Hi, Dave. It's definitely a puppy mill. They did end up going back into business.

The conditions were not great–They were horrible. The dogs all stood on wire crates all day. Their feces would fall under the crates into a trough, and a steady stream of water would wash it out. There was a water system above the crates that provided water much like a Hamster water bottle, except connected to plumbing. They had gravity feeders to feed them. The system was automated, and the only time the animals were touched, is when they were bred.

There were dogs kept outside that had never had a brush through their thick hair, and were one solid "mat" of fur. There was a italian greyhound welping alone in one kennell, and a golden retriever dying alone in the next kennel.

None of the dogs were aclimated to humans. None of the dogs ever got to run. The most excersize they got was circling on their wire floor. There feet were badly "splayed", and looked deformed from having to stand on wires all of their lives.

Reedgate was Doggy-hell-on-earth.

I would look into getting one that is no less than 2 years old. After you are a veteran owner, then get a puppy. Have you ever tried training a spider monkey that smokes crack? If not, that would be a very good way to prepare yourself for the havoc a basenji puppy will bring to your home.

They can really be holy terrors for a long time. But as we say in my family, "…they sure are entertaining..."

There are exceptions, but really not many. If you do decide to do it, remember you are getting a very crazy pup that will continue to be an innovative destructive little ball of sweet love & joy that can punish you to the same extreme that it loves you without guilt.

....but they sure are entertaining!

Vegas

Thanks, sharron!

Mom's getting a little burned out, and the extra help right now would go a long way.

Fostering is so rewarding. If you have the time, please volunteer.

She was one of the toughest to handle.

ahhh…Bodhi is cute. I like the name too. How'd you come up with it?

Is Zena the brindle girl? She was one of the toughest, I believe. That poor girl was soooo scared.

She would not be one of the prego chicas.

Sometimes, I swear, it seems like we put the basenjis out to pasture. We call it grazing.

@sharronhurlbut:

I know how busy you all are, but I would love to see some photos when you get them.
Hugs and hugs for doing this.
Are you keeping one?

Sharron, I'm having problems with my camera/computer, or I would already have them up!

I'm working on it though…promise.;)

The vet says that one is prego, and ready to go, and two others might be pregnant.

I went back last night, and helped feed, and clean kennels. All of the dogs had a bath except for two. A brindle female was being extremely fearful, and one of the males was about the same. We'll see if they warm up today, and when/if they do, they will get their baths too.

Those 4 seven-month old tris are soooo cute.

@sharronhurlbut:

Thanks for this post. I am sorry more are pg than reported…sigh...

Well, it's just an semi-educated guess based on their appearances. It may or may not prove to be correct. We got the vet there today though, so everybody will get weighed, and then we should be able to more easily monitor the suspect females.

I wonder if the make doggie prego test kits?:o

The remainder made it to Mattoon today. As Sharron said, two females are definitely prego; however, two more could possibly be.

Out of the 24, only two of them were really shy, and only one of them nipped. None of them really attempted to bite, but one of the males we did not handle because he was acting so fearful.

I'd bet that all of them have worms (tape, round, etc).

Almost all of them are in fairly sorry shape with sores, skinny/boney, and poor nutritional health.

There is one litter of 5, and they have a real sweet-heart of a mama. She didn't like us handling her pups, and she made it known by aggressively licking our hands when we did handle them. The females that are/might be pregnant appear to be in better health than the others.

The stud is a big proud tri, and he seems friendly also.

There were probably 4 tris under 1 year old. There is one very skinny younger brindle. There are a whole bunch of red/whites.

None of the prego ones look very prego except for one. I do not know when they can be expected to start whelping.

Overall, I really think that most of these dogs will take to new "pet" lives very well, and with much appreciation. I'd say at least 80% of them really appeared to crave some human attention.

On a last note, there's a little 7mo old male tri, that would barroo at me every time I walked by his cage. He was play bowing, and almost even acting ticked off that he was being ignored. I can't help but wonder if somebody at the mill hadn't been taking care of him as a pet, because he definitely seems like he's had some extra lovin' that he's missing.

That's it for now. When I have get my pics, I'll post them here.

Vegas

@Sweetpeaelf:

I live in socal. Is BRAT looking for foster homes close to SD only? Do they ship via plane if you are far away?

Brat needs help in SoCal too, I believe. There was just a large mill bust in Arizona. I'm not certain if they got any basenjis from there or not.

@Mantis:

This is typical behavior at this age. I found obedience training helped by using a lot of energy in the basenji but also by teaching me how to communicate what I wanted. It will get better!

I agree totally.

Now I know that this sounds like the stupidest thing you could do, but in all honesty, a second basenji can really make things easier.:D

Vegas

I EMPHATICALLY encourage any of you that can to please help foster these basenjis. This rescue will be taking place as soon as next wednesday. Talk to your significant others about becoming a foster. If you do not already belong to BRAT, please join. It is a free membership, and in becoming a member early you enable the organization to complete all screenings (ie. make certain that you aren't another puppymiller), and utilize your help as soon as you can provide it.

@Quercus:

All I can say, is you get what you pay for :(

I've got to agree with andrea on this one. Behaviorists are soooo cool. You would not regret spending the money afterwards.

I want to know who I've got to pay off to see a Basenji on the friggin' TV screen?!?

I'm tired of waiting on the hound group to not get to see a basenji!!!

Pilot, I have news for you. You don't have a mini-rot. Basenjis are not trainable like other dogs. It's not that you can't teach them things, it's just that they learn in different ways, have different motivations, and yes, even do have limitations. I'd be willing to bet you $50 that your basenji gets in the trash at least once a month for the rest of his life, if you don't put it up.

He will never sit, and stay with prey in the vicinity. He will never allow himself to be recalled while he's hunting. Prey drive pretty much trumps everything.

Food in the trashcan to him is probably worth the butt kickin'!

My first one, we tried to train with mousetraps in the garbage. <yelp>He never learned.

Vegas</yelp>

yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please, for jack's sake, correct the behavior before it becomes a problem.

Crate train, if you havn't already.

Be the alpha. The times of feeling sorry for jack are over. If you don't correct the problem now, at best you face a liklihood of having a crotchety 12year old jack that has to be put down for biting a child simply because he was irritated, and it was never really a corrected behavior.

This, my friend, is not an untravelled road.

Your vet obviously knows nothing about basenji behavior. I personally have had brat dogs that bit, and bit hard. With help of a behaviourist, and yes, some prayer, my boy Taz has gone over 2 years bite free.

Curiousity: How much for the behaviorist?

BRAT is looking for help in Iowa. If you have the time to help transport, or foster contact me. If you are in Iowa, and looking for a basenji, now would be a good time to apply.;)