Hi! My name is Crystal and I'm a new basenji owner/mama. I'm an anthropology student finishing up my last semester of my BA and will be taking a year off before graduate school.

Cody is 3 years old and a former breeder. Besides that, I don't really know a lot about his past other than the fact the he, a few females, and a number of puppies were dropped off with a woman that breeds some other kind of dogs. Apparently they were just a little too much for her to handle, because she was going to take them to the shelter if she couldn't find homes for them. I went to meet her and, despite how dirty, smelly, and scrawny he was, I fell in love with Cody on the spot. Now a month later, he is clean, spoiled, housetrained, and finally beginning to gain some weight. He is the sweetest boy, really likes attention from people, and is really curious about everything! Of course, he is also extremely stubborn and mischievious, and I quickly learned to keep my closet closed or else the minute my back is turned, my clean laundry will be all over the living room floor.

congrats on the new member of your family. yep basenjis are curious, and even bratty… but they are a wonderful breed. you may have read the story about when God created all the animals he had a little piece of each one left over so he put all these pieces in one package and called it a Basenji. Welcome the life of being a basenji slave.

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome Crystal Cody is such a great name for a B. Mischievious, loving, stubborn, curious. That sounds about right!:p Thanks for rescuing him. Has he discovered the joys of shredding toilet paper or paper towels?

Tom

Crystal, welcome aboard. I am soo happy to hear you "saved' Cody out of becoming a shelter dog, good for you and especially good for Cody. There is a treat you can make to make him gain weight in a very yumm-o and health way..they are called "Satin Balls.
Google the name and several recipes should pop up. It is basically homemade Dog meatballs with yummy stuff in'em that dogs goes bonkers over and it is made by you so you know what went in'em….just in case you wanted some ideas for weight gainer foods..again, good luck to both of you.

Glad you found us…can't wait for some photos of Cody.

Thanks for the warm welcome! Basenji slave… yes that sounds about right That's such a cute story about the creation of basenjis, I'll have to remember it!

I have a huge picture window in my living room that he likes to lay beside when the sun is shining in. The first week I had him, he was laying there while I was cleaning in another room. When I came back, he had stealthly snuck into the bathroom and took a whole pack of toilet paper back to the window and was happily shredding it. I have learned to keep bathroom and bedroom doors closed unless I can see what he is doing from another room.

Thanks for the Satin Balls idea, Basenjimama. I will definitely have to try it!

At the moment, we are battling separation anxiety, so I have my work cut out for me, but he's worth it.

Congrats on your new family member. Please post pics. And if you know his pedigree, let us know. (It's kind of like a large family reunion around here; we're always interested in knowning who's related to who and how.)

Welcome to the forum! This is a great place to get help or just share your funny stories and pictures.

@crystalncody:

Thanks for the warm welcome! Basenji slave… yes that sounds about right That's such a cute story about the creation of basenjis, I'll have to remember it!

I have a huge picture window in my living room that he likes to lay beside when the sun is shining in. The first week I had him, he was laying there while I was cleaning in another room. When I came back, he had stealthly snuck into the bathroom and took a whole pack of toilet paper back to the window and was happily shredding it. I have learned to keep bathroom and bedroom doors closed unless I can see what he is doing from another room.

Thanks for the Satin Balls idea, Basenjimama. I will definitely have to try it!

At the moment, we are battling separation anxiety, so I have my work cut out for me, but he's worth it.

I too, got my dogs thru rescue, Ziggee was a pup and the breeder put him there because he was not perfect to show. He came with "the basenji owners manual" you think this would have been clue number one, what other breed of dog comes with an owners manual guide??? Well, the preface of the book, was a letter written to the "new owner" from a female basenji. She told that story how basenjis were created story. I should print that letter here, it was accurate and cute about the breed. Ziggee also suffered from seperation anxiety. It was horrible, I finally got a female thru the same rescue and the same breeder. This worked, but it also caused rip apart fights. The female is the alpha of the breed, but Ziggee was with me longer, he felt he had squatters rights..lol. We ended up getting a doggie shrink, it turns out I needed the training. I had to establish my role as a pack leader. There were many "do's" and "don't" and for the most part we follow the rules, but some we break, like sleeping in bed with me…lol I will never put them in thier crates at night. They still walk all over me, but once the playing gets too angry, we have our time outs. they dont object to this and fighting has stopped. They listen to my commands and we all get along great. Your handsome guy, has got the look of ****iness, the look they are so famous for, being smarter than humans. Although I have only been a member a short time, this is a great place for help and just to tell about your crazy basenji antics.... goood luck and keep us posted.

@crystalncody:

Of course, he is also extremely stubborn and mischievious, and I quickly learned to keep my closet closed or else the minute my back is turned, my clean laundry will be all over the living room floor.

