MY INTEREST AWAKES

I was sitting one day reading the newspaper when I saw pictures of some basenjis from a dog show. It was a picture of a tricolor basenji. It made me very curious.  I’d never seen the breed before. I loved the way the basenji looked, a good looking dog without any strange bodily abnormities. Looking at the breeds of today, you see dogs in which humans have miss bred them with the strangest bodily appearances. The breeds of today have too much skin, too heavy bodies, eyes that bulge out from their head or something else that bothers me. The basenji is a most beautiful, with a fitting body and the most wonderful and charming facial expression! 
I searched the Internet a long while and found many interesting sites. I read a lot of interesting articles about the basenji in the African Stock Project. One of the articals was about the first basenjis that were brought to England. The more I read, the more interested I became of the breed.

Especially interesting was the fact that basenjis are an old breed and that they look the same now as then. Because I like wolves and am interested in their behaviour, I was also very interested in basenjis being an ancient breed. Most breeders warn, and with all rights, about their unusual behavioural patterns and I understood then that the basenji was not a breed for first time dog owners. Knowledge and a fast but soft hand is mandatory in raising a basenji. I understood that the basenji was no easy breed and that teaching the basenji would be no easy task. I had certain reservations because of this.

OUR PUPPY
We spent a week in February at our summerhouse, when I started my search for the basenjis again on the Internet. As it where, I found a breeder close by that had puppies. She had none left for sale but we were more than welcome to visit and see the puppies, she said. It was so exciting, finally being able to see a basenji in real life. My husband went along with this because of the fact that they were not for sale. What's the harm in it? We weren’t out to buy another dog just then.

I just fell for the basenjis, head over heals when I saw the puppies and the two adult basenji bitches! Incredibly beautiful and the perfect size. Fortunately for me, I received an offer to buy the tricolor male puppy. The tricolor and a male puppy was exactly what I wanted. And can you believe that we were able to take the puppy home with us just after 2 days of waiting, what joy!

Our standard poodle Lancelot, who was 4 years at the time, adopted little Zeke right off! Zeke slept in our bedroom during the nights but during the days Zeke spent sleeping on Lancelots curly fur.

 

 FOOD
Some of Zekes behaviour was just amazing. He'd run to his food, take the food in his mouth and over to his bed and eat it there, then back again. If he had too much food he’d take it out to the yard and bury it there somewhere.

We gave the dogs some leftovers from our dinner pizza one time.  Zeke growled at Lancelot and took control over the food, the little puppy that he was.  Lancelot backed off. It was then we realized to give them there food seperately. Vi have to watch the dogs when they eat as well so that our foodmonster Zeke doesnt eat Lancelots food first before he eats his own. Food means war for a basenji. To guard and steal food is a natural instinct for the basenji. How would they have survived in a pack otherwise? They had to learn to take food while they could in the wild. A basenji is a survivor!! This stealing trait has gotten better over the years and the dogs can eat out of the same bowl now, unless we give them something really special that Zeke would just HAVE to have!

LITTLE RASCAL
Zeke was a real little rascal when he was younger , especially when we were at work. He’d bite off the thumbs of our grill mittens in the kitchen! 6-7 mittens were ruined because of that, missing their thumbs. We noticed when we came home that our poodle looked guilty as though he had done something very wrong. He was totaly innocent. Zeke would strut around not feeling the least bit shameful!

These days Zeke realizes when he's done something wrong. He’ll look at you with his head tilted on one side, looking like the cute little basenji that he is. He’ll scrapes his paws on you, begging you for forgivness. When he looks that forgiving, he could melt even anybodys heart. He isn't worse then any other of my puppies or young dogs. They are all little rascals at that age. That's to expect with any puppy. We can trust him for the most these days, with the exception of a few pencils now and then, anything that tastes good and is easy to chew will do!

AFRAID OF THE DARK

We’ve noticed another thing with our basenji, he didn't like going out in the dark. Lancelot would go out in the dark and Zeke stayed behind looking as if he could faint at any given minute!   In his young age we had to go out together with him and Lancelot in the yard when dark outside.

We were thankful for that at the time considering that we have no fence around the yard out at the summer house. We wouldn’t have him leashed when outside because he never left our side. But Lancelot being dark could discretely disappear in the darkness. We have a blinking collar on him so that we could call on him when he got too close to the edge of the yard.

FREE IN THE WOODS
Luckily we have Lancelot who is a very obedient dog to insure that Zeke didn’t run off in the woods. He would run about 3-4 meters from us always checking back to see where his pack was.
He ran off once and we hid about 10 meters from the forest trail. I was worried , thats for sure. After a couple of minutes past Zeke galloped past us on the trail. He then turned ran back galloping as usual and finally found us. He used his nose to find us. He was so very happy to finally find us again. Since then he’s been much more observant to where his pack is.

OBEDIENCE
I believe that the basenji is a very smart and easily trainable dog. Zeke could sit after the third try to teach him. The basenji learns easily with hand signals, they learn better with body language. Everything works as long as they are motivated, but motivating them may not be as easy as other breeds. My poodle will do just about anything to please me. The basenji wants to please himself! Giving them treats is a good way to train them.

You have to be warm or cold with a basenji, never lukewarm. When saying NO you have to mean and show it! And saying GOOD should sound very happily and like they won the lottery!! Show them with you body language and your hand signals that you like their behaviour. Soft methods and positivety is the key to successful results. Positive reinforcement! You can never punish a basenji, which I do not believe in at all, although it may work with other breeds, but absolutely NOT with the basenji. You are sure to fail if you hit a basenji or punish him physically in any way !! Don't ever try that either!

BASENJI AND CAT

Basenjis and cats go well together. When Zeke was a puppy we had our full grown male Ocicat and we have a little female Ocicat kitten now. Zeke and the cats have a lot in common.

They lick each other clean. Find the sunniest place in the house to lie in. They sleep together there and really enjoy themselves. They play together very softly, no rough housing. It seems as though Zeke can talk cat language unlike his friend Lancelot who is much more clumsy with them. They have a great time together. The Ocicat is a very muscular and strong cat that enjoys playing around.

CONCLUSION

You need knowledge and whole a lot of positive psychology, but you will be richly rewarded! A content and happy basenji is a loyal and lovable family pet, for the whole family. They will show you how very much they love you with everything inside them. They express themselves in a way that other dog breeds do not. A good sense of humour is needed for all of their little mischievous ways before they mature that is. You’ll get a good laugh daily thanks to your basenji!

You’ll get a very happy and alert dog that loves working. You’ll get a lovable dog that loves sitting in your lap with pleasure. You’ll also get a dog that draws everyone's attention when you are out on your daily walks. People come up to you with admiration of the dog and talk. The basenji is most beautiful when you see them run around freely! Just watching them is a pleasure. They are such elegant and swift movers !!

Helene