Hello to everyone. I'm from eastern Kentucky and I have just ordered a 4 month old Basenji male from Oklahoma. Got him on the 3rd of this month, he was a little "stand-offish" at first, but he's starting to warm up to the family. I'll tell you what, this is a "different breed". I've owned alot of breeds of dog, but this one is very unique. When I said family, I was meaning me, my mom, and dad. The names Heath and I'll be lurking here regularly researching this beautiful breed. Oh yeah, my mother named him Cairo. If there is anything that I should know as a first time B owner, please, please feel free to fill me in. All information is appreciated.

Heath

Keep all important documents out of the Basenji's reach. Oh, and cell phones.

@TikaLynn:

Keep all important documents out of the Basenji's reach. Oh, and cell phones.

Yeah, that's no joke. He's a little thief.

My mom and Cairo.

Welcome. She is very pretty. Can I ask you the info on her breeder? Some of us are "related" by dogs, so maybe you are as well.

Thank you very much, but Cairo (as in the capitol of Egypt) is a male. I got him from a breeder in Keota, Oklahoma.

Sorry, I wasn't paying attention.
What is the breeders name? If you know it.

Name is Maxwell, found him on puppyfind.com. Sheila Maxwell.

Did Sheila give you the name of Cairo's parents? If you have them, you can hopefully check out the health of his parents (and thus Cairo) at www.offa.org.

Sorry, by the way, Cairo has a sweet face.

hi Heath,

Sheila Maxwell's name has been mentioned on this forum. Check out the thread called "We are looking for a r/w puppy to join our family" in the Basenjis For Sale or Wanted category on this forum.

We're here for any help and information you may need.

@Kipawa:

Sorry, by the way, Cairo has a sweet face.

Thank you, I think so also.

@Kipawa:

hi Heath,

Sheila Maxwell's name has been mentioned on this forum. Check out the thread called "We are looking for a r/w puppy to join our family" in the Basenjis For Sale or Wanted category on this forum.

We're here for any help and information you may need.

Thanks a bunch, I'll check into that.

I just looked at that post and I really hate to hear those kind of things. My family dealt with, I guess her husband, Gary. He was very informative and very talkative about the dogs. We got our Basenji at 4 months, he was a little stand-offish the first night, but now he is becoming very affectionate. He seems to be very smart too, fast learner. Never-the-less, he will be loved and treated like a born member of the family.

I joined this forum for one reason, information about Basenji. Good or bad and I appreciate it all. Thank you all.

Welcome, Cairo is a very pretty boy! I know you will enjoy him and all his antics! It is very good that he is warming up to you all so fast. Please know that folks here that post are trying to look out for your best interests, and any criticism will be "constructive"!
There is a DNA test for a disease that some basenjis get, Fanconi, it is not a terribly expensive test, and will give you years of peace of mind.

Work with him, if there is a "puppy kindergarten" near you by all means go and socialize him and get him used to working with you. Basenjis respond best to positive reinforcement training, not negative training.

Go through the old posts on training, health, and you will get a lot of good information. Good for you for wanting to learn all about his very special breed.

I would strongly suggest you get the fanoni testing done. It will let you know what to expect in the future.
Glad you found us. We are here to help you.

he's a very cute baby and welcome to the forum.

hi Heath -

I am sorry if my post came across as anything nasty or brusk. It wasn't meant to be. To you, your family and Cairo, please accept my apology.

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the Forum… and I too would strongly suggest that you have your pup DNA tested for Fanconi.... best 65.00 that you could even spend for peace of mind. You can read/learn about it at www.basenjihealth.org or www.basenji.org

Welcome! I will echo everyone's comments that this forum is a plethora of information.

Don't think of Cairo as your first basenji, but the only dog you might own from now on!

Heloise's hint of the day: don't let the sweet face fool you, they can shred anything in a matter of seconds! I bet your furniture could use a good de-stuffing!!!!