The article about Good Bye M'Lady was great. As well as the other. I don't know... that movie just really resonates with me. I'd love it even if it wasn't a Basenji.
Back to the AKC show... I was really happy to see a Tri in the mix. Like I said, I never really paid much attention to them until recently. Never paid much attention to Brindles or Trindles till I started coming here all the time. Zaki got me hooked on Brindles.
Thinking out loud... I'd made a comment months back regarding the Basenji standard and who came up with it. Not as an accusatory question, but more for trying to understand how we got here. When I look at pictures of Basenjis that are in the Congo... they look feral. The colors, the ears, the size, all of it is all over the map. I kinda dig that. Then, when I look at ours, at least in the US, I can see that show dogs have a lot in common, if not color.
One thing that helped me understand how we got here was a YouTube Video that featured Carol Web. I learned of her from my breeder. Carol did a great job of explaining the how and why Basenji breeders have taken the breed in the direction they have. And, I agree with that direction.
When I look at the colors... Chestnut (red and white), Black and White, Tri, Brindle and Trindle... the color combos at first glance seem very uniform, but the more I've looked at them the more I'm able to find the differences between individuals, which is really fun. There are some things I personally like... like breaks in color, spots and things like that. I've developed a much greater appreciation for head and body shape too thanks to knowledgeable people helping me to see them.
Our Basenjis are not the same as the Basenjis in the Congo anymore. Ours have become Basenjis that work for us temperament wise, and are bred keeping in mind how we live and interact with them as Carol pointed out in the video. I get that now. Add health testing and caution against too much interbreeding and... I think it works for our Basenjis. I've leaned so much from my breeder and from folks here.
As an owner the question I hear most is "What kind of dog is that?" No one knows what a Basenji is, or they might have have heard the name, but have never seen one in person. They seem to universally love the way they look, but don't know much. That was me even when Jengo was alive. I wonder if people even consider that there are other color patterns other than Chestnut? I really didn't. Seeing Dark Moon's Black Tri Affair in a National AKC show sure helps that, I think.
One last thing... I went back to @Zande's site and looked up Sparkle, our female. Her mom was a gorgeous Tri. I also found a Brindle and a Black and White in her line as well. Pretty cool!
