AJ loves the road. He was in a household for the first 5 years of his life, but took to the truck very well. He realizes that he gets to pee all over the place, not just in one spot. It was hilarious when he was introduced to prairie dogs for the first time. He's originally from Michigan, so he had no idea prairie dogs existed.
We were in Denver making a delivery. There was a large open field next door with a fence around it, so I let him off the lead for a romp. Inside the field, there was an active prairie dog town. AJ stuck his head down one of the holes and apparently came nose-to-nose with one of the residents. He jumped back, so startled he landed on his rear and got burrs in his butt for his trouble. He looked so pathetic with this "Now what do I do?" expression. Luckily, his hair is short, so the burrs came out really easily.
I love having AJ on the road with me because he makes for really great comic relief and he's relatively low maintenance. Whenever we get back to the company yard, he gets a bath in a tub the company set up just for dogs. When I get him to a vet (usually Banfield because there's parking behind PetSmart's for trucks) they trim his nails.
He's adequate protection for the truck because he's just big enough to be taken seriously and 99% of people will not go into a truck or RV with a dog in it. Nevermind that I have only seen him wrinkle his mouth at one person, and that person was acting aggressive toward me. He loves children and wants to greet every child he sees. (That's another story I'll have to share.) And he's very gentle with babies and puppies.
The only two issues I've had with him is his "Napoleon Complex" wherein he will try to pick a fight with dogs larger than himself and his propensity to get anxious when the truck has to go inside a building of some kind. I've replaced my CB microphone cord four times because of this.
Welcome to the bunch and good luck with your Basenji hunt. There are lots of beautiful, sweet and homeless dogs looking for a forever home out there.
