Thanks for the advice. It's definitely helped!
Female V Male
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Well, Akeyla is small at 13lbs (she will be 6 months on the 25th). However, the vet said today that she looks good and healthy. Akeyla has a pretty small head too.
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Having multiple females can be tricky but getting a puppy of the opposite sex is no guarantee everything will work out well either. The personalities and temperaments of both animals involved must be considered.
How does Bella respond to strange dogs when she meets them? If she has any dog aggression at all then getting another female, or a dog aggressive male, is not a good idea. If Bella meets a strange dog and is really friendly then you may be able to have a second female in the house. Beware that some dogs are friendly until they get on their own home turf. Attitudes can change then.
Finding just the right female puppy would be tough. Check out breeders carefully. Can they keep all their females together or not? If so then, in my opinion, you have a better chance of getting a puppy with that kind of temperament.
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She is small but thats ok Jaycee grew way to fast. Good luck in what ever way you go boy or girl.
Rita Jean
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You will rarely find a responsible breeder that will "let" you pick the puppy. As lvoss has noted, breeders have spend hours on end with the litter, they know the temperaments and can judge what pup would be the best fit with a family. Especially when it is a second Basenji/dog in a household. While opposites are usually the best choice, if you go to a responsible breeder and tell them you would like a puppy girl as a first choice, then they can (once you are on their reservation list) watch the pups as they grow and see if one might suit the situation. I always encourage that people bring their currect dog to meet the pups… but not till they are 7 or 8 wks old....
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@AC~Akeyla:
I'm sooo glad to read these threads because we are going to get a playmate for our 6month old female, Akeyla. So adding a male to our pack sounds like a plan.
On another note, does anyone have a 6 month old B? Just curious about how much Akeyla should weigh?
Zoni turns 6 months tomorrow and she is about 17 lbs.
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Nemo…. it would be interesting for others on the list to learn how you got Zoni... and the fact that your breeder "picked" her for you and how your interactions with your breeder came to be... ... I think it would be wonderful for others to hear about getting a pup from a responsible breeder... if you don't mind sharing...
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Nemo…. it would be interesting for others on the list to learn how you got Zoni... and the fact that your breeder "picked" her for you and how your interactions with your breeder came to be... ... I think it would be wonderful for others to hear about getting a pup from a responsible breeder... if you don't mind sharing...
Okay, hope this helps…When I was looking for a puppy I was interested in getting into lure coursing and possibly showing and didn't know anything about how to practically go about doing either of those, so I wanted to find a breeder that was somewhat local that I would be able to interact with, and who was also interested in helping me get started in one or both activities. I looked through the BCOA and WI basenji club breeder lists to find people in the area and chatted with a few by email in the August-September timeframe since I knew breeding season was really close. By coincidence I actually ran into Sue (Zoni's breeder) at a lure coursing trial and ended up chatting with her for a few hours, plus got to interact with several of her dogs including Zoni's mother. I guess you would call that conversation the interview...I told her what I was potentially interested in doing and asked her questions around what they all involved, what her dogs were like, etc. plus she asked a number of questions about where the puppy would live, did I have a fence, how long I've had a basenji, what was Nemo was like, what I was looking for in the puppy, etc. She also recommended that I get a female at the time since I already had a male. Plus, like I was hoping, she said she'd be happy to help me get started in coursing and showing if that was what I wanted to do. She hadn't made her final breeding plans at the time of the trial and I interacted with her after that by email once Penny came into season, which is where we got into the health testing discussions, etc. (I'd note too, that she initiated the discussion of health testing info herself, which I think is a sign of a responsible breeder.) Plus when I asked some follow-up questions about the stud dog, she was more than happy to help me get the info from the stud owner. I met with some other breeders in person (traveling several hours to do so) and had very similar conversations with them but I really liked Zoni's breeder and ended up putting a reservation in with her since she seemed like a good fit for what I was looking for. Luckily I was already on the forum, so I was also able to get some input from some of the breeders, since many of them know information about the dogs being bred and their pedigrees that you definitely can't find on the internet.
After the puppies were born, I went to visit them at 4 weeks (4 hours away) and talked in more detail with her about what I wanted to do with the puppy, about the conditions of the contract, and more about Nemo as well. Luckily there were 3 females to choose from (could have been zero), but Sue was keeping one of them as well, so that was also a factor. We talked about which ones I liked at the time and in subsequent email conversations when she was giving me updates over the next 6 weeks but she didn't make the final decision which puppy I was getting until about the week before I was coming down to get Zoni at about 10 weeks. Even then, I'm not sure that the decision was necessarily final because she wanted to meet Nemo in person before I took the puppy home. I got Zoni because her personality/temperment was appropriate to get along with Nemo (which was the most important factor for me) and she was also a good show prospect. I'd say Sue was right on track too, because Zoni and Nemo get along very well. If I had gotten one of the other puppies, I'm not sure that would have necessarily been the case. I'd also note that one of her other puppy people (first time basenji owner) really wanted a particular female, but he didn't get that one since it was the dominant one of the litter (probably would have been too much for him to handle).
Plus, after I've taken Zoni home, Sue has always been available by phone or email to answer any questions I have...I'm part of the "puppy family" now.
In contrast, when I got my beagle puppy about 13 years ago, it was a very different situation as I got one from a BYB and didn't really know the difference between a BYB and a responsible breeder. Even though they were nice people, that breeder did not even ask if I had another dog at the time and probably wouldn't have had any input on which puppy would have been appropriate. They were selling the puppies, and probably did not think much about them after they were gone.
