I recently wrote a blurb online that I shot across the depths of Facebook in an attempt to inform the masses and thus hopefully put a wrench in the gears of puppy mills. Forgive some of the overly plain speak below…it is written for lowest common denominator of pre-existing dog knowledge and common sense. Thus I also chose to be overly explanatory in favor of leaving nothing to doubt.

HOW TO SPOT A PUPPY MILL OR BACKYARD BREEDER

Here is a fairly comprehensive list of red flags that often pop up with puppy mills and backyard breeders along with the worst-case scenarios and why these red flags should constitute suspicion of unethical breeding and business practices. Any one of these flags alone do not constitute a bad breeder but any one or combination thereof should constitute SUSPICION of the breeder's ultimate intentions (i.e. happy animals and people OR cold hard cash) until they have proven to you that they have good intentions. Exceptions, mistakes, and special circumstances are one thing…but if you see a "breeder" that checks off most of these red flags, take a guess what you're probably looking at especially if they are located in the Midwest (MISSOURI and Kansas in particular). From there it's your conscious decision whether or not to purchase a puppy from that person!

1. Selling of multiple breeds simultaneously.
Most people don't have the time to be responsible, knowledgeable breeders of multiple breeds simultaneously let alone one at a time! Most people who breed multiple breeds rotate what they're breeding so they can devote all their time and expertise to one breed at a time but still enjoy multiple breeds over the years. If someone is selling multiple breeds of puppies, they may be more interested in diversifying their products just like any business tries to offer more than one product so they can attract a variety of customers and their money.

2. Multiple litters available simultaneously of the same breed or multiple breeds.
Think about it: what kind of "operation" would it take to properly take care of multiple pregnant dogs and then their numerous litters of puppies all at once? A "puppy mill" operation?

3. A breeder's website with any of the following features:
a. "Stock" photography (photos take from the internet, i.e. not their own genuine photos).
Could be: The few photos they have you wouldn't want to see.
b. No pictures of the property.
Could be: You don't want to see the conditions their animals live in.
c. No pictures of the people involved in breeding (owners, their children, etc.).
Could be: They don't want you or the authorities to know what they look like after you find out they ripped you off.
d. No pictures of the dad and mom dogs ("sire and dam").
Could be: Mom and dad are maybe not even purebred, probably unhealthy, maybe dead.
e. No health records or mention of health at all for sire and dam.
Could be: They may have never been to the vet ever.
f. No pictures of the puppies with their mom (whelping).
Could be: Puppies may have been taken from their mom prematurely (causing all sorts of potentially life-long behavioral issues).
g. No pictures of the puppies with their litter-mates or any other dogs or people period.
Could be: Living conditions too disgusting to show; socialization may be little more than competing for food.
h. No full address of location listed.
Could be: They are trying to hide all identifying information, hmm…
i. No full name of breeder listed.
Could be: Same as above (fake names may be given).
j. Listings of dogs that look like eBay or another online shopping website (separate ads for each puppy in long lists).
Could be: You shouldn't be looking for the "shopping cart" or "checkout". Buying a puppy is not like buying a pair of shoes.
k. For pictures in the listings, each individual puppy is placed on a blanket next to something cute like a teddy bear.
Could be: This little scene is a ruse meant to disarm your suspicion with cuteness.
l. Puppies do not have sire and dam named even, much less info and pictures of their parents.
Could be: The people who buy these dogs don't care or don't know they should care about a dog's lineage (if only for health reasons).
m. The phone number or other identifying information listed is also listed on other breeders websites without the acknowledgement of the connection and/or on craigslist, newspaper classified ads, puppy selling websites, etc.
Could be: They are the same person(s) running multiple websites and advertisements trying to sell their dogs however they can to whoever they can.
n. AKC registration is "offered" (not the default) for a premium.
Could be: They'll be happy to forge it and charge you an extra $400.
o. Multiple differing birth dates of various puppies
Could be: multiple litters!
p. Offers to ship sight-unseen to anywhere in the country.
Could be: they are Amazon for puppies.

