Basenji
Thank you for using our site to find Basenji information. Feel free to add any information about the Basenji breed we may have missed. If you have any specific questions about the Basenji, feel free to ask them below. We've found that most breeders are more than happy to reply and answer your questions. We love your photos and reviews! We appreciate all additions to the site and we know our users value them as well. If you need help training your Basenji check out our dog training reviews. |  |
General Description
The Basenji is a small, athletic dog that is unique and elegant in appearance. They have a distinctive gait that is horse-like in quality. They have long limbs, muscular thighs, and a level topline. The breed’s flat head features a forehead that is wrinkled and furrowed, and their almond-shaped eyes are small in size. The Basenji has a high-set tail that curls up over the back and slightly to one side. Their coat exists in a number of colors including copper, red, black-and-tan, and black-and-brindle. White feet and white markings on the chest may or may not be present.User added info
They are in the hound family and like to hunt. This breed may be prone to hunting smaller animals. So be aware of this trait in case you or your neighbors have small dogs, cats or rabbits. This breed is very intelligent and can out smart their owner. New owners should try to think one step ahead. The Basenji rarely barks if at all.
Know something we don't? Add it here
Character
The Basenji is energetic, alert, and continuously aware of his surroundings. They are affectionate and curious, and they love to play. If treated appropriately and touched regularly from an early age, the Basenji makes a very good pet. They are highly intelligent and respond well to obedience training. They can be leery of strangers and somewhat aloof, but they have a consistent need to please and they form strong bonds with their owners and family. Generally, the Basenji does best with older children. They are full of energy and love to climb, and they are very good at getting their own way. Somewhat demanding and manipulative, the Basenji will charm their owner into submission. The Basenji cleans itself like a cat and makes a low ululation rather than a bark. They are fast, frisky, spunky, and like to tease their owners into playing with them. The Basenji only has behavioral difficulties if their owners are incompatible with them.
Size
15 – 17 inches*
Males: 16-17 inches Females: 15-16 inches
Weight
20 – 26 pounds*
Male: 23-26 pounds Female: 20-23 pounds
General Health
The Basenji is prone to acquiring Fanconi’s syndrome, a type of kidney disorder. If signs of Fanconi’s syndrome are perceived in a Basenji, it’s imperative they be treated immediately. The Basenji is also susceptible to progressive retinal atrophy, other eye problems, and intestinal problems. The Basenji typically lives for 10 to 12 years and averages 4 to 6 puppies per litter.*
Some Basenjis dislike water and won't want to go outside when it rains.
History
Similar dogs to the Basenji have been found in Egyptian tombs and wall drawing of five thousand years ago. Alternatively called the Congo Dog, the Basenji was brought to Europe in 1934. The breed was refined by English breeders and exported all over the world. The Basenji is utilized as a forest guide in Africa, and it is also used to warn against the approach of dangerous animals.*
The Basenji is also known as an African Wolf dog.
Maintenance
The Basenji requires very little maintenance or grooming. This breed will clean itself and their coat doesn’t have any odor. The Basenji is considered to be an excellent dog for people with allergies. They shed little to no hair.
Ideal Environment
Because of the breed’s propensity to become overweight and lazy, the Basenji needs rigorous daily exercise. The Basenji can live happily in a small household or apartment, as long as they are sufficiently and consistently exercised. They are very active indoors, and do best with at least a small yard. The Basenji is happiest with other dogs of its kind.
Dog Training!If you're having problems training your dog or getting control, you should read our review of DogProblems.com. Adam will do whatever it takes to help you whip your dog into shape. I've used them to help with my Great Dane as well as help friends train their dogs. It's the first place I go to help answer users Questions. Many training issues are too extensive to answer in this forum, which is why I refer a lot of the load to his site. |
Find your new Basenji
Puppies For Sale
Be the First to take out an Ad!
Find a Breeder
|
Beeville, TX
AKC Am Ch. African Sire, Champion blood lines. Parents Fanconi free !! We offer Red's, Tri's & Brindles. Our puppies are...
AKC Am Ch. African Sire, Champion blood lines. Parents Fanconi free !! We offer Red's, Tri's & Brindles. Our puppies are...
Rescue a Dog
Be the First to take out an Ad!
