Hi,

The last time I wrote on here I was concerned my boys were not getting along. Well things have progressed nicely in that regard, they now share bones, groom each other and sun bake. Though the older boy (Taco - neutered) is still unwilling to share his night time nest.

I have socialised both of them from the date of their second shot, and did puppy school before that. Unfortunately Taco still thinks he's a puppy, or perhaps he has a dominance issue (small man syndrome?) - he picks on submissive puppies. He's always loved playing, but these days the only dogs that really get him going are very young puppies that don't want to play, the kind of puppies that are owned by protective owners and get me into trouble :D - Now, if they were my puppies, I'd probably let them go rather than fuss over them and/or pick them up, but I can't change owners. Any ideas how I can get him to play nice? The arbitrary "Gen-tle" command that most dog owners use has no effect, my only solution so far is to put him on the lead until the puppy leaves the park - letting him off at any point prior sees him make a bee line back to the puppy without fail…

I'm also after some comment about entire males at dog parks. Our other boy, Ghostface has grown quite nicely and I am considering showing/studding him if there is any interest from basenji bitches. This hasn't changed his personality much, he plays really well, he's very affectionate and isn't dominant with people at all - though he is currently pining to get out of the house every waking minute... And when we encounter another entire male, no matter how big and how quickly he could have his head bitten off, he growls at them. He has an impressive growl too - one that has also gotten me in the bad books of fellow dog owners. My question is, do other owners of entire males just avoid dog parks?

Thanks for reading :)

Thanks for all the replies, I think my boys must be basenjiforums readers, because after posting my concerns they have settled down a lot. With Ghost approaching the date to get the snip, I'm sure it'll continue to calm.

As to how I am dealing with it, I usually let them sort it out, which they usually do fairly quickly and like I said, without blood/squeals. I have intervened a few times when I feel it's a bit intense, fortunately they both respect me enough to let me safely put my hands between them.

kjdonkers: What does ears back horizontally mean? Ghostface does this to us all the time, especially when we get home, he looks happy but they also do this when they're play fighting.

Hey Debra, thanks for the reply.

I don't see this one issue as them not getting along, as I said, they are best buddies 99% of the time, this bed thing is the only point of tension. I understand that it only takes one serious fight to undo all that though. I think I'll attempt to implement the 1 dog per bed policy.

I am a bit confused though, you say them snarling this young isn't good. But other threads seem to suggest that basenjis snarl a lot while playing, mine sure do make lots of noise but it's obvious they are playing and they never harm each other. Is there a distinction between playful and serious snarls?

Yep first basenjis and I was aware that 2 boys was a risk, but the breeder of the younger one seemed to think it will work out. Ghost isn't neutered yet as he's only 5 months, Taco is.

Hi, I have two male basenjis, Taco is about 14 months old, Ghostface is 5 months. They are good pals, sun bake together, run up and down the yard, they respect each other's space at food time, they play well at parks. Both are reasonably obedient, at least, as obedient as I except a B to be.

However, they both get snarly with the other when they are on the couch and the other approaches. Inside, they have access to a 2 seater and a 3 seater couch, plus their crates to sleep in. They prefer the couches and that's where they sleep at night.

If Ghostie is sleeping, or awake but laying on the couch, Taco will jump up and lay down next to, or on top of Ghost. In return, Ghost will snarl and bite Taco, Taco loves the response and wags his tail, sometimes play bows and bumps Ghost with his butt before laying down and then they both settle.

If Taco is on the couch first though, his aggression seems to be up a notch from Ghost's and instead of finding it funny, Ghost scares and often goes outside to a bed. I'm worried that Ghost is scared of Taco and that when he grows up and can fight back a bit better, they will hurt each other…. At the moment their fights are fairly noisy but light, no blood, barely ever a yelp, but I sense Ghost is sick of it and feels a bit lonely when he can't lay down with Taco. Any ideas how I can render them both calm?

Hi Kenny and Blondie, sorry I never checked back after I posted! Doh.

Is that oval also known as Hazelmere Reserve? It's not close to me, but it's certainly feasible to make the drive if I know you'll be there.

We are soon to have two basenjis, so if you'd like to meet our boys let me know when to catch you.

Which breeder did you get yours from?

Kylie from Wazazi is breeding her bitch Holly and Ngozi's dog Maseru,

Holly: http://wazazi.com/my-dogs/current-team/holly/
Maseru: http://www.ngozi.com.au/OurBoys.html

We're hoping for a tri boy, if he turned out half as striking as Maseru he'd be impressive. Out of interest, Maseru is just shy of 43cm tall, I don't know about Holly, but a Wazazi boy will likely be around the same.