Allow me to demonstrate what a puppy mill operation looks like. Please visit this website:
http://www.rock-creek-kennel.com/
Looks kinda nice, doesn't it? Nothing immediately jumps out at you and says "bad guy", does it? Not really, unless you know better. But take note of all the red flags I mentioned that this website checks off. The perfect stock photos, all the breeds and puppies available, the puppy listings that look like "online shopping"/eBay. Where's all the info about sires and dams, about the breeder? Photos of the property and living areas? Photos of the breeder and parent dogs? Notice the eBay style puppy listings and business tone to all the details about the puppies. "Shipping available anywhere in the contiguous USA and Canada". [When I was last on that website 2 weeks ago there were 40+ Basenji puppies of all coat colors and with 6 different birth dates across the whole lot fo them…that's at least 6 litters! But now most have been sold to unsuspecting owners]

If all of these red flags aren't enough to make you worry about buying a puppy from this "website", you don't have to dig much further to find out that this "kennel" is actually a puppy mill. Plain as day it is listed as a puppy mill operation by The Humane Society of the United States in their report, "101 Puppy Mills: A Sampling of Problem Puppy Mills in the United States" (Use the "find" feature with CTRL+F or Apple key+F to search for Rock Creek Kennel):
http://animalstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=hsus_pmc_iae
That article also mentions another kennel associated with the operators. Sure enough, the phone number 913-549-7817 from Rock Creek Kennel is also listed for Clover Acres Farm, a kennel posing as an entirely different kennel/business that also just so happens to sell multiple breeds with a website that also hits all the red flags I listed above:
http://www.cloveracresfarm.com/index.html

As if that wasn't enough…

FINALLY, some REAL pictures…of one of the owner's past dogs, in poor health of course (including a Basenji with what appears to be mange/demodex):
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.381811576331.167367.82840846331&type=1&comment_id=12696960&offset=0&total_comments=8

An rescue/shelter organization's battle against him including evidence that this puppy mill is selling Shiba's to a pet store in California:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=144084642303052&id=144178647449

News article about the Rock Creek Kennel reputed to be nothing more than 60 puppies living in a garage with the puppy mill operators throwing dead puppies into vegetation bordering their property:
http://www.kctv5.com/story/25440415/missouri-kansas-top-national-list-of-worst-puppy-mills

Oh look, this "breeder", "Buzz", at one point had a business (not a non-profit) called "Iowa Basenji Rescue". Sounds nice doesn't?
http://www.bizapedia.com/ia/IOWA-BASENJI-RESCUE-LLC.html
…except that his entire Basenji breeding business may have been founded off the back of animals that were suppose to be "rescued".

I can tell you one thing for sure: Whether you want a Basenji puppy, a Shiba Inu puppy, a Bull Terrier puppy, a Westie puppy, a Japanese Chin puppy, a Wire Fox Terrier puppy, an Akita puppy, a Pomeranian puppy, or a Chihuahua puppy (all the breeds this ONE breeder offers)...if you call 913-549-7817, you're going to speak with someone who operates a puppy mill.

I'm no expert but all this sounds like normal Basenji behavior especially for an under-exercised, under-stimulated and YOUNG dog as already noted here. This is not to say your dog isn't getting enough exercise to stay physically healthy, but pretty much every dog will be better behaved the more it is getting tuckered out.

I have raised two Basenji puppies recently, now 1 and 2 y/o, and both are still pretty rambunctious (typical young Basenjis) especially in the winter when it is no doubt tough on them and my girlfriend and I to want to get outside. We live in an apartment but the building was once a hotel so we have interior hallways that take us about 10 minutes to walk all three floors. I know we have a peculiar living situation but you might be able to find something similar (just indoor hallways or maybe outdoors under the cover of some structure) Also, just because your dog doesn't want to go outside because of cold or rain or snow doesn't necessarily mean they shouldn't. Your judgment of what they can take is more realistic and optimistic than their own. Boots and jackets can do wonders if the temperatures necessitate it but either way, if it's not uncomfortably cold out just get out there! If I only walked when my Basenjis wanted to in the winter, we'd walk once a day and I'd be cleaning up my floors twice a day!! They are definitely not cold weather dogs but they can hesitate unnecessarily even when it's not cold enough to need boots and sweaters. Just exercise sound judgment: keep an eye on the temperature outside, feel her paws and body on walks, notice if she's shivering or lifting her paws.

