I must agree that naive, first-time wanne-be owners need to do deep, extensive research. Basenjis are supremely unique and definitely not a good choice for a "beginner."
I adopted an 18-month old 3/4 Basenji (other 1/4 is Min Pin, yet another quirky little breed, with some "bad" similarities to B's). I was somewhat familiar with B's, but not even a little bit of "enough!!" Gosh, Izzy-Bella was a piperoo!! A little 18 pound bundle of energy, destruction, and escapism. BUT, I have always loved bad boys (9 years working in a high school), so a little bad girl was a sort of delight. But, again, it takes many years before these dogs mellow out and mature and maximize their amazing intelligence. Izzy is SO SO smart: her early unbridled destructiveness has pretty much ended, and now, at ten years old, she amazes us every day with her intelligence, innate understanding, observational skills, language acumen, and comedic skills. And at ten years old, she acts like a three year old! I hope this means she will live forever.
Once you have bonded with a Basenji, you are probably done and gone. But
first-timers REALLY need to do their research and homework.
Someone referred to entrusting their dog
to a family member. I would entrust my B to nobody except a bona fide Vet hospital/kennel, with big-time fences and enclosures, B's are exceptional diggers-under-fences and escape artists. And a Number One cause of
death for them is traffic. Their prey instinct sends them careening into
traffic. Dumber than deer.
But, bottom line: do your due diligence Basenji research, and understand early on that these dogs are singularly unique: indescribably destructive; escape artists; independent thinkers and behaviorists; smarter than you can even begin to imagine (I swear my Izzy understands everything I say and reads my mind!); and prepare to have lots of tissues on hand as auxiliary food, because apparently, Basenjis require wood pulp
projects to prosper!! I don't get it.
Any ny basenjis?
-
I'm sorry to hear about ur accident. I usually, actually pretty much ONLY drive on highways, as I live on one. I love them cause they are so direct. I understand your fear because when anyone other than myself drive on them with me I FREAKKK out. People in Jersey are terrible drivers but we feel we are the best lol. Anyway, I still hope we can work something out maybe meet around my town, seems half way from both of you but doesn't matter to me I am willing to travel I like going out a seeing new things and I want my little girl to have the same in a sense.
-
Sorry to hear about your accident Kathryn, I wish we were closer! I am about an hour from Newark.
-
rocky, we should meet up sometime! i'm down im tuckerton.
as for ny basenjis, on meetup.com there's a group for basenjis. they meet up a lot in nyc!
-
Oooo thanks for the site! I signed up. Hopefully there will be a meet in the near futur!
-
NYC is not do able for me.
I'm not that far from Tuckerton,45 minutes down the Prkway.
If you could come up to Lakewood,there is a 4 mile walk around The
Lake or Pine Park or Ocean County Park.
I walk there sometimes with my Rocky.Kahryn
-
NYC is not do able for me.
I'm not that far from Tuckerton,45 minutes down the Prkway.
If you could come up to Lakewood,there is a 4 mile walk around The
Lake or Pine Park or Ocean County Park.
I walk there sometimes with my Rocky.Kahryn
i can come up there sometime with congo. it depends on my work schedule. i'll let you know!
-
Hi, we live in Rockland County NY . We have a 5 month old male Basenji.
-
That's about an hour from me.. not too bad when my girl is finished with her shots we should meet up! She is 13.5 weeks right now.. the one website Suzee posted on here http://www.meetup.com/basenji-5/ is having a meet in April. I won't be able to make it this time but next time they do I should be able to! Hope some of you guys could as well!
-
Hi anniedny! I live in westchester, about 20 min from you, I have a 12 week old girl, we definately must meet up! What do you think?
-
Sounds good. Where would we meet?
-
I have to wait unil she has all her shots, I would think we would want to meet at a park somewhere, I am not sure how dexi would be off leash because she is either on a leash or in my fenced in backyard, how is your guy off the leash?
-
Kennedy is never off leash. He is too curious and would run for anything he would see…. Let me know when she has had her shots and we can set something up.
-
I never let dexi off leash either, just in my fenced in yard. It would be great if we could find a fenced in area but i am not sure. I will contact you after her next set of shots. Looking forward to meeting another basenji, i had a boy as a child!
-
Hi my Dexi just got her shots and can be around other dogs.. We would love to meet! Are you available on the weekends?
-
I am in NY… Orange County. Would love to meet other Basenji owners. Less than an hour from the TZ Bridge.
-
We live just across the bear mountain bridge, we have a 3month old girl, would love to meet. Where in orange county do you live? How hold is your B?
-
Hi Benti, my basenji is almost 5 months. Her name is Zoey. Do they allow dogs at Bear Mountian State Park? It would be nice to meet.
-
I am not sure if they allow dogs that would be great. I love only 10 min from there.. Is zoey good off the leash? I don't trust Dexi yet.. How can we find out if they allow dogs. I would love to meet..
-
I'm so sorry. I didn't realize you had responded. I thought I'd get an email. Zoey is definately NOT good off leash. It would be great to find a fenced area…I know there is a dog park (with a small dog area) near me, but I don't know how you feel about driving. (I've commuted for years, so I'm used to it). I could probably call Bear Mountian the park to see if they allow dogs. I'm working tomorrow, but I'll try to find out on Tuesday.
Also, there is some sort of an event in Woodstock, NY (beautiful town), sponsored by the Rip Van Winkle Basenji Club. I am totally new to all of this stuff, so I'm not sure what goes on there, but here is a link....I thought you might be interested. If I'm not working I may go just to check it out.
