Amoré Basenjis

07/04/2026

He's growing up sooo nicely ❤️ out here this morning and he stacked himself so lovely. I had to be careful not to distract him. Lol he was looking slightly to the left so he wasn't in a full straight stack (his front is slightly turned) but he's still looking so lovely 😁

Amores I Spy the Moon "Hubble"

Amoré Basenjis

06/25/2026

They're so cute! 🤣 They were trying to catch the waves 😂❤️😘

Oster gets to bring his best friend, Cruz the Belgian Turveren, with us out on the trails, pretty much every time we go running now. We decided to stop off for a swim- there were no objections lol

As some of you may recall, Cruz was one of the puppies that would follow Oster around in the backyard when her and her litter were just wee little weasel ❤️ they always were buddies, ever since the start. Age hasnt changed that 😁❤️

06/19/2026

He sure is fast!! Watch him kick it into over drive when he gets next to me and I switch gears up! I think he's gonna really enjoy lure coursing, once we find some time (away from work-my job isn't flexible right now) to go try it :D

We had to slow down at the end for safety.

06/11/2026

I was recently listening to one of my favorite episodes of Pure Dog Talk with Amanda Kelly, "Stud Dog Shopping," and she shared a quote from one of her friends that I found to be so simple, yet profoundly true:

"My dogs and my breeding program are designed to fill my eye with beauty, and what I consider beautiful might be slightly different than what you consider beautiful."

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how perfectly it captures one of the things I value most about preservation breeding. What I consider beautiful might be slightly different than what you consider beautiful, and those differences in perspective are not only valuable, but worthy of appreciation and thoughtful consideration. I believe they are essential to the future of our breed.

One of the things I love most about our breed is that there is room for appreciation of different styles, priorities, and interpretations within the breed standard. I won't always be drawn to the type of dog another breeder strives to produce, just as they may not always be drawn to mine. However, that doesn't diminish the years of thought, dedication, sacrifice, and passion that went into preserving and improving those lines. And I believe there's something beautiful about that.

Even when another breeder's vision of the breed differs from my own, I can still appreciate the commitment behind it—the countless decisions, the lessons learned, the successes celebrated, and the heartbreak endured, all in pursuit of preserving what they themselves find beautiful within the breed. That dedication deserves respect.

I believe that one of the greatest strengths of preservation breeding is that all we do not seek to create exactly the same dog. Our individual visions, when guided by a shared commitment to preservation and responsible breeding practices, help preserve diversity within the breed we have all dedicated our lives to protecting. What another breeder values may complement areas where my own program has room for growth, just as my dogs may contribute strengths to theirs. There is strength in those differences. They encourage collaboration, preserve diversity, and help ensure that no single vision limits the future potential of our breed.

I also believe that preserving a breed sometimes requires us to look beyond personal relationships. We won't always agree with everyone, and we may not always see eye to eye with every breeder in our community. However, our shared commitment to the breed should remain greater than our individual differences.

Respect does not require friendship. We all have experiences that shape our opinions and relationships within the dog community. There may be people we deeply disagree with or individuals with whom collaboration feels almost impossible with because of past experiences. Those feelings are valid. However, preserving a breed sometimes asks us to look beyond our personal differences and consider what is ultimately best for the breed we are all striving to protect—a breed that unites us despite our differences and whose future depends on the choices we make today.

This doesn't mean accepting poor ethics or compromising our values. It means recognizing that no single person, line, or breeding philosophy holds all of the answers. Sometimes another breeder's dogs may possess strengths that could benefit our own programs, just as our dogs may offer strengths that benefit theirs. When appropriate and ethical, being willing to work together despite differences can help preserve genetic diversity, improve overall breed quality, and protect the future of the breed itself.

I am not suggesting that anyone abandon their values, ignore their experiences, or change deeply held opinions. Rather, I am simply asking that we pause to consider whether preserving the future of our breed may sometimes require us to step outside of our comfort zones and consider possibilities we might otherwise dismiss. The choices that are easiest for us personally may not always be the choices that best serve the long-term future of the breed. Preservation breeding is not always about doing what is easiest or most comfortable, but rather striving to do what best serves the future of the breed to which we have all dedicated our lives to.