Even with more outdoor exercise, more positive and engaging stimulation at home is definitely called for. Everything she's doing now that you don't like is her making up her own fun. As already mentioned, a fun and yummy training session can not only be used to teach desired behaviors but will also tire a dog out. Why doesn't your get social time with other dogs at day care? If it's because of aggression, definitely read up and/or get training to mitigate that. If your dog could socialize with other dogs at day care, she would get tired from running around AND using her brain to socialize (the latter of which is not readily obtained from regular walks). Then you'd be getting your money's worth for the day care and for a happy (tired) dog. If no socialization is just an attribute of the day care itself, consider finding a day care that does include that.

Speaking of socialization, you should try to find a fully-fenced dog park to visit (assuming she doesn't have major aggression issues) to get the same exercise and socialization benefits of day care in a likely larger, more natural space full of sights and smells. As already noted here, any time a dog has to use their brains for more than just walking around, they get tired at least twice as fast. When I take my dogs to the dog park and there's lots of dogs there, of course they run like crazy but they do so much more than that with the other dogs, trying to figure them out, how to get them to chase or get them to run so they can give chase, how to sniff the butt of a Great Dane, what all that hair is for on an English Sheepdog. A properly socialized dog that "explores" and plays with other dogs for an hour will pass out on the couch like you just walked them for 3 hours. If my dogs weren't well socialized and we couldn't go to dog parks at all, we would all be going insane!! And when we go to the dog park and there's not a lot of other dogs there my dogs and I get bummed. Being off-leash is great, but it's the other dogs that make the experience so engaging and thus tiring! I think the only thing that would be more engaging would be hunting with other dogs. Note that part of my dogs socialization was going to dog park from 6 months of age and being very attentive to what they were experiencing…not letting them get run over by bigger dogs, avoiding aggressive dogs, etc., we didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with such a valuable socialization and exercise resource. With that cautious start, now they're some of the most rough and tumble dogs there (in a good way) even though they are usually the smallest playful dogs present and they LOVE strangers...they are overflowing with healthy confidence. [Funny story: I had a guy ask me "those aren't Basenjis are they!?" I said yes. Then he said "that's odd, I thought Basenjis were very aloof, unfriendly, and aggressive with strangers and other dogs". Needless to say my dogs practically licking his face corrected his Basenji misconceptions which probably originated from under/unsocialized Basenjis which unfortunately are fairly common.]

Once your dog is getting worn out every so often, her destructive and aggressive behaviors will likely improve. Revisit all of the training you two have already been through (don't use it, you and her will lose it). Get your family involved. Include training to specifically address the behaviors you don't like and to get her to do things you do like instead. EX: give her substitutes to bad behaviors; try not to put her situations where you know she's likely to do what you don't like. I have yet to meet a dog that preferred biting people for fun over chewing on a fresh bone (which is great mental stimulation, too, like a Rubix cube for dogs). If she likes to bite you in specific situations, try to avoid them or at least don't allow her to get latched on (saying "no" when she's already pulling on your skin is a little late, she's already got what she wants). If "come"/recall isn't working, work on other commands for some time then come back to recall. Definitely get all the books agilebasenji mentioned…anyone who can get a Basenji to do more than 3-4 commands knows what they're talking about and that's no joke!!! It's pretty well known about the breed that when they're young, if they're out of their crate you either have to "puppy-proof" their entire run-free area OR constantly watch them. They are a mischievous, often destructive breed especially as puppies. Practically every one that has raised a Basenji puppy has ended up having to do things that would make other dogs owners cringe thinking about the effort required. I often describe Basenjis as the "anti-Lab". Plan accordingly.

This has been a very interesting thread to read. Praise to Ladybasenji for his dedication and overwhelming love to his new found Basenji even with the challenges.

Everyone has addressed all of Lady's behavioral issues but I saw one larger issue has gone unaddressed. Here's my little bit of advice.

