Thanks again for the responses all!

I will review all the material received and respond back with my thoughts and or further questions.

Thank you going to try this with him biting my pant leg as well lol

I am curious who has neutered their dog and who hasn't.... Our breeder said we should neuter him and I read the main reason is that they don't contract testicular cancer.

I just feel bad about doing this though... like I'll alter him in some way that's not natural... Plus I heard you can't enter your dog into shows if he is neutered?

I was thinking of taking up a hobby one day like lure coursing or something.... does neutering mess their physicality up?

Yes I am admittingly a novice dog owner so appreciate all constructive feedback!

@zande Thank you for the response. I guess if you were a breeder you wouldn't have the need to do it, since you want offspring right? I think the other general concerns they say are that the pet might be too aggressive or want to wander to find a mate... Is any of that true you think? Yes please send that article from Liz, I'd like to definitely read it.

@donc Thank you for providing that link I am going to read through it. Our breeder said to do it at 6 months. I honestly was surprised to read so many here are opposed to it, I thought it was more of a common thing to do. Preventing testicular cancer, and agression, wandering for a mate are the reasons that come to mind.

@jengosmonkey Yeah I guess preventing strays is always good, but I think making sure your dog is watched is on the owner. Great story share though.

@senjisilly I never heard of the tubal ligation, interesting... is it safe?

@vivsos said in Should I neuter my Basenji?:

I'm surprised your breeder has suggested neutering, unless there is something in the line they're not admitting to.
All I can suggest is read, read, read - and make your own mind up.
Having done the same, my choice would be to leave intact, assuming I ever have another entire dog. Don't forget, once it's done you cannot change your mind.
Rescues generally see the effects of irresponsible/accidental breeding and act accordingly.
It's not done to people (more's the pity IMNSHO), so why put your pet through it, just for convenience?
And make d*mn sure your dog does not get out!

My feeling is she doesn't want someone else potentially having offspring of her breeding... But not sure... any other intentions she might be hiding? Maybe he is carrying the fanconi gene (I think she said some of her puppies are carriers but would never develop it... but could pass it on). However I think she requires this of all her dogs.

@aprilk said in Basenji Puppy - Indoor Fence/Crate?:

So, My basenjis have always been pretty good about not chewing things they shouldn't (except for the occasional tissue paper-they all need to die apparently...) I haven't had any of the horror stories you sometimes hear. The way I did it was to keep a TON of bones around...All different kinds and anytime my pup was thinking about chewing something they shouldn't I stuff a bone in their mouth (gently of course, its more like "Here, have this!" you can't actually stuff anything in their mouths if they don't want it ;). When they were little we kept a pretty good eye on this, but it started to stick pretty quickly. It has seemed to work really well for me-I'm not yelling or getting angry, I'm replacing bad chewing with something good (Basenjis are pretty ok with that...)

Also, and you may know this already, but basenjis are crazy smart even as puppies and will do stuff (like chew bad things) to get your attention, especially if they feel you are ignoring them or not playing enough...basically you only get a break when they take a nap!

Oh, and if you were asking me, no I am definitely not a breeder, I can hardly keep up with my 2!

Yeah he definitely seems like he is attention seeking at times even though we flood him with it lol Are bones ok even if he is a puppy? We have toy bones we give him when he starts chewing along with other toys yet he always seems to prefer human hands lol

@hizbaby said in Basenji Puppy - Indoor Fence/Crate?:

Yep! Willy also likes to pile all her things up in certain places, in front of the fridge seems to be the favorite!
As for a warning label - I agree, and all of could probably fill TOMES of pages listing them, which is why it is SO very very very important that anyone embarking on the adventure of LIFE WITH A BASENJI do their research and have a good understanding of exactly ( well, as exact as possible, they WILL definitely throw you a curve every now and then!) what to expect and be able to truly be committed to accepting their quirky little ways - ESPECIALLY if getting a puppy, who can be quite a daunting handful for at least the first 2 full years. But when the fit is right, there is nothing else like them, and the relationship built is truly a treasure to cherish for a lifetime!

Yes I'm torn between enjoying him as a puppy and hoping he matures lol

So we adopted a 2 year old basenji several months ago. This is our second dog, our first we had as a puppy and is the nicest sweetest dog ever. He is red and our newly adopted dog is a tri.

Our adopted B definitely is different than our first dog. She is much more active constantly pacing.. overall she is a good dog but she has some mean moments I'm worried about.

When she is tired or sleeping you almost can't touch her cause wakes up growling and sometimes will lunge. She also gets territorial and growls lunges at are first dog.. This is only at times though, they mostly are fine together.

I know the previous owners used a shock collar and that leash that goes over their mouth.. not sure if this messed her up..

Any suggestions on how we can get her to stop being mean?

@tanza Yes I believe that is it! But I thought punishment isn't good to use on basenjis, only positive reinforcement.. do you think shock collars are also good?

@zande do you have a picture of one? Trying to envision how low it should be.

@zande I was hoping that would be a set or something I could order from somewhere:(

@elbrant that sounds cool. Do you know where I can order it?

@jengosmonkey thanks for the box suggestion! I was thinking the same about fences if I were to do it lol. What is a KOA camp?

@tanza yes she was the only girl in the home.. she is very territorial. Our breeder said to avoid Cesar Milan type training as basenjis respond to positive reinforcement... Thats why I wondered if the electric collar or mouth leash was negative...

@eeeefarm thank you for sharing that experience! I guess since our male B doesn't act this way I was surprised, but I'll try a combination of the advice received here. I'll be posting some other quirks about our first B soon that could use advice with.

@zande Thanks Sally, I'm taking your advice and trying to show a lot of love. She tries my patience at times but didn't know females and Tris were different.

@zande Thank you Sally.. I'm going to keep this in mind. I've been getting angry when this has happened but going to try and talk nice to her before touching her when she has to wake up.

@eeeefarm

Yeah I guess that's what I'll have to do. She did bite me a couple of times out of reaction and I was stern with her as that is unacceptable.

Our first dog doesn't do this at all, he is sweet you can pick him up if he is sleeping and he doesn't react at all. Just wasn't used to this