@basenjicurious
It’s great that you’re doing your homework on the basenji. I think the reason you read all these “horror stories” is because they are not your typical dog. They are a beautiful and highly intelligent breed with a very strong prey drive. My Kembe is my first basenji but I was familiar with the breed because my brothers were basenji owners. I got her when she was 1years old - she was returned to the breeder by the previous owners. Kembe has never been destructive, she has free reign of our house, and I can leave her at home alone. It’s extremely important to exercise them regularly - especially exercise and stimulate their minds, and establish a routine (I can set my watch to my dog). They are definitely trainable - it scares me to see how smart she is and also well behaved. Basenjis are extremely lovable and hilariously funny. If I have a treat that my dog especially likes - she will do her whole “repertoire of tricks” without me even asking her. She dances to let me know it’s time to eat and will sit right next to me and hit me with her paw when she wants to go for her walk.
I think our basenji chose us - when we went to the breeders home to look at her - She jumped up next to my husband on the couch and curled up! I was sold on her! I really hope you find a basenji that right for you!
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What do you feed your Basenji?
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i mix different brands for suki with no transition period. i usually get a big bag of nutro natural choice or wellness, and then mix in small bags of another food like evo or eukanuba or other quality food. she's never had any problem with this.
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I started off with feeding my Basenjis raw and biscuit but changed to 'complete feeds' for a while. After having had problems with one particular bitch I switched back to raw and have fed it ever since.
They have all sorts of vegetables and fruit and supplements when necessary.
My vet bills are small over the life of the dog and I put this down to their feeding management but of course it could be just coincidence.
Mine do eat grass but the reasons vary, and they also dig up certain roots and eat certain plants!
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http://www.maryshouse.us/Recipes.htm
Here's the muttloaf recipe I've been using. I am lucky in that I get the beef from Betsy who raises longhorn cattle. Excellent quality grassfed lean beef and she usually throws in a few hearts and livers for free.
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LOL… love that Mutt Loaf... I make 3 or 4 loafs at a time from the mix... cook one, freeze the others.. defrost and bake as needed... and I warm up the evening ones in the Micro for about 30 seconds. I change up what I use in the mix from time to time... adding different things... but always ground meat (Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Pork and Lamb)...eggs, bananas, apple sauce (unsweeten green apples) dried cranberries, and other fresh/raw fruit/veggies....
I do not use cheap ground beef, but a good cut ground of grass fed steers... one of these days I will get a grinder or food processer and add some organ meat....
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I have a grinder attachment for my Kitchenaide mixer. Works great! I always use blueberries or cranberries for the fruit part (depending on the season) and potato flakes for the grain. I had not thought of adding apple sauce. For seasoning, I add garlic and cinnamon. Pups LOVE it. In fact, I started making this b/c I'd get 1/4 an animal from Betsy and had LOTS of ground beef. It's just hubby and I, so that's a lot of ground beef for 2 adults, so I found this recipe and it helped me get Digital to eat. Yes, he's picky. Yes, I cater to him. He's my dog and I can spoil him if I want to. (And if I and hubby dies, he goes back to Mary Turner who will spoil him as much as i do!)
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LOL Kim…. I agree when they get older we all "cater" to them... and I use blueberries too sometimes fresh, sometimes dried... and the applesause works great... IMO... And I wish that I had a local farmer that I could get fresh from... but I do try and get the same quality that I would eat myself... and like you, there is just the two humans and then the "critters". I have used potato flakes but also have used rice flour or in a pinch, nothing at all... it is a "bit" wet to form and freeze or cook, but it works. Have not tried Cinnamon, great idea... I will do that next time (this weekend)! Oh and I also use dried Cranberries... just mix them in the mix and when you cook them up (like blueberries) they plump up and cook really well.
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yes, i use the dried cranberries when the blueberries are $$$ and the fresh cranberries are not in season yet. Dried cranberries now come in so many different flavors! And yes, I too have omitted the "grain", usually b/c I forgot to add it. Cinnamon is one of those "wonder" foods and it helps mask the smell of the liver (if I've added that on that go-round). I don't really think liver is fit for eating, but the dogs seem to like it. I get fresh beef and farm eggs (the holistic vet sells them), but the rest i get from the store. Hopefully I'll have lots of zucchini in the garden this year. That and green beans. (I have purple green beans that turn green when you cook them. You'd think I was 6 the way it amuses me!) Last year the poor garden was sort of neglected, but for some reason the dill thrived. Fresh herbs are way more potent!
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Dreamer eats a cooked homemade diet- mainly chicken + sweet potatoes - with some yogurt, a tablespoon or so of pureed raw fruit/veg(brightly coloured stuff - berries, leafy vegs etc) and appropriate supplements. She seems to do best on a simple, highly digestible cooked diet. She gets an egg sometimes when I don't have any chicken cooked. She does ok on kibble, worse on raw.
My non-b puppy gets 1/2 earthborn holistic costal catch dry and 1/2 home prepared raw… and any dog safe leftovers. Sometimes I feel like all I do is feed him... he eats enough in a day to feed dreamer for at least 5.
I curious how much other basenjis eat - Dreamer eats about 4 ounces of cooked chicken(dark meat+skin) and 8 oz of baked sp a day + treats coming up to about 400-450 calories/day. She weighs 16-18 lbs and is not very active...
Edit: Dreamer loves dried cranberries too... and I always get local eggs from the farm store(2/dozen for any size, so I always get the jumbo ones- and they sure are big), so much better then even the free range/etc ones from the grocery store. And if you If you like purple green beans you should try growing Dragons tongue beans - they're yellow with purple stripes, turn yellow when cooked.
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I curious how much other basenjis eat - Dreamer eats about 4 ounces of cooked chicken(dark meat+skin) and 8 oz of baked sp a day + treats coming up to about 400-450 calories/day. She weighs 16-18 lbs and is not very active…
The food you make sounds dee-lish… but 8 oz. of sweet potato a day?? :eek::eek: That's about how much Bowpi gets an entire day at most, and I've come to think we're overfeeding her a bit! Bowpi is 22 ~ 24 lbs, sleeps/lounges around the house for what seems like 18 hours a day, and gets vigorous walks, off-leash park running, and whatever-around-the-house for the rest of her waking hours. She gets 1/2 a cup of kibble in the morning (at least that's how I do it, but my partner's been feeding her in the day when I'm not around and I'm starting to suspect he's slipping her more...) and up to 4 oz. of meat/non-meat in a roughly 70/30 ratio in the evening.
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Yeah… it sounds like more then it really is, sp is reallly dense and mostly water/fiber. It's about 1/2 a cup cooked I think...
I always feed mine because my mom is the same - thinks I'm not giving enough though she admits that Dreamer at least is the right weight. Silly puppy on the other hand is hard to keep weight on, the whole litter is the same and so was his sire. At least he's not like his sister who will only eat ground chicken...
