A Basenji Blessing! Now I have gone and done it!!!!
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With the rising costs in gas prices across the USA, I finally have ordered a Trailer, designed specifically for Dogs, that I can pull behind my Recumbent bicycle. Since I go to the park twice everyday with my Basenji Roo, and my Boston Terrier Bonzo, I have been spending a little extra on gasoline. The park we walk in is about 6 miles away from my house and Unfortunately the route I must take includes some hills. So after taking in consideration the extra cost of gas these days, I figured a dog trailer would pay for itself in a few months.
The benefits for me are, that I actually get to spend time on my bike (something) I enjoy, add the biking to my exercise, share the time with my pets, and still walk my dogs 6 miles a day.
I spent a fair time researching and comparing trailers and finally settled on the Burley Tail Wagon. I should have my trailer sometime this week.
I have to say that our Basenji has been a blessing to us. I have had four back surgeries that include a fusion in my neck and lower spine. Over the last 16 years, I have had to curb my physical activity, and of course like many other people, I have put on weight. In Feb of this year, I was told by my doctor that I had Type 2 Diabetes. So Miranda and I both went on the South Beach Diet, not only to lose the extra weight we both carry, but also to attempt to reverse my Type 2 Diabetes. I quit smoking, and after a few weeks on the South Beach Diet, I was able to come off the Meformin Medication that I was taking. I also started walking daily in the park in order to start to take 10% of my body weight off.
As those of you who might be following some of my threads know, we lost one of our Rescues, Snowy, an American Eskimo Dog who had been with us for at least 15 years. Snowy's Kidneys failed in March of this year. Of course it always hurts to lose a pet and companion who has brought joy into your life.
One Day Miranda, who like me has been around dogs all her life, came across a Basenji Puppy and fell in love. Of course I started to research the breed as much as I could, and we finally located our Basenji Roo. When we first saw and met our Basenji Roo, the connection between us was instant.
Since we understood that a Basenji needs a lot of attention and exercise, Roo became a motivation for me to exercise daily. Of course Miranda joins me after she gets off of work. We are both losing weight, and Roo is doing the opposite while growing and gaining muscle. Even my 20 year old son has decided to join Miranda, Roo, Bonzo, and Myself for some of our walks. Now only does our Basenji Roo get his exercise, but Bonzo is healthier than I have ever seen her. Miranda and I also get to really talk to each other. It also keeps us from spending time as a couch potato in front of the TV or the computer.
I know I am sort of ranting here, but I just wanted to share. It also shows the positive effects that a Basenji can have on its owners.
Jason and Miranda
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What a great story! I should chat with you sometime, LOL, have one basenji now and looking to add a friend and am considering a Boston Terrier! How do the two get along? What are the quirks/habits of each?
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Glad to hear that everything is going so smoothly & that assing a basenji has inproved your overall life :)
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What a great story! I should chat with you sometime, LOL, have one basenji now and looking to add a friend and am considering a Boston Terrier! How do the two get along? What are the quirks/habits of each?
Well, My Boston Terrier Bonzo is about 5 years old and female. We knew after we lost Snowy(male), that most likely, bringing another male into the household, was probably our best bet for success. We also were very concerned that Bonzo might become very protective of her territory and might not accept another dog. So to minimize our problems, we decided against bringing a female or older dog into our home. We were also counting on Bonzo accepting a motherly type role with our new Basenji puppy. From my experience, if you bring a puppy into a home with a female, the existing dog will ignore it for a few days and wait to see if the mother is around. If the existing Female does not see the mother present as well, then sometimes she will step into that role, and also teach the new puppy some manners as well. We were very lucky, and that is what has appeared to happen in our case. The only drawback is that sometimes the Basenji gets a little carried away when playing and bites Bonzo a little to hard. When this happens, she does go after him to correct him. Unfortunately, it concerns me some when I see her tolerate him biting on her neck to the point where it causes a sore or cut, and then I do separate them for a few days until she heals. We do know this stage will pass as well, and Bonzo does seem very tolerate of it.
Roo, our Basenji, seems very concerned with the welfare of Bonzo in the pack. In fact, if we are in the park with Miranda walking Bonzo and they fall behind, Roo will pull on the leash to stop me until they catch up. I have been able to get them to sit side by side, and also lay down next to one another. They do not seem to fight over treats and allow me to give each one of them their fair share. What is fun to see, is when both Roo and Bonzo get in the Doggie Down position, which clearly indicates they want to play with one another.
We have a Baby Gate on the door of the bathroom the Roo calls his home right now. Roo will bring his toys to the gate, and then Barroo for Bonzo to get her attention. We also get the Basenji 500 over here, and its fun to watch Bonzo sit outside the gate in our bedroom while Roo goes crazy running in circles.
I think in the end they are going to be best buddies. Boston Terriers can be pretty laid back dogs, but they are love pigs, very much like Basenjis.
Jason
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First off, as a fellow Type II Diabetic, congrats on getting off the Metformin and losing so much weight.
I also have about a three mile drive to take our B to the park we like, but it's through a few areas I don't want to even bike through. Not that the neighborhood is bad, but it's not exactly a nice one, either.
With gas as crazy as it is, we're actually putting off OTHER trips so we can maintain our drive to the park every night! :) The lengths we go to for our dogs, eh?
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And from another Type II Diabetic…. congrats Jason... very impressive! indeed... I have been lucky that I have been able to manage without meds....
