Over the last few months we have had many new basenji owners and perspective basenji owners who have got their puppies from breeders who did not test for Fanconi prior to breeding. Some of said, it is OK they are going to test the puppies and hope for the best.

I was looking at OFA results this morning and here are some really sad results for baby puppies.

http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1352710#animal
http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1351152#animal
http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1351156#animal
http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1349550#animal
http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1351154#animal

Very sad…. and I wonder how many more of the same litter have not been tested, since in this group there are 2 sibs and 3 sibs all testing postive.

Yes, I wondered with some of the results if the only puppies that were tested in some of the litters were the ones where the perspective owner demanded it. What about the other puppies and their new owners?

It is just very, very sad. It is the reason that we are so adamant about ALL dogs should be tested BEFORE breeding.

Really sad…I can't imagine getting a pup with that result...now that it is avoidable. Of course, I also can't imagine rolling the dice and "hoping for the best."

All for a savings of $300 or $400....and sometimes not even that.

I wonder if one of these tested pups is from the person in TX that was selling cutiepie her puppy?

I was just looking at the site also (OFA) and wow, just look at the number that are carriers too… if these are coming from BYB breeders and being sold without spay/neuter just think if they are bred to another carrier what will happen.... and especially if the breeders are not explaining about Fanconi.

I was wondering the same thing since the one litter is Continental Kennel Club registered and the age is about right.

Yes, though some of the litters I am pretty sure are repsonsible breeders who did Carrier to Clear breedings and ended up with more Carriers than Clears in the litter.

@lvoss:

Yes, though some of the litters I am pretty sure are repsonsible breeders who did Carrier to Clear breedings and ended up with more Carriers than Clears in the litter.

Yes, and at least they are testing the pups….. the responsible breeders to know what is what, instead of testing pups with untested parents to see what is "maybe" affected

I see that the parents of one litter that was being considered by some on this forum were tested and both came back Carriers so some of those Affected puppies may be from that litter.

Ouch. So sad.

I should also add, remember Buyer Beware, for those who are using websites like Puppy Find to shop for puppies. Three of those Affected puppies are listed there at a reduced price with no mention of their Affected status.

Oah man oah man.
It really makes me angry to see this. Breeders so eager to have litters and not testing. These poor puppies. Breaks my heart.

@lvoss:

I should also add, remember Buyer Beware, for those who are using websites like Puppy Find to shop for puppies. Three of those Affected puppies are listed there at a reduced price with no mention of their Affected status.

And three others from the litter are Carriers, so if someone took and bred them without testing, could be breeding to a Carrier or Affected and produce more possible sick puppies…..

@Vanessa:

Oah man oah man.
It really makes me angry to see this. Breeders so eager to have litters and not testing. These poor puppies. Breaks my heart.

And I don't think it is "eager" to have litters, but more like "eager" to try and make money by not spending the money to health test. And I agree, those poor pups… and the people that might purchase them without knowing what they are getting. What heartbreak....

Terrible, terrible, terrible sad…:(

So how do we educate the general public, particularly those who "just don't have the time to do research" not to buy from such places? I can't list here all the people I've come across who's kid just wanted a dog so bad and who ended up with disasters that then ended up in shelters. So sad.

@wizard:

So how do we educate the general public, particularly those who "just don't have the time to do research" not to buy from such places? I can't list here all the people I've come across who's kid just wanted a dog so bad and who ended up with disasters that then ended up in shelters. So sad.

All we can do is reach out and try and get the word out. This is exactly why people like lvoss and I are so pasionate about testing…. If we can reach one person, that is one that will not hopefully suffer the heartbrake of buying a possible sick puppy.....

Personal websites are great to educate... you don't have to be a breeder to get the word out... just an updated site (and many are free).... and direct people to find a responsible breeder. Put the links on how to find a responsible breeder....

Pat is right, the best thing people can do is help to get the word out about the test, how to check for yourself that testing has been done, how to find a responsible breeder and just what it is like to own a basenji.

Here is a really nice website by a basenji pet owner, http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/9467/thebasenji.html

If you are more of the blogger type, add links to the Basenji Health Endowment site and OFA. These sorts of things do help and the more people see it the more likely it will sink in.

If you google "basenji" the wikipedia link comes up first and is in the top several entries in some of the other search engines.

It's a small thing, but modifying the wikipedia entry for basenji to be more descriptive of how horrible Fanconi is and more strongly wording it about the importance of testing may help the casual reader looking into the breed be more wary of it.

I don't know if you can do it any more and I'm not a internet search expert, but if you could effectively "google bomb" a "basenji" search so that it comes up to a site that talks about the importance of fanconi testing in one of the top few links it would reach a lot more people.