Does this breeder sound reputable?

[Quercus]

@westcoastflea1:

and in case anyone is wondering at this point if westcoastflea has a life??

welp, the answer is a resounding NO i do not have a life

im home with sebastian 24/7 because between the howling when i leave the house which means i cant leave the house and now the back issues that mean he cant go for walks, or go to the dog park where we used to spend hours every day so that i COULD get out of the house at least for a little while, i can safely say "I HAVE NO LIFE", absolutely none for at least a month
so look forward to talking to yall for another few weeks

No offense intended, but you need to find a way to be able to leave the house! I can't remember what his specifics are, but you need to find a way so that he cannot control your life by howling. Are you following any sort of behavioral mod program with him?

[westcoastflea1]

i agree more than i can say
reminds me of an incident when my son was about 6 his friend came up to me complaining that my son threw a rock at him
when i asked him why will threw a rock the kid replied because i threw one at him
nuff said

as to your sense of humor?

i just sent an email to a basenji person in gray near where i live who emailed me last night

part of the email i sent said and i quote "since sebastian arrived 2 weeks ago the only two activities that i have been able to participate in are walks and the dog park.

the dog park in particular has saved my sanity, we go there for hours everyday it provides me with a break from sebastian because when we are home he spends his time no more then 4 feet from me and sleeps in my bed

in the beginning i didnt get enough sleep due to sebastians cleaning of himself in bed for hours and at all hours of the night, thats when i REALLY needed some space from him and the dog park provided it.

now that ive been told that sebastian can no longer go to the dog park or take walks the only thing that is keeping me from running from the house naked screaming in horror while ripping out my hair is the fact that im just trying to take it one day at a time period.

that and a neighborhood dog friendly store that sells large bottles of red wine cheap

it should be fun for everyone here to watch my mental state slowly disintegrate as the days go by

you guys can start making bets on when i will finally crack

[westcoastflea1]

no offense intended?? none taken believe me
ill be the first to say i NEED to get out of the house

sebastians problem doesnt seem to be that he doesnt trust that i will come back. i know you deal with that by closing a door and an opening it a second later using a code word and increasing the time you spend on the other side of the door
the problem i believe is that sebastian doesnt want to be alone, period,
and he will howl and howl and howl if left completely alone

how on earth do you deal with that?
i have roommates and rent my home so i cant let him howl

ive been told that it may get better with time, that it could be that since he was in the shelter for a month he needs to be with people and that time will help him get over it

at times i have left the house when my roommate was home its a favor that i have to ask for so i dont ask often

he says sebastian whines a bit then settles down

so again i dont think its that he doesnt trust that im coming back its that he needs company, any company, not really choosy about who.

im hoping that maybe an adoptive home with a companion dog will be the answer?
but i have no way of testing this theory
in the meantime im stuck
any suggestions?

[Quercus]

@westcoastflea1:

no offense intended?? none taken believe me
ill be the first to say i NEED to get out of the house

sebastians problem doesnt seem to be that he doesnt trust that i will come back. i know you deal with that by closing a door and an opening it a second later using a code word and increasing the time you spend on the other side of the door
the problem i believe is that sebastian doesnt want to be alone, period,
and he will howl and howl and howl if left completely alone

how on earth do you deal with that?
i have roommates and rent my home so i cant let him howl

ive been told that it may get better with time, that it could be that since he was in the shelter for a month he needs to be with people and that time will help him get over it

at times i have left the house when my roommate was home its a favor that i have to ask for so i dont ask often

he says sebastian whines a bit then settles down

so again i dont think its that he doesnt trust that im coming back its that he needs company, any company, not really choosy about who.

im hoping that maybe an adoptive home with a companion dog will be the answer?
but i have no way of testing this theory
in the meantime im stuck
any suggestions?

Do you know why he was surrendered?
Is the info about him and his problems on another thread? I will look for it

[Quercus]

Wow! Okay so I read thru the other posts.

Has the pooping issue resolved? A few thoughts I had…he had tapeworms, right...so dealing with that is probably effecting his g.i. system. He is on some meds? or was...so that could mess him up too. And you mentioned marrow bones? Those will make for unpredictable pooping as well.

If he isn't destructive in the house, you need to just let him howl it out. Tell your neighbors and roomates your plan, make sure they understand that it is a training issue. And unless you allow him to realize howling won't make you stay or come back, he will keep doing it. Do short trips at first. Have someone else report to you how long he howled. Lots of these 'howlers' stop within 10 mintues or so when they realize it is useless.

