Rita Jean, so where can we see pictures of your Basenjis + Shiba?? 
I hear what you're saying about Shibas that are not to be trusted off leash (the same goes for Basenji too, right?). But I count ourselves lucky to be living in such a great part of the US (if not the world) where safe, off-leash dog parks are very common. The funny thing is that just last weekend, Bowdu and I went walking around at a large off-leash dog park, and we walked right into the middle of a Shiba family reunion. Suddenly we found ourselves surrounded by a throng of Shiba owners who were shocked to see Bowdu walking around off leash and wanted to know how I did it. We never trained him specially. At certain places like parks with clearly-marked hiking trails, he just knows to keep us in sight, and has never dashed off in pursuit of critters, despite many a temptation that has presented itself. I do, however, have to leash him back up well before any parking lot comes into sight, and I would never walk him around off-leash in my neighborhood along the sidewalks or in anywhere close to streets.
It's weird, but I can't tell you the number of times we've seen off-leash Shiba in Taiwan, where we were originally living when we got Bowdu. It's a popular breed there, as it is in Japan. I was always shocked to see Shiba walking so comfortably alongside their owners in some of the most congested cities and sidewalks, where people are often very careless with driving scooters up on the sidewalk, etc. Bowdu NEVER got used to it – he'd be quaking uncontrollably, tail tucked between his legs, despite daily walks and all our attempts to get him accustomed to the urban environment. He was so nervous to the extent that he NEVER peed on three legs until we moved to the United States, believe it or not. We came here about four years ago, and it's been a good doggy life ever since.
We wanted to open up our home to a second dog because we know we can provide a good life. I think it's suddenly hit the new girl that her previous owner's not coming back anytime soon, and she seems a little down. She spent almost all of yesterday sleeping or curled up in a donut-ring on the couch. We all spent a couple hours outside at a little dog park, and at the pet store to buy some treats and new supplies -- she loved that, and rode very well in the car. But as soon as we came home, she just returned to her position on the couch and stayed there. She wasn't interested in hanging out in the backyard either, like our Shiba loves to do. I left the living room to enter my den at one point, wondering if she would join me, but she didn't come looking. There's a whole half of the house (the bedroom, the den) that she doesn't seem willing to explore very much, even though she's allowed.
I wonder if this is because she's used to spending most of the day crated, and so she is pretty low-energy in general. Or she just hasn't come out of her shell yet.
Bowdu, meanwhile, has been behaving as he is wont to do as if very little has changed. He mostly ignores her, though I found them both curled up on the couch (at opposite ends) this morning. It only gets tense when food is present, which is to be expected. So we're working on that, but taking it easy with treats and whatnot as it seems to be a stress factor especially for Bowdu.
I have another food-related issue that I'll take to another forum, as this entry is getting VERY long.
) These two are my favorite breeds and I've often thought about sharing my home with a few of each.
