Posts made by Knipper

Lots of recalls just for the favorite treat, every time. Once that's consistent, slowly decrease the treats per recall.
I did this for a 13 year old at my Husband's family farm. He ran free with the other dogs for as long as he wanted.
I also did this with a pup, who has the same recall at the farm. Ironically, at our home (an acreage) she has no recall…

I have an alpha female basenji and brought a newborn into our family. I was in the hospital for four days (my in laws stayed with dog and horse), when we came home, we had my Mom bring her new boyfriend. He was a great distraction, but also allowed me some alone time with Cricket. When they left, she noticed the baby in the bassinet and was a bit concerned.
She adapted to the baby, but I don't leave them alone just in case. Cricket is not nearly as jealous as she was, now that he drops food for her at the table, but she did get a bit jealous for a few weeks.
While I was pregnant, I was told that 'the test' was to play baby crying videos on YouTube. How the dog reacts will tell you how they will interact with the baby. Cricket beat the crap out of my phone when I tried… So not a great test!

How's her poop? My old dog, Blaze, had similar symptoms but he also had the runniest, and slightly, yellow poop. We did blood work with nothing showing. We did an x-ray and found he had no visible liver. (possibly due to no fat as he was about 10 lbs at this time). My vet decided to put him on a powder that is used for humans with cystic fibrosis. I had to mix it with some wet food and his regular dry (he was on lamb). And this worked. He lived on that diet for almost six years. He passed two months shy of his 17th.
I can not remember or find what the powder was, but I remember is was a cream colour, and the tub was white with a green label. I'll keep looking.

Since it is not up to us to determine what is illegal or not; It is up to us to report on things we feel may be illegal, I have forwarded this information to the legal department of Warner Brothers. Let them determine whether they choose to protect their interests.

Also, as a note on preventing cyber crime: Never download a file from an unknown source, regardless of what they are offering.

We have had two stuffed toys survive. One is a moose toy made by Kong. We brought it to her when we went to go pick her out of her litter at four weeks. We left it there with our scent on it. Her Daddy stole it and ate the antlers and one ear off of it!
The other toy is a stuffed bear that came with a perfume bottle. It was professionally gift wrapped under the tree, waiting for my friend to visit… She would not leave it alone! She loves that stupid bear!
Other than those two, she destroys everything. I recently found a geometric (hole-y) ball, which I shove a buffalo blue bone in, then a whole bunch of stripped material, and she loves destuffing it! Of course you have to watch her when she plays with it to make sure she doesn't try to swallow the fabric.

Cricket and her Best Buddy!

Thought I should update this. My son was born in early April. Cricket just loves him! She has not gotten into a diaper yet knock on wood, She quickly understood which toys are his and which are hers and she has learned that if she licks his fingers, he stops crying.
We did have a brief period of soother stealing… She would take it right out of his mouth, but when she realized how upset he got, she actually returned it and hasn't stolen it since!
She will definitely be his best buddy as they grow up together!

Cricket does. In winter, she grows a downy under layer, but keeps her guard hairs. It sheds out for summer.

Cricket likes to take advantage of the belly bump as a perfect head rest. She has about seven days left now.

I got a shaved chow-chow at a dog show once…
Our local Caesar Milan Wanna-be claims she's a stunning Pitty (while grabbing her face and pushing it up to his, as she's snarling... I kicked him in the crotch). Incidentally, he is currently in jail for animal abuse charges and for stealing aka. not giving back client's dogs after training them..
The best was when I was asked how I tamed a fox. I pointed to her tail and said after I used a curling iron, I had no other issues. This was from an Animal Control Officer that bragged about knowing every breed of dog, and having been a handler to many of the best dog shows world wide... my dry wit could not be contained!
The best positive ID came from a wheel chair bound senior in my Husband's Grandma's small town senior complex. We went to visit with Cricket, who was just sitting next to Grandma and me on the floor (we were actually trying to hide her from the nurses because we weren't sure if she was allowed there...). This older gentleman slowly wheeled up with this awed look on his face, but didn't actually say anything as he just stared at her in wonder. I jokingly asked if he was going to tell on us and get her kicked out, he said "god no, is that a real Basenji?" and he said the actual African name, which I had never heard before. I told him she was a basenji, but I had no idea what the other words were. He then told us about his trip to Africa in the early 50's as a young missionary and seeing Basenjis in the villages, how they hunted, etc. He had never seen one since. Our next visit, he had some albums out, which were amazing! I wish I knew what happened to those after he passed.

Basenjis are amazing creatures that form strong bonds, not based on loyalty, but respect and trust. Just be aware that if you leave for school, you may not be your basenji's first choice for leader when you return. Rebuilding that trust will take time and patience.
If your parents aren't able to actively love, train, and maintain the leadership role with your basenji, it will not work out. It will act out and things will be destroyed.
How do you feel about taking on a dog that can live 15+ years? That's a pretty big commitment.
Also, "the dog ate my homework" is a very valid statement when you mix school with a basenji… Mine ate my ultrasound request form last week.