Also, I think you may be throwing to much "newness" at him, in reading over your posts. He needs to settle and have a routine that doesn't include meeting new dogs and new people just yet, that could be adding to his anxiety. And that routine shouldn't be all about him, and what he wants. If this were my project, I think I would have a daily schedule, where I would have some time that I left the house (even if I didn't have to) and some walking time (can be slow to protect his back), and some training time. This dog has some special needs...but they should all be able to be addressed...but he might need some tough love

You are really sweet...I would never let a licking, growling, wormy dog stay in my BED!!

[westcoastflea1]

he was treated for tapeworms almost 1 1/2 weeks ago
sebastian has put on 2 1/2 pounds since he arrived and looks great.

sebastians routine has been a walk in the late morning then 3 or 4 hours at the dog park in the mid to late afternoon since i got him .
with this routine sebastians behavior has improved dramatically
the licking is much much better he is completely confident now when meeting new dogs in the last week sebastian played with several dogs and i even heard a few baroos from him when he was watching other dogs play

as far as obedience he of course has to sit and stay before going out the door, i worked on recall at the dog park,
right now im teaching him "go pee" which i think is important when its raining, he hates the rain , but needs to understand that when i take him out even if its raining its for a purpose and the quicker he does it the quicker we get inside, and hes one SMART dog, so hell learn really quickly.
so this afternoon i had some appts that i needed to keep so brought sebastian to my daughters house so she could be with him while i was gone
sebastian was fine he didnt even seem to notice i wasnt there,

so the problem isnt that i leave and hes worried i wont be back its that i leave him in the house ALONE
so if i understand correctly this is something that can only be cured by tough love?
if i know for sure that this is the right thing to do then of course ill do it.
i have decided that he will continue his mid morning walks, at this point they will be cut back to 3 blocks to the post office and 3 back letting him sniff as long as he wants and trying not to put any pressure on his harness
the idea is to let him poop on the walk so that way i can pretty much ensure that he wont poop in the house again .
could be right that its just a combo meds worms etc causing this strange behavior.

he had another pain episode last night even with the metacam and muscle relaxants i called the vet today to see if we need to up the dose from 20 mgs once a day to 20 mgs twice a day

i can try the tough love thing if i KNOW that it is the right way to approach this problem, my only concern is that sebastian gets rather frantic while looking for me racing thru the house and up the stairs and im not sure this would be good for his back right now?
ive also just been hoping that with a little time sebastian would improve and that i would then be able to leave the house without his howling am i just in never never land with that thought ?

[DebraDownSouth]

I agree… raising dogs to expect the unexpected and expect it to be okay is a good thing. I pick mine up, I turn them over, I take their food bowls or stick my hands in it and give it back or drop in even yummier stuff.

And having lived North South and west, the mentality of "if a dog bites kill it" isn't just a southern thing. Which is why a good home visit and evaluation is important. I have people come to MY house and I go to theirs with my own rescues. I want to see how kids behave at home and in public.

For the record, West, I didn't think you were saying all kids are abusive.

As for evaluating with children, again I urge you to contact Brat to work with you. Inexperienced foster homes are great but I believe should be used only on dogs already evaluated if possible. I teach dogs the "leave it" command. Then I have kids squeal, play, throw balls, ride bikes.. do everything possible to set off prey drive. I let them run toward the dog and pop them a treat. I work to teach them that children are a good thing. I have children give them obedience commands for treats. I have kids EAT around them (a challenge with basenji, lol). Needless to say I am less worried about basenji with children than my chow and rottie rescues, but you still want to know.

Not sure what the back issue is but if it is something serious, I can only agree that a home with kids for a dog who may have pain probably isn't good. But the not being able to leave alone must be handled or this dog is not placeable. If you absolutely cannot allow him to howl it out and stop before going in, Brat may need to find a foster home that has a dog for companionship and the ability to let him howl.

[sharronhurlbut]

Westcoast, can you block off the stairs so he only has one room or the downstairs, when your gone?

[debbi j.]

@westcoastflea1:

he had another pain episode last night even with the metacam and muscle relaxants i called the vet today to see if we need to up the dose from 20 mgs once a day to 20 mgs twice a day

i can try the tough love thing if i KNOW that it is the right way to approach this problem, my only concern is that sebastian gets rather frantic while looking for me racing thru the house and up the stairs and im not sure this would be good for his back right now?
ive also just been hoping that with a little time sebastian would improve and that i would then be able to leave the house without his howling am i just in never never land with that thought ?

Have you spoken to Roberta about Sebastian's issues?

debbi j.

