Such a handsome young man should most certainly be in the on-line Basenji pedigree database - along with his photo ! Do tell us his breeding - who are Mom and Dad and what is is birthday ? and then email me a photo for inclusion too.

agree with @tanza - mine don't get ever get puppy food. They just get adult kibble ground fine to start with and then less and less so until it is normal.

But it IS important that they get an balanced diet for dogs and the right nutrition to promote healthy growth and development.

I would tend to try to give a normal puppy / dog diet and sprinkle the chicken on top with, perhaps, added veggies if he will take them, just to spice it up and make it more appetising. But I wouldn't cook chicken once a week - it might seem OK but even a scavenger will prefer fresh meat !

First thing is to have a look in her mouth. Is she teething, are the gums sore ? Then I would get the vet to define 'biting' - i.e. showing aggression or just puppy-nipping ?

Does she nip or bite you and other people she meets ? Or is it only the veterinary assistants ? In which case, how are they handling her they they shouldn't ?

We have to wait in the car too and it terrified me at first but my vets and the technicians are so used to Basenjis we have never had them go other than willingly.

I think you need to find out more about what she is doing and why she is doing it.

@jengosmonkey I get mostly comments that the boys are beautiful (which they both are !) followed by but what ARE they ?. Then exclamations about their speed.

Over here people are proud if they can actually recognise they are Basenjis, although they seldom pronounce it correctly. Their attributes are a closed book to most people.

@jengosmonkey That wasn't paramount in the enquiries I am still receiving. You and I both know these are things people ask about but in the emails I have been getting, barkless is the thing the majority of people mention. I am talking about personal experience of actual 2020 enquiries for 'pandemic puppies !'

That they are small and intelligent came second. Almost no-one mentioned hypoallergenic and very few spoken of self cleaning.

@rugosab We did exactly the same except that no money changed hands. We tried to make friends with, and at all events establish a good relationship with, people who came to us for a Basenji puppy. Marvin died over 4 years ago and before that we didn't breed a litter for about 8 years. None-the-less, since end of March 2020, I have had 246 emails along the lines of 'we have decided to get a Basenji puppy' - or we have decided a Basenji is the right dog for us.

I have painstakingly replied to every single one, trying to explain the current situation, suggesting getting onto a waiting list and supplying a list of Breed Club secretaries so these people could find a breeder and get onto a waiting list.

It was obvious from over half the enquiries that the only thing known about a Basenji was that they don't bark ! A vast majority of them I never heard from again. Either I successfully put them off the Breed or they felt the wait and the process of obtaining a puppy would be too onerous and maybe another Breed would be easier.

Some have engaged with me in correspondence and some of those have visited & made friends with a breeder and obtained a puppy. Since this last winter's crop is now well and truly dispersed, the more patient families are now visiting me and the boys to 'get the feel' of a Basenji. The ones I really like are being put in touch with breeders and getting onto lists for next winter.

Looking through the Kennel Club's lists - 40 Basenji puppies to be registered in a year is at the top end of normal in this country. This year there were 84. But even they wouldn't really scratch the surface of people choosing a Basenji - and I am sure if I, who no longer breed, have received such interest, enquiries to current breeders will multiply my 246 by quite a few.

And I am delighted to see that he is already in the on-line Basenji pedigree database - his breeder is very good at sending me her litter data ! You can send me a picture to add - email address is in the websites in my signature block. You can have hours of fun (while Kimi is asleep) tracing his ancestry.

Delighted to see also that both Mom and Dad have been tested for Fanconi and PRA and both are clear.

Welcome to the forum !

@eeeefarm In all these years and with lots and lots of hernias (Basenji Moms have a tendency to take the cord in their mouth, paw in the stomach of the neonate and WRENCH so they are understandable) I have never known (or heard of for that matter) one strangulate.

But as @tanza says, careful observation - is the lump changing colour, for instance - will show you if things ARE going wrong.

You should wait AT LEAST until after the first season, preferably after the first two, if you absolutely must spay. Frankly that is never the best option for any bitch.

I should find out how experienced your current vet is with Basenjis and in any case, get a second opinion and, probably, move to a vet who knows our breed.

The holes do close up. It does become impossible to get the hernia back inside. This is not indicative of anything sinister necessarily, it is just a fact of life. If your vet thinks it IS telling him/her something else, I should most definitely question it. If the only indication that something could be wrong is that the hole has closed up - definitely wave goodbye to that vet !

Very often, while the puppy is still young, you can work the hernia back in. It gets harder and harder to do and one day it stays there.

Lay the dog on its back in your arms and wiggle it till you find the hole.

I've only corrected two surgically in all these years of breeding. One because it was gi-normous, and while we did her, we did her Dad too. Its just a fatty lump, unsightly, but even in the show ring judges excuse it in a Basenji.