• I enjoy how Much the people on here that "SEEM" to some of you that they are being "Mean" I mean really people, Its offering FREE and YEARS or Experienced Education for anyone who may be interested in hearing what is True and Honest Education. This is why I LOVE so this Forum, I (unlike some on here which makes no sense) Enjoy HONEST Opinions and concerns, How else do we learn? And Isnt it Just the reason everyone has joined the Forum? For Education, Advice, Concerns, to Express feelings and look for the Help that many of the breeders and Vets and LOOOOONG Time Pure Bred and NOT Pure Bred Basenji Owners on here. I Really Hope anyone who reads these responses, realizes completely that it is not at all Trolling or Trying to "hurt Feelings" or be "Happy for you" Of course we are JUST Looking out for you and your Basenji Family by offering the best information and Advice so we dont have to suffer along side you tears and all if something were to go wrong down the road. Thats all. Its completely out of Love and Concern. No one is going to Force you to do anything or kick you off the forum because they dont like ur breeder, its only Offering the Advice, Education, Concern and Opinions you are Looking for by joining the forum in the first place. Am I right? Take every opinion into consideration, make your own decisions of course, but don't be Angry or "Sad" Because educated people are offering their knowledge to you. ALL are welcome here and its an AMAZING Site!! But do know, Nothing will be sugar coated, it will always be Sincere Education/Advice to BETTER YOU and your B Family Only… FEELINGS Aside. I hope all goes well for you and your family and you find the most PERFECT Basenji Addition to your family that is Happy Healthy and Amazing! (As all B's Should be!) And again, no one here is trying to hurt anyone else... lol thats just silly. 🙂


  • Ok, fine, maybe I am convinced… Here's the question then: if I end up not getting this puppy because some of you are so adamant about it, does anyone know of any good breeder in California that still has puppies available? (For personal reasons, this decision was made a long time ago, and we do not want to wait for another year to get another dog)

    Pat, do you have any puppies this season? Red girl, to be exact?


  • You still don't get it. If you did then you realize that it is just as important for a pet basenji to come from health tested lines and that it should not be the new owner's responsibility to test after the fact and hold their breath and hope for best.

    All the "show breeders" you so easily disregard, place most of their puppies as pets. Breeding for the best does not mean every puppy goes to a show home, and the breeders that I know would much rather a good pet home where their puppy will true companion for their family then a show home where they pup will be sent off with some handler just to win a title. That said, these same breeders are quite picky about their homes believing the home has to be at least as good as their own otherwise there is no reason to place them.

    I just can't agree about only have a dog for 5-7 years, the heart break is just too much for me. It is also something I would never want for a person who bought a puppy for me.


  • The best place to start is the BCOA breeder referral page, http://www.basenji.org/PUBLIC/BreederDirectory.htm

    In addition to that you can look at the Basenji Club of Northern California website, http://www.norcalbasenjis.org/BREEDERDIRECTORY.html and the South Coast Basenji Fanciers website, http://southcoastbasenji.org/7401.html


  • @lvoss:

    You still don't get it. If you did then you realize that it is just as important for a pet basenji to come from health tested lines and that it should not be the new owner's responsibility to test after the fact and hold their breath and hope for best.

    All the "show breeders" you so easily disregard, place most of their puppies as pets. Breeding for the best does not mean every puppy goes to a show home, and the breeders that I know would much rather a good pet home where their puppy will true companion for their family then a show home where they pup will be sent off with some handler just to win a title. That said, these same breeders are quite picky about their homes believing the home has to be at least as good as their own otherwise there is no reason to place them.

    I just can't agree about only have a dog for 5-7 years, the heart break is just too much for me. It is also something I would never want for a person who bought a puppy for me.

    I get it just fine, and I never said I disagreed with that. I am starting to regret getting into this whole discussion. All I wanted was to share the joy of getting a long-wanted puppy girl, not a discussion of how irresponsible I am. I made a decision based on the information available to me at the time. Had I been aware of some of the things that were said here today, I might have made a different decision. I tried posting some questions on other parts of the forum, but never got a response from anyone, so I deleted the threads and went with my own guts. I wish there was a better way of communicating issues and concerns and getting response back… Then some of the decisions (at least on my part) would have been different, and there would be no need to have nasty discussions like this one or to accuse me for being irresponsible and "not getting it."


  • If the posts were made at the same time a spammer hit, sometimes people just don't see them so you can always go in and "bump" your post by replying to it. Sometimes people don't look because the title doesn't grab their attention, you can go in a make a new post with a different title.

    I never saw any posts from you asking for any information about finding a responsible breeder. Could be you posted in December which was just an awful month for me.


