Posts made by Kipawa

Is there a reason why he is not neutered?

Any basenji chicks wanna go for a ride with me?

hi everyone,

Check out the latest (just mailed) BCOA Newsletter.

There is an article in it about Kipawa and the therapy work he does.

Attached is a picture taken today at the GF Strong Rehabilitation Facility in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Kipawa enjoyed a wonderful visit with new friend Wayne.

@Coloradical:

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

Boy do they ever look happy together. What a joy to see.

hi eeeefarm - valid comments that are great food for thought. Thanks for your response. That's why this forum is a great place to learn about 'all things basenji'. And yes, those wide hound collars are superb. We got a couple of them a couple of years back and we still use them.

Must say, reading your response comment/signature line, after some time away from the forum, made me smile. How true is that!

@red:

he suggested a prong collar

Prong collars. Oh dear. I'm not a fan of them. When I see someone walking a dog that wears a prong collar, all I think about is whether the owner is substituting a prong collar for well directed training. However, in training police dogs, maybe it's a good choice? I just don't know.

Has your basenji had a full medical with full blood work/thyroid check? He seems to be reacting to a number of things, which makes me think that there could be a medical issue.

@Flootoole:

… but the training at home has been inconsistent.

In your post, this stood out for me. Training HAS to be consistent. Basenjis require lots of patience when training. Stay calm and do try to get together a consistent training routine. For Kipawa and I, training 5 times a day, for no more than 5 minutes at a time works well (it continues to work well for us).

They look adorable together. Rescued dogs do so well when there is another dog to guide them. Congratulations on the new addition to your dog family.

@DebraDownSouth:

I am so happy to sign in and see you post! Especially with the wonderful pictures and videos. Both of our first basenjis do that to your HAIR when it's wet. I am going to try a wash cloth and see! I am glad your husband is doing better.

Well hello Debra!

It made me smile to see your post - I always enjoyed your comments, whether popular or not, because they were YOUR honest comments. I'm a huge fan of honesty.

We are all doing quite well here - still in the Vancouver, BC Canada suburbs. Kipawa is thriving, and he is a big part of our lives. Yes, you should do a video of your basenjis going wild with a wash cloth. My hair is longer and thick, so I think I have to keep Kipawa out of it when it's wet.

As every year goes by it seems I lose a major chunk of my memory. Are you still in the 'south'? Was it Georgia? And your basenjis' names - forgive me, I can't remember them. Boy do I love getting older, NOT!

@agilebasenji:

Welcome back. Glad to hearfrom you, hopefully you'll stick around

Hello! Life is busy, but I do hope to be able to check the forum out from time to time. Nice to see you are still around!

@kjdonkers:

Great to see a basenji as a therapy dog - the perfect size to share a bed with someone.
And what a beauty he is.

Thank you so much for the compliment. I think pretty well any dog can be involved in pet therapy, though it might be hard for a Great Dane to share a hospital bed with someone. I believe it comes down to the disposition of the dog. Training is imperative, but it helps if you have an animal that is just born with the ability to pick up on peoples' vibes and give a little extra kindness when needed. We were fortunate to get a basenji with built-in sensitivity.

@eeeefarm:

Hi Fran

Good to see you back. I have wondered how things were going for you. Kipawa is indeed a beauty. I see you like the close up head shots. One of my favourite things as well. And I love the action picture!!

Hi! It's wonderful to see the names of so many people that helped me early on when I was researching getting a basenji. I've been quite busy over the last couple of years. My husband needs a little more care now (he's a quadriplegic, though quite capable) and of course we have a basenji that keeps us hopping. We love the walks and other activities we do with him. He's a joy.

Yes, I DO love close up shots of basenjis. Their eyes are phenomenal and say so much with a glance. I posted the close up of Kipawa because he said he wanted to give a wink out to all the ladies.

cheers,
Fran

@Timesthemyth:

Truly a beautiful dog inside and out. Therapy dogs have amazing healing abilities!

Thank you for the kind words.

@Tama:

so great to hear , we're in Vancouver (marpole area) ,but we went out to delta today and walked a bit of the dyke
For a good 40mins :), Kira is 1.5 , loves walks and Snoozing lol ,and I will definitely email you once she is all healed up

Sounds great!

It's been ages since I've been on Basenji Forums! I just responded to a fellow forum member, and thought I should say hello to all of you and give you an update on how Kipawa is doing.

