@eeeefarm I think quality of life doesn't just 'come into it' - I think it is everything. To keep a dog going when the quality of life has deteriorated a great deal is thinking of oneself, not the dog.

Sometimes there is only one decision you can possibly make to show an old friend how much you love him or her and that is to make a decision which hurts you. To let him or her go with dignity when it is time.

Mine have almost always come and told me, Mom, please help me. And I would, as someone on this forum said a year or so ago, prefer always be a day early than a day late.

Eating is a good gauge of quality of life, but it mustn't be the only criteria. There is so much to take into consideration and I am the first to admit it is a time I absolutely hate.

Hoover who died in August, is the first one in all these years of running a pack of Basenjis who has not died in my arms, here in the garden. She died in the car, racing towards the vet on a Saturday morning. The first one I wasn't cuddling.

So I DO understand and my thoughts are constantly with all of you who have to go through this - but believe me, knowing you are doing the best for the dog you love, is itself a consolation.

Oh dear, I'm so sorry you had this spot of bother. First thing to remember - treats and food cause problems if not properly dispensed / monitored !

I would take them out somewhere away from home and try to get them interested in other surroundings, on a walk, a free run in woods (if you can trust your boy). Once they accept being together away, then reintroduce them to the house. Best to let the boy in first and then the girl, i.e. the one who is 'at home' before the visitor. OK not a visitor but he's been there for longer. It might take two of you, each with a dog on a lead and then gradually get them together and sniffing the same blade of grass. You may have to do this a number of times and when you are sure of them (as sure as one can be with Basenjis) then get them indoors again and, standing ready with a noisy toy or something to distract their attention at need, leave them loose.

If he is severely injured, don't separate them to different rooms. Make sure they can see and smell each other all the time. We had up to eight living in the house and often there were be some kind of contratemps but it was always of short duration. I am always the alpha, I am bigger than they are and it is MY house. Any injured dog was crated in the kitchen in full view of the rest of the pack as they came and went.

Meal times were absolutely fine. I have a big kitchen and as long as the food pans were put down from the same hand to the same dog in the same order and on the same spot on the floor at each and every meal - they knew when it was their turn and never fought over food.

Spaying the girl is not going to stop fights ! And as the boy is neutered there is no immediate hurry.

Good luck !

@praz thank you for making the right decision.

@mikesull No - the solution is certainly NOT to crate him all the time you can't be with him. You need to allocate a room or a space, with plenty of toys, chews, bones, things he can't hurt like newspapers, the inside of toilet rolls - and you need to have fun time with him.

He is a baby, for Heaven's sake, he needs lots of attention and commitment. He needs confidence, which I sense at the moment you are not giving him. He will settle down in the weeks to come if you are patient with him and let him know you are there for him rather than for your work-outs. Give him the confidence that you will come back.

If you scream back when he screams, you are letting him know that screaming attracts your attention to him. It may not be the attention he wants, but it is attention. Stay calm and try to ignore him, let him know screaming doesn't pay dividends.

The less crate time you have to subject him to, the better.

@tanza said in Considering a Basenji. Thoughts?:

only on their terms.

That about sums it up beautifully.

'only on their terms' applies to just about every aspect of life with a Basenji. Life is a compormise (on their terms !) the moment a B steps into the house.

Thank you @JENGOSMonkey ! It went ok and Mku and I are back in bed. I am more tired than I expected. Tomorrow will be a day of rest and then I will be able to take the patch off and my now one lensed specs will sit better on my nose.

They don't knock you out here and the sight of a needle coming right at your eye is terrifying ! I was able to hear what was going on around me and some of the time could see from the other eye until they covered it up. The surgeon gave me a running commentary.

At least I will know what to expect in 2 weeks time when, fingers tightly crossed, he does the second eye

This is the most difficult decision - it is never easy. If he is not telling you it's time, maybe it isn't quite. But it sounds as though it soon might come to it.

You have to weigh up his dignity and quality of life and ask yourself if you are prolonging it for him or for yourselves. As I've said before, it is the last chance we get to show them we love them. By letting them go with dignity before quality of life deteriorates too far.

Far better to be a day or too early than a day or so too late.

I've been this road so often over the years with my pack - its heart-breaking but there is consolation in knowing you have done the right thing by your beloved Basenji.

The thing about Basenjis is they will play, cuddle, show affection, when it suits them, and it is very difficult to make a child understand this. But you must. You have to keep the child from ignoring warning signs - often a soft rumble, not even a growl - when the Basenji needs its own space.

For this reason, I have never sold a puppy into a household where there are very young children. Except once. But I watched that particular three year old with my own pack for quite a while and knew for sure that the parents would train the child. Some 18 years later, those parents bought that young lady, no longer a child, a Basenji puppy from me for her 21st birthday present !

You have to train the child, the dog needs space and frankly, respect.

Keep a very close eye on the situation and whisk the child away at the first signs from the Basenji, or better perhaps, forbid the child from approaching the dog at all unless you are close by, preferably on the floor with them or at least on the same level.

This is one occasion when you have to side with the dog against the child. The dog is behaving perfectly naturally, for a Basenji. It wants to dictate the time for cuddles and play. Life with a Basenji is always on its terms.

If you are not able to do this, better to let the Basenji go to a new home before any traits become engrained. Let it go without too much unnecessary 'baggage.' It would perhaps be the best thing for the dog and you can get one when your son is old enough to learn and you will have gained from this experience.

We had one who had a massive seizure at 14 years. The night duty vet was a locum and he asked if he could try a steroid shot. If not successful he would come out next morning at no extra charge and send the boy on his way to the Rainbow Bridge. He helped me carry a large crate upstairs to a spare bedroom and we put the boy in and pulled the curtains. He had quietened by then anyway.

