Like much internet advice I find short answers incomplete - and mine was. I really want to ad that making a crate/xpen/gated puppy area should never be seen as "punishment". These partitioned puppy areas should be conditioned to be safe places for a puppy/dog. Mine, thankfully, tolerates and even likes her xpens probably because it's where she eats, receives treats, sleeps, chews and even plays. This took about a week or so. Now she voluntarily goes into her xpens (in my case) on her own and when she's put there involuntarily she might whine for a minute before settling down with a chew and/or going to sleep.
Pet Store Puppies - Problem
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It's hard for me to think of basenjis as mean creatures. I got my first one 37 years ago from the Humane Society at a time when nobody knew anything about them. No internet forums back then. We just thought she was a cute little critter with great big ears and a curly pig tail. My vet knew what she was but I'd never heard of basenjis. Pumpkin was very good natured, calm, never growled or bit, and loved cats and kids. She was not too destructive but she would chew my shoes up and then hide under the bed to escape punishment, and once chewed plaster off the bathroom wall. Her specialty was treeing squirrels. She'd get halfway up the tree before realizing that she couldn't make it and just hang there waiting to be rescued. She never needed a leash but she did chase down (and caught) a motorcycle once. Before I got Abbey 3 years ago my vet said, Oh no, anything but a basenji. They're wild! I didn't listen to him but boy, was he ever right.
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Before I got Abbey 3 years ago my vet said, Oh no, anything but a basenji. They're wild! I didn't listen to him but boy, was he ever right.
And boy, aren't you glad you didn't listen to the vet? Then you never would have had all of life's little pleasures!!
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we bought our sweet baby Nyahbinghi from Debbie's Petland after keeping an eye on her for over a month we couldnt stand it any more and brought her home. It was breaking our hearts to see a basenji in here shivering from the air conditioning.
She had worms and an eye infection but we didnt care, we got her to a vet and everything cleared up, and she is our sweet one, and our felakuti is our big boy. 
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we bought our sweet baby Nyahbinghi from Debbie's Petland after keeping an eye on her for over a month we couldnt stand it any more and brought her home. It was breaking our hearts to see a basenji in here shivering from the air conditioning.
She had worms and an eye infection but we didnt care, we got her to a vet and everything cleared up, and she is our sweet one, and our felakuti is our big boy. While that is great that she found her forever home (was this the pup with an extra toe?)…. remember each time someone buys from a pet store, they enourage pet stores to keep offering them... I only hope that for as long as that pup had to wait for a home that might discourage Debbie's Petland from getting more Basenjis. Also remember that pups in pet stores are NOT health tested....and come from NOT responsible breeders
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The puppy mills and pet stores do not care why you purchase a puppy from them as long as they get money. If people are willing to buy the puppy because it makes them feel better to "rescue the puppy from living in a tiny cage" the results are the same for them, they get their money. A new puppy will be bred at the mill to replace that puppy and the store will hope to pull at someone else's heartstrings to sell it. If that person is a poor match for the puppy, not their problem. Then it becomes the local taxpayers' problem when the dog gets dumped at the shelter with no ID and no way to track it back to the store and mill that produced it.
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There're some great tips here!
I was just given a sticker for my car that says:
"Pet Store Puppies Come From Puppy Mills! Don't Buy 'Em!"
I sport it proudly on my bumper.
Heck, I can't even bring myself to walk into a pet store that sells puppies anymore. The last time I did, I left and burst into tears. That's no way to start off the life of a puppy, and I shudder to think what the parents of those puppies are being put through. -
R&WF-where did you get that!! I want one too
Maybe we can start a campaign & stand in front of pet stores & give these out :mad: -
Actually what I have done before is go into a store that sells dogs - I pick up things that I normally would buy and set them on the counter. Food, collars, bowls, leashes, beds etc . Then I 'notice' the dogs and say "I'm sorry I do not shop where dogs are sold" and leave.