Sorry that was a bit long....:eek:
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Thanks for posting that Nemo, I hope that helps people also to understand what a responsible breeder does when placing puppies…. and why we do not just let someone come in a "pick" one...
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hmmm maybe I misspoke…. We actually had much the same experience but just slightly more casual. we were not "picking" the puppy. we were allowed to see which one responded to us and chose us. clearly there are sweet family breeders that do a wonderful job as did ours in helping people find the right dog for them. we had a great experience with a loving family that made secret of the fact that they were doing it just for fun and, no show dogs no fancy titles but well selected dogs with all the testing and no inbreeding. we wanted a pet, and got the most wonderful one we could ever ask for.
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If indeed they did all the health testing and all the health testing was/is published in the OFA database, then you did find a good BYB. Disagree with the statement "fancy titles"… Breeders show and get titles on their dogs to show that they can do what they were bred to do, and while certainly it is not for everyone, it is for most breeders... not sure what you mean by "inbreeding"? There is inbreeding and "linebreeding"... and there is really nothing wrong with linebreeding to develope a line with traits that a breeder thinks is important.
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hmmm maybe I misspoke…. We actually had much the same experience but just slightly more casual. we were not "picking" the puppy. we were allowed to see which one responded to us and chose us. clearly there are sweet family breeders that do a wonderful job as did ours in helping people find the right dog for them. we had a great experience with a loving family that made secret of the fact that they were doing it just for fun and, no show dogs no fancy titles but well selected dogs with all the testing and no inbreeding. we wanted a pet, and got the most wonderful one we could ever ask for.
I'll clarify my long-winded post in that I was looking for a pet that meshed well with my human/dog family first and a show dog second. My other basenji is not a show dog and I don't view the two any differently. Unless the dog is being campaigned pretty heavily, the amount of time they spend in a show ring is extremely small compared to the amount of time they spend with you at home. I'd also say that every puppy in the litter "responded" to me, as I think most well socialized puppies probably would. Sure, I liked the personality of one puppy more than the others but that one to two hour snapshot is not necessarily a good representation of what that puppy will necessarily be like with you. If a puppy doesn't respond to you in a particular situation it doesn't mean it won't be a good fit (it could be over-tired at particular moment, etc.) When I met with the breeder and talked with her by email, I asked her quite frequently what her thoughts were of the diffferent pups in the litter so I could get a good impression myself of what she thought they were like since she lived with them for practically every hour of their life. That way I could make the most informed decision and feel more comfortable that I was bringing the right puppy home. I wasn't sure how well Nemo would take to a new puppy so I wanted as much info as I could get. Good luck in your search!
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Very well put Nemo… thanks for taking the time to share your experience
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Hi there all,
We have a female 2 1/2 year old love of our lives named Bella. We have considered getting a puppy as we would love to have two and hope she would like a furry companion. We have heard really conflicting stories about what is better male or female, some say two females is a bad choice. However, I love having a female dog and would love two.
Also, our breeder was a backyard breeder and is no longer doing it anymore.
We have perused the breeders online and have been unsuccessful in finding one near to the Los Angeles area. We firmly believe in meeting any puppy we decide to take home and essentially letting it " pick" us. Hopefully they would be agreeable to meeting Bella too.
Anyone know and breeders near to LA or surroundings…?
thanks much,
Raquel:DI was in a similar situation only I loved the boys! When my Caspar went over the bridge and left a distraught Moet I decided that we would have another companion for him, Moet and Caspar had a very volatile relationship so we decided that a little girl would be a better choice. That is how we came to have Fiji enter our lives, we were all besotted with her from day 1, you may find yourself in the same position if you take on a boy, I now couldn't choose between boy or girl, they are all great!
I hope you find the perfect match for you and Bella.
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I live with 1 girl & 3 boys. It was originally a dog, then we got the bitch. They get on great. Then we had a litter and kept 2 boys. Well, boy oh boy, the 2 younger boys can't stand my original boy and have to be separated at all times. (they got on OK until the young boys matured). We hope to keep a bitch from our next litter!
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OK, so two B's of the same sex probably not a good idea, but what about a B female and another breed female? When we get a B we would like her to have a companion and we prefer female dogs. What other breed female might work well with a B?
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In reality, same sex pairs, especially females, can be problematic in any breed.
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We have Jaycee female Basenji and Spice female Shiba. Spice is 10 1/2 years old while Jaycee is almost 9 months old. They get along but Spice is so laid back she will play a very short time but when she is done and goes to her bed that's the end. Now if Jaycee gets to close or paws at Spice she will get grumpy no fight or anything but then I am always with them.
I do think if we were to ever get another female with Jaycee it would be a puppy Shiba and sometimes good to get them close to age so grow together. Now that I said that it may not happen. I think it depends on people and dogs that counts for a lot of it.
I also know that two females when they come in season are not always the happiest with each other.
I wish good luck and let us know.
Rita Jean
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I agree that there could be problems regardless of the breed. We have two males, one B and one non-B mix. Most of the time they get along great, but we have rough patches. We are going through one right now involving jealousy over human affection and also dominance. We spend a lot of time separating them. So in my experience, breed doesn't make much difference. You may want to take into account the temperament of the individual dogs.
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Thanks for the feedback. My experience has been mostly with Dalmatians. We've had girls that get along great and male/females, including a mother/son combo that always had to be separated. I think it just depends on the luck of the draw.
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The tmeperament and personalities of the dogs weighs heavily into whether things will work out.
