Oh my goodness, how adorable.

@chrisf said in Age of your basenji?:

Thanks for the tips, she is 2 yrs old and is making progress. I think the one problem is my vets philosophy is to take her in a separate room from where I am. So I can't soothe her. I do like this vet however.thanks all. The peanut butter is ingenious.

It is YOUR dog. No matter the vet's "philosophy" it is your dog and your vet is disrespecting you and the fact they are putting your dog through dangerous anesthesia makes me wonder what manhandling went on to make the dog so distressed it is the only way to do it. Please, get a new vet or tell this one your dog goes NO WHERE without you other than surgery or x-rays.

Dogs of all breeds and mixes will most certainly eat things that are toxic to them. I am not sure what universe someone is from that doesn't know this, but just in case anyone here believes this dangerous nonsense, please don't assume your dog knows what is poison or not. Over 100,000 dogs are poisoned each year from everything from yard chemicals, flea/tick treatments, to-- yes-- thing they eat.

Dog eat toxic food every day, and die often. Chocolate, raisins, rat poison, even freaking old fashion car antifreeze, avocados, cigarettes, caffeine, owners medicine left out, artificially sweetened candies (xylitol).

As for milk or dark chocolate, neither is safe, but please read and don't accept misinformation there either.

""Cocoa, cooking chocolate and dark chocolate contain the highest levels, while milk chocolate and white chocolate have the lowest. ... The high level of theobromine in dark chocolate means it takes only a very small amount to poison a dog. Less than an ounce of dark chocolate may be enough to poison a 44-pound dog.""

“Cinnamon isn't toxic for dogs, but nutmeg can be if consumed in large amounts,” says Dr. Ashley Hughes, DVM, at Friendship Hospital for Animals in Washington, DC. In excessive amounts, nutmeg causes hallucinations and high heart rate in dogs.

Get your dog used to a muzzle at home . Basket muzzles are the least confining . There are some things that dogs do not get to be the boss , and vet visits and vaccines are some of them . Make the muzzle training and tiny steps .

Show the dog the muzzle and let it get close to it give it a treat and praise, show the muzzle, when the dog comes to you, treat and praise . Once the dog is used to seeing the muzzle then you touch the dog with the muzzle or possible just lightly put over the nose and then take back . You have to keep building on this until you're able to put the muzzle on the dog and build up time until the dog is not reactive to muzzle .

Sedation is a risk of death however small each time you do it. Like the others I cannot imagine allowing a vet to do it to my dog to pull blood.

My oldest basenji was 13. Hopefully your dog will make it far beyond that..

@wyldepaws
It's always good to read about dogs with issues getting into the right home. You are most certainly doing things right.

So this is a 3rd home and a lot of continual changes. The goal is to make experiences positive. I suggest one thing at a time, building on what you are already doing. I wouldn't wait for a noise to be over to cheerfully say "good noise" so he knows it's the bark/car/other loud noises that you like, not their stopping.

1. Start SLOW, break it down. First is the collar/halter issues. It helps if you have a harness that needs minimal fussing with-- over his head, legs in, snap shut. If you have someone to help, pick him up and do it so he can't fight much. If not, don't bother with treats... use praise and a very matter-of-fact tone. I would spend 3 or 4 days putting it on him, "GOOD BOY".. take it off. Do it every hour or 2. He'll eventually get bored of the energy expenditure and accept the reality.

2, Since being outside is important for you, and it's good for him, that might be a good place to start teaching him that you are the giver of good stuff.

At what point does he stress about outside? Once you are out the door, or going to it?

If he's anticipating and stresses once you put a leash on him, put a leash on and walk around the house. Sit in different rooms, pet, up talk, after no more than 10 mins, treat and let go.
Do this until he's comfortable, then have a chair near the door and make that your final stop.

Once comfortable with that, open the door and look out with him. Next step is sitting a chair outside. Then sitting the chair in the grass outside. Treats and praise. Next walk him to the road, come back, sit in the chair, pet and praise, go in and remove the harness. Slowly extend the distance.

Note on nails... Dremels are great, but I'd start with one toe at a time. If you do one every few hours, you can get one paw done the first day; 2nd day do 2 nails each time. By the 3rd day the nails will be done. Soon you'll be able to do all of them at once. Or not. Sadly there are some dogs for whom doing nails is a fight to the death. If all else fails, just pay the vet's office to do them, or cut holes in a pillow case like they do cats, drop him in it and hold in air so he can't move and do one foot at a time.

Dogs have been diagnosed with OCD for a very long time. They've been comparing it to an autistic-like disorder and are now actually working on genetic studies, particular looking at fragile-X.

What you are doing works for your family. There are many things I would do from the beginning to make things better rather than giving in and letting him set all rules. But that you have lived with the dog this long is a testament to your dedication to him.

Thanks to Pat for helping.

Your puppy is utterly darling. OMG what a sweet face. I am glad Moki is home with you.

@starbrightva said in Weaned too early, no contact with dam:

There is no way on earth I would return the pup to the breeder. In fact I'd be reporting her and the condition of her animals!

You would be in violation of contract and could be sued. That would have been your decision.

Having bred dogs, I know that the cost of actually getting the puppy back can be beyond what most breeders can afford to do. If I believed the pup would be harmed, as a breeder or owner, I'd do everything I could.

That said, having breeders I trust vouch for the breeder, I can only hope that the buyer sits down and seriously rethinks the truthfulness of their posts. The pup was returned, is in a new home, and I would hope if the buyer honestly evaluates their comments and realizes only suspicious not backed up with facts that they will do right and delete this entire thread.

I'm no ashamed or upset with posters... we go on what we are told. Should we assume everyone lies and not support them? In life, we usually don't get a fair 2-sided argument. But I am convinced this is not a byb, simply a puppy needing a more experienced home and owners being overwhelmed.

@tanza I agree, smaller isn't a runt. Abnormally small is a runt.

I have never seen stats on runts in basenjis. But I do know they've done research on runts and conception times.

Bitches release eggs once. So yes, you could have fertilization 24 hrs difference, but not much more. Research shows that it has very little impact.

Runts often are ones with genetic/health issues, or placement issues, and sometimes failure to get colostrum in the critical first 4 hrs or even 12, making them open to infections that can slow growth (and is a part of many fading puppies).

"Why do litters have runts?
A dog’s uterus is Y-shaped, and the puppy that develops in the middle of the uterus is normally the farthest from the mothers blood supply and receives fewer nutrients.
So, in a sense, the puppy in the middle is “eating” less than the others, which leads to smaller size, less strength, and in some cases, even health problems."

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeding/dog-breeding-tips-for-beginners/
"Was the Runt Conceived Later Than His Littermates?
Probably not. Runt puppies most likely are the same age as their littermates but had poor placentation. Bitches release all their eggs over a 24-hour span. Even if the conception of that small pup occurred later than conception of the other puppies, all pups float around free for 17 days before implantation and formation of the placenta."
Margaret V. Root Kustritz, DVM, Ph.D, DACT, professor of small animal reproduction at the University of Minnesota

"here’s a common misconception that runts are conceived later than their full-sized litter mates, so effectively they’re born prematurely.

Whilst it is possible for puppies within a litter to be sired by more than one father, the eggs fertilized later catch up with the other embryos quickly in the very earliest stages of pregnancy....A runt puppy might have failed to develop quickly enough because of a congenital defect which impeded their growth.

Or their placenta might have embedded in an unfavorable spot on their mum’s uterus, so they didn’t get quite as many nutrients as they needed from her."