Thinking about getting a basenji…
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I have just one thing to add. My basenji has the sweetest and most wonderful smell. Especially after he's just been brushed and is warm from the sun. I tell him all the time that he smells like flowers. :D
I agree. Mine all smell very good, and I rarely bathe them. Sparing the occasional roll in something gross!
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I think you also have to think about where will you be during the day and how do you plan to leave him in the house.
You can crate train a basenji but it can be difficult. That high pitch scream will get neighbors calling for the police. They do not like to be alone and you have to think about where you will keep them.
Also, do you have a backyard and how secure is your backyard. Basenjis are little escape artist and will scale a fence and will get themselves out of a crate if they want.
You need to always keep them on a leash because they will run. They are sight hounds and will take off if something lures them. They are not a typical jolly-let's have fun type of dogs. So often children will want to play with them – fetch, etc. Basenjis will play when they want to play and they are not the type that will come when you call them to play.
My Talker just sort of looks at you when you want to call him to play. He'll run after a ball but has yet to bring it back. So little children might be disappointed by this breed. However, they can be little jokers and mischievous. They will steal your heart along with shoes, remote controls, toys, food, paper, etc.
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I agree with BBratz..Basenjis are no Retrievers :) and they are great escaping confined places.
Altho I haven't had any problems crate training mine. They don't mind being alone but they would prefer to be with me :D :D My little boy C3PO will whine if I crate him & I am still IN the house. But if he hears me actually leaving the house he'll just settle down & take a nap…smart little guy!
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Ours will chase a ball maybe 10 times before they get tired of it and move on to somethign else.
I will also second the issue with fences. A chain link fence is a ladder for a Basenji. Make sure you have somethign with a smooth inside that they cannot get a grip on.
Our 2 adults do shed a little. Like when I scratch them on the head, I will notice a few stray hairs and I can usually find one or 2 on my cloths, however, they are short hairs and not noticable if you do not go looking for them. THe puppy is only 10 weeks old so it is too early to tell, but I suspect it will be similar.
All 3 love to cuddle at times, punctuated by 15-30 minutes of wide open running every so often.
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With ANY breed you'll find the "common" characteristics which all are stated above but the same goes, that with ANY breed you'll have your randoms too.
I know I've read in here that many B owners have or had a B that didn't like to cuddle hardly at all but would lay close at night time when it was time for bed. Mine does, however love to cuddle (thankfully).
Also, my girl would need to be washed once a week if we didn't want to smell any odor. She doesn't get the typical dog smell but she does get stinky and I have yet to see her bathe herself like a cat. The only thing she does is roll around on the floor after she eats something or gets something on her (not a very effective bath).
My B is very good with kids and when she sees a cat she pays no attention but we don't have one so I'm not really sure how she'd be with one in the house.
She had one period where she was shedding quite a bit but I think it was right before spring and it was probably a seasonal thing otherwise I hardly ever see any fur.
And I'm not sure if I saw anything about this in the above threads however you should definately be warned they (I'm pretty sure ALL) LOVE to chew. You constantly have to have chew toys or everything becomes a toy.
And there you have my two cents.
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In the past month Goober had completely destroyed all 30 or so of Jamie's little stuffed toys. He even chewed on the cat once. That was a weird day.
I've noticed that Goober will pick up other smells very easily. Right now he reeks of cardamon from dinner last night.
He also learns commands very easily (some times after 2 or 3 repititions) but only obeys when he feels like it. The basenji is a very old breed and purebreds or some african lines still hold onto a lot of the social morays of a wolf pack, where the alfa pair aren't so much the bosses as the ones with the most freedom.
The only problem i've found regaurding children is that he needs to learn how gentle or rough is ok. with my 1 1/2 year old cousin it took a while for him to learn that nuzzling and licking was ok but not pouncing and jumping.
The most important thing with any new dog is to spend as much time as possible with them.
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Hi Mike
Welcom to the forum.
I just wanted to give you my experiancec conserning allergic reactions to Basenjis.
Until now I have sold 3 Basenji pups to people who are allergic to dogs and everything goes very fine.
Two families in Germany visited our kennel because both woman were allergic to dogs. They stayed for at least 2 hours with our Basenjis sitting on their laps or racing around our house. Non of the two ladies sufferd from any reaction to the dogs and live, one since January 2004 and the second since February 2005 with their Basenji boys without any problem.
Another family (Dutch) is living since february 2007 with another of our B-Boys. Here it is the man who reacts allergic to dogs but not to our Basenjis.
To be complete I have to tell you that a Swedish family came to visit our dogs to see the reaction of the huspand to our dogs. This man was so allergic, he almost reacted to the word dog. They stayed for 1.5 hour at our place between our dogs without any reaction but when they were 1/2 hour on the way back home, the huspand got an allergic reaction and they were very sorry not being able to keep a dog.