It's funny how small they can fold up, yet if you ever share the couch you'll never get more than an inch!

Hey Jolanda, thanks for the insight, I had better cut his food down then :)

Wow Kaiser is a big boy! I wish Taco would grow to that height because he too prefers big dogs, sometimes he struggles with the wrestling. He is currently a bit over 10 months, so I suppose he might still shoot up a bit.

We got him from a lady in Queensland, her kennel is called FAYRELYN. We have lost Taco's pedigree papers so I can't say where she got her stock from sorry, though quite likely most Australian Bs are linked in some way. We are hopeful to add a tricolour boy to our family this September, we have our names down with Wazazi.

Hi, If anyone is keen to have a basenji meet up in Adelaide sometime soon, maybe in July - express your interest.

It would be great to go to the North Adelaide small dog park as it's enclosed and green with lots of cover. Also, I've spotted two other basenjis there previously, and a B / Jack Russell mix recently.

Here are some pictures from two recent trips to forest reserves around Adelaide, South Australia. Mt Crawford is a pine plantation near the Barossa Valley wine region and Randall Park is non-protected section (meaning dogs are allowed off-leash) of Belair National Park (just outside Adelaide city), it is used for the quarry of ornamental stones for gardens and for general enjoyment.

PS. If anyone would care to comment on Taco's weight I'm all ears, as I don't know other basenji owners and vets don't know, it's hard to gauge how he's tracking - he's currently 43cm tall/long and 11.5 - 12kg.

Bonus: Walking animation GIF - Click here

Thanks for the input. I guess I wasn't clear enough in my explanation, but simply blocking his entrance does not keep him from persisting. If I lock him outside while I'm home, he will cry about being locked out.

With the last bone i confiscated it overnight and gave it back in the morning, he then tried the whole game again. So I put a bed in the laundry and let him eat it there - this is a semi-ok compromise. The smell lures in flies and being in Australia, we have swarms of flies. We don't have meat eating scavengers like raccoons, maybe rodents but I don't think they would try it with my B eating the bone. My main concern is keeping the flies out, so outside really would be best. I'll try making his area outside more comfy and establishing it as a bone only zone. - though I think his motivation is to eat with company…

Each time my B gets a bone we go through a cycle:

1. When it's fresh and meaty he is on high alert guarding it, chasing off the cat and only anxiously accepting our petting. He has also occasionally growled, but I have broken that (fingers crossed) by saying "look", and giving him a treat when he makes eye contact. He will stay outside until late chewing the meat off.

2. As the bone is shredded to just fat and sinew and is developing a stink, at night he insists on bringing it inside. Me and my girlfriend escorting him back outside or throwing the bone back outside has turned this into a game where he will loudly announce his presence with the bone and await a mad chase around the lounge room and outside.

3. The bone will be completely stripped, dry up and he'll basically lose interest, so I throw them out.

Has anyone had luck teaching their B that bones are for outside only? I know why he wants to bring it in, it is just like humans sitting around a coffee table. He wants to be with his pack and quietly enjoy his bone… But they stink too much for me to allow that.

Outside he has a bed with comfortable blankets, it's not enclosed so maybe he feels more secure inside... But that doesn't equate with phase 1. where he is protective yet stays outside.

Hrrrm, our surgeon didn't even offer re-opening the growth plate, so I guess it's not an option. Probably too old. She did mention that dogs can have up to 20% or so leg length difference and have only a slight disability. Whereas humans can be severely disabled with 6% difference. So I guess, she's saying it's not a big deal.

Hi Tanza, Taco was just under 4 months old when it happened. The surgeon said that damage to the growth plate would only occur if the pin went through the plate, which post-op x-rays showed they did not. Though as I said above, she did suggest that a damaged growth plate may nonetheless be the cause of his limp. It's hard to tell without further x-rays, something we may do down the track.

Since writing the above I have noticed small improvements in Taco, I guess he's having a final growth spurt (being >8 months old now). Whether he gets to a stage where he has no limp or not, I guess only time will tell. But I think his foot is improving as is his shoulder musculature - his foreleg particularly has a lot of catching up to do compared to his other one, so I hold out hope he'll continue to build up and tighten up his foot.

Yesterday at the dog park he kept pace with an Italian Greyhound for a few short bursts, so I guess he's not too invalid.

Edit: I just had a look at your website, it looks like Maggii has no lasting damage either! Beautiful girl :)

Sorry to drag up an old thread. I thought I would give a little update on Taco. He had to be kept in his splint for about 5 weeks and then slowly eased into normal walking with just the plate.

