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  3. Poll: Where Did You Get Your Basenji?

Poll: Where Did You Get Your Basenji?

Basenji Talk
  • B

    I too was born into Basenjis as my parents, well my mum really had had them before I was born.

    I decided that as I knew and liked the breed that that was the breed for me really once in my own home. It helped that my husband also liked them.

    I obtained Cali from a breeder friend then once old enough decided to have a litter from her and then kept Kwame.
    Once I started to show over here in Germany it gave me a chance to have a look around at the shows at the various types and decided I liked one particular kennel so then Belle joined the household.

    I don't think I could have another breed though I certainly admire a few but none come close to a B.

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  • W

    I saw my first basenji in high school (mega-eons ago) when I was working at a vet's office (instead of being a burgerflipper) but it wasn't until my "mid-life crisis" that I acquired my first. I was actually looking for a small dog, did my research on various breeds, and had decided on basenji, It.greyhound, or whippet. There was an add for a basenji in the paper and I went and saw and bought (sorry to say it was a byb/pmb but I didn't know that at the time). After many years together, last summer he was hit by a car and I began looking for a new one. I hadn't intended to get another one quite so quickly (within a month) but I met this great breeder who had one coming back because he was too destructive. So I tried him, with some trepidation, but "we fell in love" and the rest is EL D! :)

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  • C

    1 from rescue - one from Breeder

    Bella (Tri female), Alex (Red/White boy RIP), Cassi (Red/White girl RIP)

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  • R

    One of my students gave us our Basenji mix. We had no idea of what she was, and didn't know until fairly recently. I sure wouldn't describe her as "quiet", since she has the loudest bark I've ever heard!! Maybe that's the heeler in her. Anyway, after puppy school was a bust, we just tried to socialize her at home. Now that she's a year old she's much better, keeps us running, and is a pure joy for our family.

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  • T

    My first Basenjis came from two different local breeders (IMO, responsible ones at the time).. I had gone and talked to both of them in April/May of 1991 and got on their reservation list for a male from one and a bitch from another… Believe me... I was "grilled" about wanting a male and bitch.. (big smile)... as their first thought was "BYB" in the making!!!! Both were co-owned by the breeders and both were my mentors..... That is my OJ and Maggii (now hopefully both will be 17 in August & September)... I was interested in showing and at some point breeding... My intention was to breed OJ to Maggii at some point... both finished their show championship fairly easy.. however along the way it was clear that a cross between OJ and Maggii would not give me what I was looking for... I then had the opportunity to add a 3rd to the mix, a Tri Bitch, Mickii joined the group.. she fit like a "glove"... With her, along with the show ring, we got into coursing... and in 1994 I bred my first litter with Maggii. And so it began... from then till now I have bred 3 litters myself and co-bred 2 litters with plans for another co-breeding this fall.
    I can say that from then to now there have been such great strides in health in our breed and the importance of testing before breeding. Seeing dogs with Fanconi, eye problems (as in blind from PRA)... and having both of them effect my breeding program has really made that important, along with temperaments. Our breed has come a long way in temperaments of Basenjis.. 40yrs ago they would "eat" you as quick as look at you....

    We are so lucky in Basenjis that most of the Fancy is open and honest compared to other breeds about health. The fact that the DNA Fanconi Database is open to the public is just on indication. The fact that we have a way to stop this horrible, horrible affliction is so wonderful. The fact that there are BYB's and PM's that do not test is sad, very, very sad.

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

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  • N

    It started for me in May of 1975 when a friend of my mothers stopped by with this 6 month old tri color and asked if I wanted her. A Basenji? What's a Basenji? Here it is 33 years and 3 basenjis later and I'm still owned.

    Buddy, Paolo and Dan

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  • N

    I have always had more than one dog. So when my boxer was about 7 1/2 I started researching what kind of dog I wanted next. I knew I wanted something easier to keep. I narrowed it down to 4 breeds, the beauceron, the Pharoah hound, the Basenji, and the Canaan. When I researched further, for any of the breeds, I knew I would have to travel further. I wanted a reputable breeder. I was searching around, and decided to start talking with breeders. For the approx. 50 breeders total I e-mailed, less than half returned my queries. Of those, I started looking and researching the breeders. The pictures of the puppies were priceless. I also saw pictures of the destruction caused by the Basenji, knew they didn't bark (supposedly), and was hooked. The breeder conversed with me, but was very hesitant. She didn't want to ship, (I don't blame her Lisa) so I said I would come down to Georgia. She also had never sold to anyone in Canada before. She took a chance and I became the proud owner of a bouncing baby boy (Shadow)! By this time, my boxer was 8 1/2 and had to be put down because (I believe) of leukemia. I received my second Basenji (Sugar) from the same breeder two years later. I sincerely am glad that the breeder took a chance on me.

