Best posts made by Aileen

I was just reading an article from BRAT that was published in a dog magazine, I don’t remember the name. The article tells the story of the basenjis roots in Africa, the early struggles of the European and American breeders and so on. It gives all the warnings one should take very seriously before choosing a basenji because so many of them are relinquished or abused and neglected.
Then the article describes the beauty, speed, agility and grace of the basenji. It’s charm, the bizarre noises they make, their intelligence and their wild dog intuition and their independence, and best of all what wonderful friends they become.
I read things like this and rejoice in how lucky I am. Having basenjis is like a dream come true. My pups, age 5 and 3, are more precious to me than any diamond or to own a Ferrari or live on the sea coast. They are my everyday treasure. I think they are the most beautiful creature on the planet. So, when one of them puts his soft little nose into the palm of my hand looking for his long luxurious back rub, I am filled with joy. Here I am at 66 years old embarking on this wonderful adventure. Anyone else feel this way and just want to share the joy, excitement, warmth, hilarity of being a lucky basenji mom or dad? “Every walk is a safari. “

My beautiful boy, Arlo, turned two years old in Dec. he is a real show stopper here in Western NY. I've had people pull their cars over to ask his breed, or say is he a basenji and that basenjis are their favorite breed. One guy was so excited to see a basenji he got his 2 kids out of the car to meet him. Arlo has been a lot of work and I'm telling you there have been days I've wondered why on earth I did this to myself or why didn't I just get a retriever or a rescue dog. What is it about basenjis? In spite of that he is my best friend the love of my life and of more value than anything money can buy. He and I have come such a long long way. He obeys many commands now and we're working on "place" with some degree of success so we can eat a meal with him in the room. Heaven! Previously our meals were either crate him or rescue everything you forgot to put at the back of the counter from his jaws. He will give you your stuff back happily but he's still a happy dog because before you can return to your seat at the table he has stolen your napkin or something from your plate. He is naughty, but hilarious. He will either be the end of me or add years to my life expectancy. Time will tell. However this "place" thing may be a life-changer. I would post a photo of his beautiful self but haven't figured out how to do that yet. I'll have to recruit a child to instruct me. I'm 65 years young.

Dear friends, I so enjoyed reading this conversation and I learned so much. I’m a beginner, (adopted my first at 12 weeks after he was rejected by his first owner and sent back to the breeder on an airplane. He was said to be too aggressive). He has had some issues with aggression but certainly not too bad. Now we have adopted a 5 year old female who had had puppies twice. She is more fearful and nervous. My heart goes out to you for giving your boy a new start in a forever home, and I love you for all the care and attention you are giving him to help him through these early fearful times. Those of you who gave advice are helping me me as well with new ideas for my little girl. They certainly are a breed of their own and I appreciate hearing from people who understand that and know what they’re doing. Thanks to you all.

Hello, I’ve been leading a basenji-Mom life with Arlo for 3 years and our new love since January, little 5 year old Tully. I’ve always had dogs in my life but basenjis were new to me. I have the advantage of being retired so I do have the extra time a working person doesn’t. But I started reading about them quite a while before adopting one which I think helped me so much. Read everything you can get your hands on. (If you haven’t. ) The more I read the more fascinated I became. So I had the advantage of never expecting Arlo to be like any other breed. I loved the whole idea of the basenji. However, even given all I just said, I happened to read an entry in a journal written when we had probably had Arlo a couple of months. I was shocked to read how frustrated I was and actually angry with myself for starting over with a puppy. Arlo was driving me nuts. Peeing and pooping as soon as we came in the house from a long walk. Stealing my daughter’s underwear and destroying it. Stealing anything he could get his teeth into and running away at 90 miles an hour. Flip-flops were his specialty. I’m not sure how many, but we lost quite a few to his razor sharp teeth. He even bit my husband! And here 3years later I had forgotten all that bad stuff until I read it. My own little testimony to basenji puppy craziness. Here’s the thing. They are a lot of work. All puppies are, but it’s exponential with basenjis. They are just too damn smart. Basenjis are a bigger challenge.So, I reached out to the breeder, I read and read, I worked with our trainer and loved and loved that dog. My husband and I love how basenjis are different. We probably bore people to death with our stories and photos. What happens, I think, is that the basenji changes you. You become part of the crazy and exotic basenji world until you'd never settle for any other breed. Ever. So: my advice is to give little Pippa all the love you can. hold her. cuddle her. Find out what she likes. And yes, be firm. She needs to know you’re the boss. (Well Arlo is so full of himself he probably still thinks he’s the boss, just like my cats do). Pippa needs to be the biggest thing in your life right now. She is your little baby. Yeah, she’s going to make you crazy and you will wonder what in the world you were thinking when you adopted her. BUT: Like me, all this stuff passes in time if you just give it time and do the work and do the research and get support. And like everyone says, the rewards will be beyond your expectations. And remember, she is a Basenji. A dog like no other. You did right to reach out to this forum. Please ignore the people who say mean things. There are way more people here who will befriend you and support you. As long as you do what you need to do to love and raise your Pippa. Also, I’d give that crate another try, and put up with the screaming. It’s awful, but each night it got a little bit less horrible until the screaming stopped. The crate will keep her safe and keep your home from being destroyed. I would not leave my guys unsupervised with the run of the house. If they’re crated I know they’re safe. Best of luck to you and keep us up-dated.