You need to be honest with yourself and your situation. I was lucky that my parents were at least okay with my first basenji while I was in school. But they were thrilled when we moved out. He destroyed a lot of their stuff while acting out.
I know a girl out here who got a basenji when she was in school. Her parents weren't as lenient. She ended up returning him to the breeder. It was not a great experience for her, her parents, or the puppy.

My husband and I have been racking our brains over how we are going to announce that we are expecting.
I was obsessed with Pinterest where everyone had thier dogs, either with a sign that says they will be a big brother/sister with a due date - or a sign that states that the dog got a new job as a guard dog, starting on the due date.
Both of these I thought were adorable! Husband, however, did not. One, Cricket is a dog, not a sister (he really is wrapped around her paw though…). Two, the horse is a better guard dog than her! (It's true )
Well, Cricket gave us the perfect photo op today that is fully Basenji in every way!

What do you think?

I read through this, then came to the photos. I turned to Cricket to say "how could something so cute cause so much destruction", when I realized… She wasn't laying on the couch... She wasn't in the room... Then I heard the unmistakable noise of something plastic break between cute, but powerful jaws.
So while I was reading this, she went into the bedroom, opened the closet, pulled my husband's overnight backpack off of the second shelf, unzipped it... pulled out his toiletries kit, unzipped it... ate the toothbrush, destroyed the top off a contacts solution container (fluid is everywhere), chewed open a travel sized tube of toothpaste (blue toothpaste is all over the carpet), and was trying to get through the contact case.
You are not alone. I have to go clean a carpet now...

I begged and pleaded for three years (I even made a 3 inch presentation binder to my parents every Christmas) before I got my first basenji at 13. He moved out with me into my boyfriend's condo when I was in my early 20s, and he passed just 2 months shy of his 17th birthday.
I was more responsible because of that dog. I also turned away a lot of jerk boyfriends because of that dog. I will be forever grateful for him.

Cricket was 23 pounds… after she ate a pound of Kubassa...
She's healthy at 21 lbs

That's cute! Cricket does not subscribe to the slow stealthy approach. It's all about as much destruction as possible in the shortest amount of time while I'm indisposed. Everything is done in fast forward!

Mine has learned not to waste time trying to play with me in the bathroom. I go in, start doing what I need to do, and this little face leans in past the door jam… just enough for the one observant eye to see I am probably indisposed...
Then all hell breaks loose... How much damage can one (previously sleeping) basenji can get into in just five minutes? Of course my yelling commands with the echoing bathroom walls (ala Wizard of Oz style) does NOTHING!
Plus the flush is the the alarm bell. She knows to hide as soon as she hears it.
I walk out of the bathroom with shredded kleenix, phone cords, blankets everywhere, smudged glasses, etc. I keep the door open as a possible deterrent... not that it helps much.

50 is 10 Celsius. I keep my barn that temperature in the winter because my horse will overheat with his winter coat. I wouldn't live in a house that cold, and I wouldn't leave Cricket in a house that cold. We keep our house at 17 Celsius, which is 62-63 F. Cricket has a few blankets, and she is fine.
You have to think about how much electricity you will use to raise the house to a livable temperature and balance that with how low you can go. For our house, it costs about the same amount to raise it five degrees as it does to maintain it at 20 C. So it stays at 17 C unless we are home and in the specific heat zone. Then we raise it the 3 degrees. We also use a fireplace in the living room, a heated blanket in the bedroom, and an oil heater in the office.
Another thing we didn't think of until we blew the TV: Your appliances need time to warm up and also will take more energy to start heating up (oven). If you have satellite, it will also take a few minutes to warm up before anything on the remote works.

**The TV was at our unheated cabin, Husband couldn't wait for the wood stove to heat to near room temperature before checking the game. Honestly, I didn't think it was that cold, maybe 5-10 degrees.

I made Cricket get up yesterday, and off of the bed to make it. Then I went to the bathroom. I could only listen to the destruction that the B500 caused. When I came out, the bed had two opposite corners of the fitted sheet on, the other two pulled to the middle. One pillow was against the bathroom door, the other pillow was in the walk in closet. The flat sheet was strung under the bed from one side clear through to the other. The quilt was crumpled on the floor, with the fuzzy blanket piled up on top of it. Some where in the pile was Cricket. I stood, staring for a few seconds, then shook my head and walked out. I told husband it was his turn to make the bed. He went in and just started laughing. Proof that he is a good man

hmmmm, Blaze didn't mellow out until he was about 13-14 (and he could still outrun a 9 year old border collie and a 7 year old lab). Then I could leave him loose in the house alone. A Basenji with no teeth and partially blind is not all that destructive… I believe in crating, and Cricket loves her crate. I also got her a boredom buster food ball so she's kept fed, and amused.