Hello to All
I am the owner of a 16 month female Basenji named Duchess. She is the 3rd Basenji I have owned. My first two were with me 15 and 17 years. Ten year gap between them and our new gal. We live in SW Florida and looking forward to Breeding Duchess late this year.
My husband is new to the Basenji breed and still unsure if he will survive the expeirence. He is convinced it's like having a permanent
"two year old" in the house. :p
Of course we are crazy about her.
I would love to hear from other Basenji owner and swap stories (the good, the bad, and the ugly.)
Welcome to the Forum…. and it is like having a two year old.. for a life time...
Who is Duchess's Sire and Dam?. Who are you going to breeder her too?... For me, I think 2 is a little young to be breeding a Basenji.. they are not mature at that age... again IMO... as she is not yet old enough to have her hips done yet, must be 2 for OFA....
Sire: Marlin Acres Rock the Boat
Dam: Reba Bebe Neusbaum
I use to breed poodles…Age two for them was a good age to start. I understand with Basenji's...they have small litters at 2 and 3, so was more interested in that, than more dogs...(Does that make any sense?)
Sire: Marlin Acres Rock the Boat
Dam: Reba Bebe NeusbaumI use to breed poodles…Age two for them was a good age to start. I understand with Basenji's...they have small litters at 2 and 3, so was more interested in that, than more dogs...(Does that make any sense?)
Actually no…what does small litters have to do with testing for genetically inherited disease?
I do not know where you got your information on litter size. A typical basenji litter is between 4-6 puppies and in some families even larger.
Most of the diseases in the basenji breed are late onset, Fanconi Syndrome and Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) being two of them. There is also hip dysplasia in the breed, OFA will not issue a number to a dog less than 24 months old.
No, the age has nothing to do with litter size… not in our breed, average size regardless of age is about 4-6 pups.. sometime more (up to 7 or 
sometime less... and again IMO, 2 is way to young for a Basenji.
And you really should do health testing first... you know of course that we have late onset health problems in Basenjis with Fanconi and PRA, that we have no DNA test for and need to have excellent records of the dogs in the pedigree to know if there are problems before breeding. While Fanconi is treatable, it is not pretty or easy to live and keep a Fanconi dog and PRA causes blindness, both are genetic. Hips has just start to become a problem so OFA is also very important along with Thyroid testing....
And then of course the is the reason you are breeding?... I think that any one that wants to be a Breeder has to honestly look at their dogs and ask themselves hard questions, what does my dog have to offer the breed? Is he/she conformationally correct proven in the show ring or on the performance field either doing lure coursing, obedience, rally or agility (obviously by showing your dog (any breeder) to its AKC conformation championship you have the opinion of your peers).. how is the temperament?.. how is the temperament of siblings, sire, dam, grand sire.. on and on.. as many years ago Basenjis did not have very nice temperments. Will you (any breeder) place pups on a contract and require spay/neuter? Will the contact state that you (any breeder) will be responsible for that pup for its entire live it he/she needs to be give up for any reason, at any age...? Breeding just for the sake of breeding is not really a good reason... IMO...
I was responding to a comment about age two being to young to breed. I was not aware of any comment about testing her for genetic things. She was tested as a puppy for genetic kidney problems. This month her Vet visit will include testing for other genetic disorders to decide on whether to breed her in Nov.
She came from a liter of nine. So to me 4 or 5 seems small.
I was responding to a comment about age two being to young to breed. I was not aware of any comment about testing her for genetic things. She was tested as a puppy for genetic kidney problems. This month her Vet visit will include testing for other genetic disorders to decide on whether to breed her in Nov.
She came from a liter of nine. So to me 4 or 5 seems small.
The connection is that a dog cannot get an OFA number, certifying that their hips are free of hip dysplasia until they are two years old. Since most basenjis come into heat in the fall, and they don't have their birthday until the winter, they usually can't have an OFA number by the time they come into heat during their second year. Usually responsible breeders wait until the dogs are in at least their third year to do their first breeding.
Which kidney disease was she tested for as a puppy, as far as I know, there is no genetic test for any kidney disease in Basenjis? What other genetic disorders will the vet look for?
There is no test for genetic Kidney problems (know as Fanconi) the genetic test is still in the development stage? There is also no genetic test for PRA (causes blindness) since like Fanconi it is late onset, over the age of 3yrs. I was just stating my feelings on breeding and what breeders should do… and the testing that breeders do before considering having a litter.. I think that it is important that testing be done and history of the family tree be known. These are things that potential puppy people need to know about our breed.
Fanconi Syndrome, the genetic kidney disorder in Basenjis can not be tested for in puppies. It is a late onset disease that has no genetic test at this time. Strip testing urine begins at age 3 and continues for life. In studies the most common age of onset is between the ages of 5 and 6.
As for other genetic testing, CERF can only be done by a veterinary opthomalogist and again PRA is a late onset disorder so it is important to have sire, dam, and grand sires and grand dams CERF results. OFA will not issue an OFA number for hips until after the age of 24 months. OFA thyroid panel and OFA patella exams can be done after 12 months but are only just a start.
Sorry if we sound so disagreeable … but it is so important that the health of our breed is #1 on everyones list and that everyone understands and does as much health testing as possible before breeding... especially since we have genetic problems that we can't test for, the family tree becomes our only way of knowing what we might expect... and it is only fair to people thinking about getting a Basenjis as a family companion that they know what they might expect.....
Everyone should visit the BCOA Health site (www.basenjihealth.org) and learn what is being done to find genetic testing and what everyone can do to help
