He is! I can really see both sides of it depending on his mood. Sometimes you can see the internal struggle in his face…it's the funniest thing. He'll hear a command and have this look on his face as though he's thinking, "...I want to do it...but I also kind of don't want to..." and after a bit of thinking he'll either plop his butt down or waltz off.

Hi everyone!! We adopted this little booger from the Animal Foundation on Friday.

Maximus, or Max for short, is a Basenji mix. Our guess is part German Shepherd, but who knows! He's a big boy, weighing in at about 53 pounds and about a head taller than purebred Basenjis. Max was an owner surrender due to a relocation/new landlord not allowing pets. He's INCREDIBLY smart, and definitely did not get the Basenji's inability to bark. He gets very excited when he sees other dogs so gets quite vocal. He also has a bit of separation anxiety, which is to be expected. Had to leave our neighbors a letter and some candy begging for forgiveness while we work on that.

When we picked Max up, he only barely knew "sit." Now he knows sit, down, stay, "go to your room" and leave/drop it. Of course, only when there's nothing around distracting him. Work in progress He is just the biggest sweetheart though!

Thank you all for the warm welcome!! I've always loved the smart little rascals the most since they keep me on my toes and never fail to give a good laugh. Plus, they REALLY make me step up my tidiness.

Timesthemyth - yes! Huskies/malamutes are such little devils, so that comparison is comforting…although I doubt we'll be letting our guards down anytime soon.

Brian - thank you and so good to hear from a former Nevadan! I was especially happy in my research to find that Basenjis love and crave warmth. The weather here will definitely spoil our little one but there will be plenty of sweaters and bundling for the two cold months out of the year.

Hi all! My name is Lily and I've been lurking these forums for a few weeks now, so I guess it's time to reveal myself and say hello.

Ryan (my much better half) and I are excited, nervous and anxious future parents of our first little B. We're currently mid-move to Henderson, NV (the suburbs just southeast of Las Vegas) where we just purchased our first home. I've been lucky enough to have been chatting with Pat of Tanza about this incredible breed and her breeding plans for this coming Fall. Thank you, Pat, for your patience in answering my millions of questions.

Needless to say, we've been spending countless hours reading everything we can get our hands on, watching every video, throwing ideas for call names around and literally interior designing based on where the crate, doggy beds, sunny spots, etc. will be. Okay, the last part might just be me… I also have racked up quite an extensive Amazon wishlist of things I'll need to get which is now being referred to as my baby shower registry (not far off).

I grew up with and raised a variety of breeds (English springer spaniel, huskies and malamutes, rottweilers, akita, golden retriever and some rescues...at times mixed in with cats and hamsters too haha ) and it has been far too long where I have not had a furry child by my side. After researching breeds endlessly, Ryan and I both fell in love with everything about basenjis. As I said, we're so thrilled to have a clever little handful join our family soon. We'll definitely be antsy these next eight months, to say the least, but that's plenty of time to figure out where to hide the toilet paper!

I'm very glad I stumbled upon these forums a few weeks ago because there is just so much knowledge and advice being shared. Thank you all!