hey, you could get your feet wet by volunteering to foster or transport Basenjis! Go to BRAT web site and sign up. ALSO, go to dog shows and meet some basenjis. We have california breeders and owners here so you can get some hands on!
http://basenjirescue.org/volunteer.asp
Hi from Mammoth Lakes, California
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Greetings from Loki & Freya (and their human Cecilia)!
Loki (the Norse God of Mischief) is the b/w one in the pictures and Freya (the Norse Goddess of Love) is the redhead. They were both born in December 2006, so they are still rambunctious puppies.
Loki chose Cecilia to be his human (he was from Sandra Cyrus - Mountain Basenji Dogs in SoCal), when he was about 10 weeks old. At that time, the neighbor had a Husky who was Loki's best buddy and they would play every day. Sadly, Dakota had to go to doggy heaven and as a result, Loki was very lonely. Fortunately, Loki found a girlfriend: Freya (from Connie Paulsen - Khani's Basenjis in Oregon), when they were both about 9 months old. It was love at first sight and they do EVERYTHING together: sleep in the same crate (even though it really is too small for both of them), eat out of the same bowl, carry the same stick around, chase squirrels, etc.
In two of the pictures, you can see them wearing their wireless fence collars (no, they are not bark collars). It took them one "zap" to figure the system out, and they stay within their allowed area even if there are interesting critters (dogs, cats, bears, squirrels, etc.) passing by outside of the boundary. The transmitter is portable, so it goes with us when we travel. I know that wireless fences are not considered "proper" fences. But I must emphasize that I never leave them alone in the yard - we have coyotes, bears, stray dogs and other "wild" animals that are not being prevented from crossing the boundary. When they are home alone (which does not happen very often since I work from home), they go in their crate for some quality nap time.
In one picture, Loki is wearing his saddle bags. Both of them love having a job (carrying water) when we go hiking, and it also helps slowing them down a little bit ;-). We go hiking every day (it's either an hour of exercise, or an hour of cleaning up toilet paper and toy "guts" scattered all over…)
Cecilia
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Welcome to the pack!
Your basenjis are gorgeous!
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Welcome, and I loved your story! What a pretty pair!
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Hello and welcome! It never crossed my mine to put my B to work, although he gets me up some pretty steep hills by pulling me
Where can I get those saddle bags? We love hiking to. My B climbed 6 miles up Blue Ridge Mountain and 6 miles down in one afternoon and it didn't phase him. -
Thanks Everybody!
Natalplum: you can buy saddle bags at a lot of pet stores and specialty dog stores, but some of them can be rather expensive (some of them also have lots of unnecessary "bells & whistles"). The one Loki is wearing in the picture is very basic (and reasonably priced) and is made by Outdoor Products. You can find it online as their "Dog Pack Small Red". This one fits both Loki (25 lbs) and Freya (23 lbs) perfectly. They each happily carry up to 4 water bottles (16 oz) at the start of the hike, gradually dwindling down as we drink the water. Most other packs that I have seen for this size dog are either too small (capacity-wise), or the straps need a lot of jury-rigging. I hope it is OK to list brands/products on this forum - I do not own stock in this company…
Loki & Freya enjoy carrying their packs: they actually seem more relaxed and less wound-up having "found a purpose in life" - and they get a lot of attention from other hikers!
Cecilia -
Your furbabies are just beautiful, I myself have a red & white, 3yrs. old in December girl named Sahara. I am thinking about getting her a playmate, what do you think? Do you think it is easier having 2 B's so they can play together, or is it more work. Welcome to the forum!
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Oh, they're just lovely! We just rescued a little boy - he's on the way now to come home and meet us and our girl Fiji. Always wonderful to hear about 2 who become fast friends!
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Hello and welcome to the forum! Your b's look great!
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Welcome to the pack. What great looking kids you have there…thank you for sharing pictures...it's always a great way to make quick friends here.
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youngandtired:
I know that a lot of people will tell you that the amount of mischief quadruples when you get another one. But my experience has been that it has stayed more or less constant. Loki is the troublemaker, while Freya is a little lady who "rolls her eyes" at Loki's antics (even though they are the same age). They will teach each other both good and bad things though! Freya was at first timid with other dogs, but Loki showed her that most dogs are friendly and unable to resist the charms of a B puppy. Loki on the other hand was timid with new people - especially the small ones, but Freya taught him that humans are very similar to dogs and also cannot resist a charming B. However, it can be difficult to get Loki's attention now that Freya is the center of his universe (boys will be boys…). So the "selective hearing" has definitely gotten worse...
Also, Loki suffered from separation anxiety when he was little and would howl and cry when he was left alone. Fortunately, it would only last about 15 min, or else the neighbors would probably have strangled me.... Now that he has Freya, the howling and crying has stopped completely.
Cecilia -
Welcome to the forum. I had a great dane mix and his name was Loki too. I think its a great name for a basenji!
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Your babies are beautiful! I also have a black & white. He's my first b but, hopefully not the last.
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Welcome to the pack - your beasties are beautiful.
