krunzer
But they are being bred to lure course as well as conformation. Like someone said it may only be at the end of the day a plastic bag on a string but it also shows off the agility and form of the dog. If they can't perform during a lure course then I would think that they would perform poorly in a conformation ring as well. It would mean that they do not have the stamina in the field as well as the agility of the breed to make the quick turns and follow prey. Sure some may be better hunters than others but do we want as a breed to selectively breed for this which in the end may result in a purebred basenji that does not have the 'type' of a conformation basenji. How far do we want to go to 'create a line' of hunting B's and differentiate from type and what will this hunting line be like for temperment? I would think that we would be breeding for a certain type of mindset in these basenji's. Very independant, smart and possibly revert back to agressiveness, which from what I have heard has come a long way in this breed.
Those questions are great and I think it is important that we understand that we have already created a different basenji for the show ring and lure already. It is impossible to maintain what once came from Africa so long ago in our modern society. Our requirements for dogs changes the traits of the dogs. We did this and continue to do this with all successive breeding in a modern society.
As far as show confirmation goes, who is to say that what we have here today was the original confirmation? Was their a real original "confirmation" or is it possible we made one? Again, I am new to the breed comparatively speaking and though my first dogs were in the show ring, I did not pay much attention to it…probably should have. My natural inclination is to think that we engineered the modern basenji to a certain extent and that engineering is continuing to this day.My reasoning for this hypothesis is the precedent that is in the AKC today. Many of the original dogs that had been bred for a purpose so long ago are no longer fulfilling that role and now are primarily show dogs and companions and their bodies have changed. There are distinct lines drawn between most working lines and show lines. Some dogs that had a purpose over 100 years ago can no longer fulfill the original role in any way, shape or form.
That being said, I do not think that we are creating a hunting Basenji, if anything, we have been destroying it for years. As was mentioned before, all dogs hunt, all dogs kill, all dogs track, all dogs detect things with their nose, but a true hunter, especially along the lines of what I think the basenji was at one time, does not exist at the true semi-wild hunter level with the modern basenji. It is impossible at this stage in our evolution as a fancy. I know these dogs have a wilder side than the average C. familiaris, but it is fading and one day will be gone altogether.
The question about reverting back to aggressiveness is the most important of all because aggressiveness is not necessarily a hunting trait; especially from the context that the average person may construe it. A true hunter will have traits and drive that can be a problem for a pet owner. In my world we describe them in two ways:
Prey drive, or the drive to chase, catch, and retain what is chased. The retention part of this is huge because if the dog does not maintain the quarry, it's drive may actually not be all that high. This retention can be problematic for some pet owners because the dog becomes fixated on a "thing" and won't let it out of it's mind. This drive is what makes the difference between making the kill or not. And it is important to understand that the average wild canid is unsuccessful on the vast majority of hunts…sometimes 90% unsuccessful. If the dog gives up...it's genes will not be passed on.
Hunt Drive Is often mistaken for prey drive but it is a little different, this is the drive to find a particular thing, once the thing is detected through the use for the nose. The same tenacity is me sure but the context is different. Retrieval was engineered through the use of hunt drive.
Aggression with basenjis inherently has not been related to hunting traits, IMO, so much as the basenji not being allowed to use its skills in the way that it wants to, number one. The breed is very high energy and smart. These dogs need more mental stimulation than the average dog. If they cannot get it in a way that suits them, certain neurosis can occur. Aggression is a big side effect. However, we see this every day in similarly intelligent, high energy breeds…in my world we call them "high caliber breeds".
From a training perspective, if the dogs are allowed to rule the house, they also have a tendency to be more aggressive. If nobody takes charge but the basenji, invariably, the basenji will make wrong choices. All dogs are this way, IMO.
All that being said, a hardcore hunting basenji is not for the average family because the dog will be inheritly more athletic, more intelligent, and more cunning. They will also not forget what it is they want and do just about anything to get it. I know these are B traits already and some of you are going "duh"...but, a true hunting basenji is these basenji traits we all know and love multiplied by a factor of ten. It is not so much that they will be more aggressive, but they will simply get into far more trouble if they cannot do what their DNA is screaming at them to do. This is no different than any other breed of hunting or true working dog.
To be honest with you, I think the reason we do not have these traits as much as perhaps we used to is because the average dog owner could not manage them and we slowly breed them away.or to a watered down state.
Jeff
Of course, maybe the Africans were smart enough to keep their really wonderful dogs to themselves, and pawn the less stellar specimens off on the visiting collectors. Who knows? Maybe our foundation stock were all rejects. :eek:
