Basenji Talk

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.

My boy bruised his tail when he was younger. It stayed down for a couple days and would only curl up when he squatted to pee. But then it returned to normal and he's been fine since. Although he didn't have the curliest of tails to begin with. lol

You gotta love when your dog can be entertained by an almost free icecube for "ever", well until it melts at least. Otis hasn't figured that fun out yet, but our gloryfied mutt, Luna (she is a Schnoorkie…), she goes nuts. Unless you sneak the icecubes out of the freezer she will be climbing the freezerdoor trying to steal them from your glass, and it is not like we won't let her have any...but stealing them is more adventurous, I guess. Our little survivor pup... on a whole different note, my cat that I had ion the past, she would try to take them out of your glass of water...she hated getting wet, but it is like the icecubes were talking to her, she could not leave them alone...she had to get them out of that glass of water...and that too, was a funny sight. A cat whose head is completely soaked from all her rescue attempts.

@MacPack: Congratulations to you and Zoni! I love the description of the down, I remember Topper in puppy & adult obedience class, doing the same thing. The instructor would laugh and say that "down" was supposed to be a submissive posture, but he "attacked the earth" and was definitely NOT submissive…but got the job done HIS way! Basenjis need instructors with a sense of humor! Good thing Zoni had one like that too. Anne Thanks…and yes they have a good sense of humor and love Zoni too. I wish the conformation class teacher did though, but then I'm just not going to that one for now....

I keep a box of shredded paper in the corner for Gossy to throw around (easier to clean up than TP and tissue) and a box of unshredded newspapers for her to bury bones. Initially the boxes of paper were for recycling purposes (I weed out the bones on recycyling day) but they suit her purposes as well.

So so true Lisa!!! What a difference it makes. The only problem is now I have to convince my family that even though the dogs seem great they are not the same easy going trustworthy dog that their schnauzer is! grrrr

That is so sweet!:) It's funny how these furkids worm thier way into our hearts…

WoooHoooo Corky, way to go… good boy!!!:D:D:D:D:D

If they are going to have play time at the kennel, don't worry about boredom in between times. Mine goes to daycare once a week where they have play time 2 or 3 times with nap/rest times in between. She comes home absolutely bushed - in fact she often falls asleep on the way home! Don't worry.

@wizard: How does one become a therapy dog? My Gossy has a great temperment and gets along with people really well. This sounds like something we could do together. Start calling around to your local hospitals and nursing homes and ask if they have a pet therapy program and what it involves. (You might have to explain what you mean to get a good answer. lol) Some places require certification through a therapy dog company, others do not. They might just want to meet and evaluate the dog or have their own assessment test of some kind. There are several therapy organizations, the most common is TDI. http://www.tdi-dog.org/ If you look at the links on the left, there is one for "upcoming tests" and that will give you an idea of where you can get them certified. There are no preliminary requirements for doing the test, but most dog training clubs offer some kind of therapy dog/CGC prep classes or just a general obedience class can help. TDI uses the AKC canine good citizen test plus 4 extra testing criteria. (having to pass by food without eating, being around kids and hospital equipment, etc.) Once you feel your dog has the social skills and obedience training to take the test, you can contact the test sites and sign up. They usually run around $20 to take the test. Once you pass, to become certified you have to have a thorough vet check with testing and proof of vaccinations, and also sign something that's like a code of ethics. The big thing about being certified is that then TDI provides insurance for wherever you visit in case something were to ever happen when you're doing your visits. However there is a big list of rules you must follow to be in compliance with the insurance, like only using specific collars (no chokers) and not using your certification to get your dog into places, etc. (therapy dogs are NOT service dogs) A facility that does not require certification from TDI or the like will probably have their own testing procedure and rules because I'm sure they'll have to have insurance coverage too. So TDI would be a great thing to do, but contact your local facilities first because you may not have to go that route. All my kids are TDI therapy dogs, it's a lot of fun. I used to visit a local hospital, but since I moved I haven't had time to figure out where to go around here and set something up. So we need to redo our certification, ugh. It's hard for them to pass the separation from mommy part. lol I never took pictures because I didn't think it was appropriate where we were, and with it not being the same people like at a nursing home. But Susan has some other nice ones on her website that she's shared over the years. http://www.apubasenjis.com/TherapyBasenjis.html