NOTE: - you can't do this in the same store twice - they get testy. -
I went into a pet store in Annapolis, MD today to buy a new lead and collar for my new little guy. There a cage sat the sweetest looking little, and I mean little, tri basenji. It was so sad. They said that they had just gotten him from a breeder in Missouri today. I played with him for a bit and talked to her about Fanconi and some other things about Bs. I felt really sad leaving the little guy there. BTW they wanted 1,800.00 for him!!
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I went into a pet store in Annapolis, MD today to buy a new lead and collar for my new little guy. There a cage sat the sweetest looking little, and I mean little, tri basenji. It was so sad. They said that they had just gotten him from a breeder in Missouri today. I played with him for a bit and talked to her about Fanconi and some other things about Bs. I felt really sad leaving the little guy there. BTW they wanted 1,800.00 for him!!
Heartbreaking.
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She-Ra was a Petstore Basenji. However, I didn't go into the purchase completely blind. I knew about the dangers of petstore dogs, but had also researched the breed quite a bit (some neighbors had one when I was a kid and I'd always been fascinated with the quiet dog with the curly tail!
), so I knew some of what to expect.She was $600, which sounds a bit closer to the mark for normal prices. The salespeople put us in an isolated room for about an hour with her to see if there was any kind of rapport with her. While we were getting to know her they provided her AKC (not ACC) papers and an updated list of the medications (vaccinations she'd already had and the ones she still needed as a puppy). In addition, they've maintained contact with us to see if the puppy is working out and what questions/issues we've had since taking ownership. They helped us get her microchipped and signed up to put our names on her AKC papers (I'm not planning to breed her so the latter part really wasn't that important to me).
Our family vet checked her over and said we must have gotten lucky, because (knock wood) she's in great health for her age. In no way would I suggest our pet store was one in a million, and I'm sure there's bad to go along with the good, but perhaps some actually do take steps to care for the animals in their charge?
In any event, she's my baby and I love her even when she chews up my books!
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Just keep in mind for every puppy you buy from the petstore - that creates demand in the pipeline from more puppy mills to produce more basenjis
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I went into a pet store in Annapolis, MD today to buy a new lead and collar for my new little guy. There a cage sat the sweetest looking little, and I mean little, tri basenji. It was so sad. They said that they had just gotten him from a breeder in Missouri today. I played with him for a bit and talked to her about Fanconi and some other things about Bs. I felt really sad leaving the little guy there. BTW they wanted 1,800.00 for him!!
Just sick… when you consider Responsible breeders (depending on the part of the county) place pups between 700.00 to 900.00..... And I am sure that pup has no AKC papers...
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When I was playing with the puppy the girl asked me how I knew about basenjis. When I told her I had one she asked me how much I paid for him. When I told her, she about flipped (it was WAY less than 1,800). I have a feeling the price on that puppy may drop. Interesting though was that the little silky terrier was only 1200. The basenji was the most expensive dog they had in there. I wonder how they decide what to charge….
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She-Ra was a Petstore Basenji. However, I didn't go into the purchase completely blind. I knew about the dangers of petstore dogs, but had also researched the breed quite a bit (some neighbors had one when I was a kid and I'd always been fascinated with the quiet dog with the curly tail!
), so I knew some of what to expect.She was $600, which sounds a bit closer to the mark for normal prices. The salespeople put us in an isolated room for about an hour with her to see if there was any kind of rapport with her. While we were getting to know her they provided her AKC (not ACC) papers and an updated list of the medications (vaccinations she'd already had and the ones she still needed as a puppy). In addition, they've maintained contact with us to see if the puppy is working out and what questions/issues we've had since taking ownership. They helped us get her microchipped and signed up to put our names on her AKC papers (I'm not planning to breed her so the latter part really wasn't that important to me).
Our family vet checked her over and said we must have gotten lucky, because (knock wood) she's in great health for her age. In no way would I suggest our pet store was one in a million, and I'm sure there's bad to go along with the good, but perhaps some actually do take steps to care for the animals in their charge?
In any event, she's my baby and I love her even when she chews up my books!
Sounds like you got really lucky, and it also sounds like your pet store is a little better than average! But the fact remains that dogs in pet stores come from puppy mills. And people who breed dogs for puppy mills don't do any genetic or physical health or temperament screening of the parents. So the health problems that *may occur wouldn't necessarily show up in the offspring for many years, as most Basenji diseases are late onset.