At the end of the day, most preservation breeders share the same fundamental goal: to produce healthy, sound, temperamentally stable Basenjis that honor the breed's history while ensuring its future. Working together—even when it isn't always easy—helps maintain genetic diversity, improve overall breed quality, and safeguard the long-term health of the breed we are privileged to preserve.

There is more than one way to create something beautiful. As long as we remain committed to health, temperament, soundness, and preserving breed integrity, our different perspectives are not weaknesses—they are strengths that help protect the future of the breed.

After all, we are not just breeding dogs for today. We stand as stewards of a breed shaped by the dedication of those who came before us, while carrying the responsibility of preserving it for those who will come after us. The legacy we leave behind will not be defined by our differences, but by our willingness and commitment to doing what best serves the future of the Basenji for generations to come.

06/10/2026

Slowly updating Hubble's health testing. We have his OFA thyroid appt scheduled for the 1st and then we just have hips at 2yrs left :D

06/10/2026

Happy birthday to this special boy ❤️ I'm so thankful you came into my life, you're such a good boy ❤️ I hope you enjoyed your day and the run 😘

It's amazing he's already 5! Where has the time gone???
My goofy OsterSauce

06/06/2026

He sure is maturing nicely ❤️ he has his faults (as they all do) but gosh I love his structure and how he's turning out.

Amores I Spy the Moon "Hubble" at 1.5 years old

06/06/2026

🤣 lol

I'll let the video talk for itself 🤣🤷‍♀️🙃 still love him. Did I mention he's also still looking for a home? 😂😏

05/29/2026

Learning about nomographs was so mind-blowing for me, I heard it in a podcast on pure dog. Talk with Dr. Gayle Watkins of avidog And it opened up a whole new world for me. I started doing this with my last litter and I plan to do it for all future litters, it worked great and it was very interesting! Here's some more information if you'd like to learn about it

With nomograph testing you can determine approximately when the maternally derived antibodies will wear off and when the puppies are likely to mount an immune response to a vaccination. Your vet will collect serum and submit it to the University of Wisconsin. I really have no idea why this is not offered routinely by veterinarians during a pre-breeding exam as it's super useful information and not very costly.

While this can keep unnecessary vaccines to a minimum, it can also give you valuable information about early socialization and balancing the relative risks. This is NOT intended as veterinary advice but if, hypothetically, you know that the MDAs in your puppies are still going to be going strong at 6 weeks, you will have a different set of biosafety concerns than if you know they are wearing off at 6 weeks.

Furthermore, the nomographs will only tell you WHEN the MDAs will wear off, they will not tell you WHAT LEVEL of MDAs the puppies will receive. Even if your bitch has excellent levels of immunoglobulins and produces great colostrum, the puppies can still (for a myriad of reasons) not wind up with great levels of immunoglobulins. See my article on this – link in the comment
And while we are on the subject of veterinary advice (and not giving it) keep in mind that the nomographs only give information on MDAs for a small group of diseases - they are still lots and lots of diseases your puppies can get, even if they have high MDAs for the things tested on the nomographs, so you should ALWAYS use caution and appropriate biosafety measures when doing early socialization.

As a practical matter, we use the nomograph to determine the earliest date we should vaccinate, and then we pull a titer two weeks later to determine if an immune response has been mounted in the puppy. Once we determine that the puppy is immunized, we can be less conservative in our socialization activities, at least from a biosafety standpoint.

At the end of the day nomograph testing is a super useful tool that we think should be part of a wellness protocol for every breeding bitch. BUT nomographs are one piece of the puzzle, not a blanket solution or answer. As we are always saying in Puppy Culture, the decision about where, how, and when to socialize your puppies is a highly personal decision based on local risk factors and benefits. Nomographs are just another piece you can add to get more information, but they don't change the need to weigh everything in the balance!