Watch the dirty laundry too, that is their favorite. :rolleyes: Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the forum…. and thanks for offering your home to a Basenji in need of its forever home. Since you don't know anything about him, you should consider having him DNA tested for Fanconi. Fanconi is a genetic problem in our breed and now that we have a DNA test (since July of 2007) it is good to have them tested. You can learn more about Fanconi and the Linkage DNA test at www.basenjihealth.org If he is DNA Clear or Carrier then you will not have to worry about him developing Fanconi (since it is late onset). If he would be affected, then you should start strip testing him asap…

And you can learn more about Basenjis at www.basenji.org

Welcome to the forums! Sounds like you and Cody are lucky to have each other!

Welcome your days as you can see all ready are going to be filled with love and fun.

Rita Jean

@tanza:

Welcome to the forum…. and thanks for offering your home to a Basenji in need of its forever home. Since you don't know anything about him, you should consider having him DNA tested for Fanconi. Fanconi is a genetic problem in our breed and now that we have a DNA test (since July of 2007) it is good to have them tested. You can learn more about Fanconi and the Linkage DNA test at www.basenjihealth.org If he is DNA Clear or Carrier then you will not have to worry about him developing Fanconi (since it is late onset). If he would be affected, then you should start strip testing him asap…

And you can learn more about Basenjis at www.basenji.org

Yeah, I looked up info about basenjis before I decided to adopt him. We are moving back to my hometown at the end of June, and there is a great vet there that we take my family's dog to, and I really trust him, so besides just the initial shots, I am thinking about waiting until I get there to get him tested and I'll also be getting him fixed. Thanks for the website though, because the only thing I had really found about Faconiwas on the general breed websites and wikipedia.

@crystalncody:

Yeah, I looked up info about basenjis before I decided to adopt him. We are moving back to my hometown at the end of June, and there is a great vet there that we take my family's dog to, and I really trust him, so besides just the initial shots, I am thinking about waiting until I get there to get him tested and I'll also be getting him fixed. Thanks for the website though, because the only thing I had really found about Faconiwas on the general breed websites and wikipedia.

Your welcome and since it is a cheek swab, it is not something that your Vet would do.. so it can be done at any time. Always, however good to share the information with your Vet… not all Vets are familar with Basenji genetic problems.... or that we now have a DNA linkage test for Fanconi

Oh, ok! I didn't realize that it was just a cheek swab or urine test. I was under the impression that it was a blood test.

The cheek swab is one way, but there is a blood test too, so you were on the right track. There are special procedures, the blood has to be drawn by your vet then shipped off to a lab in Missouri. It is easier for most folks to use the cheek swab though now that that option is available. It is only $5 more than the blood test, but you don't have to pay for vet/shipping costs to go the blood route. And it is quick and painless and can be done in your home anytime. However if you're willing, they could always use the blood for future research. It gives them more to work with than the cheek swab.

The urine test is the old fashioned test, that just lets you know when the dog starts spilling sugar and the disease takes effect. It's not the same as the genetic test that tells you whether or not your dog will be affected or if he is a carrier of the disease.

You need to do the cheek swab (or bloodwork), and then if you get "affected" results, then you do the urine test weekly/monthly until you see the disease kick in so you can treat it. Sometimes it waits until their teens to show up, but usually around 4 or 5 ish.

@Basenjimamma:

Crystal, welcome aboard. I am soo happy to hear you "saved' Cody out of becoming a shelter dog, good for you and especially good for Cody. There is a treat you can make to make him gain weight in a very yumm-o and health way..they are called "Satin Balls.
Google the name and several recipes should pop up. It is basically homemade Dog meatballs with yummy stuff in'em that dogs goes bonkers over and it is made by you so you know what went in'em….just in case you wanted some ideas for weight gainer foods..again, good luck to both of you.

Thank you! The satin balls are working wonders! Not only is he gaining a little more weight, but his coat looks so much better as well. He was missing fur on his tale, ears, and nose, and the vet said that it may not grow back because the skin that was showing was black, so they were probably older wounds or long-time neglect. All of that is growing back and looks healthy now.

The funny thing is, although all of the websites I found said to serve the satin balls raw, Cody just turned his nose up at the raw meat, but he loves it if it's cooked.

I am so happy to hear that. Good for Cody. You do not have to serve them raw by all means, I have heard of them done both ways. My dogs, 1 B + 2 non Bs they are on the all raw diet and thriving. As a mattter of fact this weekend we went out of town so I, to simplify for myself, bought the Merrick canned foods…well the dogs hated them..So they have eaten very little until last night when we got home, at 11:30 pm. They all devoured their turkeynecks and then slept like babies. As far as Cody's black skinned areas growing back,good news. I had a Westies in the past that had a lot of black skin due to allergies and his would grow back at times, so I think Cody is out of the woods on that. Keep us updated on Cody's progress, it sounds like you are doing great.