Try to get your girlfriend on board with loving Lady just as much as you do! Don't let her give up on Lady! If she's spending time with Lady in her presence at all, then you all will benefit from her being an equal part of everything! Try to get your girlfriend to understand that not only is Lady a Basenji which is the "anti-Lab" breed (complete opposite of the "normal" dog/Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd, etc., the dogs your girlfriend is use to)…Lady is also a dog that has never had much structure until coming into your home. Any dog would need help in that situation but especially a wild Basenji! Don't put Lady between your girlfriend and you, or your girlfriend between Lady and you. The challenges of training Lady and convincing your girlfriend to love her will strengthen both your relationship with Lady and your girlfriend. And I'm sure seeing the two ladies in your life bond would be very satisfying for you as well!!!

I watched a few videos by vets on YouTube about how to express the glands. I think I'll just let our vets do it every now and then with check ups or we need to go in for it. It's not only not something I really want to do for the mess of it but I just don't trust myself to do it right and as you said Debra it's cheap and hopefully we won't need it done more than once or twice a year if at all. So far we've had our vets do it once for each dogs in our almost 18 months of Basenji parenting…both times because the vet said they probably needed it (the likely cause of the issue and hence vet visit).

What I definitely can do is continue to make sure they eat well/healthy. Like I said before I know the full-sized solid poops are the best for more than one reason! Thankfully we've gotten them both into a routine over the last few months that really has seen them stabilize their bowel movements and help our younger new B pick up potty training real well. We'll just continue down that path.

Thankfully like I mentioned in an earlier post all the "pains in the butt" seem to be occurring less often as they age. The desire for me to post here was to try to narrow down some possible causes.

Thanks for all the input!!!

Yes when our second Basenji started having these issues much more often and seemingly more seriously than our first we took him to the vet and he expressed his anal glands because he thought that was likely the problem. Afterwards Jaco didn't have any of those symptoms for a few days but then they came back just like before. His poops are big, solid, and all around healthy which we know is suppose to help regulate his glands…but maybe we just need to get them expressed often. Thankfully it seems to happening less and less for the both of them thankfully which I should have mentioned from the get go...but it's still concerning that it happens at all before and still now occasionally.

As my girlfriend says, "Boy will be boys".

Our first B very occasionally would shriek in pain and bite at her back legs/butt/tail area. This would be exclusively right after napping on the couch and then jumping down. Never when running intensely or jumping around when playing. It seems to have happened less over the last few months, maybe like once every other month…but not often enough for us to worry. She never seems to be in that much pain and it just doesn't happen often and increasingly less so.

But now our second B is having similar issues. Unfortunately it happens more often. Either after napping on the couch and jumping down or when first running after resting like when we first arrive at the dog park. But he shrieks much more loudly than our female ever did and seems to bite at his tail and butt much more frantically. In fact he'll fall over mid-run (from the pain?) and immediately go to the biting.

With the both of them it's only ever one quick shriek and a few moments of biting at the hindquarters. It doesn't seem to bother either of them for more than a few seconds...but what the heck is going on? We've palpitated all over their hindquarters trying to reproduce the pain but they have not responded at all.

Our vet said anal glands were suspect and he expressed them on our second B with the more occurrences of obvious pain. He didn't have any pain like that for a day but then it was back just like before. When he does the shriek and the biting and poops shortly thereafter (probably by coincidence cause sometimes he doesn't) while pooping he tries to look at his butt very intensely. When he drops the poop from his butt he'll turn around wicked fast like "what was happening back here!?" or "that hurt, what the heck!?" Stool is perfectly normal (and checked by vet/tests) and both dogs have clean bill of health from vet.

Any thoughts about this, anyone seen it before? Anal glands, muscle spasms/pain, tail issues (arthritis?)....

They've been together two weeks but its the start of a lifetime for these two young Basenjis.

First pictures of Jaco:
http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?16057-Jaco-little-brother-to-Juniper

My girlfriend and I rescued a 17 week old male brindle puppy given up to Colorado Basenji Rescue by a couple who couldn't handle him. They got him from a puppy mill in Missouri or Kansas. He's joining our 16 month old brindle female who's showing him the ropes…and who's boss. Despite his unfortunate background Jaco is doing great in the right home, a forever home. Juniper and Jaco have become two peas a pod. They're not actually related but don't tell them that.