    Arlene, the Basenji Brats with the Boxenji![](images/smilies/biggrin.png "Big Grin")

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  • T

    I wanted a basenji so I emailed BRAT. They said 'Here ya go' and handed me one. Now I have a Basenji. :D

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  • L

    Took a year to find the right breeder, but in the end it wa all worth it. I didn't even get to Choose Zaire. Katie chose her for me based on our conversations as to what kind of a dog I needed for Charlie. And let me tell you, even with my years of dog experience I couldn't have made a better choice.

    To you

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  • G

    Almost two years ago I found Samantha on this very website! There was a family that was having problems with her and their new baby. So the owner posted a message on this forum just days after I had began searching for one. Having had two B's before I knew I was late in the season to find a puppy, and my wife wasn't crazy about the puppy idea anyway.

    After some arranging, I found a flight for her and fortunately the temperatures cooperated so that she could fly from Dallas, TX to Salt Lake City, UT. When we first got her the sweet girl had a rough coat, was a little under weight (due to poor quality canned dog food), had long untrimmed nails, and after our first trip to the vet we found that she had 6 broken teeth. After $600 worth of vet dentistry (including the "friend of the vet" discount) and another $150 or so to get her spayed, we had a sweetheart of a dog! She is the best B I've ever had!

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  • Y

    Well, it started when I was out with my 22yr. old son at the mall. He said, "Hey, Mom lets look at the dogs in the petstore ", I replied, "I don't have time besides your Dad has too many ideas what a dog has to be like for us to get one", I'll never find a dog like he wants". That was 3 yrs. ago this Jan., and I had never heard of a Basenji. I called DH about 3 times the night I found Sahara to persuade him we needed this dog, but she was very expensive so it took some work talking him into me buying her. She is owned by my son, me and my husband, she lives with my husband and I. She is the best dog I have ever owned, and I have had many through my lifetime. I would never get another dog from a pet store (didn't know about puppy mills)but I would have not known of this breed if I hadn't stopped and looked that night. My husband loves this dog so very much, he buys her whatever she wants or needs. I love her also, she is my joy and I can't stand to be from her for very long, we just got back from a trip and it was so hard missing her. My son said that she didn't eat very good while we were gone and was very destructive in the house. Guess she missed us as well!

    0

19/19

14 May 2008, 14:30

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  • J

    Looking at getting a Basenji.

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    @jordandwilly - Thanks for clearing that up.... 9-5 is just fine, IMO.... I work and have always had to leave mine when I was at work, never an issue. That said, we were able to set up the house that access to the backyard (with 10 to 12' privacy fences) with a doggy door and a dog room in the house for them, Locks on the gates so there is NO access for anyone. Dogs sleep 90% of the day so being at work doesn't bother them... never have mine even when I had a litter in the house (And have been in the breed as owner/breeder for 35+ years). You can hire a dog walker to take them out mid day..which is a good solution. and give them a mid day meal depending on their age. I do not and never have used free feeding, period. Especially if you have more that one... you never know what/who is eating what. And you can set up camera's on line to watch them from "afar".... LOL. Keep in mind people that many of us need to work and have day jobs. The most important thing is the time you need to spend with them when you are home. Example would be, if you have young children and you work... when you get home you are going to spend your time with your human children... NO dog would be happy if left out... they need their time also because they are a family member and need as much time as a human child. Again in my opinion
  • A

    Getting a basenji, but...

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    on the heat of the sun???? Basenji love the heat. If you had a fireplace, it will be within inches of the hot logs.
  • K

    How did you get your basenji to walk off leash?

