LOL Jeff…. Love the Priority box!!! Reminds me of a conversation that I had a few years ago with a person looking for a puppy. They wanted to know if I shipped FedX!!!!
I had not thought of that when we did it! The boxes kept them contained for weighing! LOL…
The Kaden/ Phoenix litter is really coming along, tails a' curling' and ears starting to perk up a bit. We have begun to test them on toys, trying to determine prey and hunt drive, along with retention, curiosity, and other qualities. This is a very nice litter and the pups show no signs of aversion or fear. They all have quite a desire to interact with people. There are a couple that look like great working dog prospects for any detector work or sport. This breeding was with nose and ability to work for man in mind and we are seeing a lot of what we would expect from a working GSD or other working breed litter. The last 70 pics were taken last night with the first introduction to the toys. Feel free to write with any questions and cheek out our company page if you want to see some of the work we do. Here is a link to our Flicker page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38574466@N03/sets/72157628043348519
Jeff
Wow, just spent a lot of time reading all of the posts. Granted, I did a fast read, but I'll put my flack jacket on now. I am not a basenji breeder, nor am I a basenji expert, but I am definitely a basenji lover and someone concerned about the breed, and animals in general. Here are my comments (things that concern me).
1. No testing done PRIOR to breeding.
2. Initially thinking it was okay to x-ray puppies (hope I read that correctly, apologies if I didn't).
3. Often when there isn't something in the market yet, someone comes along with an idea to make money…. I think you get my drift. Someone else on this forum had a similar feeling.
4. I have never heard anyone on this forum refer to a dog as 'hot'. The word 'hot' in that context, used for any living entity seems kind of crass to me. A sports car is 'hot'. A dog is great, excellent, special, skilled.
5. I understand we all have to learn at some point, but you waited until you had a pregnant female basenji to find out about a whelping box? I guess the breeders I know on here more often than not were tutored by other breeders before they had their first litters, and then probably often had help with the first litter. Kudos to those of the folks on this forum who provided you with info.
6. Put me on the list of people who do not like e-collars. My opinion is that they provide a lazy way to train. What happens to your dogs if the e-collar doesn't work?
7. I think you should have initially posted under 'Classifieds' or the 'Sports Forum'. Again, just my opinion.
If there are comments, I welcome them, but as I don't like getting into back and forth unproductive posts, I may not answer. I'm the one who usually breaks up threads that get out of hand. Saying that, I do appreciate that this forum allows us to have a place to voice our thoughts and opinions, whatever our basenji breeding knowledge, hunting knowledge or basenji IQ (and our general IQ) is.
Your thread is, I believe, the first thread I have felt strongly enough to comment in the way I have. Maybe it's the antibiotics I am taking.
Just a quick note, many of us xray a few days from the whelping date to "count" babies as best we can. That way you pretty much know when they are done…
My litter from 2000 was xray'ed and we saw 4 sets of bones... however there was a shadow so could have been 5. She had 4 within a space of 1 1/2 hours. Then 3 hours later the 5th. He had an exposed skull (not fully developed) so we lost that pup, but I may have not been on the lookout for a possible 5th without the xray.
Pat, so sorry to hear about that pup from your 2000 litter. I suppose these kinds of things happen, though I hope rarely. 
Thanks for the info regarding the x-raying. I see that it makes sense you would want to know what to get ready for. Can ultrasound also be used effectively? Would it be as difinitive if looking for bone?
So far, the black faced boy and the light brindle have the most drive and retention. All of the pups are pretty fearless. We are setting up a mini obstacle course for exposure. More pics soon.
Pat, so sorry to hear about that pup from your 2000 litter. I suppose these kinds of things happen, though I hope rarely.
Thanks for the info regarding the x-raying. I see that it makes sense you would want to know what to get ready for. Can ultrasound also be used effectively? Would it be as difinitive if looking for bone?
No, ultrasound is great at about 30 days (give or take) and even then not an exact count of possible pups, but xray is best for the "final" count. Ultrasound is getting better as the years go on, but I will stick with xray days before the due date.
