I live in Utah with my husband and we are looking to get a basenji. As far as I can tell, there aren't any Basenji Breeders in Utah, so I have been researching neighboring states. Because of the distance, I can't go visit all the breeders to determine how reputable they are. I was hoping y'all could give me some guidance. A lot of websites are out of date or seem sub par, but I know the quality of a website, while it can help give an idea, can also be misleading.
Basically I am looking for current breeder recommendations in the Western United States and any tips or advice on going about buying a Basenji out of state.
Thanks!
Obviously there are some in California, including some who post on this site. In the other direction, to the east, I'd look at Sky-Hi basenjis. Note that you are probably going to get recommendations for breeders that are beyond reputable.
@aspenjane11 Is this your first experience with the Breed? That makes a big difference because you could get a disreputable Breeder. The Basenji Club of America is a great resource as are Debra and Pat from CA. Please do your research about the Breed. They are most often mischaracterized as dumb. Nothing could be further from the Truth. They are stubborn little Dogs and that facet of their personality is why I love the Breed. Stubborn does not mean dumb! They refuse to negotiate and therein lies the challenge of getting your Puppy trained. Good luck but do not buy a dog without visiting the Breeder and seeing the Litter. I knew my Dog from when she was 3 days old. I got the pick of the litter because her Breeder was a friend of mine.
Just copying my response to you in Western US:
While it isn't a guarantee, going by breeders in the Basenji Club of America is a good start. The page says you can also contact the Breeder Liason: Bridenbasenjis@gmail.com
Another option is to contact breeders to see if they have young adults needing homes.
https://www.basenji.org/about-basenjis/breeder-directory
Thanks for all the tips! We’ll see how the search goes.
@aspenjane11 said in Looking for a reputable breeder:
Repost what I posted on this subject under a different post:
As noted by Debra, go to www.basenji.org and search for breeders. Most of the reputable breeders are listed here, but not all. Go to https://basenji.org/index.php/about-basenjis/is-a-basenji-right-for-me, there is a link about screening breeders. These are questions you should ask potential breeders. They should provide you with links the the OFA testing base. DNA testing for Fanconi and PRA are public knowledge. Here is an example of one of my listings on the OFA database.https://www.ofa.org/advanced-search?f=sr&appnum=1415062. For sure Fanconi DNA and PRA DNA must be done, but most responsible breeders also test for hips, thyroid, eyes... however, those results are not always posted a public. But if done, the breeder would have certificates of the testing. Breeders typically show their Basenjis... some do performance events. This activity shows not only the correct conformation (showing) but that and/or performance shows temperament. If you have other questions, please contact me. You can find my email on my website link noted below. And I will comment as Debra said.. many breeder webs are not kept up to date, sad but true...I have always pushed that breeders keep their sites up to date as all "puppy back yard breeders do because people search the internet, but most you can find also on FB.
You should look into breeders in Colorado. The BCOA breeders directory only lists one but if you contact Denise Vertrees, the breeder liaison. There is Colorado Basenji Rescue who could help you find a reputable and responsible breeder. Here is their web site: http://www.coloradobasenjirescue.org/
We were living in Salt Lake when we first decided to get a basenji, and while there is at least one sketchy backyard breeder in Ogden, I was glad we went elsewhere. We'd moved to Seattle by the time we actually got a dog (brought home Jan 2017), and so got one there locally from MaryK Quinnett, who isn't actively growing her program right now.
While doing research on the breed, we went to a lure coursing competition and talked to Kevin and Theresa (I think? people names seem to take a back seat to dogs' names) of FoPaws Basenjis, who are located just outside of Portland. http://fopawsbasenjipuppies.com/ We went with a closer breeder, but I wouldn't have hesitated to get any dog they'd have chosen for us, and it's a reasonable drive from (at least northern) Utah. There are several more in that area, I think. Plus a bunch more in Washington State. And in California.
The other thing I might recommend is to take a look everything from the Evergreen Basenji Club (www.evergreenbasenjiclub.org). They seem to be a bit more active than a lot of other clubs and tend to include just about everyone in the northern half of the western United States.
We have since moved to Texas and added a second puppy to our pack this April, and it was kind of a pain to wait after we'd decided--there was really only one legit breeder with litters in Texas this past year--but in the end it was so very worth it. I grew up with cats, so our 11/16 basenji female and 1/18 basenji male were my very first dogs, and I can't imagine how much more difficult things would have been with poor temperament breeding. Basenjis are amazing, but it seems like there just isn't much room for error when it comes to temperament and personality.
Have you met any basenjis? When visiting family in Utah with our dog I was told over and over again that the person speaking had never seen a basenji in real life (including at pet shops and doggy daycare), so I get the impression that the odds of tracking one down locally to meet might be difficult. I wish I were going to be bringing my dogs there soon so you could meet them, but maybe you've already had plenty of experience with the breed? The things I've posted on my Instagram (@zannahdo) is a pretty accurate representation of what life can be like with a basenji, if that's in any way helpful. Feel free to ask us more questions; this is not a breed for an impulse purchase (and, as you've found, supply makes that fairly impossible anyway).
@noble-labradors said in Looking for a reputable breeder:
According to AKC, Labs are the number one most popular breed in America because of their intelligence and loyalty. Check out our labs in https://noblelabradors.com.
Here is a thought. When someone goes to another breed's forum and advertises their dogs, when RESPONSIBLE breeders generally have legit breed specific places to notify of litters, and to find good homes.... how desperate or bad does that breeder have to be?
Another thought, go to the page. 
You can see first hand what a puppymill/backyard breeder page looks like. Puppies for sale, purebred litter born. A responsible breeder has sire/dam, testing, titles listed. They are selling you responsibly bred, tested and make health a priority. The others... well, just wants to sell you a puppy. "Noble"... more like ignoble.
OH, and as a bonus there, you get to keep paying through the nose by being REQUIRE to buy into their pyramid sales items:
, feeding them only Life’s Abundance dog food advanced nutrition diet, as well as NuVet immune system booster supplements.<<
Life's Abundance isn't bad, but too expensive and imho, way too high protein. And not one iota of proof their NuVet immune supplements do anything except line their pockets.