We knew to curb food fighting issues from the get go so we set up a gate in a hallway, effectively separating our home in two. We keep Jaco's food and water on one side and Juniper's on the other. And while Jaco eats all his food immediately every feeding, Juniper has always been picky (her breeder even noted it when she was a young pup) so while we use to free feed her we can't do that now because Jaco will eat her adult food leftovers. So as soon as we brought him home and saw how food motivated he is, we've been picking up her bowl after she's stopped eating (though she never finishes) and then open the gate. The first thing Jaco does is run to where June's food bowl would be, he acts so famished. And now Juniper is eating more food for the few minutes her bowl is put it down, not surprisingly!

Thankfully they don't fight over the toys we have that we put treats in even though it's food. And the first time Jaco caught us off guard by going after June's food before she was done/before we had picked up her bowl Juniper didn't get aggressive with him, she just shared. She's still half pup in her heart and has never really gotten violently aggressive with any dog even though she has had to defend herself at the dog park more than once. In fact Jaco's rescuer gave us some of the Fromm kibble she was feeding him so we could ease his transition to Orijen puppy kibble…and when Juniper smelled the new-to-her food in his bowl the first time we fed him, she went and shared with him from his bowl. Juniper is very saintly...but we know that in a few months when Jaco is larger, stronger, and potentially testing her dominance she might feel threatened then and get food protective. So we're keeping their food separate even now in anticipation of that.

Jaco is really settling in. He's really locking in to potty training and how to treat Juniper if he doesn't want to get owned all the time. I also have started taking him on longer walks (1 mile+) and that wears him out like it does for Juniper and then they play less. We don't mind them playing but it is a little distracting since we feel obligated to watch every second, fearing it might get out of hand (it hasn't yet, fingers crossed).

That's interesting about the chiropractor, never knew canines had that medical expertise available to them haha. We're taking him to the vet next week, we'll ask them what they think about his posture and go from there. I still notice it but it seems to be occurring less. I also need to pay more attention to confirm if he is consistent on which side he favors.

So I kind of have a dilemma. I did a lot of research into Jaco's breeder…and I know him and his pups have been discussed on this very forum before. In an instance I found online but not on this site, I've read Basenji owners did some research into him and posted that stuff on a forum (didn't say this forum) to warn others but then he got on the forum and threatened legal action (libel?). Then the forum admin(s) deleted the entire thread out of fear. I would like to start another thread here and basically post everything up front so people researching on the forum for getting a puppy won't go to him! And I would only state the facts, not my opinion. There is currently an investigation into him in Kansas where he is operating his mill...he would get no where with legal action against anyone or any website making public his information that the authorities themselves are catching on to. But I know this entire topic, since the threat of legal action can give knee-jerk responses, is controversial to post. This guy has been running a puppy mill operation for years and the evidence of Jaco's existence traced back to him suggests that he is actively breeding Basenjis (Jaco was born Dec. 30th 2013 and I'm sure he didn't appear out of thin air).
What should I do?

Read this, especially the comments section that's still going as of about a week ago even though it started in 4 YEARS AGO:
http://cravendesires.blogspot.com/2010/03/accused-iowa-puppy-miller-is-convicted.html

That's ^ who our Jaco came from. That's the guy who neutered him at 12 weeks old. You should see the "paperwork" we got from the rescuer who got it from the first owners who got it from that convicted criminal…it's a photo copy of a blank sheet of paper with 3 vaccine stickers on it, that's it. What a joke of a breeder! He even did Jaco's first shots at 4 weeks old, WTH! No vet records, for all we know a dirty butter knife is what neutered Jaco. I absolutely can't believe he's as healthy and well-behaved as he is, what a little miracle of life for overcoming those circumstances. But it sickens me to cuddle with Jaco knowing his breeder who also touched him is such an evil person who is still free to continue doing his crimes for profit on the backs of defenseless animals including the breed we here all love!

I searched if this forum and found this, so I know some people on here have read about this guy before:
http://www.basenjiforums.com/archive/index.php/t-9376.html
His kennel has a new name now because he's trying to dodge multiple investigations into him. He's also being sued in civil court across state lines.