Like someone else wrote, you have to visit a breeder and see if there is any allergic reaction to the dogs.
Good luck.
Erik & Ingrid
www.abuluka-basenjis.be -
I've had mothers with 4 little children (ages 3 to 7 or so) tell me that they're looking for a family dog and I've pretty much discouraged them as to not getting a basenji. I don't know how a mom of 4 small kids could possibly give a basenji (or any dog) the attention they need.
I think a basenji being raised with a baby is fine and they can grow together and learn the respect and boundaries together. But I think a family of 4 getting a puppy and even a mature dog is not the best situation for the dog.
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I've had mothers with 4 little children (ages 3 to 7 or so) tell me that they're looking for a family dog and I've pretty much discouraged them as to not getting a basenji. I don't know how a mom of 4 small kids could possibly give a basenji (or any dog) the attention they need.
I think a basenji being raised with a baby is fine and they can grow together and learn the respect and boundaries together. But I think a family of 4 getting a puppy and even a mature dog is not the best situation for the dog.
It's hard to tell. It may seem like that is a logical deduction, but I prefer to make a case by case judgement. Sometimes a mom with a lot of kids runs a much more structured home, and has more time for and is more prepared for a puppy than a single person, or childless couple. So I think you have to look at each situation individually.
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I had one person call to get a pup asap… cause she was due to have twin in a month and want time to train the pup???? HUH???? Then I had one that wanted the pup to "keep the kids busy" so she could do other things... HUH??? Well have to say, they didn't get one of my pups... and I did politely explain especially with the Mom expecting twins that I really didn't think it was a good idea to get a pup and there would be no way the he/she would be trainin in a month...
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Sometimes a mom with a lot of kids runs a much more structured home, and has more time for and is more prepared for a puppy than a single person, or childless couple. So I think you have to look at each situation individually.
I completely agree with Andrea on this one. I have placed two girls (first one at 5 months old and the other 2 years later, at 10 weeks old) with a family that had 11 children. They now have 12 children and I have NEVER seen a more structured household… She has leash-trained these girls better than the majority of puppy owners I've had or seen in the past.
I certainly would NOT discourage someone with children getting a basenji. That is absolutely hogwash. My three brothers and I were raised with Basenjis... many of them. The basenji temperament is also MUCH better today than it was in the 70s and earlier.
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I've had mothers with 4 little children (ages 3 to 7 or so) tell me that >>they're looking for a family dog and I've pretty much discouraged them as >>to not getting a basenji. I don't know how a mom of 4 small kids could >>possibly give a basenji (or any dog) the attention they need.
Wow. That statement blows me away. And is bordering on being offensive.
My house has been full of kids and dogs for 20 years and it works out beautifully. The kids get all the attention they could possibly want; the dogs get the attention and training they want and need.
I've brought dogs into our home when we've had just one baby {adult Doberman}, two kids under the age of three corgi mix puppy}, three kids under the age of four {adult corgi mix} and four kids {ages 1, 3,5, and 7} - that's our Gypsy. And let me tell you, bringing HER into the home and making her into a family pet/house dog was WAY more challenging than bringing a Basenji in! Good Lord, she was big, wild and completely untrained.
Jazzy came to live here when we had all six kids at home, but they were older {ages 6,8,12,14,15,17}, Keoki moved in this year when we had five kids at home {8,10,14,16,17}. And life for kids and dogs is pretty darned good.Granted, my kids are older now than the example in the quote above, but I can tell you without a doubt or a moment's hesitation, bringing a Basenji into the home at any stage of child-rearing would not have been a problem.
I would hope that no breeder would refuse or even discourage a potential owner simply on the basis that they have young children at home.
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I know that there are breeders that create lists of "I will never adopt to …" or lists of "I will only adopt to ..." and often times these breeders will turn away good homes because they do not fit the list. I try to look at each home on a case by case basis. I have placed dogs into homes that fit on many of the "I will never adopt to..." lists that I have seen. These are all great homes but had young children active in extracurricular activities, wanted a second male basenji, owner is in college, first time owner and lives in the city, and no yard. One thing doesn't really describe a household. It really takes good screening to get the whole picture. The family with children has a great schedule because they have had to in order to keep up with their children's activities, the puppy fit right into their schedule and gets lots of attention and even has her own activity schedule.
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Some do…and some BRAT screeners also do. At least, from what I have been told..._
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With BRAT it is not just discourage but flat out refuse on the basis of things like young children, no fenced yard, etc. They have very little flexibility when it comes to their criteria._ -
I have to agree. We have contacted BRAT for fostering and after a month of waiting I haven't gotten so much as a response. I have noticed to that on the website they say that if the dog has not been exposed to children they won't even be considered. I think that is crazy. It is discouraging for people looking.