And yes it was not a fun thing, happens more then you really hear about… but that is one of the things as a breeder you need to be ready for.... it happens... the sad thing about those kinds of pups is that that are typically born alive but you know that they are not viable.. and need to let them go
And yes it was not a fun thing, happens more then you really hear about… but that is one of the things as a breeder you need to be ready for.... it happens...
I'm such a wuss when it comes to anything sad/cruel/horrible etc., when it comes to innocent life. I have to leave the living room or change the channel if a commercial comes on for animal shelters. I could never be a breeder. Seeing what you mentioned just once would do me in.
Hi All,
Updated stack pics for our five week olds and some of our first obstacle tests. Dark brindle girl and C Boy rocked the tunnel:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38574466@N03/sets/72157628543236913
We are conducting puppy testing tomorrow for our Basenji litter. We will be choosing work pups for detection and sports as well as just great pets. This litter is incredibly well socialized and quite gregarious. If anyone has questions please let me know. I will be videoing the testing process.
Looking forward to seeing the video.
Nice looking pup. I'll have to go to town and see the video once it's up. No high speed at home!
OK, Terry Fiedler came by and helped us do some filming while the puppies were tested. Kelli and I could not be present to skew the results. I am working on putting the video together now as it is quite long. Here are some interesting results for the tests and some pics to go with them. All of our tests were scored on a sliding scale of 1-6 and there were ten tests. The trailing/ tracking test could not be done due to temps in the 20's. We will try that on Friday.
Flash: Scored very well for a friendly pet or show as he was social but independent. He had a very high degree of forgiveness and his touch sensitivity was good He was not sensitive to sound issues but his prey and hunt drive were relatively low. He is one of the faster pups an may do well in coursing.
Small Brindle: Had good social acceptance and followed everything but was also independent. Touch sensitivity was the best of all pups and her sound sensitivity was minimal. Her prey drive is VERY high. Retrieval was low. Her hunt drive was high. She is VERY fast, jumps very high, and climbs quite well. She is the most agile puppy we have and is suitable for agility or lure.
Big Brindle: Good social acceptance and following with some independence. She had very good results for touch sensitivity just behind small brindle, excellent hunt and prey drive, very good retrieval, no sound sensitivity. Fast and very powerful. This is a working pup prospect for scent detection but could be good for lure.
C Monster: So named for the C Shaped collar. Had good social acceptance and following but is dominant. His forgiveness was good. Touch sensitivity was a little low with no sound sensitivity. Prey and hunt drive was very high with no retrieval. He is the biggest B/W and fast. C Monster will be a good lure dog and his looks are pretty awesome. I'm not a good show person but his markings are striking to me.
Black Face: Scored close to big Brindle but had great retrieval which is rare in a basenji and what we are actually looking closely at. His father, Kaden, tested similarly and will retrieve all day long if you let him. This component is necessary for detector dog work at a high level. Frankly, besides C Monster, I think his looks are amazing and I am not sure how lots of black goes in the show ring but if it does, he would be a charmer. Black face is probably our working stock pick of the litter and would also do great for any sport work.
I hope to post the video soon.
So, have you placed all your pups yet?
Nice puppies - the assessment is interesting - do I gather that only the one has little prey drive? At what age do you intend to place them and/or plan to use them yourselves?
Can I ask what you mean by 'forgiveness', and how would you test for something like that?
I will answer all three questions in one if that is OK. Yes, only one had little prey drive. Based on the rest of his assessment, he will be a very good pet, show, or sport work. He does not have enough drive to work for us.
We plan on placing starting at 8-9 weeks based on the test results. This litter is incredibly mature and it is time to bond with new homes.
The forgiveness test is how the puppy responds to the human who just did something it did not like such as being dominated or after touch sensitivity testing. The pups that immediately come back to the human who cause the problem happily, are generally the most human oriented dogs. Pups that leave the human immediately and do not come back, are often too independent and will probably be fearful/ reactive dogs.
We have a couple of homes on tap once the work priority is dealt with. Kelli and I are still a little undeceive as to who will be our detector dog.
I am still working on the teasing videos but am having compatibility issues. Here is a video link to the pups first excursion into our obstacle course:
http://youtu.be/wQrjIj9IdK8
Great video! I like to see that these little guys will be exposed to absolutely EVERYTHING before they go to their new homes. You have a very nice setup for them.