Thanks for the sanity check, Pat. I truly appreciate you following this thread…otherwise at this point I'd be afraid we took home a monster on Saturday, haha! But now I realize that our female Juniper was just an exceptional dog. She's always had a certain level of caution and almost disinterest at times. Being a male pup it's like Jaco is her dimensional twin as far as personality at least at this time. Jaco's persistence, despite being such a small guy compared to Juniper, is what I'm not used to. But over the course of researching into getting Juniper and since then searching for answers to questions I have had as she's grown up....I have never gone out of my way to read about male dogs. And now thinking about the crazy male dogs I've known throughout my life it just reinforces how laid back Juniper is about everything except prey.

Well it's been since Saturday afternoon that my girlfriend and I have had Jaco in our care. It's been exhausting but nothing unexpected and an almost entirely positive experience thus far. Again, thank you all for the comments and advice thus far, it's been very insightful!

Juniper, our 16 month old female, and Jaco, the now 14 week old male, have REALLY taken a liking to each other with no violently aggressive behavior at all. Juniper's behavior and personality have remained stable…we were worried about a lapse in some of her training especially potty training. That has made much of this transition so much easier. She's also still half-pup so she's really tolerating Jaco well. Pat (tanza) called it, to be dominant and at twice Jaco's weight Juniper pins him to the ground with her jaws around his neck until he squeal or even shrieks. But he challenges her at absolutely every opportunity he has! He was very skinny when we got him, the rescuer wasn't sure why because she fed him right and but only had him a week...so he's very, very food motivated and very velcro dog around the kitchen. But he also will just take whatever Juniper is chewing on at the moment simply because she has it and not him. And Juniper will let him take it but a minute later will crash in on him for the pin routine to show him who's really boss but on her own schedule oddly enough, passive aggressive really.

But I'm kind of worried how pushy he is at such a young age. If he's this competitive with Juniper at this age, will it only become worse? Could it eventually lead to violent aggression (over food, for example)? He has even humped Juniper half a dozen times...at 14 weeks old!? What's up with that? Should we be worried he's going to turn into "one of those dogs", not to mention a dominant, potentially violent prone dog (with Juniper and/or stranger dogs)? We worried about Juniper being too aggressive in her play when we first went to the dog park but 90% of dogs absolutely love her or tolerate her just fine despite her high level of activity and play-aggression (biting at neck, pawing at the body, etc.)...so I feel like we lucked out with her, but it's likely we won't have that same luck again especially with a male, am I right?

Besides those little worries about his behavior, we are absolutely thrilled about bringing Jaco into our home! We're just anticipating potential issues in the future regarding socialization especially for playing at the dog park...but should we? And should we anticipate dominance issues between Juniper and him given the indications this early on? I know males and females will tend to not be aggressive towards one another but with how dominant and aggressive June is (when it comes to playing, not being violent), I fear they could get into a pissing match when he reaches full size and strength. This is all just speculation at a very young age for Jaco BUT no matter how many times Juniper makes him shriek he keeps coming back for more...and I have a feeling that sort of behavior from him isn't going anywhere.

Thanks again for continuing to provide me feedback, everyone's experience is greatly appreciated!

Thanks for all the posts, everyone!

Our rescuer told us that Jaco is already famous…his nickname is now "The puppy formerly known as Mogley" since we don't want his fans to wonder where he disappeared to...
http://kwgn.com/2014/04/14/all-about-besenjis/
Does he seem maybe just a tad bit active? HAHAHAHAHA!

We've really prepared ourselves mentally and physically for the change…particularly thinking about how exactly to proceed with integrating Jaco into our pack. Fortunately we have enough love for Juniper and Jaco :) Juniper will always be our first and raising her has been like writing a novel. Since that was a once in a lifetime feeling (first time dog owners), we know this time around will have a lot more "seen this before" for us. And while we'll want to drown Jaco in love the first day we know the best thing is for him to get acquainted with (not overcome by) his new home and pack. Since that's a lot to take it we'll have to not let any one element become overwhelming. Thankfully he has a hold of crate training already so we know he might retreat to his crate and we'll just let him be and hold Juniper back if she doesn't get that he wants some time to decompress. All we have planned for the rest of the day that we pick him up on, tomorrow, is walks and a little training with treats if he's interested. And that'll be after the original introduction walk with June and Jaco, then coming inside for an introduction to our home, then a nap (since we'll all be exhausted by this point I imagine).

