Hello there,

I own two Basenjis, Fezzan (male) and Mara (female). I have them both in my backyard. Mara is pregnant and based on my calculations, she is due by January 9th - 10th (copulation took place on November 7th).

This is the first time that I own mixed sexes (I had always owned females - Dachshunds) and the first time that my Basenjis are to have puppies.

Is it ok to have Fezzan in the backyard when Mara gives birth to her pups, or should I definitely separate them?

Knowing Mara, she will probably have an anxiety attack if I leave her alone, but I don't want to risk unexpected behavior from either of them the day the puppies are born or during the next following days.

Any feedback or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Best,

Rodrigo

Did you say your basenji's are kept outside?…Like all the time? If so, does that mean the puppies will be outside too?

Yes, they are kept outside, in a walled backyard. We live in Mexico, so cold weather is not much of an issue. Although I am planning on keeping her and the puppies inside the house once they are born, at least for the first weeks.

The thing is that there is not a person watching them 24/7, so it will be difficult to be there the exact moment the puppies are born, and I don't want to have the puppies inside the house for too long; hence my question, can a male Basenji be around a female Basenji at the time the puppies are born, and anytime thereafter.

I want to have peace of mind in the next couple of days. One option is to leave Fezzan at my parent?s place and just wait for the puppies to be born and take them inside the house, but I don?t want Mara to get too stressed during her last stage of pregnancy.

Thanks.

Rodrigo

In order to raise well socialized puppies that are able to be placed as pets and not likely develop behavior issues that will cause them to be dumped by their new owners, mother and puppies should be raised indoors around bustling household activity for at least 8 weeks.

Hi Rodrigo,
Welcome! While I've never been around puppies, there are several caring breeders on here that can give you insight and recommendations… I understand your concerns about leaving them alone during the day, so to me, it makes sense to have your mother care for your girl until she gives birth. Once they puppies are here, do you have plans for their care during the day? I don't know what's involved, because I've never had puppies :), but hopefully, someone here can guide you in the right direction.

There are some people on here that learned about breeding before they bred their dogs...and you have a huge learning curve with this litter.... so this may be a good example of putting the cart before the horse, lol. Stick around for some great advice that will benefit your dogs!:)

Paco came from a litter that was raised outdoors; first on a concrete patio and then moved to a large pen on the grass as the pups got bigger. I believe the father was separated from the mother and litter as they grew.

We got Paco at 8 weeks and took him e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e with us. And gave him lots of (supervised) space in the apartment. He's a good dog, though he prefers to do his "number twos" on solid surfaces like concrete rather than in grass or dirt.

It is highly recommend that a human be present at the time of birth, things can go wrong. The bitch should be in a quiet secure area and not have other dogs around. If she is protecting her pups and is trying to keep the male away, accidents resulting in killing the pups is very highly possible. Or if the male decides to kill the pups…

Or, the female decides to eat the pups-yes, it happens. I would never leave a bitch alone who is about to whelp pups. As Pat says, things can go wrong.

Thank you everyone for your posts.

Ironic (or funny) as it may sound, as I made my way to finding this blog and subscribe in order to seek advice on Basenjis, Mara was giving birth to her pups, with Fezzan around her and no one to supervise (so much for my calculations).

The good news is that everything went perfectly well. I went home after work and found Mara and Fezzan waiting for me at the backyard?s door. I noticed Mara's huge belly was gone so I ran to her crate and there they were, 5 perfectly healthy puppies (2 males and 3 females). All cleaned-up and sleeping. Just perfect.

It seems that Fezzan's presence during her giving birth did not affect Mara or the puppies. Fezzan seemed agitated, but in a positive way.

I did notice that every time Fezzan tried to get near the puppies Mara would growl so, as I should have known, nature takes care of situations like this.

I took Mara and the pups inside the house and stayed until 2 am around them, making sure all of them were fed.

There's a lot of work for me during the next weeks.

Thanks again.
Rodrigo

Good luck Rodrigo! I'm sure you'll enjoy them.

I disagree with both Pat and Lisa on this one.
I can guraantee that neither of you could pick out which of my dogs was NOT raised inside the house.
Mexico is warm and the setting is completely different from where you and I live.
Please feel free to email me at bennyburnerbono at aol dot com and I can give you lots of info that would be suited to your situation.

I didn't see any other posts… what is the pedigree on your Bs?

The reason for being indoors is not because they need to be indoors it is because they need socialization, they need to be around human beings and the normal activity of a household. Puppies who are not raised around the normal noises and activities that they are likely to encounter in a household have been shown time and again to adjust less well and sometimes not at all to living in a household.

This opinion is based on research done by animal behavior specialists.

Hi Kathy,

Thank you for your post.

The female has the international pedigree certificate (blue), and it has the seal of the FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale). It's issued by the Federacion Canofila Mexicana.

The male has a national certificate that certifies it's a purebred.

I am not quite sure how pedigrees work, as you can tell.

Best,

Rodrigo

What are the registered names of you dogs? Are they in Sally's pedigree database, http://pedigrees.zandebasenjis.com?

Did you get fanconi testing done on the parents before the breeding?

Congratulations Rodrigo..what a surprise to come home to. Glad it all worked out. WIll you keep any of them? Do you have potential buyers for the puppies?

Been long time but Ivoss I do so go with you. Puppies need to hear indoor sounds and be held and loved. Nothing wrong when they are older going out for a while to learn outdoor sounds. However I am willing to bet at least one if not more go were it is cold and they cannot stay outdoors. That means they need indoor life from a baby so they do not end up in a dump or kill shelter beause the new owner could not handle the puppy because it did not like house sounds. I wish you the best good luck but for the puppies please keep them in the house.

Rita Jean

I had no idea there was as database with pedigree information on Basenjis. This is great to know.

Fezzan's pedigree does appear there. It says: "Pedigree of Fezzan Vorobieva, Brindle & White, Male, Mexico, 23 Dec 2007."

Mara's pedigree is not listed. Looking at her international pedigree certificate, she is registered as "Iman (Sanchez) Mex. FCI., Mexico, 28 Dec 2008." Any idea as to why her pedigree would not be listed in this website?

I did not get fanconi testing on the parents; I did not even know such test existed.

I do not plan on keeping them. I will need to start looking for potential buyers, but I think it's going to be tough finding them a good home. Basenjis are not well known in Mexico.

Her pedigree would not be there if no one submitted her litter information to the site owner.

If you provide the sire's name and dam's name, I can submit her information to Sally to be included in the next upload.

Thank you Ivoss. I appreciate it.

Sire: Siscos Durham in My Past (Brindle & White)
Dam: Kenya (Sanchez) MEX.FCI. (Red & White)

I also have information on two more generations (backwards), in case it's useful.

Mara's color is red & white, and her registered name is Iman (Sanchez) Mex.FCI. She was born in Mexico, the 28th of December, 2008.

Please read up on responsible breeding, place those puppies on spay/neuter contracts, and spay and neuter your pets. If you aren't knowledgeable enough to know about pedigrees, health testing and genetics, please don't breed. You seem like you love the dogs, so do the right thing for the breed.