  • @lvoss:

    If the posts were made at the same time a spammer hit, sometimes people just don't see them so you can always go in and "bump" your post by replying to it. Sometimes people don't look because the title doesn't grab their attention, you can go in a make a new post with a different title.

    I never saw any posts from you asking for any information about finding a responsible breeder. Could be you posted in December which was just an awful month for me.

    Well, Lvoss, thank you for posting the breeder page info. My only concern is that now it might be too late to get a puppy this season, as they are probably all spoken for. As I said, for various personal reasons, I do not wish to wait another year. Any suggestions?


  • When you talk about you doing the testing rather than requiring that of the breeder then to me that is "not getting it". Responsible breeders test before they bring puppies into the world. Buyers who want pets should demand that any puppy they choose is from health tested parents and not be saddle with that responsibility themselves though any testing they do will help a responsible breeder better their breeding program. Once you take that puppy home, can you honestly say you would return it if it tested Affected? What happens if it is one of the late onset diseases instead of Fanconi where we have a test and you can find out relatively quickly?

    These are not just questions for you but anyone who reads this thread and is in a similar position where the breeder tells them they will have to do the testing themselves.


  • @diff_eqs:

    Well, Lvoss, thank you for posting the breeder page info. My only concern is that now it might be too late to get a puppy this season, as they are probably all spoken for. As I said, for various personal reasons, I do not wish to wait another year. Any suggestions?

    My suggestion is to start contacting breeders and be open to searching neighboring states. It is true that it is late in the season to start looking but that doesn't mean there won't be an available puppy it just means that you are going to have to work harder to find one. As you start making calls you will probably find that if a breeder doesn't have a puppy available they may know someone else that does but it will require spending some time doing the leg work.


  • lvoss is exactly right - the breeder you choose should be doing all the testing prior to breeding that you did for your girl Lana when you were planning to breed her. All the prospective pet owners who would have purchased a puppy from you would have had a pup that came from fully health tested parents. I guess for me I wonder why if you were willing to do it the right way for your prospective puppy buyers, why would you not want the same thing of any breeder you yourself purchase a puppy from?


  • :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:


  • @diff_eqs:

    Ok, fine, maybe I am convinced… Here's the question then: if I end up not getting this puppy because some of you are so adamant about it, does anyone know of any good breeder in California that still has puppies available? (For personal reasons, this decision was made a long time ago, and we do not want to wait for another year to get another dog)

    Pat, do you have any puppies this season? Red girl, to be exact?

    I do not have any puppies, as the litter I was going to breed didn't work out and you know, I had people on my waiting list that I had to contact and try and find another responsible breeder for them to contact or of course they had the choice of waiting for the next breeding. In fact, I have someone on my reservation list that is now been on my list for two years and hopefully the litter that I co-bred this fall will have their perfect puppy in it. Sometimes what we want and what we can get is not always the same… Just because for what ever reason you want a puppy this year, life sometimes deals you a different hand. I just can't image going to a irresponsible breeder that doesn't health test and is a pure for profit breeder, because you are too late for a puppy from a responsible breeder.

    And I am sure that this person told you all about how healthly her lines are... here is a fact about Fanconi. There is a breeder on the East Coast (and this is just one of many of the same stories) - that for years and years claimed that her lines were free of Fanconi because she never had an Affected dog. And that was the case, she didn't have or produce an Affected dog. Along comes the DNA linkage test and as a responsible breeder she starts testing her dogs. Low and behold, all of them start coming up as Carriers. Had she NOT tested and kept breeding, now breeding Carrier to Carrier, Fanconi Affected would have been coming up all over the place. So, it is not just good enough to say, "hey look at all my old dogs I have here, certainly I have no problems with Fanconi"... just does not cut it any longer.

    Also the other person that was using the Cambria name was/is connected to Mountain Springs but their kennel was on the East Coast.


  • The responsible breeder vs. BYB or Puppymill is a war that has been going on for a long time.

    Health testing and lifetime responsibility for the puppies are the lines in the sand. Responsible breeders have been trying to figure out how to stop the puppymills and BYB's for a long time. Most of the dogs that end up in rescue are from these BYB's and puppymills. They also breed without regard to improving the breed, so they perpetuate problems like fanconi, chd, etc.
    Every time someone buys a puppy from a BYB or puppymill, it helps them continue.

    To see someone who could be such a good home, who has experience with testing, and who has ties to the basenji community go to a BYB is very scary.
    It means that even those with education can be drawn in by the BYB's and the responsible breeders are losing.
    People get very passionate about this war.

    Cambria is the name of the kennel of Bob Mankey and Jack Schaefer. They did a lot for the breed. Literally, they wrote the book. Bob Mankey died, and there is a lot of reverence attached to the name Cambria. To have that diluted by other poaching the name is something else people get very passionate about.