It will be interesting to see how Juniper and Jaco interact...she's played with my g/f's parents' Basenji so we're familiar with some of the noises they make when playing aggressively, the banshee shrieks in particular. But those noises were mostly from the other B who's male and much larger (overweight)...and in this new situation she'll definitely be dominant because she's very athletic and loves to play aggressively and of course her competitor will be a clumsy pup who needs to be shown the rules. While he is very active she is developed and active...so we're apprehensive that she might get a little too rough at times...so that's great to know those things in your last post, tanza, thank you.

...still trying to figure out how best to walk these two B's with one being a small pup (equipment, method, training, etc.). To simply things we're going to walk them together but on separate leashes (I'll have one, my g/f will have the other) as much as possible and also walk him alone on separate walks often until he starts getting how we want him to walk/the way we walk Juniper.

GOOD NEWS

Everything is 99% finalized and we're giving this rescue pup a forever home Saturday afternoon! Normally my g/f works Saturday nights but she took off so we'll have almost a whole consecutive 24 hours with the four of us together (Jaco, Juniper our young female B, my g/f and myself) immediately after we pick him up!

Juniper is very interested in all the new dog stuff that we won't let her touch…we want at least his crate and blanket to be the one place that doesn't smell like Juniper. And she's been acting a little different lately, like she knows what's coming. Then again we brought home a blanket Jaco's rescuer rubbed on him to introduce Juniper to his scent and she had her nose all over that so she knows something odd is afoot.

Thanks again everyone for all the input :)

That's funny tanza, I was just saying the same thing to my girlfriend about how I should contact the breeder all nice like to get the info we want (as much as they're willing to give to someone they don't know is suspicious, I'll play the part), and THEN give them a piece of my mind! I will definitely try to find out as much as I can about this "commercial" pup's past. Of course I'm going to pick the mind of his rescuer since she said she did some research into his actual breeder who she said was a very bad man. If I can get any more info that I think is appropriate to make public I will post up here.

We will definitely test him for fanconi ASAP.

I just can't imagine trying to turn so much a profit that you can't even test the dam and sire for fanconi for $130, one test for each dog, no need for a retest. A measly $130. I just ordered one without even thinking about it, and I don't even sell a hundred pups a year with absolutely barebones expenses/insane profit. It just reaffirms that rescuers and good breeders are SAINTS because they aren't in the "business" for money. I know at $800 my Juniper's breeder wasn't turning crazy profit. These people making $1200 off a puppy they hardly put a dollar's worth of care into? There's a special place in hell reserved for those kind of people…and I thought those behaviors were limited to Wall Street!

Thanks for all the advice, info, etc. We do already have a 16 mo. female brindle named Juniper. We plan to name this brindle boy Jaco (pronounced "Jahkoe", long "a" and long "o") after the jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius and also because it goes well with Juniper. His original name is a real mouthful and he already comes to any noise like your average curious pup so I think the name change won't be negative at all.

I'm not worried unduly about socialization because we're going to do the exact same things with him as we did with Juniper who is quite the social butterfly especially for a Basenji…and as tanza noted Juniper will be with him everyday to show him how to live in all the situations we get in (home, walks, dog park, hiking, car rides, etc.).

From what I've read it's too early to accurately strip test him for Fanconi, correct? But we could DNA test him for it at any age, no?

The leaking pee thing tanza mentioned is exactly the sort of info I was hoping to get in this thread. I truly appreciate everyone's posts (thank you to those who said I seem to have done my HW, I sure as heck spend a lot of time researching with the little down-time I have) but it's those sorts of "odds and ends" that I haven't yet read or heard about until now. Then again I never in a million years thought I'd be trying to figure out what the heck it means for a poor little pup to be neutered so carelessly!

So we'll get him Fanconi tested sooner or later, keep an eye on his ability to hold his bladder, really try to socialize him and train him extra well, and keep an eye on his chewing. When we met him w/ the rescuer he was really chewing on EVERYTHING a lot more than Juniper ever did. That being said, I feel like Juniper blew away our expectations because she never really destructively chewed anything beyond blankets and her dog bed...so it's hard for me to gauge if he's biting on everything like a normal pup or if he already has behavior issues from a presumed early separation. I really need to ask the rescuer for as many details as possible about his past.

