@Patty:

When I saw the picture of Honey I din't think she had Basenji in her. Some rescue kennels see a white blaze and need nothing more. It doesn't really matter does it? She is still your lovely Honey!

That is absolutely true - she's my Honey!

Time for another (probably final) update: I've learned that my pound puppy is probably a lab/aussie mix instead of a Basenji mix. The pound informed me a year later that she had been in the system another time before I adopted her, but for some reason they gave her another id number and another guess at her heritage. Then they realized she was a dog that had been there before as a lab/aussie mix. I may get a dna test someday just because I'm curious, but it really doesn't matter.

Another update: My brother, who rescued cats and wasn't always quick enough in the spay/neuter department, died in August 2008 and left me with over 50 cats – just as the economy tanked and the rescue groups became even more swamped with foreclosure pets. After a few adoptions, a few deaths, and a large transfer to the one rescue group that would accept some, I brought a dozen cats to my home to live with Honey and my five cats. A dozen more cats who had never lived with a dog, and many of which were afraid of me. I laughed and I cried. (I also started a blog: http://eastsidevalleycats.blogspot.com/ )

My blog entry for May 19th of last year states: "…When I was home for the weekend, I would leave the pet gate open for hours and things went well, but I didn't want to leave all day for work with it open until I had a good deal of experience seeing their interactions. Well, Honey now acts much like my other dogs always did around the cats -- sneaks bites of yummy noms from their bowls and runs to check on them when she hears yowling/squalling/hissing, and so I unscrewed the fasteners, took the gate down and put it away in a bedroom. I now have one less thing to trip over, and the cats and dog officially live together... except for the closed, locked door that helps retain some of my sanity at night when they willingly traipse into the bedrooms to enjoy their bowls filled with canned food, and I run out and shut the door before they can escape, er.. follow me to the rest of the house."

So there is a happy ending to the story of Honey and 17 cats - but is she part Basenji, and does it relate to this forum???

For future reference, I want to update readers on Honey's progress with the cats. The behaviorist has not yet worked with Honey, but she did give me tips on using rewards while Honey was in the presence of the cats to help counter-condition her behavior. Honey's weakness is chicken and she will do anything that I have asked her to do so far for bites of shaved chicken.

I worked with Honey in the back patio with the cats loose and Honey on a leash. She quickly calmed down while in the presence of the cats, and after numerous sessions became easy to manage even without the chicken to distract her. She still showed a lot of interest in the cats, but allowed them close enough to her that they started relaxing in her presence also. (Three of them had lived with my other cat-friendly dogs who passed away last year, and two young males had never been around a dog until Honey moved in this year.) One male, Silver, started coming up towards Honey in a very assertive manner, and Honey reacted by avoiding his stare and stepping back from his approach. She shows more interest in the other cats who show less assertive behavior towards her.

Last week, for the first time, I opened the pet gate and let Silver step into the part of the house where Honey was UN-leashed. Silver walked slowly, but assertively around Honey and sniffed her. He walked around the living room and then rolled over on his back and stared at Honey – Honey followed him around as he walked but did avoid looking at him when he came close to her -- until Silver started drinking out of Honey's water dish. Honey looked at him with concern then, and I stepped in to claim the dish and keep Honey from advancing. When Silver was done, he walked around some more and Honey went back to just following at a distance. I put Silver back on the other side of the gate after a few minutes, and things were fine.

Since then, I let Pepper, a female who lived with my other dogs, thru the gate and she and Honey did well for a few minutes also. This morning, I let Silver thru the gate and got my camera to document Honey's progress. Silver is looking aggressive in this photo, but he never growled or swatted at Honey, he just gave her "the look", and Honey behaved by giving him space.

There is still much work to do before I could let them all together, and I know that Honey will chase a running cat, but I am more confident that her intentions are only to "play", and that her behavior can be modified to interact with the cats in a manner that is safe for all.

When I was a kid, we had a Collie, Major, and when he was old, my mom got a Siamese kitten. Poor Major was so nice to that kitten. Major would lie down and the kitten would curl up inside Major's legs, which was cute, but then he would start grooming Major's paws, and Major would give us a "long-suffering look", get up and move away to lie down somewhere else. Then it would happen all over again. The kitten would continue until we picked him up and diverted his attention.

My Elkhounds didn't play with the cats, but they loved to watch the cats play inside grocery sacks, etc. My Schipperke, Shadow, would break up cat arguments, at least those with his favorite cat, Cupcakes (also black like my Schip). Shadow would give a body block to the other cat that was arguing with Cupcakes – never did it to Cupcakes.

Squirt followed me home when I was walking Shadow. One of my cats was lying in the front yard, and Squirt walked by her without even giving her a glance -- passed the cat test. Tater was cat-tested by my male cat, Blackjack, when he came as a foster dog. Blackjack walked towards Tater until Tater stepped backwards two steps. Then Blackjack stepped forward again, and Tater backed up again. Blackjack then turned around and walked off, as if to say "You passed the test, you can stay."

I've scheduled an appointment with the behaviorist/trainer, and am adding a new technique to the desensitization sessions - giving yummies when Honey "looks at" a cat. Cats = receiving yummies. Honey liked today's session.

I appreciate hearing all the stories and tips, especially the "happy ending" stories! Thanks!

