Questions before I get my Basenji pup!

[lakers13]

Hello all, I am getting my male Basenji pup this coming up Sunday. It will be a 7 hour drive from my home. I have done tons and tons of research of all dog breeds and have decided to buy an 8 week old Basenji pup! This is lenghty but please bare with me! I want to be as prepared as possible and provide him with the best care possible. Here are a list of questions I would love to have answered from you Basenji pros:

1. Since it will be a 7 hour drive with my new pup, what is your most important tips you can provide me with? My girlfriend will be coming with me, so she can play with him while I am driving and vice versa. I have bought a 24" long crate and 15" high, is it big enough? How much time should we spend playing with him in the car and time in crate? Should I stop frequently to let him out and walk around and such?

2. Once he gets home he will be staying upstairs in my gameroom. I have bought a midwest e-coat exercise pen that is 36" tall and consists of 8 - 24" panels, so its relatively roomy. I have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1pm-7:30pm. My mother, brother, and gfriend can come let him outside, play with, and so on, but what if they cannot one day? Is 7 hours too long to be kept in that pen? I am planning on keeping his crate inside the pen. Is that a good idea? I have this all planned out, but tell me if I am misguided anywhere, it won't hurt my feelings! I will have his bed, crate, toys, etc in his pen so he should be ok right? Should I put a potty pad inside the pen as well?

3. How long before a Basenji can get out of a 36" tall pen?

4. Any special tips on potty training him given his situation that I have described? I don't know if I can really crate train with him having access to a play area.

5. Any toys, snacks, etc to buy that especially Basenji's have proven to be fond of?

6. I bought a 13" leather collar today. Is this good?

7. Also, the breeder is feeding chicken soup for the puppy lover's soul. So, I bought a 35lb bag today and plan to keep feeding it after reading some favorable reviews on it. Anyone else have any experience with this food?

8. Lastly, any training tips? I plan to work 5-15 minutes everyday on sit, come, stay, down, leave it, potty in no order, but learning one before beginning another.

Lastly, thank you all ahead of time for your time to answer my lengthy questions!

[Chealsie508]

If you are worried about him getting out of th ex-pen then you can buy the top..I have the midwest exercise pen and bought the top…. I just brought my puppy home Saturday and knowing he cant climb out has eased my mind

[Patty]

Welcome to the Forum - i'm sure your puppy's breeder will be the best person to answer all your questions about him but there is plenty of advice available here.

[tanza]

Welcome

An 8wk old puppy can climb out of an xpen within 2 minutes of putting them in it… I would buy the top....

No need to play in the car, you should play lots with him at the breeders before leaving and he should be good to go for most of the way home... when you first start out and he is in the crate, him "may" pitch a fit for a bit until he gets used to the fact of the crate, riding in the car, and being without his littermates.

Just as an FYI, my personal opinion is that 8wks is too young to take from their littermates. Mine do not leave until at least 12 wks, unless the people have had a Basenji before and/or have another Basenji/dog at home....

While chicken soup for the puppy lover's soul is not bad food, there are better. And just keep an eye that it doesn't go bad, that is a lot of food and will take a while to do through with one puppy.

Best also to talk and ask the breeder many of these questions. Who is the breeder, as many of us are related by our Basenjis here on the Forum

[lisastewart]

definitely get the top, most pups are scaling the pen by 5 weeks, and get lots of extra clips so he does not get his head caught pushing up on the top. I know you will feel bad for him when he is sceaming in his crate, but that is normal. My boys screamed the first half dozen times we took rides, then adjusted, try to get him as tired as possible at his breeders so he sleeps, if its getting towards dusk when you drive home, that should help as he will probably want to sleep then. Good luck. Where are you in Arkansas? We go to a few shows and other events in Arkansas.

[DolceMomma]

Congratulations on getting your new puppy. I have my first B who is now 14 months. We brought her, Dolce, home at 10 weeks, so I am by no means a B expert. However, I have had dogs my entire life. As long as your breeder is a reputable one and I assume he/she is, I would say he/she is your best teacher at this point. My breeder, Robyn Dubbert, has continued to be; even today. I would give two pieces of advice as you prepare to go get your new baby.

My first recommendation is to take a momma towel with you. That is a blanket, old t-shirt, or towel that you can rub on your B's mommy, siblings and other members of the pack. You can also toss it in their bed for a short time before you leave. Leave it with your B during the trip home and for several days after arriving home. The purpose is so your B continues to have the scent of his/her family providing comfort away from home. I have used this method on all of my new puppies and all have been well adjusted.

Second, when you arrive home walk your new B in her "potty" place until he/she goes. Give good praise. Then take her inside for the first time. I read this piece of advice and used it with my previous Dalmatian and with Dolce; it works. She rings the bells to go outside.

Good luck and enjoy. Having my first B has been awesome. I am amazed and enjoy every day with her. You will find the B's mannerisms are intriguing and unlike any other dog. Looking forward to hearing your stories.

[sharronhurlbut]

Does your game room the area where most of the people in it?
I think you will find your b will do better when he can be with you or the family most of the time.

[tanza]

@lisastewart:

definitely get the top, most pups are scaling the pen by 5 weeks, and get lots of extra clips so he does not get his head caught pushing up on the top. I know you will feel bad for him when he is sceaming in his crate, but that is normal. My boys screamed the first half dozen times we took rides, then adjusted, try to get him as tired as possible at his breeders so he sleeps, if its getting towards dusk when you drive home, that should help as he will probably want to sleep then. Good luck. Where are you in Arkansas? We go to a few shows and other events in Arkansas.