@renaultf1: I too have started using carabiners though (the real climbing ones that have the barrel lock on the outside…need the double protection with her!)...haven't seen her figure those out yet. At least I'm putting some of my old climbing equipment to use :D:D :rolleyes:! That's too funny. :D Give her time and she'll have sussed it!! ps hope this works. Trying to use Quotes but never done it before!! :o

I've never taken a "puppy kindergarten" class, but all of the Obedience classes I've ever signed up for with an adult dog, give people the option to show up with the dog on a flat buckle or choker-style collar. Most trainers I know start off from scratch with everybody on a buckle collar & modify their approach for each individual dog, based on behavior patterns & problems that arise. All dogs are different & a trainer simply can't expect one approach to work for all the dogs in a group class! In any given group you're bound to have dogs like Basenjis who resist & shut down when given harsh corrections….and high-drive, hard headed working-type dogs who respond to praise BUT also benefit from a well timed collar correction. You won't get anywhere trying to train a Basenji with the same methods you'd use with a Ring sport Malinois.... Personally, if I ever decided to use a "correction" collar on any dog, it'd be a prong collar. It's just about the only tool that REALLY helped me work with my Boxer & her over-reactive issues. Properly fitted & properly used, a prong only requires light "fingertip" corrections and is actually easier on the dog's trachea than a "choke" collar. However, I wouldn't choose to use ANY "correction collar" on a Basenji....and wouldn't enroll my pups in a class that required their use. JMO

Alabama Legislature OKs 3-Year Rabies Vaccinations Birmingham News 5/15/09 http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/metro.ssf?/base/news/124237531679290.xml&coll=2 Dogs and cats around Alabama could be howling a sigh of relief soon. The Alabama House of Representatives gave final approval Thursday to a proposed law that allows dog and cat rabies vaccinations once every three years. The bill goes to Gov. Bob Riley for his consideration to sign into law. The bill passed both houses of the Alabama Legislature without a vote against it. "It's something everybody understands," Dixon said.

The article I read on ginger said they started taking the ginger capsules 2 days before chemo and of course used regular meds during the chemo, but their ginger group had less nausea/vomiting than the placebos. Maybe the trick is to start early!

This is really the one thing that Jaycee is good at she will go after her ball a toy anything and play and play. Jaycee seems to have set her bedtime at night at about 9:00 to 9:30. So my son will play throwing her ball or toy what ever she wants getting her really tried before she goes to bed every night. Sometimes she good for 15 mins other times half hour but she has fun. I hope she don't stop this is fun.

@MacPack: They are all probably teething! And the best things for teething are phones, glasses, purses…well, you get the idea. What excuse can I use for my 11 year old who still takes my wallet out of my purse (dumb human, left it on the table again) and eats it? My B is over a year old now. I got him when he was just under 8 months old. He behaved best while he was still a puppy. Seems backwards. For some reason I believe he's starting to develop more of a separation anxiety. Which seems odd because he has always been fine before. Nothing changed.

Maya is exactly the same when i come home from work.. I actually find it quite sweet. She comes running to the door to great me, yodelling and wiggling. She doesnt hurt me with her nails as she gets put straight outside in the garden with the others for a run and a wee! Maybe try taking your basenji for a walk as soon as you come home? My routine after work is to come straight in and let everyone out in the garden, while they are out there i get changed, then i take them for a walk, and to the little doggie park for a good off-lead run. By the time we get home Maya is ready for her dinner and bed :D

I found a tea tree spray (aka melaluca) at the local, large feed store. In the horse sections with all the other good stuff.

No I haven't and I need to… I have taken some great ones of her lounging in the sunshine. She loves taking in those rays....

@Gabriel: Wow, that is so good to know that my Noel is not crazy. She also does the B-500 and it is hilarious. So it is just not for puppy's?? Older B's also do this? Definitely not just for puppies… All 3 of mine (2 adults, 1 pup) are free to do the b500 indoors until furniture starts getting moved or knocked over...then they are sent outdoors! It is pretty funny having Liyah (5mo pup) be the chasee because she runs under furniture as well as on top so it keeps the adults guessing where she will come out! :D:D:D