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.
San Diego Meeting?
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Hi Jerrica - and Sharla too! A couple of us meet frequently (couple of times a week) at Fiesta Island with our basenjis. There's a big meetup group on yahoo but meetings have been sporadic lately since we tried to do a regular twice a month things. When it was more of a special occasion, we've had as many as 12 basenjis at one park or another.
if you go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=san+diego+basenjis you can sign up and that puts you in touch with all of us.
Welcome to the forums, and to the wonderful world of basenjis in SD.
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Oh really?? We were just on Fiesta Island today! Our senji, Nesta, ran into the water chasing a bird! Boy, we were surprised! She was so unsure what to do when she was waist deep in the water! LOL! When are you going out there next?
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We'll be there tomorrow at some point.
Can't remember if we're supposed to post direct emails on here, but I'll try - if you email me at mercato at littleitalysd dot com (write it like a regular email, I'm just breaking it up to thwart spammers) I'll contact you from there and we can trade cell #'s. We usually text each other to set a time for meeting up. Our two and Dan's boy meet regularly there and there are 4 others that we run into often.
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Hi, I couldn't get an email through to you! Maybe try emailing me? It's my username here on basenji forums at hotmail dot com.
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Hi all. Do you still meet on Saturdays? I just joined the forum a few days ago. I live in Mission Valley and have zero Basenjis to play with. I do have a small dog park to go to, but I've never seen a Basenji there.
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Not sure about Saturdays, the Sunday group has not been very regular. 4-5 of us are semi-regulars at Fiesta Island mostly in the afternoons around 4 pm but it's unstructured. We text each other or just show and see who we run in to.
In fact, we're heading there in about half an hour with our two B's. If you're around, pop over and we'll see you there!
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We might have just missed you. We ran into Nesta and played for a while. Maybe next weekend…
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Thought I'd post a link to a Basenji at a local shelter (EHS) just in case you need more Basenji in your life or know someone who does.
She's a sweet four year old spayed female who is gentle, great with dog-savvy kids and other dogs. Here's her PetFinder link with more info:http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/17717266
I've posted her in the rescue forum but wanted to make sure that our San Diego friends knew that she was here and still awaiting a home.
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Hi all I live with my sister temporarily in Rancho Berna and visit my bf in encinitas and have only seen one other B would love for mine to meet others my baby who is 1 has only meet his sister who is 9 he is a brindle and she is a red. Would love to, set others. Is fiesta island a fenced in area? If not do u guys go to eencinitas poway or rancho Bernardo or Torrey pines? Please txt me or email me 6197436921 or snoopyslove@gmail.com
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Hi, I have two Basenjis and would like to know if any of the Basenjis owner in San Diego area (PB area) would like to meet up at the dog park. I live in
Pacific Beach. I normally take them to Capehart Dog Park or Mission Trails.