    Why don't you start your puppy search by calling Ryder's breeder? The basenji community is pretty tight knit. You may have to make several calls, but that seems like a good place to start.

    I hope you can see that, even though people are getting emotional, it is not a direct attack on you, and people are only trying to educate you and find out why you chose the way you did. If you can answer some questions about why you chose this pup, it can help the entire fancy figure out how to draw people to responsible breeders and away from BYB's.

    -Nicole


  • @lvoss:

    If the posts were made at the same time a spammer hit, sometimes people just don't see them so you can always go in and "bump" your post by replying to it. Sometimes people don't look because the title doesn't grab their attention, you can go in a make a new post with a different title.

    I never saw any posts from you asking for any information about finding a responsible breeder. Could be you posted in December which was just an awful month for me.

    And I don't remember any posts either?? And as you can see, we are NOT shy about responding…...

    Many of us have websites that you can then find our email addresses and just contact us privately too.


  • I know that Ryder's Breeder (Bushbabies Basenjis) didn't have a litter this year either, her bitch that she bred didn't take.

  • Houston

    What about Yodeldogs, she has puppies, wrong side of the country but it might be worth a trip out there…
    Truth be told, I have a b from a back yard breeder..his parents were tested for fanconi, so I had that to go on, but that was it, since I got Otis, his breeder after me having a cow about his eyes having ppm, has tested his dogs eyes as well..so..I got the heat as well, many of us has, but it is for the sake of the breed and the sake of the animal..it is not personal, nobody on this forum wants to see or hear of dogs that are coming down with fanconi, not today, since testing is available.
    Tanza and I did not see eye to eye...until one day when I finally got it..now I will listen and learn..Otis is a great dog, fanconi free and clear...but next time I will do more research and learn more before I get a dog from anybody...
    She is adorable, I wish you best of luck..


  • Good point Basenjimamma… and especially if anyone is thinking about breeding in the future, eye exams at 8/9 wks are important, expecially if Coloboma's are found... dogs with this, while is might not effect they sight long term, should not be bred... and this is something that can be determined at that age. And that breeder has found eye problems in their lines

    And yes, we had our differences.. but I would respond to anyone the same... these are stated facts, not just opinions... tests to not lie...

    And as already pointed out, BYB should not be encouraged or supported, but responsible breeders should be.... BYB sell to anyone who comes up with the money, pure and simple..


  • This is how I see it….

    wait for a nice, health, well-bred pup from a responsible breeder
    or
    play Russian Roulette and take the puppy.

    Since you have NOT lived with Fanconi...
    please take the time to read these articles so you have a little bit more understanding of the disease, and living with it. I have lived with it more than once... I saw Fanconi in the 70s and 80s.... and then again in the 90s and 2000s.... it is NOT pretty.
    Given the information you have received here, knowing the importance of fanconi testing, you would be better off going to Vegas playing those odds.

    http://www.khanisbasenjis.com/LifewithaFanconiDog.pdf
    http://www.khanisbasenjis.com/WhenFanconiSyndromeHitsHome.pdf
    http://www.khanisbasenjis.com/BreedingAroundFanconiSyndrome.pdf

    I don't come on here nearly as often as the other breeders, but I also did not see a request for information on puppies.
    I will have a red girl or boy available next month [yeah! I get to make my first trip to Hawaii!!], but until I grade them in person, I have no idea which one will be available, and if it will be to a show home only or possibly a companion home.
    You can check my website for more information if you are interested.


  • Ok, I am convinced… I guess I was a little too engulfed in my family situation to do all the proper research on the breeder. I actually agree 100% on the necessity of keeping the breed healthy as well as keeping the individual dogs healthy. I guess I made a mistake of being ready to deal with the consequences rather than preventing them from happening all together. I am determined to keep looking for a puppy though (this time from a responsible breeder)... Red baby girl is still coming home, it's just a question of where she is coming from.

    By the way, thanks to all for valuable input. I know that you guys wish for the best for the breed and the people, it's just sometimes the tone comes across as disapproving and harsh instead of advising and supporting.


  • Remember, this is ADVICE.
    When people talk of Fanconi… LISTEN.

    Sure, some dogs don't experience it to the degree that others do...
    but it can not be known in advance to what degree the dog will be sick with the disease.

    I could write more articles about Fanconi... and maybe that would make people understand just HOW important it is to know the fanconi test of the dogs one is breeding.

    WHY on earth deal with it and have a sick dog if you don't have to in this day and age?

    BTW.... look at her puppy prices... and note how close they are, if not more, than lots of reputable breeders. What testing does she do that makes her a NOT-FOR-PROFIT breeder? Oh, none.

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