The other issue, as Diane pointed out, is that by paying for a pet store puppy, you are supporting an industry that is very, VERY cruel to dogs. Just ask Vegas (a regular poster here)….or go back to the thread about the puppymill rescue dogs here within the last six months or so. Sires and dams of pet store puppies are bred, and bred, and bred, with no regard for their physical health..they live in pens with the bare minimum needed for survival.
I am glad that your story is a happy one. And I KNOW you love your puppy very much, as you should, of course. But we can't, as dog loving people turn a blind eye to the cruelty and unacceptability of the pet store-puppymill situation.
When we know better, we do better
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I've seen dogs that were rescued from puppymills. I've seen dogs that were thrown out of petstores because they weren't bought. I know of a petstore back in Nebraska that was shut down because they would drown or strangulate puppies that didn't sell past a certain point in time. And the price some people want is crazy. At the shelter I work for- I have dozens of puppies that are healthy, have all their shots that they can get for their age, the spay or neuter is in the price of the dog and so is a free vet visit- for $150. Or you can get the puppy in the window for a couple hundred and could have all kinds of issues. We get puppies in from stores that are just dropped off in boxes at the shelter because they got "too old" (5 or 6 months) and they weren't being sold. We have a handful of purebred dogs that even have their paper work, but they're at the shelter because they weren't bringing in money. Petstores see puppies as just another thing to sell.
Sorry, I'm ranting.
I could go on a whole other rant about people always wanting puppies and not older dogs, but I'll spare you. -
I am glad that your story is a happy one. And I KNOW you love your puppy very much, as you should, of course. But we can't, as dog loving people turn a blind eye to the cruelty and unacceptability of the pet store-puppymill situation.
I'm chalking it up to getting lucky at this point, but many of the horror stories I've heard on here don't seem to have happened…yet. Maybe I caught them on a good day.
I do know my experience wasn't anything like what I've been reading on here. Is it a fact that 100% of pet stores buy from puppy mills? I have been to some and yes, you can visually see the problems with some of the animals and it is heartbreaking. I guess I'm wondering if all pet stores should be lumped into the same category...it's not possible there are (and I'm using the term loosely) "honest" pet stores to exist?
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I'm chalking it up to getting lucky at this point, but many of the horror stories I've heard on here don't seem to have happened…yet. Maybe I caught them on a good day.
I do know my experience wasn't anything like what I've been reading on here. Is it a fact that 100% of pet stores buy from puppy mills? I have been to some and yes, you can visually see the problems with some of the animals and it is heartbreaking. I guess I'm wondering if all pet stores should be lumped into the same category...it's not possible there are (and I'm using the term loosely) "honest" pet stores to exist?
IMO, NO…. there is not a responsible breeder that would ever place a pup for sale in a pet store... no way, no how... Pet Store do not get puppies from responsible breeders... now granted they could buy from a local Backyard breeder... but that is not much better then a pet store....
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IMO, NO…. there is not a responsible breeder that would ever place a pup for sale in a pet store... no way, no how... Pet Store do not get puppies from responsible breeders... now granted they could buy from a local Backyard breeder... but that is not much better then a pet store....
Sent that too soon…. pet store that buys from a puppymiller
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The bottom line is that for the petstore to make money and the "breeder" to make money then there is no way for the dogs in a pet store to be bred in a responsbile way. If you ask any responsible breeder what the cost of a responsibly bred litter is, there is no way to do it and make money without cutting costs somewhere and those places are going to be in the care of the dogs. Some petstores puppies may show visible signs of the low cost care they have recieved while others may not or may not show signs until many months or even years after you have brought the pup home.
Did the petstore that you bought your puppy from tell you about the genetically inherited diseases in the breed? Did they tell you that a responsible breeder tests for these diseases and makes their breeding decisions based on the results? Did the petstore tell you that the diseases in basenjis are mostly late onset so your health garuntees will be long expired before you dog shows any symptoms?