Kipawa is now 3.5 years old. Incredible how time flies, but that's probably because living life with a basenji has been so wonderful. Kipawa has grown into a solid 25.5 pounds. My wish, when we got him, was that he do pet therapy work, and that's what he does as his 'job'. He's also an avid lover of a 40 acre off-leash park 5 minutes from where we live. We get there about 4 times a week right now. There are still some pretty muddy areas there, and after every play time is a serious paw wash at home.

Kipawa still sleeps under the covers with us. He did that the first night we had him in our home, and despite him forgetting that he should be laying vertically in bed, NOT horizontally, he still gets his way. Trust me, if we really hated it, we would have other sleep arrangements for him. He's definitely my little shadow. Unless he is taking a deep nap, he's right beside me, like paint to a wall. I know some people find this kind of behavior aggravating, but I find it endearing.

I'm posting a few pictures, as well as a link to a youtube video showing how much he enjoys damp facecloths. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kpCu_d7s_M

I hope you are all doing well.

cheers,
Fran and Kipawa

How nice to hear!
Glad your girl is healing well. I saw the picture of her stitches, and it looks like very clean work.
Once she has healed, it would be nice to get together with you for a walk.
Where abouts are you in the Lower Mainland? I'm in Delta (Ladner), but have no problem meeting up with you for a basenji walk!
But first, let's let your little angel heal well.
Afterwards, you can email me at compucat@dccnet.com.
My name is Fran.
Kipawa is now 3.5 years old - time flies.
He's a sweet boy. We do pet therapy with him in hospitals in Delta and Vancouver.
Take care.

Hi to everyone. We haven't been here for a while, but I just wanted to add my 'YES" vote for using a dremel. We've been using it since we got Kipawa at 4 months.

Yes, there's a period where both dog and human have to get used to the process. Using the dremel weekly, and having treats available was key for us.

We have a cordless model (Dremel brand) that looks like a gun. It's grey with blue. The grinding area is where a bullet would come out of a gun barrel. The handle area is exactly where you would hold a gun. I hope that gives a good visual description of the model we have.

Here's the process I used the first time on Kipawa when he was 4 months old.

1. Get get some Zukes low calorie treats. Cut each in half.
2. Ask your dog to 'sit'. Give a treat while holding the dremel close enough so the dog can associate the dremel sound with a treat. Good boy/girl!
3. Sit down in a comfy chair that has good lighting.
4. Have your basenji lounge on your lap.
5. Spend about 15 seconds touching the pad/nails of the first foot you are going to trim the nails.
6. Hold the foot firmly, but gently. Give a treat and lots of calm praise. Breathe slowly and talk quietly.
7. Still holding the foot, turn the dremel on. Give another treat.
8. Hold the foot gently, but firmly (does that make sense? ).
9. Push on the first toe to fully extend the nail out. The toe/nail should point in the direction of the nail growth - away from you.
10. As you touch the dremel to the toe nail, try not to let the dremel 'bounce' on the nail. Maintain contact with the nail as best you can. Your skills WILL get better!
11. Begin to dremel at the top edge of the nail to shorten the nail. Curve slightly towards the bottom of the nail. This ensures a smooth edge.
12. One toe, one treat, calm gentle praise.
13. Continue until all nails are done.
14. If needed, set your goal for one foot. MY opinion is that it's better to complete the entire job to get your basenji used to the entire process and the time it takes.

Hope this helps somewhat.

Here's a few pictures of Kipawa, who just had his 3rd birthday on September 21.

@eeeefarm:

Your chances would appear to be pretty low, even without medication. (unless you travel with him a lot). Reported cases in BC for 2010 (most recent I could find) were only 8, 2 of which were Vancouver, 1 each in Richmond and Delta, 4 in Kamloops. Given normal BC weather, I would suspect most if not all cases were contracted somewhere else. Heartworm development in mosquitoes requires at least 2 weeks of temperatures about 27C with no nighttime temperatures below 14C. How often do you get that in your area?

Strangely enough, we have a fair number of mosquitos starting right in May. I even see the odd one in my bathroom in November. We do have a pond in our backyard, which faces south. Might have something to do with it?

@QuizBasenji:

I don't know, Fran - it's available from the iTunes store, so if you've got it on your laptop I can't see why not….
Less than two weeks to go before Leki arrives! (Lingala for 'little sister...)

Wonder if it's only okay for an Apple laptop? I've got a Hewlett Packard. I'll check.

Oh you must be vibrating with excitement whil waiting for Leki (great name!). You'll be a mess the day you get her. I was with Kipawa.

@krunzer:

Fran you're back!!!! Long time no see. Hope everything is going well.

Hello! Yes, things are going well here. Kipawa has grown into a beautiful 2.5 year old boy. Time goes so quickly! I'll post a little update with some pictures.