having been tested for anything. It's done for me; I'm not taking the pup and I'd mentally already bonded - my husband rightly told me if I go to this breeder I won't walk away. I'm not going. Thanks for all your feedback. At least I have learned a lot.

@zande yes, true. It's been a long time since a puppy has been in my house but I fostered many litters. Multiple pups easier in some ways ... definitely as far as eating.

@jengosmonkey Thank you! That helps. I did read the ISO stuff but wasn't sure where to go with that. I'll talk to the vet this week.

re: dog-napping ... the now well-known case here in CA was Lady Gaga's dogs stolen from her dog walker. He did his best to prevent the theft and was shot in the chest for his efforts. It was captured on video. He's alive but I believe he lost part of a lung. I believe the dogs were found.

Good info for me too as we will be heading to northern New Hampshire soon where we live a good part of the year. - and if I get my wish we will remain there! Southern California weather is boring!!

This might not be helpful at this point but I will tell you that my B was such a picky eater in her first year that she was way too skinny. Scary skinny. I got all kinds of advice and nothing helped; I just had to hang onto the idea that she would not starve herself to death. Now, at 3 years old she is a food hog! So she grew out of it and is quite the normal dog and would happily eat her way to obesity! I hope all is well with your girl.

Our "resident" Basenji dog trainer here in San Diego uses shock collars to "train" Basenjis. It makes me sick. I'm looking for any article that I can post that addresses the problems with shocking a Basenji - or any dog - in the name of training. Horrifically she puts this device in the hands of pet owners. I was a volunteer at the Humane Society where we put clickers in the hands of owners and I got to see first hand BAD timing. Badly timed rewards don't damage the dog (though aren't great for communication either). Badly timed shocks is just torture. Any articles that you know that I could pass along?

FWIW, from an inexperienced intact bitch owner ... I'm quite sure this has been a full blown 'heat' as my girl has been very swollen, blood everywhere. Not the mellow pup of her first heat. She's been bouncing off the walls and any time I leave home she howls relentlessly. Poor, poor girl. She is not the happy, destructive girl I know and love. I thought maybe she is howling for a boy ... and maybe she is ... but she does not do this when I'm home; only when I'm gone and my hubby is home (and possibly when left alone though no proof of this).

Very interesting! I almost think this might not be a "true" season as she is not as swollen as the first time but she's definitely dripping plenty of blood. It's early so more swelling might happen. No way I'm taking any chances for sure. I grew up in a "must spay / neuter" culture so this is all new to me. Thanks for the info.

@elbrant I've only ever had female dogs and most have marked and all were from animal shelters and came to me spayed. It was sort of fascinating watching these females mark. Last September when my 8 month old was in heat she marked in a way I'd never seen before - she could spread that urine over big areas walking and peeing at the same time making a serpentine path of urine that went quite a long way.

I just remembered my neighbor (with the B mix) said her adjacent neighbors' female dog is in heat right now. Those people let their dog run around loose in the neighborhood, so yes, there is a bitch in heat here. Those people are the reason people in the USofA are fanatical about spay/neuter such that it has become a given part of pet culture here.

@tanza Well, we've been overrun by coyotes this season and they just finished up their breeding season. They are all around us, at our fence, in our yard (and we have a six foot fence around the property). My girl has a neutered male Basenji mix she plays with - he wasn't fazed yesterday by her being in heat, thankfully. That boy just wants to hunt lizards. I think I should have gotten a male - so much easier! I don't want to spay but am weighing the plus/minuses. No kennel will let her near them - not that I use kennels much and never overnight so far ... but it needs to be an option in an emergency. Uggghhhh.

I'm curious and a little freaked out by my girl showing signs she's coming into heat again. She is 15 months old and came into heat last September at 8-9 months old (for a month). I was sorta planning on the month of September as being our cuddly doggy month - she was sooo mellow in heat and very cuddly. I'm looking for experiences to understand what to expect in the future. Is she a twice-a-year in heat Basenji? Is the cycle random?

Thanks for your help and experience!

@jengosmonkey good info, thanks.

@tanza what idea??