[Quercus]

@westcoastflea1:

he was treated for tapeworms almost 1 1/2 weeks ago
sebastian has put on 2 1/2 pounds since he arrived and looks great.

sebastians routine has been a walk in the late morning then 3 or 4 hours at the dog park in the mid to late afternoon since i got him .
with this routine sebastians behavior has improved dramatically
the licking is much much better he is completely confident now when meeting new dogs in the last week sebastian played with several dogs and i even heard a few baroos from him when he was watching other dogs play

as far as obedience he of course has to sit and stay before going out the door, i worked on recall at the dog park,
right now im teaching him "go pee" which i think is important when its raining, he hates the rain , but needs to understand that when i take him out even if its raining its for a purpose and the quicker he does it the quicker we get inside, and hes one SMART dog, so hell learn really quickly.
so this afternoon i had some appts that i needed to keep so brought sebastian to my daughters house so she could be with him while i was gone
sebastian was fine he didnt even seem to notice i wasnt there,

so the problem isnt that i leave and hes worried i wont be back its that i leave him in the house ALONE
so if i understand correctly this is something that can only be cured by tough love?
if i know for sure that this is the right thing to do then of course ill do it.
i have decided that he will continue his mid morning walks, at this point they will be cut back to 3 blocks to the post office and 3 back letting him sniff as long as he wants and trying not to put any pressure on his harness
the idea is to let him poop on the walk so that way i can pretty much ensure that he wont poop in the house again .
could be right that its just a combo meds worms etc causing this strange behavior.

he had another pain episode last night even with the metacam and muscle relaxants i called the vet today to see if we need to up the dose from 20 mgs once a day to 20 mgs twice a day

i can try the tough love thing if i KNOW that it is the right way to approach this problem, my only concern is that sebastian gets rather frantic while looking for me racing thru the house and up the stairs and im not sure this would be good for his back right now?
ive also just been hoping that with a little time sebastian would improve and that i would then be able to leave the house without his howling am i just in never never land with that thought ?

Well, it is hard to accurately assess a situation over the internet Tough love might not be the ONLY way to do it…there is rarely only one answer to solving a problem...but right now his undesirable behavior is causing you to be unable to leave your house. You need to determine if he will howl for hours, or minutes. If the answer is hours, he may need to be medicated to get past the worst of his anxiety. If it is minutes, he needs to learn that howling does no good. The fact that he doesn't shred, dig, rip up or otherwise freak out when he is alone, makes me think the howling is a habit that has always brought him attention. It may improve with time, but it might not.

Definitely talk to your contacts at BRAT. I am sure they have done a lot more behavioral stuff with rescue dogs than I have. Either way, pick a strategy and stick with it. But I definitely think you need to have a structured plan for behavior mod in place

[westcoastflea1]

oh yes roberta is up to date on all of sebastians issues

shes been an incredible help with everything i talk to her almost every day

i had requested a trouble free foster since ive been without a dog for over 2 years, i just moved into my new house with new roommates on the first of sept so i really wanted a very easy dog to start the process off,
but i got sebastian just a few days after i moved in and it has been a bit different then i expected

roberta understands all of this and supports my using the forum as a sounding/support board
she feels there are many knowledgeable people here and the way i see it it does "take a village" but i run all suggestions from the posters here by roberta before acting on any.
i feel like a new mom with a colicky baby who can use all the support she can get
i figure im not the only foster home roberta has to deal with and so when i feel something is really not important enough to ask her about but is something im wondering about the forums are a good way to discuss it.

so what it comes down to is this, we are all helping sebastian so that some day he will go to a good adoptive family

and thats a really beautiful thing isnt it?

so thank you to all of you who have taken the time to give suggestions on how to deal with sebastian
i REALLY do appreciate it

[DebraDownSouth]

@debbi:

For the record, BRAT does not do Fanconi marker testing because we can not afford it. If we tested each basenji that came into rescue each year, it would cost over $30,000 per year. Our adoption fees do not begin to cover our direct vetting expenses as it is. This is the primary reason BRAT does not test. In addition, the test is not 100% accurate.
debbi j.

@debbi:

I don't see this as BRAT bashing. I am involved in the making of BRAT policy, and I know that is not the main reason. You may have heard this from individual BRAT members, but the opinion of individual members does not stand for the organization.

debbi j.

So are you saying BRAT doesn't do it because of finances but would let it be done if funds? Or are you saying it doesn't do it because of finances but also wouldn't allow it even if they had funds due to the "labeling." I don't care if it is a MAIN reason, I care if BRAT would prohibit a rescuer testing dogs they foster or if people raised money to help BRAT test rescues.