Happy National Dog Day!

Sniff all the things!

Some days Nailah and I don't go for walks. We go for sniffs. And this is how it makes me feel.

Many thanks to the hilarious Allie Brosh of Hyperbole and a Half, whose illustrations these are. If you're not familiar with her Blog, you may wish to start with her dog post. 

Of Course It's a Dog Bed

I have occasional lower back problems, which are exacerbated if I stand in one place for too long. I recently made the mistake of standing for an extended period, and my back protested with alacrity. My chiropractor suggested I get a body pillow to help with this latest annoying habit my back has developed—being stiff and sore every morning. The body pillow looks like a giant U. It is fairly comfortable when I’m settled in it for a bit of reading, but when I try to sleep wrapped in this over-sized member of the alphabet, I get all tangled in it and am forced to wrestle this thing every time I try to turn over, shift sides, or otherwise move. This is not conducive for a sound night’s sleep for me, Eric, or either of the Munchkins. It only results in fitful sleep punctuated with dreams of boa constrictors.

Daily stretching helps much more than pillow scrimmages so I opted to put the monster pillow on the futon bed in my office for Two Small Dogs, who were delighted. They are very  happy with their new adjustable bed. I obligingly arrange it in jumbo figure eights or elongated Qs, and they climb in, circle the prescribed number of times, and sigh contentedly. Ivan and Dasa think this has all worked out beautifully. They knew from the very beginning this pillow was meant for them, and couldn’t imagine why it took me so long to catch on.

Happy Home Day to Buddy!

Happy Home day to ME,

Happy Home day to ME,

Happy Forever Home Anniversary,

Happy Home day to ME!

Buddy sunning on bedroom dog steps

Hi, I’m Buddy!  I’ll be 10 years old in January, and I’ve just celebrated my  1 year anniversary with my forever family.  Instead of telling you all the stuff I did on my 1^stanniversary with my forever family, I’d like to share with you what I didn’t  do. 

I didn’t beg or bolt my food or raid the trash because now I get fed regularly.

I didn’t drink from the birdbath or toilet because I now get fresh water in all areas I roam. 

I didn’t rush the door because I now have my own little door to potty when I need to. 

I didn’t crawl in a kitchen cabinet or closet to hide because now I feel safe in my home.

I didn’t have to find someplace warm to sleep because I now sleep in a warm house or out in the sun soaked yard. (My king size bed ROCKS, even when I have to share it with my Mom, Dad, and Basenji sister, Kate).

I didn’t scratch myself half to death because I am no longer riddled with flea bites, flakey skin, and old hair.   

I could go on and on… but the BEST of all I didn’t do (because of the loving people at BRAT), I didn’t have to spend 1 more day in that despicable place they called the pound.  I know I’m an older guy, maybe not very handsome, some quirks and kinks still to work through, but BRAT found me a Forever Family that loves me.  Thank you.

 Jim Fronk

Buddy with basenji sister Kate

Buddy sunning in his garden.  He loves the morning sun!

Preparing the Basenjis for Baby

The month has finally arrived... in just three short weeks (give or take), my fur-babies will get their very first human brother!  Naturally I've been telling my two basenjis, Reef & Biko, all about it, and they seem only mildly annoyed when there's not enough room anymore to sit on mommy's lap in the car, or when they try to sit on my lap and they get an inadvertent kick in the rump from my rather large belly.  But even as I am not quite sure that I'm fully comprehending what life is going to be like with baby, I am 100% sure that the pups have absolutely NO IDEA how much their life is about to change, too. 

Throughout my nine months of pregnancy, I've had lots of people give me lots of tips on how to introduce a dog to a new baby.  The most common tip I hear seems to revolve around bringing something baby-scented home from the hospital in advance of the little one, and letting the dogs sniff it while making it clear that it belongs to you.  Assuming you're the clear leader of your pack and your dogs see you that way, that would definitely appear to be good advice.  I've used a similar strategy before when introducing new fosters or visiting dogs to my two, and when it's made clear to them that the new dog is "mine" and they'll only be allowed to sniff when I say so, it seems to make initial greetings go much better. 

But beyond initial greetings, I haven't had much advice on how to actually acclimate my basenji babies to day-to-day life with a human one.  So of course I went in search of information on the internet, and I actually found an article on the ASPCA's website that was quite helpful:  Introducing Your Dog to Your New Baby.  In the article, there were a lot of great tips on how to teach the pups right away to associate the baby with good things: 

"Keep a dog bed or comfy mat in the room where you usually feed the baby. When it’s time to nurse or give him a bottle, provide something tasty for your dog, too." 

 And tips on how to prevent the dogs from feeling jealous about the new baby:

"Try to give your dog lots of attention when the baby is present. Teach her that when he’s around, she gets treats, petting, playing—and anything else she likes. When you feed the baby, you can feed your dog, too. When you walk your dog, do your best to take the baby along. (Baby “backpacks” and slings are great for dog parents.) This strategy, though it requires some skillful multitasking on your part, teaches your dog a valuable lesson. She’ll learn to love it when the baby is awake and active because that’s when good things happen for her."

Hopefully I'll be able to follow these and other recommendations in the article to ensure that my two basenji babies learn to love their new human brother from the very start, so that we can avoid any problems down the road.  Now if I could only figure out how to teach them how to leave the baby's toys alone, THAT would truly be a miracle!