I'm sorry your pups have gone on ahead. I can't imagine how I will get through that loss someday. I've been through it and think I'll never start again because the pain of losing your pet young or old is just so awful. But here I am again with a 3 year old basenji and having the time of my life. Living in the moment.

I have joined Basenji forum before but lost my password. So I've re-joined now and am trying to learn my way around the website. I tried to post a picture of my basenji, Arlo but I couldn't figure out how. I was basically going around in a circle if you get my meaning, and got nowhere. Any suggestions?

I am new to this forum so I offer this advice with respect and humility. When writing a letter or a text or email etc., be careful in the way you express yourself. Read over what you have written. Is this how you would speak to another person face to face? Sometimes our written messages comes off sounding mean or officious without intending to offend anyone. Like this: “ All staff members on the committee report to my office. “ OR
“Good morning. Would everyone who’s on the committee please pop over to my office this morning”. One sounds unfriendly one sounds friendly. Which one would you rather hear? This is just common curtesy. If you’ve ever been told you sounded rude in your written communication, take the criticism like an adult. Look twice at what you wrote. Have someone else proofread your messages. As in everything, kindness begets kindness. And you will accomplish more and be happier.

Forgot to tell you how beautiful your 2 Basenjis were. Exquisite is the word.

Hi, we have just adopted a 5 year old female to be a companion for our 3 year old neutered male. She isn’t spayed yet as she was used for breeding. She has only had 2 litters. She is from the same breeder as my boy. A good breeder. I’m introducing them gradually and with Hawkeye surveillance but I made a dumb mistake. I attempted to give each of them a treat and my boy attacked her. There was an ugly fight and my guy got the worst of it. I hope he learned something from that. She will see our vet this week to make arrangements for her spaying. Does anyone have any ideas that would ease their getting used to each other? Or even words of encouragement? I want so much for them to be friends and I know it won’t happen over night, but I’d like some help from you who have done this. Thanks for reading.

Thank you for these helpful ideas. I will definitely use this experience you have shared and I won’t give up. Thanks for encouragement.

I see your post was back in Jan. so I hope you have your new basenji settled in. I also adopted a beasenji in Jan. She is my second. I adopted a 5 year old to be with my 3 yr. old, who had had 2 litters in the past and was bred for a 3rd one, but didn’t get pregnant. So the breeder, the same breeder our boy came from, decided to let her go to a forever home. I had to wait quite a while for her to be ready and I felt just like you. I couldn’t wait! I kept texting the breeder questions, request for photos, etc. When we picked her up she seemed comfortable with us right from the start. She has been a wonderful addition to our family, a good match for our 3yr. old boy. He’s a toughie but I think he’s met his match with her. He’s so much happier with his own friend. They love to be together. I hope your new pup is adjusting just as well as mine. Have fun. I think they make us laugh every day. Yes, you have to be on your toes with these guys, you have to make them a big part of your life. They can never just be a fixture. They are work but it’s worth it all. 3 years ago I was a newbie but not anymore, and I’m loving this wild ride.

Oh I can certainly identify with the toddler thing. How true! My son is a grown man now but as a little boy he shared many personality traits with my boy basenji. Sounds terrible but too true. Defiant, independent, bored by any of my attempts to teach him anything, fast as hell and agile, absolutely show stopping cute, too smart for his own good, escape artist, afraid of nothing, small but thought he was pretty big stuff, I’m sure you get the picture. There have been quite a few times of utter exasperation when my basenji boy is just driving me nuts and I have unthinkingly yelled out, “MATT STOP IT”. Matt is my son, not my dog.