@RockysWoman:

Okay, deep breath here. Breathe in… breathe out. Alright, now that we've got that out of the way...
...Yes, the cats will be put off (they were once worshiped as gods and have never forgiven humanity for dethroning them)...

Thanks for that – after reading some of the "Basenji aggression" posts here, it was good to laugh AND take a deep breath!

@RockysWoman:

It takes time… but patience and calmness (as well as giving each critter its own "safe place") will win the day. Even after living together 3 years, Rock & Ron still love to harass each other and play "chase" and "guess where I'm hiding before I beat you senseless"... Honey will come round. Channel the energy into playing ball or with a toy when ever she starts to get excited about the cats. ...

That is what I have been doing, and will continue with the behaviorist. I've had dogs and cats together all my life, even when I was growing up. Some of the posts about Basenji "prey drive" and "hunting instincts" added to her behavior with the cats has me worried that this particular mix of animals doesn't always work out well – for the cats. Thanks for the encouragement and the photos of your crew being congenial together. If I knew exactly what would happen if I let Honey t-o-u-c-h one of the cats, I would have my answer, but I still can't tell whether she is "just boinking them with her nose" or "preparing for a kill"!

@jaclempner:

… I have always had dogs and cats at the same time and never before have I seen a dog that my cats could not train. All my cats trained my puppies by simply smacking/scatching them if the puppies/dogs came near them. That's how they learned to respect the cats. The basenjis are another story. The cats are just too much fun to chew on to let any scratching stop them. And I've noticed they go after some cats more than others. All in play, but the cats that aren't afraid of them have much less trouble - or maybe they simply think it's fun to be chewed on! If things get too rough, the cats will go under the couch and play with the dog from there (they play mostly with my bboy.)

Good luck, and I think you'll find that a behaviorist can be a big help.

Thanks! I got 2 names from my vet and have contacted one so far, and will call the second on Monday. If Honey will "only" play with the cats, my worst fears would be over – then there's the fears about what happens to the house during the dog/cat chase - but that's a minor issue compared to my fears of mangled/dead cats. At least now I have more stories about Basenji/cats living together safely -- hopefully she is just trying to get them to play with her.

I'm afraid that I've made a major mistake in choosing Honey (only due to the cats). Today we had a good session on the back patio with the cats freely walking around the back yard and Honey (leashed) lying down "looking" more relaxed than when we started last week (she was standing and pulling towards the cats to start with), but after a car ride to PetsMart, we were out in the front yard talking with a neighbor and one of the cats came up very close. I had a good grip on the leash, but released the tension to allow some contact if friendly - the cat was ready to give her a head butt, but Honey made a darting motion with her mouth towards the cat (as she has done before). I asked the neighbor what she saw, and she said that she saw no teeth, but a definite snap/grab towards the cat. She and her husband kept some hunting dogs in Germany, and she believes that Honey shows definite "passion" for hunting.

I am willing to pay for a behaviorist to work with us but my goal would not be having the dog/cats living in separate sections of the house. I feel strongly that the animals who were here first deserve to retain their home privileges and that it is my duty to make it possible for them to have free run of their home WITH the dog or WITHOUT the dog. If Honey had been here first, I'd feel the same about protecting her sense of wellbeing in her own home.

I think Honey would get adopted again if I took her back to the shelter, but I hate to put her thru all that again. I may look for a rescue that would let me act as foster parent for her while they look for a suitable home for her (don't know if any would do that, but it makes sense to me). I feel like a traitor to even think about this, but I'd feel worse if she maimed or killed one of the cats.

I guess I'll start with my vet - he said he could recommend a behaviorist; I can at least see what their evaluation recommends…

Honey has learned to "sit & wait" for permission to approach her food dish after it's put on the floor, and will sit and wait before going out the door for our walks (although that requires a food reward usually). She is better about letting me go into another room behind a closed door and doesn't bark/whine right away. I was proud of her accomplishments so far, but the most important thing for her to learn may be more than her instincts will allow…

I've read some threads and seen the cat sleeping on Basenji and read about baby-gates being required forever with others. Just wondering about a show of hands from those who have experienced bringing a Basenji into a home with cats – how many have been successful at becoming friendly, how many are having to stay separate for safety? Thanks for any responses.

For those with time to read a few details:
I just adopted a Basenji mix and have found that for the first time in my life, I have a problem introducing my dog to my cats. My last two dogs lived with three of the cats easily, and I've brought a neighbor's dog in since my two dogs died last year to introduce the two new cats to the idea of dogs.

Honey, my new dog, shows GREAT interest in the cats, but made little feinting snaps (while on a leash) at one, and I've been working on desensitizing her to them (and now them to her after that incident) but am worried that permanent separation of the species might be required. I've never had this come up before (had Norwegian Elkhounds, Schipperke, Schnoodle-mix, and Lhasa-mix). I tried to "cat-test" her at the shelter, but none of the cats would come up to the front of their kennel when we were there, and Honey seemed to show some expected tentativeness and no obvious signs of aggression.

Anne and Arlene – thanks for the welcome!

Adopted Honey from the County shelter a week and a half ago – Basenji mix, but have no idea what the other part might be...

She seems to be adjusting to her new surroundings pretty well...

I hope to be able to photograph her with the cats, after I convince her they are not "chase toys"... and convince the cats that she will learn to be as nice as the other dogs they have lived with... I hope, I hope, I hope...

Oh, they are having a great time! What an adorable puppy, and Savannah is such a graceful looking girl.