Reef investigates the new baby's play gym.

Reflections from my first BRAT convention

 There wasn't a moment's hesitation in signing up to attend the BRAT Convention in Dallas this year.  It was a mere six hour drive, just after legislative session ended in Louisiana and an opportunity to meet volunteers that I email with or read postings from all year long.  And when else would I have an opportunity to see 50 basenjis together in one place!?

I want to extend my thanks to our BRAT board of directors, convention chair Rick Reinhold and the convention steering committee for a wonderful job.  I was also amazed and humbled by the number of sponsors and am really grateful for their support of BRAT.

The accommodations at the Embassy Suites were almost too nice for my crew of two(!), but it was a great getaway and a perfect location to interact with caring, passionate and expert basenji volunteers.  As a newbie to the convention (and a relative newbie BRAT volunteer) I wasn't sure what to expect, but there was time to learn, time to relax, and time to play.

I was honored to be asked to write the convention article for The Basenji magazine, and it will appear in next issue.  It lists of a lot of the details about sponsors, convention volunteers, workshop topics, award honorees and other activities. I hope you'll find a copy to read. I imagine we'll provide a link on the blog when it is published.

Today, I want to reflect a bit on what just a gathering means to someone like me, who is in a non-leadership position with this great organization.  It did not matter; I was welcomed with open arms by everyone.  For me the networking was the best part, though I learned a tremendous amount, especially about emergency care for an injured or sick animal, and about Fanconi.  I had never paid close attention to Fanconi, but now, as I await my DNA test on my most recent failed foster, Macy, I am so glad for the opportunity to have heard first hand from Pam Hamilton about how to ensure Fanconi-affected dogs have a quality life.

Being able to let my non-BRAT, Iggy, try the lure course was also a highlight.  He did an admirable job, but like most Bs, he didn't understand the concept of chasing a plastic bag in a circle.  Where's the payback in that?  That fox tail, on the other hand, was a great reward, until, alas, the potential for an unfettered escape proved a stronger temptation.  Thank goodness for our basenji-saavy lure course which prevented such escapes!

But in all honesty, it was the ability to sit and relax or share a meal with an amazing group of passionate volunteers that made this trip memorable and a highlight of my summer.  We are a diverse bunch, brought together merely because we love this quirky, mysterious breed.  I was struck by the wealth of knowledge in the room and the willingness of anyone to say, Yes, when it meant that a basenji could be helped.  The stories that I heard, the expertise that was shared, will impact me in ways our organizers will never understand.  I left renewed and invigorated to continue to help where I can, and I know that if they need me, I'll be only too glad to say, Yes, to pay it forward to help on the next convention committee.

We are all grateful to Mary Muzzlin and her talent with a camera.  The photos in this blog are hers.  She is truly an asset to BRAT!

Basenjis Aren't for Everyone

One Saturday morning the Munchkins were taking us for a walk when we came upon a man bustling about with pruning tools who asked if Ivan and Dasa were basenjis. When we said yes, he began telling us he was thinking about getting a basenji to take squirrel hunting. He said he’d been reading up on them but never met one. He thought this would be the ideal dog as they’re quiet and don’t shed, which would be great because his wife runs a day care. As we listened to this innocent narrative of certain disaster, I marshaled my thoughts like brave little soldiers, preparing to send them forth to prevent catastrophe.

And I told him something like this:

Basenjis have a strong prey drive, honed over thousands of years. Basenjis are sight hounds, which means they should not be off-leash because they will not see a car coming toward them when they are so focused on a squirrel, rabbit, or even a plastic bag blowing across the road. They can run up to 35 miles per hour, so they can cover a lot of ground very quickly. They also might well decide that they aren't ready to come when you call, and could be very difficult to retrieve or secure if off-leash. They really are not safe off-leash. Unfortunately, many basenji owners realize this only after their dog has been hit by a car.

    Basenjis do not bark, but they are by no means silent. I described how Ivan and Dasa can be very vocal indeed when they are thwarted or convinced they are starving. 

    Basenjis are not particularly obedient as they are very intelligent and have their own ideas about things. Basenjis are generally very active dogs who need regular exercise and attention on a daily basis. If basenjis become bored, they will quite possibly become destructive.  I followed this with examples of Ivan and Dasa’s destruction of books, magazines, towels, shoes, wallets, etc.  I talked about the baby gates in front of our book cases and the trash cans secured in cabinets.

   As for children, well, some of the older breed information books are generic publications that throw in a few pages about that particular breed, add a few photos of that breed and then attach that to a boiler plate book. I've seen some of these books that say basenjis are great with children and easy to train.... This is not necessarily accurate. In fact, they are not generally known to be patient or good with children.  I told him that BRAT requires pre-approval for applicants who currently have child(ren) under 8 years of age, have children frequently visit their homes, or who may be considering children in the near future.

    By this time, Ivan was complaining about standing in one place for so long. After all, this was his walk. When Ivan is impatient, he sounds as though he’s being tortured. However, Eric and I were relieved we had persuaded this well-meaning gentleman that a basenji would not be the ideal dog for him.  Ivan harrumphed all the way home, but it seems we had prevailed and hopefully saved a few dogs and people from potential heartache.