Adopting a puppy mill rescue
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He seems like such a lover! So many kisses for that sweet one eye guy. To be honest.. I was waiting for the adult to lay down the law!
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Well it's been since Saturday afternoon that my girlfriend and I have had Jaco in our care. It's been exhausting but nothing unexpected and an almost entirely positive experience thus far. Again, thank you all for the comments and advice thus far, it's been very insightful!
Juniper, our 16 month old female, and Jaco, the now 14 week old male, have REALLY taken a liking to each other with no violently aggressive behavior at all. Juniper's behavior and personality have remained stable…we were worried about a lapse in some of her training especially potty training. That has made much of this transition so much easier. She's also still half-pup so she's really tolerating Jaco well. Pat (tanza) called it, to be dominant and at twice Jaco's weight Juniper pins him to the ground with her jaws around his neck until he squeal or even shrieks. But he challenges her at absolutely every opportunity he has! He was very skinny when we got him, the rescuer wasn't sure why because she fed him right and but only had him a week...so he's very, very food motivated and very velcro dog around the kitchen. But he also will just take whatever Juniper is chewing on at the moment simply because she has it and not him. And Juniper will let him take it but a minute later will crash in on him for the pin routine to show him who's really boss but on her own schedule oddly enough, passive aggressive really.
But I'm kind of worried how pushy he is at such a young age. If he's this competitive with Juniper at this age, will it only become worse? Could it eventually lead to violent aggression (over food, for example)? He has even humped Juniper half a dozen times...at 14 weeks old!? What's up with that? Should we be worried he's going to turn into "one of those dogs", not to mention a dominant, potentially violent prone dog (with Juniper and/or stranger dogs)? We worried about Juniper being too aggressive in her play when we first went to the dog park but 90% of dogs absolutely love her or tolerate her just fine despite her high level of activity and play-aggression (biting at neck, pawing at the body, etc.)...so I feel like we lucked out with her, but it's likely we won't have that same luck again especially with a male, am I right?
Besides those little worries about his behavior, we are absolutely thrilled about bringing Jaco into our home! We're just anticipating potential issues in the future regarding socialization especially for playing at the dog park...but should we? And should we anticipate dominance issues between Juniper and him given the indications this early on? I know males and females will tend to not be aggressive towards one another but with how dominant and aggressive June is (when it comes to playing, not being violent), I fear they could get into a pissing match when he reaches full size and strength. This is all just speculation at a very young age for Jaco BUT no matter how many times Juniper makes him shriek he keeps coming back for more...and I have a feeling that sort of behavior from him isn't going anywhere.
Thanks again for continuing to provide me feedback, everyone's experience is greatly appreciated!
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His actions at this age are totally normal..(IMO). it doesn't sound like he is that pushy to me… but more like learning the "ropes".... and the boundaries. The humping is pretty normal too.... just "feeling" his way and testing the dominate "water"... so to speak.
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Thanks for the sanity check, Pat. I truly appreciate you following this thread…otherwise at this point I'd be afraid we took home a monster on Saturday, haha! But now I realize that our female Juniper was just an exceptional dog. She's always had a certain level of caution and almost disinterest at times. Being a male pup it's like Jaco is her dimensional twin as far as personality at least at this time. Jaco's persistence, despite being such a small guy compared to Juniper, is what I'm not used to. But over the course of researching into getting Juniper and since then searching for answers to questions I have had as she's grown up....I have never gone out of my way to read about male dogs. And now thinking about the crazy male dogs I've known throughout my life it just reinforces how laid back Juniper is about everything except prey.
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He is a beautiful brindle B/W! From your thread remarks since he has been with you both and Juniper, he is settling in just fine! Gee, glad he is not a shy puppy!!! Seems like you know dogs/Basenjis really, if you walk around the dog park to watch his reactions, you could gage if you should bring him in there. I had Uzie for one week and I drove down to Tampa for a dog park visit with MacPack et all. Uzie was very shy and only one B of 20 or so seemed to want to bully him, but no fights and Uzie was very, very under-socialized, but I had watched him with the dogs in my daycare and saw that he 'carried' himself well, avoided conflicts, and did fine. If you and your girlfriend don't have any reservations and he is bonded with Juniper, he will follow her lead too. Get out and help him learn his world! & Do post pics ASAP! Again, congrats on your new boy!
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If the pup continues to favor one side, take him to a canine chiropractor, sometimes a simple adjustment is all it takes. I waited till Trog was nearly 2 before someone told me to take him to a chiropractor for his wonky back end, we discovered his hip was out of place, an adjustment and quarterly readjustements keep him happy and healthy. Unfortunately because we waited so long, his muscles on the rt back leg had atrophied to the point where they will never be equal to his left, so he has a permanent hitch in his walk.
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Jaco is really settling in. He's really locking in to potty training and how to treat Juniper if he doesn't want to get owned all the time. I also have started taking him on longer walks (1 mile+) and that wears him out like it does for Juniper and then they play less. We don't mind them playing but it is a little distracting since we feel obligated to watch every second, fearing it might get out of hand (it hasn't yet, fingers crossed).
That's interesting about the chiropractor, never knew canines had that medical expertise available to them haha. We're taking him to the vet next week, we'll ask them what they think about his posture and go from there. I still notice it but it seems to be occurring less. I also need to pay more attention to confirm if he is consistent on which side he favors.