Discuss the Basenji breed on our Forum!
Ask a QuestionBasenji Q&A
i adopted a dog from the pound and i have been told that she is a basenji but i dont think she is full blooded. she doesnt bark except for one time and it was a short shrill bark. her face and ears are exactly like the basenji pics but her tail is not curled. she is 4 1/2 months old. she has a worried wrinkled face and shredds paper toliet paper, but is a real sweet and loving dog. and sometimes i think she is a cat. i am having some difficulty in housebraking her, i am gonna crate her and hope that works, but too make a long story short, do all basenjis have curled tails, are they curled at birth or when they grow? thanks. lisa
Wait until she is a year old. Then the tail will be curled. ALL Basenjis must have a curled tail or otherwise they are disqualified from the show ring.
My basenji pup's tail did not curl until he was approximately 6 months old.
I have a 2 year old basenji.....I find it hard to get him to play with me and toys .....can you give me any advice?
They like to chase things. I used a rag when mine was young and graduated to those toys that are shaped liked snakes and have a rattle in them. You hold it up in the air and twirl around with it or run from one end of a room back and forth. You must let them catch it every now and then or they lose interest.
My Basenji is now 8 1/2, alot of them never reallly like toys. If you dont mind the occasional stuffing being torn out they do tend to like stuffed animals. If your close with your Basenji, get down on the floor russle his head up a bit and then wrestle. Mine still loves it when people get on the floor with him and rough around a bit. i think only 1 of my old basenji's ever liked to play with anything but stuffed animals. Mcdonalds kids toy stuffed animals were a fav.
My Basenji likes playing with balls,rags,rubbed toys but most of all a old tennis shoe.It's hard sometimes to keep him away from my other shoe though.He has a friend to from time to time he'll either bark at her or howl when he sees her.He is one percent Basenji six months old and hate would I leave out.
I want to get a basenji but I need to know if they are easily housebroken?
I have a basenji mix, but his temperament is mostly basenji and he has outsmarted me more times than I can count. As a pup, he chewed everything in sight and did a lot of damage to the house. He potty trained very easily, though. He shredded my house and belongings for about a year and a half. One day I came home and he was laying down with his front legs crossed (as basenjis will do) and I realized that he had grown into a big boy that day. For a second, I totally missed his puppy days, but he never tore anything up again. It may take a while for you to train one, but once they get it, you can trust them.
We have 2 full bred Basenjis, one female we got as a puppy and a male we got at 10 months old. I had done A LOT of reading about the breed before looking for onw and the breeder we got the dogs from was VERY forthright about their nature. I have had one item (office chair leg) chewed slightly and NOTHING ELSE IN THE HOUSE. Teresa H. said to be sure to provide them with lots of hard chew toys and we do, still to this day. They have a very stropg need to chew. They choose their toys over everything in the house, but. . . you CAN NOT leave a candy wrapper in a pocket and leave that pair on pants where they (she) can get to it. Our female chewed a hole through the outside fabric to get to the wrapper but did not chew up the rest of the pocket area. Basenjis are scent hounds and boy do their noses work! As for potty training - the dogs learned very quickly to go outside - it was US who needed more training on recognizing and listen to their 'requests' to go out. They both will 'look' at us when they need to go out - it's hard to 'hear' a dog looking at you. Then the female will pace and then we know she needs out. They CAN bark but usually don't. They will give a single bark when excited but usually it's a in throat chorgle sound and they put their ears back when they're HAPPY TO SEE YOU. We live in a country environment and they NEVER go out without being on a lease or training collar - they ARE hunting dogs and WILL want to hunt. Our dog trainer has taught us a lot about them and if we keep up our training they can be off leash in our yard, but for my own feelings of security they never are. <br />
Also, when we have to be gone the dogs are ALWAYS locked in a crate/kennel. They never have the run of the house when we're gone - it's for their safety as much as it's for my sanity. And, in our case, they are much better in pairs.<br />
Find a repritable Basenji breeder and ask her/him lots of questions. Also speek with others who have Basenjis and they can help you two. Just like people, no two dogs are alike and each one will have their own uniqueness. I have no desire to have any other breed of dog since these two have caputed my heart.
View more Basenji Questions and Answers
Upload a PhotoBasenji Photos