Next morning all hell broke loose. The crate was being rocked from side to side by a very angry Basenji ! What am I doing here ? I want OUT ! I want my breakfast - NOW. Let me OUT.

So I opened the crate and he raced downstairs. Marvin shrugged his shoulders but put down his feed bowl as usual and the meal disappeared in short order.

We had him for another full year, no more seizures, perfect normal - so I would not dismiss steroids. OK long term they may damage kidneys, but this was a single injection and I would guess quite a strong dose.

When the time came, he told me he was ready this time and asked for help. Basenjis almost always tell you when they are ready to leave and it is wise to listen. You show them how much you love them by letting them die with dignity and without suffering. I would always rather be a day early than late.

Thank you all for your good wishes. I can see but it is all very blurry yet and there is double vision to an extent, especially looking at the computer screen so although I am a very fast touch typist I won't be working on the database for a couple of days until it clears. For fear of errors.

Sue will walk Mku around the fields - well she will walk, he and Maisie the Border Terrier will race and tear and get very muddy. She lives in the village and lost both her old rescue dogs just before Christmas so enjoys canine company and walks them Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Why do I think Juno's brother is currently sitting on my feet, sleeping after a long walk in the woods. We walked, he was carried in a sling, but he met lots of people and saw all kinds of strange shaped dogs, some with long hair, some like him (but nothing as tiny as Kito).

He will learn recall as soon as he is allowed to progress to the ground just as his half-brother, Mku did. We can't deprive Mku of his hunting trip just because his half-sibling has taken up residence.

We collected Kito a week early and had our vet do his microchipping and initial shots, etc, because of my eye surgery. I needed him to be home and established while I could still see him -

OK, that accounts for 4 of the 7. Wonder if the others will show up.

A large enough crate, with space for her to stand up and stretch, lie down full out, containing a large bone and something to interest her, should be looked upon as a refuge, not a punishment.

This is the season season. Her hormones are over active, spayed or not. She will try to assert herself this time of year, cutting her won't become effective in this regard for at least a couple of years.

If, added to this, she has undergone other changes - cats coming / going etc - she will not be feeling secure. And from what you say, she has undergone huge changes.

Love her, help her socialise, spend time with her and don't despair. If you are positive, it will help her. Take her out for long walks and tire her out while letting her know you are one to one with her.

The more often you clean anal glands, the more often you have to. Don't do as a regular every seven weeks exercise, give her more fibre in her diet and only express them when it seems absolutely necessary.

Brother Kito is totally clean - has been for several days now.

Immediately after food, play time or waking up, OUT, and Momma goes with him. He has developed 'places' - he pees in the herb garden and poops among the fuchsias. His choice.

When he has done, he races to the door, is picked up and cuddled and wrapped in his nice blue blanket, the one he brought with him.

A couple of days ago he started sitting by the back door, looking up at the handle as if asking it Why won't you open for me, you do for Mom ? So I open it and he races out. I still go with him but rain doesn't faze him.

At night, he and Mku both share my bed. Perhaps I should say they allow me to sleep along the side of their chosen places. Kito pulls my hair, wriggles, or otherwise indicates he needs to go out.

Wrapped in blue blanket, we go down and the moment the back door is opened he starts to squirm. I go out with him, and its the same as in daylight. The house has safety lights which come on as you pass them so he can see. And I can follow him around the garden at need.

He is well aware of what is expected of him when he is put out onto the herb garden. That usually comes before the step up to the fuchsias. If he only needs to pee, he heads straight back to the door.

Back into the blue blanket, LOTS of praise and back to bed. He can't go through the night yet, I would not expect it of him but he is pretty regular. We need to go out about 3 o'clock and then he is OK until 6.30.

He has access to clean drinking water 24 hours a day before anyone asks !

I have used this method now for .. . 39 years with lots and lots of Basenji puppies. They are very easy to train.

Even with a long walk before and after being left alone in a crate for 8 hours - I would be very against this treatment of ANY dog, let alone a Basenji. These are hunting dogs, not toys you can put in the cupboard when you don't want to (can't) play with them.

Wait a few years until you can give a Basenji the life it deserves. A great deal of life with a B is COMPROMISE (!) and in the scenario as you describe it, the Basenji would be the loser on all counts.

They are worth waiting for - believe me.

@isabob said in (Vengeful?) Pottying On The Couch!:

but then you say they don't do things for spite

Oh yes they do !!!! That is why you make a song and dance, scream and cry when they do something unimportant, like throwing cushions on the floor.

When they want to punish you, they will have learned what makes you really upset - and they will throw cushions on the floor.

On the other hand, they chew your only pair of spectacles with very expensive frames and you scarcely react. They know there is no point in eating the replacement pair, it doesn't upset you !

Don't do it. Far too long for a Basenji to be left alone. Why can't you leave him in the house ? Set aside a room for him and make it a desirable place to be. But these are not kennel or crate dogs, they need to be with people in a home environment. Not locked in a garage.

@elbrant said in Sleep Startle Reflex:

she wakes up if I get out of bed. (Then she moves into my spot so I can't get back in bed without waking her up.)

My two boys do exactly the same. Its impossible to find any space for me when I want back in. I get growled at till I convince them it's ME. You do not growl at Mom. Kito will, reluctantly, move back but Mku stays firmly in what is now his place.

I hate being woken up suddenly. That is when I growl, so I accept the boys do too !

@mrscastro No apologies needed. Hang in there, the good memories will come flooding back in a while and you will be able to play the 'do you remember when ?' game. Sometimes it does take quite a while, but it does happen. Take it from one who has been that road, many times over the years.

Hugs,

Strange how Basenjis love the snow ! Happy looking lad !