@tanza said in Article on Basenjis:
@donc - If you are saying that a Basenji is "for ornament" and not for function, then you need to do more research. My Basenjis are all dual champions, conformation and performance. As they say, form follows function... and in the end it depends on what the owners/breeders are breeding for and what they want to do with their Basenjis.... you can't just judge all Basenjis (including imports). My Maggii from the 90's was totally domestic bred, she was long in the back, she finished in the show ring because she had outstanding movement. She was also a field champion, however her interest was for real game, not the plastic bags...LOL
There are a couple of facts which aren't arguable. One is that Basenjis generally bred in the US don't look like the Basenjis in Africa. Two is that Basenjis throughout Africa look more like each other than they look like US bred Basenjis.
Since Africa is a huge continent this tells us that Basenjis in Africa share physical traits which have functional value. And to the extent that Basenjis in the US don't share those physical traits this tells us that these traits are there for non-functional reasons. Additionally, given that the differences you've identified -- longer backs, lower tail sets, less curled tails -- are known to provide a functional advantage, it's clear that the Basenjis bred in the US have different physical traits for non-functional, e.g. ornamental, reasons.
Of course there is nothing wrong with breeding for ornament. Many dog breeds are bred for exactly that purpose. However, if this is what you want to do then you should own it and not pretend otherwise.
My objection to the comment about the dog from Africa being "pudgy" -- which if you looked at the picture is quite inaccurate -- is that it assumes the ornamental is superior to the functional. Or put another way, that the "fake" Basenji looks more like a Basenji than a "real" Basenji from Africa. Which of course is a bit silly.
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