What I'd like to bring up that is not often mentioned, is that you should keep good records of not only when your bitch was vaccinated, but exactly what vaccine was used. I recommend you ask the vet for the label from the vaccine and stick it onto the record of vaccination and put it in your bitch's file. I attached the information sheet your vet will submit when she sends in the sample so you can see the kind of information you will need to submit.

05/29/2026

A great read!

Have you gotten your dog’s thyroid checked?

How often should you have your dog’s thyroid checked?

All dogs, but especially those used in breeding programs, should have REGULAR thyroid screenings.

What does this mean?

Yearly starting at 12 months of age. Checking your dog’s thyroid should be part of their yearly routine healthcare.

A thyroid test only gives an indication of the “here and now” and not a prediction of the future, which is why it should be done routinely/yearly.

The disease has variable onset, but tends to clinically manifest itself at 2 to 5 years of age. Dogs may be clinically normal for years, only to become hypothyroid at a later date. The marker for autoimmune thyroiditis, thyroglobulin autoantibody formation, usually occurs prior to the occurrence of clinical signs. Therefore, periodic retesting is recommended.

The majority of dogs that develop autoantibodies have them by 3 to 4 years of age.

Dogs that are negative at 1 year of age may become positive at 6 years of age. Development of autoantibodies at any time in the dog’s life is an indication that the dog most likely has the genetic form of the disease.

Dogs should be tested every year or two in order to be certain they have not developed the condition. Since the majority of affected dogs will have autoantibodies by 4 years of age, annual testing for the first 4 years is recommended. After that, testing every other year should suffice.

Unfortunately, a negative at any one time will not guarantee that the dog will not develop thyroiditis.

Thyroid issues are like a silent cancer, once symptoms are evident, there is often too much damage already done (nearly 70% of the thyroid is damaged before symptoms show!). However, if caught early, thyroid issues can be managed with an extremely cheap medication (average $20 a month) and your dog can live a long and happy life.

Thyroid testing should include: T4, free T4, TSH, T3, free T3 and TGAA. Be sure to ask your veterinarian for a comprehensive thyroid exam or an OFA thyroid exam. Without this complete thyroid test, there is a high likelihood you can miss an actual issue and the silent cancer will continue to harm your dog. These tests are quite often not available as in office blood work, and must be sent to a special lab for processing, so often your veterinarian won’t even offer or mention the option.

Don’t be fooled into thinking your dog may be too young for thyroid issues!

One, it’s always great to get baselines on young dogs

Two, recently it’s becoming increasingly common to see dogs at 1-2 years of age with thyroid issues, but NO dog is truly clear until testing at age 6 shows no development of autoantibodies.

Thyroid symptoms can vary per animal, some have more than one symptom, some don’t. The key to remember is once symptoms show up, that often means that 70% of the thyroid is already damaged! That’s why catching it before symptoms show is of vital importance. Some symptoms may include grumpiness, mood swing, change in attitudes, change in appetite, thinning hair, hair loss, dry/dull coat, excessive shedding, weight loss, decreased muscle tone, weight gain, lethargy, cold intolerance(excessive shivering), increased susceptibility to infections, excessive diarrhea, skin lesions, thickening of skin such as ears, increased pigmentations, unexplained lameness, dragging of feet, lack of coordination, abnormal head tilt when walking, sunken or bulging eyes, and reproductive issues in breeding animals or intact animals such as skipped heats, split heats, miscarriages, decreased s***m counts, and decreased libidos.

Remember, it is YOUR responsibility to be your dog’s advocate. Educate yourself and arm yourself with the facts. Go in and ask your veterinarian for ALL of the tests by name....doing so could very well save your pets life.

If you’re concerned with your veterinarian not requesting the proper test for your dog, print out and bring with you the OFA form for thyroid testing and have your veterinarian perform the test required by OFA. It’s more comprehensive than the basic panel most vets will opt to run.

https://ofa.org/diseases/thyroid/