This little pup has been on my mind from the second my girlfriend and I met him. I gave me the impetus to research puppy mills and now I'm absolutely horrified...I mean I know things were bad but it really hurts my heart to think that he may have been treated like a farm animal (not that I want farm animals to be treated that way either, but especially not my pets). He came from Missouri which I know is not good. Another thing that blows me away is that many mills charge higher prices than breeders...WTH? I guess some people know they won't get approved by breeders and still others just want a simple transaction not an "adoption" so to speak...so they're willing to pay sometimes 50% more for that? It blows me away how I'm suppose to be living in the greatest nation on Earth and we still have people running puppy mills and even worse "consumers" so willing to buy them.

My 16 month old female B droops her trail double-curled as submissive behavior. It'll almost be between her legs but the second curl at the tip will remain curled, it's just the larger curl that she undoes when she wants it seems. Sometimes she'll maintain that posture when running away from a strange, new but large dog she hasn't yet become accustomed to chewing on.

My girlfriend and I are THIS close to adopting a 14 week old Basenji pup from the local rescue. Unfortunately for him he did not come from the best of circumstances. We aren't going to hold that against him…I'm not sure there's anything you could say that would make us think twice about adopting him. That being said, we'd like to get as many opinions and anecdotes as we can about what to expect from him given what his rescuer has told us about his background.

He was bought from a puppy mill out that had a front as a legitimate breeder (website, talk-the-talk, etc.). But when the couple that got him drove 8 hours to the "breeder" they arrived at a home that was not what they expected. Feeling bad for the pup and haven driven all that way, they took him home out of guilt. The rescuer also looked into the "breeder" and found out he has an extensive criminal record. The worst of it from our perspective is that he was neutered before he even left the puppy mill (not sure on exact age) W T H !!! The couple that got him from the mill couldn't handle him and gave him up to the rescuer.

Put all that absolute insanity aside, this pup seems the male counterpart to our female at that age (now 16 months) with whom we "did everything right" (good breeder, neutered at a more appropriate age, etc.). He's been checked out by a vet who has given him vaccines and a clean bill of health. He still acts the part of a healthy, adorable puppy…if he wasn't already neutered and from a reputable breeder I wouldn't know the difference. The rescuer has had him for 3 weeks and believes there's no indication that he would be unhealthy during his life beyond the acknowledge of his background (no litter info=Fanconi gamble, etc.). He is very clumsy which we know is normal for his age and he can run and walk straight but at times he seemed to favor a particular side by turning towards it a few degrees from center, always that same side.

So that's the relevant info. I have a few questions:

1. As someone who wants to give this little guy the chance for a wonderful life that he deserves, what do I need to know about puppy mills? Like what health and behavior issues are commonly associated with pups from mills? There's a good chance we didn't spend the ideal 8-9 weeks with his litter and mom…gosh I feel so bad for this poor little pup!

2. What the heck should we think about him being neutered SO young? We know it's so far from ideal…but I mean, he seems to have taken it in stride...like I said, vet said he's doing well and of course that vet would have had to acknowledge his neutered state. What health and/or behavior issues could arise from being neutered at younger than 6 months? For all we know, he could have been neutered at 6 weeks (if that's even possible), again he was sold neutered and they may have picked him up at 6 weeks not knowing any better. Holy cow just thinking about that upsets me so much. And it makes us want him even more, because he deserve a good home after such senseless upbringing!

3. As I mentioned above, this pup seemed to favor one side. Is this anything to be worried about? We handled him and actually inspected him pretty good including pokes and prods but he was not tender anywhere. Maybe this is growing pains, or indicative of particular some health/developmental issue?

To conclude, I would like to stress that my girlfriend and I are having this same conversation with two local vets and the pup's rescuer. This post here is for supplemental information and a brainstorm of opinions. I would like to gather as much information as possible and value the opinions this forum and it's members have to offer. It is indeed unfortunate that pups like this are being "pumped out" like products, "ready to roll" already neutered like a car sold with a full tank of gas…WTH!! But we firmly believe this little guy deserves just as much a chance as our pure-breed. We just want to know what all this baggage means, thanks so much for any info!!!