LOL… image our horror when we picked up Franie and Trip from Wanda last spring... put them in the sherpa together and set off for the airport... both screaming at the top of their lungs.... and we had a 5 hours plane ride to go... yikes... however since they were tuckered out totally from a morning of playing and we did not let them sleep... by the time we were waiting for the plane they were "dead to the world" and they were asleep all the way home on the plane..

[Knipper]

Just because I made this mistake and it hasn't been answered yet… For a puppy I just got an adjustable collar for 8-10". It's really thin and works for now. Cricket is at 9".

[sharronhurlbut]

Knipper, what is the mistake your speaking off..??

[lakers13]

Thank you all for your replies so far, keep them coming! Tanza - they can really escape that well? Ha, what about placing chicken wire all around the pen then they couldn't climb?? Also, He was born on December 10th, so I guess he will actually be 9 1/2 weeks old when I get him.

And for the other suggestions, I appreciate it. I like the idea of taking a mommy towel with me for extra comfort.

The game room is upstairs, but when we're home he will be around us alot.

The breeder is out of the Houston, TX area and her name I believe is Mary Weiss. Does anyone have a relative from this breeder or is familiar?

[tlish]

just click on 'search' at the top, then type your breeder's name… then read from the beginning.

[Knipper]

I thought I bought a collar that would fit her. It will fit her when she grows up, but for now, I had to get her a much smaller one. She's very happy with it!

[lakers13]

Ok so I did the search and found out that my breeder (Mary Beth) is questionable…can anyone explain what is going on with her operation?? Please help me b/c I have a trip planned to Houston for this weekend!

[Schouiffy]

Her operation is making a profit off of puppies, sadly. These are not health tested puppies or puppies with solid breeding knowledge behind them.

Message BasenjiMamma (Petra) on the forum, as she has spoken with Mary Beth and is in TX, you can also talk to Tanza or lvoss.

[Shannanigan]

I think knipper is talking about buying a collar that was either too big or too small. I still have a collar that's too big for Paco and he's full grown.

edit: didn't realize there was a second page to this - it's too early for me, apparently!

[tanza]

@lakers13:

Thank you all for your replies so far, keep them coming! Tanza - they can really escape that well? Ha, what about placing chicken wire all around the pen then they couldn't climb?? Also, He was born on December 10th, so I guess he will actually be 9 1/2 weeks old when I get him.

And for the other suggestions, I appreciate it. I like the idea of taking a mommy towel with me for extra comfort.

The game room is upstairs, but when we're home he will be around us alot.

The breeder is out of the Houston, TX area and her name I believe is Mary Weiss. Does anyone have a relative from this breeder or is familiar?

Chicken wire will not even slow them down…. buy the top... or better yet, first find a responsible breeder instead of someone that is just in it to make a dollar. Here is a link on questions to ask the breeder
http://www.tanzabasenjis.net/selectbreeder.html

And you want to get the names of the Sire and Dam (AKC registered names, not just the call names) and check out for yourself health testing before breeding. I believe you will find that there has been none.
www.offa.org

And last but not least, consider going to a responsible breeder. There is Sherwood Basenjis in GA that has puppies available…. www.sherwoodbasenjis.com Robyn is also here on the Forum

[Basenjimamma]

Chicken wire will not even slow them down…. buy the top... or better yet, first find a responsible breeder instead of someone that is just in it to make a dollar. Here is a link on questions to ask the breeder
http://www.tanzabasenjis.net/selectbreeder.html

And you want to get the names of the Sire and Dam (AKC registered names, not just the call names) and check out for yourself health testing before breeding. I believe you will find that there has been none.
www.offa.org

And last but not least, consider going to a responsible breeder. There is Sherwood Basenjis in GA that has puppies available…. www.sherwoodbasenjis.com Robyn is also here on the Forum

---

I second this…

[Kipawa]

@Basenjimamma:

I second this…

I third it. Initially it will be hard to turn away from the puppy you are looking at right now, but in the long run you will be thankful you dealt with a responsible breeder who will back you up no matter what happens in the future - such as taking the puppy back at any time in the dog's life if for some reason you are not able to keep him.

Responsible, quality breeders go many extra steps to ensure the puppies they raise are healthy. Proper health testing is usually not done by 'for profit' back yard breeders. Without proper health testing, you have no idea if you are buying a puppy that will have Fanconi Syndrome in its future. Fanconi is a serious and sad disease for a dog to have.

Another thing to think of is if you buy from an irresponsible breeder, you are basically telling that breeder that their practices are acceptable and that they can continue to produce puppies that will be prone to health issues. Responsible breeders select their breeding dogs based on many factors, with health usually being first.

I understand the situation you may be in right now, but please reconsider and talk to responsible breeders on this forum who currently have puppies.

[lakers13]

I completely understand your concerns and you want to stop people like this from breeding. I have decided to stay with this pup though. This woman is done breeding and is selling the sire. My pup is from the on site sire and dam and I am not showing or anything, just want a pet! The mother and father have only been tested for fanconi using strip tests and were negative for fanconi. The pup has had his up to date vacs and so forth. I know I sound irresponsible now, but I have decided to go with this. Me and the lady have a deal worked out where she will take the pup back in case of any problems and so forth. I am getting him nuetered around the age of 1, so no breeding. I hope you will understand and allow me to be a part of your basenji family!