It has now been 4 1/2 months or so since I first asked for help. His bones have healed but because he was kept dormant for so long his muscles on his broken side are severely depleted compared to his left side. His toes are flatter and sit lower as the tendons are lax, this gives him a limp. The surgeon who performed his surgery checked him over recently and said that maybe his right leg is shorter than his left, but I think it is more to do with the lax toes.

I am hopeful that within a year or so his muscles will be even and his tendons tight. For anyone who searches these forums looking for advice, I would strongly advise against dramatic surgery and other options that incapacitate your dog to the point of major muscle atrophy. The ACP was very effective. (This isn't to criticise the care Taco was given, it was a difficult decision and given the lasting effects I feel we made have chosen the wrong path).

Thanks again Agile, I'm giving the sample course a run at night when the ACP tablets wear off.

It sounds like Nui has a bit more common sense than Taco! I think a lot of the concern for Taco's surgeon comes from Taco being so small, he's all legs at the moment and they're very thin. Also, if the healing process doesn't go smoothly, it could result in malformed growth - especially since the fractures are so close to his growth plates. Whereas a fully grown B is more likely to just need longer with the splint.

That said, we have softened our approach to crating, he usually lays down on the floor if we're just hanging around which is better than him flipping out in the crate. And you're right that locking him up will make a B hate the crate… Hopefully we can make good on any crate trauma this fracture might have caused him - He starts an obedience course and private lessons next month.

Thanks Agile, I hadn't come across nosework before, but I think it is definitely something he could manage. We've been hiding treats already, but it'll be cool to go through some structured routines to track progress.

Thank you for your reply. I am fortunately at home quite a bit for the healing period, so we do sit with him as much as possible. It's just that he has zero pain and is wanting to jump off my lap and run around like a puppy does, so crating him at least ensured he wouldn't hurt himself. Even with 2 square meters of floor space, he'll manage to get a few gallops in and circle around like a loon.

The resolve we've arrived at is to ask our vet about mild sedatives. He has been given 20 days worth of ACP. Today is the first day of using them and he looks to be doing well, not knocked out, just relaxed and a bit sleepy.

Was that Nui? I'll have a read through, but I don't think it was so much an advice thread since his owner works at a vet.

Hi,
my little boy was trodden on and broke his ulna and radius. He's had surgery, had a plate pinned in and is wearing a splint for another week. For the entire period (4 weeks total), he has to be crated with less than 70 minutes total short leash slow walking a day.

The major problem is, he was being eased into crate training and was good for 30 minutes or so. He is now being put in there for most of the day and he hates it. He chews on the bars and hurts his teeth, we've tried preventing this by lining it with aviary mesh, but despite me saying "we're over engineering it!", he's ripping it down faster than we can repair it…

Does anyone have any suggestions? We're trying to mentally entertain him, but he just doesn't want to pay attention, all he wants to do is run (good that he's not in pain anymore, but it's so hard containing him). We give him kongs, pigs ears, bones, we wrestle with him lightly on the bed and take him to pee hourly. He still whinges and self harms...

Hello, my name is Joseph, my girlfriend Amy and I brought home Marco "Poco Taco" Polo home almost a month ago now. He is 14 weeks old, 5.5 kg, and growing.

So far there have been no major problems, when left alone he cries a bit and he once chewed the door frame. He has since not destroyed anything, which I find amazing. Maybe he's getting us complacent, so he may one day find himself alone with access to shoes galore?

We are using positive training and he understands (though inconsistently performs) SIT, STAY, COME HERE, CROSS (to quickly cross the road). He's learning DOWN, though having such a flexible neck means he doesn't have to lay down to follow a treat to the ground… He seeks out his crate to sleep and has done short stretches alone in it. And he'll be starting puppy school in a week. We also have a 6 y.o. large male tabby cat (Howard Bailey), though rocky at times, they are warming to each other and they will now sleep side by side on the couch and just before Howard was eating from Taco's food bowl (in his crate) with Taco patiently waiting for his turn!

IMPORTANT BIT:
We had his final lot of vaccinations today and the vet said that he should be neutered at 6 months to avoid becoming aggressive. The vet said that the Basenji breed is susceptible to attacking due to being particularly shy and easily scared. I am at odds to understand how removing Taco's testicles will make him feel more secure?

What is the consensus, to neuter or not? And if so, at what age? We don't plan on breeding him. I am not fundamentally against the mutilation of neutering, and paying cheaper council rates is positive… But if he will be a happier, healthier dog if left intact, then I'd do what's best for him.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading. Here's a photo of the little man (and one of the cat, or he'd get jealous):