Hi! I'm a new member in search of my Basenji. I had a wonderful Basenji, Bear, when I was growing up. It's a two cat household and I'd love to add a cat friendly Basenji to the mix, and also meet and learn more about the Basenji community out there.
Most people incorrectly use the terms dominant and dominance with regard to dogs. Here is a good blog post by Dr. Sophia Yin on the topic.
http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/dominance_in_dogs_is_not_a_personality_trait
Admittedly Basenjis and sheep are a problem.
Thank you for such friendly welcomes.
I have had some Basenjis who I did eventually manage to 'train'!!? to be safe with sheep and could wander among them and occasionally help to herd, others (including my current pack are killers and can't be left to wander freely where the sheep are. We have a double gate system for visitors.
There was a time when I could have taken them all out for walks together but now I take them 3 at a time and my whole day is taken up with exercising dogs.
When I get the hang of my digital camera I'll post some piccies.
Nomrdggs - I'm not sure I have kept my sanity!!!!
Tanza - I have actually seen some of our original imports - and I have attempted to breed as close to the original type as I can. I bred my last litter 4 years ago.
Sorry if we sound so disagreeable … but it is so important that the health of our breed is #1 on everyones list and that everyone understands and does as much health testing as possible before breeding... especially since we have genetic problems that we can't test for, the family tree becomes our only way of knowing what we might expect... and it is only fair to people thinking about getting a Basenjis as a family companion that they know what they might expect.....
Everyone should visit the BCOA Health site (www.basenjihealth.org) and learn what is being done to find genetic testing and what everyone can do to help
