We have had our Basenji Kenya for about 2 months now. She is 4 months old and we are wondering when is the right time to get her spayed? Our vet told us as soon as possible when we were there last, when she received her last shots but I have also heard we should wait until after her first heat. Any info would be great.

I am wanting to put Kenya in training classes but my vet and the class instructor told me to wait until she has all her shots. She will get her third set Monday and then I have to wait another three weeks before she gets her last ones. At that point she will be 15-16 weeks.

Thanks for all of the great ideas. I will go to the limited time for feeding and may start to mix in a little wet good as well. I have begun some train with her but was told I have to wait for all of her shots to take her to obedience classes. She has her third set this monday and then the last ones in three weeks. I have almost got her to sit, she does it if she knows I have a treat but struggles if I just come out of the blue and tell her to sit. We're working on it.

Now that is compassion. I have only had my B for three weeks but what a character.

Two quick questions.

1. I know that I should be feeding my puppy 3-4 times a day but during the week I am at work for the most of the day. She is confined to a Kennel area with a bed, water, toys, and a sod box to use the restroom. She is doing very well there but since I am gone during the day I am not able to feed her in the middle of the day. Her current feeding schedule is 2/3 (just increased from a 1/2 cup) a cup of dry food (Inova) in the morning before I leave for work and 2/3 a cup in the evening when I get home. The problem is that she doesn't always eat it all. She will eat about half and then if I leave it out for a while she will come back to it and eat a little more. Sometimes it helps if I feed her, then take her for her walk and then she comes back to eat some more. How long should I give her to eat it all? I have been told it is not good to let them graze all day but I also want to make sure she is getting enough.

2. What are your thoughts on wet vs. dry food? Should I mix some wet and dry? I've been told that the wet is not as good because of the water content but I have read in this forum that lots of people use it.

Oh, by the way Kenya is 12 1/2 weeks old.

Just wondering if anyone uses a dog door or since I am sure some of you do rather if you could point me in the right direction. My Basenji is just 12 weeks old; I want to get a door she will be able to use for the next few years so how big of a door should I get? The one for medium dogs has an opening that is 11 1/2 by 7". It says it is for a medium dog but the opening seems small. Will this be big enough for her in the long run?

Kenya, our 10 week old B is getting a bit too nippy when playing. What is the best way to stop this habit. I tell her no and that doesn't seem to quite do it. I try to stop playing with her at all when she does it but I know it is just because she is young and excited. Does anybody have a strategy to teach her that my hands, ankles, ears, etc are not chew toys? Thanks.

Thanks for the help. You have given us a few ideas to try. We were a little worried because most of the time we have been walking five minutes before she stopped and she would just stare at us so we didn't know if that was unusual or not. I am glad to here that she will grow more accustomed to walking. I often forget how young she is. Thanks

Kenya is a 10 week old B. We have had her about a week now and we have noticed something strange or what seems strange to us. Kenya spends the day while we are at work in a fairly confined space so we set aside two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon simply to exercise and play with her. She is a bundle of energy when it comes to play but when we take her out for a walk she rarely wants to walk. She will roam around a little and then just sit down. Now that she knows where the door to go inside is she will go do her business and then head immediately for the door. I don't know what to do. I try and walk her but as I said before she just will sit down every twenty yards or so. I don't want to pull on her leash so I end up picking her up and taking her to another place. Sometimes that works and she will roam around that area but other times she just sits there stubbornly or will come jump up on me and wants to be picked up. Any ideas?

Thanks for the info. Now if I could just get her to relax at night. We tried a ticking clock, a radio with voices, having her crate next to our bed, tonight we try keeping her crate in the dining room and allowing her to leave her crate for the sod box.