So I kind of have a dilemma. I did a lot of research into Jaco's breeder…and I know him and his pups have been discussed on this very forum before. In an instance I found online but not on this site, I've read Basenji owners did some research into him and posted that stuff on a forum (didn't say this forum) to warn others but then he got on the forum and threatened legal action (libel?). Then the forum admin(s) deleted the entire thread out of fear. I would like to start another thread here and basically post everything up front so people researching on the forum for getting a puppy won't go to him! And I would only state the facts, not my opinion. There is currently an investigation into him in Kansas where he is operating his mill...he would get no where with legal action against anyone or any website making public his information that the authorities themselves are catching on to. But I know this entire topic, since the threat of legal action can give knee-jerk responses, is controversial to post. This guy has been running a puppy mill operation for years and the evidence of Jaco's existence traced back to him suggests that he is actively breeding Basenjis (Jaco was born Dec. 30th 2013 and I'm sure he didn't appear out of thin air).
What should I do?Read this, especially the comments section that's still going as of about a week ago even though it started in 4 YEARS AGO:
http://cravendesires.blogspot.com/2010/03/accused-iowa-puppy-miller-is-convicted.htmlThat's ^ who our Jaco came from. That's the guy who neutered him at 12 weeks old. You should see the "paperwork" we got from the rescuer who got it from the first owners who got it from that convicted criminal…it's a photo copy of a blank sheet of paper with 3 vaccine stickers on it, that's it. What a joke of a breeder! He even did Jaco's first shots at 4 weeks old, WTH! No vet records, for all we know a dirty butter knife is what neutered Jaco. I absolutely can't believe he's as healthy and well-behaved as he is, what a little miracle of life for overcoming those circumstances. But it sickens me to cuddle with Jaco knowing his breeder who also touched him is such an evil person who is still free to continue doing his crimes for profit on the backs of defenseless animals including the breed we here all love!
I searched if this forum and found this, so I know some people on here have read about this guy before:
http://www.basenjiforums.com/archive/index.php/t-9376.html
His kennel has a new name now because he's trying to dodge multiple investigations into him. He's also being sued in civil court across state lines. -
What a delightful happy puppy! Loved the video. I do hope the one-eyed dog also got a home.
I think allowing the female to set limits will help reign him in, and the more play the more tired and the more well behaved.
Food though, that can be an issue. I feed in crates because it is easier to NEVER have a fight over food than have one. It helps me make sure who gets what food, or if one needs supplements/med, no danger of sharing or not getting full dose. But I also want dogs to understand early on that their food is THEIR food and another dog's food is not theirs. Fighting over food is a normal behavior and one you want to prevent happening. While I work with mine from puppyhood on letting people handle, take, exchange food.. I do not expect dogs to be nice to other dogs.
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We knew to curb food fighting issues from the get go so we set up a gate in a hallway, effectively separating our home in two. We keep Jaco's food and water on one side and Juniper's on the other. And while Jaco eats all his food immediately every feeding, Juniper has always been picky (her breeder even noted it when she was a young pup) so while we use to free feed her we can't do that now because Jaco will eat her adult food leftovers. So as soon as we brought him home and saw how food motivated he is, we've been picking up her bowl after she's stopped eating (though she never finishes) and then open the gate. The first thing Jaco does is run to where June's food bowl would be, he acts so famished. And now Juniper is eating more food for the few minutes her bowl is put it down, not surprisingly!
Thankfully they don't fight over the toys we have that we put treats in even though it's food. And the first time Jaco caught us off guard by going after June's food before she was done/before we had picked up her bowl Juniper didn't get aggressive with him, she just shared. She's still half pup in her heart and has never really gotten violently aggressive with any dog even though she has had to defend herself at the dog park more than once. In fact Jaco's rescuer gave us some of the Fromm kibble she was feeding him so we could ease his transition to Orijen puppy kibble…and when Juniper smelled the new-to-her food in his bowl the first time we fed him, she went and shared with him from his bowl. Juniper is very saintly...but we know that in a few months when Jaco is larger, stronger, and potentially testing her dominance she might feel threatened then and get food protective. So we're keeping their food separate even now in anticipation of that.
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Would be better to just feed them in crates… and water should never be an issue...... If Juniper doesn't finish her food, then she loses it for that feeding.. it is a way to build GOOD eating habits...
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First pictures of Jaco:
http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?16057-Jaco-little-brother-to-Juniper -
Colorado Basenji Rescue. We are her 5th home. We got her when she was 5 and she is now 13. No major health issues-just UTI's and vision problems and weird mannerisms. I think she has some mental issues but is the most loving Basenji I have ever known. She doesnt know how to play and and craves attention. She shys away from hands even now and it took her almost 2 years before she showed her personality and felt good about herself. She was dead behind her eyes and her tail was thin and hung down.
If you are willing to take the time and have the money-you may end up with a fantastic dog. We are lucky and got pet insurance. Good Luck! -
This is a puppy that they adopted…. not an adult that had been used in breeding.... While they will have issues... the fact that he is only a few months old and that have a well adjusted bitch in the home.. will make it all the more easier for them... "still recommend" that you feed in crates...
Kudos for you for taking a puppymill breeding bitch.... and that she has done so well.
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Colorado Basenji Rescue. We are her 5th home. We got her when she was 5 and she is now 13.
Oh, what was the name of the girl you got?
I got a Basenji from Peg quite a few years ago.
-Joanne -
I have to feed 2 of my 6 in crates because after they finish thier food, they then go and share with everyone else and put on weight.
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There would be no sharing in my house; it would turn nasty very quickly!
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Zest! would be happy to share your food, but it's not really a 2 way street.
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Amen to that!!
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When I had my two Basenji girls, and my Border Collie, I often fed them all at the same time in summer when they were out enjoying the dog run, but I stuck around until they were done (not long!!) because the younger one would try to "help" the older one finish her dinner, and both would be happy to enjoy anything the Border Collie left, but not if I was present to glare at them!
(the Border Collie would even defer to the cat if she decided to help herself to his meal.)