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    D
    @eeeefarm said in How did you get your basenji to walk off leash?: What I find interesting is the change in attitude to dogs on leashes. At that time, many people walked their dogs off leash, and many left them loose on their properties all day long. First, and probably foremost, you're a excellent owner. We disagree on a lot of training things (like e-collars) but you are uber responsible. On the "in the old days"... I see parents talk about not how they roved the neighborhood or all over small towns and how safe. But I also worked with women over the age of 70 who had been sexually assaulted as children and never reported it. I am not sure kids were massively safer in the good old days except for the fact that back then, your neighbors DID look after your kids... they'd scold them or call you without being fearful of being called meddling... because it was about caring. We've lost that. As for dogs, yep... we're similar aged and I remember my grandmother's farm and the fairly steady stream of new farm dogs because they got killed by wild life/snakes etc or roving dogs. It was business as usual. Dog disappeared or dead-- get another one. I know many still feel that way. Rather have to dogs run free and happy and dead young than "cooped up." Our value for dogs as companions has dramatically changed, and our view of our responsibility for them. We always had cats and dogs who were allowed out, and like you, most stayed on the property. But I remember 3 dogs who didn't (one small, probably stolen) and cats didn't live long. We just took that as the norm. Obviously I have look back at that and am horrified. (Though there was an Irish setter who would NOT stay on his property and if the owners weren't there, he followed me about a mile to my house when I walked home from school. His owners laughed, would come get him when they got home if he didn't go back. I thought that was kewl back then but not so much then.) But my experience, and I lived in a very small town then, and a smallish one now, is very different. Then and now, dead dogs and cats on the road are incredibly common. The litmus test is research statistics. Cats who are even allowed out a few hours a day loose have dramatically decreased life spans. I haven't bothered to look about dogs, though a look at shelters should be enough to prove that dogs loose are often dogs lost. The number with electric fence collars demonstrates how ineffective even that is if prey drive kicks in. (for the record, your dog your choice. Loose cats however have an almost unimaginable impact on wildlife, so it IS my business if your cat runs loose.) Yep, times have definitely changed.
  • ?

    When to get another Basenji

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    Wow! Somehow, I never got emails letting me know I had responses to this thread and just assumed there weren't any. But now that I'm back in the loop, I did want to thank everyone for their feedback and provide some thoughts of my own. That makes me laugh about the rescue person who wouldn't let young families or lawyers adopt her dogs. :-D I can understand her rationale from both perspectives. It's a compelling argument on her part about lawyers, but not all lawyers are the same, of course. I know a lot of extremely busy lawyers in large firms who struggle to hit their billable hour requirement each month. They're machines instead of people, and I wouldn't even let them dogsit my babies for fear of neglect. That's not my situation, fortunately. The young family part will be, but I've been thinking really carefully on how I'll balance this when the time comes. My dogs are my first children, and I would hire as many trainers as needed and try as many alternatives as I could before I would give them up. Unfortunately, I don't think a lot of people have that mindset about their dogs. :( I would absolutely be open to the idea of having the breeder choose a puppy for us based on their experience and prediction as to personality. All basenjis are gorgeous to me, and as long as the markings aren't completely off-base and I can get a tightly-curled tail (I've seen that the Avongaras can be lacking in this area, and I need a cinnamon bun in my life), personality is the most important thing. I wouldn't nitpick it to death. I'll have to decide on a breeder at some point, and I'd love one who's relatively local so I could visit. The man I got Penny from had great pet Basenjis that he bred… I'd like to go with a more reputable breeder this time around. At the very least, he tested for Fanconi. I can be grateful for that, as all is well so far and I more than likely dodged a bullet when I ended up with such a fantastic dog. My plan would be to decide and get on a waiting list far enough in advance that if there were a couple litters that just didn't produce what my family and I were looking for, we wouldn't be waiting forever. In short, what I'm banking on is that the right pup with the right personality will fit in pretty flawlessly. I know what sets my basenji off in other dogs, and I'm hopeful that I could find one that would suit her and suit our home. Daisy certainly worked out well for her, and I'd love to have that same success again. I've done three puppies in my lifetime, and all of them have grown up to be well-adjusted adults. I know what it takes, and I know it's hard work. I would never go the route of having an infant and a puppy at the same time (isn't THAT actually the definition of insanity?? ;) ), but I am still trying to shoot somewhere in the next 3-4 year range so my two aren't past ten and too old to handle a puppy.
  • D

    Thinking of getting a Basenji in NY

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  • E

    Considering getting a Basenji

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    Yes, early socialization and positive experiences is the best way to go. I think the most important thing about puppy kindergarten is that it is positive based and focuses on socialization with both people and dogs. Some basenji don't necessarily do well with the small dogs and other love them. Sophie was always the best with the new pups of any size in her puppy class, she just had phenomenal dog language and would make herself as small as possible and go at their speed. What you want to be careful about is people who have already formed a preconceived notion of basenji behavior. My mom's first puppy class instructor always expected her boy to be aggressive even though he never showed any aggression and was always very appropriate in his interactions. I crate puppies next to the bed while housebreaking and it works fine. I have always used a large stuffed toy in the crate and this year used SnugglePuppies, they were wonderful. The pup snuggled right up to warmth and fell asleep, provided we did a good job of tiring him out for the night. I got my first basenji while I was in Grad school and lived in an apartment. It is doable as long as you are willing to make sure they get enough exercise and mental stimulation.