Hi, Socialization was one of my worries and I wanted to get it right, get your friends over and have them wear hats and bags and anything and everything at different times, what we did at home was just getting the household socialization such as umbrellas, pots, rubbish bins etc started and if you have friends with vaccinated and friendly dogs get them around. There is a lot of socialization you can do before your pup is fully vaccinated at home, rubbish day is a good day for standing at the gate watching the big noisy trucks go by, picking up the bins and banging them down, watching the mower, hearing the motorbike being started. Just remember let your pup take it's time don't force it when it is uncomfortable. Our 6 month old boy is doing great and is quite a confident fella. At 14 weeks we did puppy class for 7 weeks and only started going to a dog park at 4 months and he automatically knew how to be a dog when he was with the other dogs. Good luck.
Christmas gifts for your dog!
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It's my first Christmas with my new girl Kismet (basenji mix) and am trying to find some fun gifts she might like (and won't destroy after one day). After poor Bear dogs toys were all defurred (not the fluffing inside just the longer hair on the outside..) I've decided those are not allowed in the house anymore. But I've found they both love toys that make noises, not just the squeeky kind but actual animal noises or other weird sounds. Kismet also loves big things, she tried to pick a huge lion at the store the other day but it had the fur so was on the no-no list. I was also thinking she might like one of those bones bigger than a dog I've seen. So any recommendations on things that can be purchased online or in a U.S. retail store would be wonderful. Thanks!
Edit: After I posted this I found the most useful toy site ever! They even have examples of the noises each toy makes and descriptions of what they do. http://www.bestfriendsgeneralstore.com/
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Bones from the local butcher are always a nice treat, and will last a good long while. Make sure you get good sized ones so they don't splinter. I've given them to my girls raw before, though some people prefer to cook them.
I've also gotten big knuckle bones before from the pet store. They are the size of my girls' heads, so they literally last years. Cow hooves last a while, but they are stinky.
We recently got a stuffed duck as a prize at coursing. It had very little fuzz on the outside, and it makes rattly, squeaky, and also squawky noises. -
Grin, I just assume defuzzing is part of the fun and pick up the fluff. I just shared a video on Nayru's thread in the "Show Off Your Basenji" forum where you can see Batman in the background busily destuffing.
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Maxx's favorite Christmas gift was being able to tear up all the wrapping paper!
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its our first christmas with our girl too, muchly excited! Ive been trying to brainstorm what to get her too, thanks for the link
p.s. Hope always defluffs stuff too lol
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I ended up getting only a few toys since funds are limited this month and since they charge shipping under a certain amounted went over to amazon for the free shipping/low prices and got the same stuff there. I also am getting a toy for the cat which she'll prolly ignore (but think the dog might end up playing with it with the right incentives…treats and noisey balls). It's the peek-a-prize box (http://www.amazon.com/SmartCat-3833-Peek–-Prize-Pet/dp/B0006VMN4O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291245682&sr=8-1).
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suki (and i) loooove the sherpa toys. they're fluffy, but can't readily be de-stuffed because they're made of some kind of magic material. i don't know how they're made, but they really do hold up - and they're soft and fuzzy and squeaky! i'm super impressed. i just got mine at petco or petsmart, but here they are online as well http://www.petsolutions.com/storefront/dog/toys/soft-plush-toys/sherpa-go-dog-baby-dragon-dinosaur-dog-toys/prodSherpaGoDogBabyDragonDinosaurDogToys.html.
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i use Ebay to get inexpensive toys that would usually burn a little hole in the pocket.
haha i can just imagine a basenji trying to play that cat game/toy LOL (peek-a-prize box)
