Hello I am new here! Getting my basenji puppy at the end of this month!


  • Hi all, My name is Becca and I am located slightly north of Pittsburgh, PA. I will be picking up my pup from Klassic Basenjis after Christmas this year! Would love to skip through the holiday and just get my pup 🙂

    Any recommendations on things to get for my new puppy?
    I got a crate, bed, and puppy gates so far. I am curious about what toys your dogs love and what type of collar is best for a young (she will be around 12 weeks old when I get her). Any suggestions on what got you through the puppy stage and any tricks to help deal with crate training?

    Thanks Can't wait!


  • First off, welcome! It's very exciting when it gets close to puppy pick up time. As far as toys go, Loki loves the stuffing-less ones. He still has the smallest fox, nearly completely in tact, it's actually the longest surviving toy. It was his very first toy we gave him when we brought him home in January and he loved it immediately. Nylabones were a huge help, especially during teething. I ended up sleeping with one under my pillow because he would wake up super early and start chewing the sheets! He was never one for ice while teething, but loved frozen beef or chicken broth diluted with water. He also gets fed in his crate and I would toss treats (when he wasn't looking) into the crate for him to find whenever he decided to go near/in it. Extra special treats like raw bones have always been fed only in the crate so he learned pretty quick that the crate wasn't entirely bad.

    Life will definitely not be the same once your puppy comes home and make sure you enjoy it while he/she is still little because they grow so fast!


  • Ohh this holiday is going to go by so slow for you! Congrats on your new baby! Is this your first B?
    Make sure you gets a lot of stuff for it to chew on…..or it's going to find your shoes, and everything else, really tasty. No rawhide though, go with bully sticks and kong toys. The kong toys where u can put stuff inside will keep him entertained.
    I am already looking forward to pics! Good luck waiting!


  • Oh, well, if you're getting a Klassic basenji, you just need to listen to your breeder. You're in very, very good hands.

    And you need to post pics as soon as you can of your new cutie!

    Also, start looking into good positive classes now. Look for a puppy or family dog type class. LOTS of good foundation work for any direction you'll be taking your new pup in. (Sometimes you don't even know where your interests will take you.)


  • Hi,

    My pup is now 5+months old and time goes fast, got him at 10 weeks. I was lucky he had no problem with his crate right from the start, when we go out we always give him a kong stuffed with dried venison pieces or just some loose treats to find and have always found he is better if he has had a walk before going in his crate and just goes to sleep after a little moan. Also he is always fed in his crate and never has been left in his too long, he also still sleeps in it at night in our room. We also use bully sticks for chewing and venison tendons, he is not so keen on his Nylabone and he always has something to chew on and supervision so he hasn't been very destructive and seems to be getting through his teething without any problems as yet. He came with a nylon snap buckle collar from the breeder but decided to use a harness as they are known for slipping their collars unless you choose a martingale one. If you go for a harness just be aware of not encouraging your pup to pull when using it. Training treats I have used were cooked chicken(worked really well for puppy classes he gave me a lot of attention) and venison treats, freeze dried tripe, now he is on a raw diet I use mainly the venison as he loves it, you will probably need to try lots to find what gets his attention the most. While I am still learning as he grows, you will get lots of help here on the forum. Don't forget to enjoy your pup because they grow up so fast. Good Luck.

    Jolanda and Kaiser


  • The pup you are getting from Sue is related to my C-Me (Ch Klassic-Tanza Color Me Tri,SC). Congrats! She just had a litter of 6 (5girls, 1boy) on November 28th. You can see pictures on my website (link Below) and follow us on facebook at Tanza Basenjis. As noted above, listen to your breeder, that is your best source. And search the forum, lots of puppy information


  • Just had to add, for us the puppy biting stage was the hardest so far, we did a few things such as making a sound that would get his attention and redirecting with a toy, stopping play when it continued and when he got overly excited we did time out in his crate till he was calm and that worked the best for us, again you have to be consistent and everyone in the family needs to do the same thing which can be hard. Listen to your breeder yes, but don't be scared to try other things, so far I have used advice from lots of sources and used what works best for me and my boy.

    Jolanda and Kaiser


  • @krunzer:

    Ohh this holiday is going to go by so slow for you! Congrats on your new baby! Is this your first B?
    Make sure you gets a lot of stuff for it to chew on…..or it's going to find your shoes, and everything else, really tasty. No rawhide though, go with bully sticks and kong toys. The kong toys where u can put stuff inside will keep him entertained.
    I am already looking forward to pics! Good luck waiting!

    Yes the days are dragging by! Yes it will be my first basenji (I've been planning on getting one for years and have met a few, so hopefully I have some sort of idea of what I am getting myself into!) I am very excited, and my husband is nervous, haha (I think he is dreading house breaking and crate training). We have a almost 4 year old miniature pinscher so we are hoping introductions will go well between them! Our min pin usually like's other dogs, but she usually indifferent, so hopefully the pup won't drive her too crazy. Counting down the days! (10 days)


  • Everyone meet Klassic's Trixie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    We drove the 3.5 hours from Pittsburgh to pick up Trixie from Sue (Klassic Basenji's in Marion, OH). It was a very long day with 7 hours of driving to and from, but the ride home was much better than the ride there, except for the part where Trixie peed on my friend that went with me to pick her up! Trixie seems to be adjusting well so far, we are about 50/50 with going potty outside. Trying to learn her body language as to when she needs to go out! She is a stubborn thing on the leash and that will need much work as well! So happy to have her here! She loves our kitty Pinkie, and our miniature pinscher, Zombie. Zombie is more interested in stealing the puppies belonging's and claiming them for her own.
    attachment_p_163420_0_trixie-1.jpg
    attachment_p_163420_1_trixie-2.jpg
    attachment_p_163420_2_trixie-and-zombie.jpg

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