@Rita:

Great reading about the Basenji the good and the shall we say there way. Yes they can more or less be stubborn. Jaycee has not really chewed up furniture but we are always with her. I could see her having fun with furniture if she got bored or lonesome. Any dog can be destructive. Children need to learn to respect the dog and it is our place as adults to teach our children that. Jaycee is around 5 to 10 children everyday and was 7 months old 26th of July. The children are good with her and she is good with them. No bites from her and no hitting or yelling or kicking from children.

They love to walk and run have fun, play. Must keep them on a leash if not in your yard or in house they can run and I do mean run. See bird or anything they like they are off and gone after it.

When your daughter was 2 did she get into everything well the Basenji is something like that.

I am sure and I hope more on this forum will jump in and tell you more. Please what ever you do please be sure this is the correct dog for you and your family. They are so cool and need homes that will love them and keep them to the end of time.

Thank you for asking for information and I wish you the best of luck. Let us all know what you do.

Rita Jean

@Janneke:

Hi Ray, welcome to the forum

I think it's great that you are trying to find as many information about this breed, before adding a B to your family!

I believe you should choose a dog first of all because it's character appeals to you. I hear you saying: "size, short hair, "barkless", somewhat odorless", and I think there are more breeds around that are that as well (maybe not the barkless part.. ;)).

About the: "destructive", "stubborn" , "chews up furniture" and "aggressive towards children".. I think "stubborn" definitely fits a B.. Big time.. "destructive".. Maybe.. When you say you like to jog and bring the dog so he can loose some of his energy, that's great. This will make sure the pup has less energy to focus on your furniture. I do believe that Basenjis LOVE to defluff things more than other breeds do…...

Aggressive towards children? I don't believe they are when they are well socialized. Your task to find a responsible breeder

Thank you and thank you. Made me lean more towards yay rather than nay

@lvoss:

Have you had a chance to meet basenjis in person and visit them in a home? I highly recommend visiting with basenjis. Good breeders welcome potential basenji owners to come and meet the breed and if there aren't any locally but there are basenji owners that they know in the area they are sometimes able to put you in touch with them .

Yes, the breeder I visited last Tuesday had 2 pairs. I was there for maybe 30 minutes and seemed very well tempered. They showed zero behavior problems.

@lvoss:

All dogs can be destructive, can seem stubborn, and if not well socialized and of sound temperament can have difficulties with children, elderly, handicapped or any one outside of their normal experience. It is a well known saying around here, "A bored Basenji is a BAD Basenji and a tired Basenji is GOOD Basenji." This is really true, if your basenji is getting enough companionship, mental stimulation, and physical activity then you probably won't see the destructive side but a bored basenji will invent ways to entertain itself. I tell every perspective owner that I can garuntee they will not find those activities nearly as entertaining as the basenji did.

Also, be aware that barkless does not mean silent. My girls love to yodel and sing. My boy is quite capable of sounding like a fire engine. My mom had a neighborhood full of unhappy neighbors on Monday when someone attempted to break into her house through the backyard and her 4 basenjis, pitched a fit until she arrived home to settle them.

Thank you very much for the great explanation.

@nobarkus:

Well Ray any dog can have the above behaviors you listed. Also barkless does not always = quiet. A Basenji can be noisy, not barking but the sounds it makes such as yodeling, baroooing or if really unhappy screaming. All this depends on the particular dog. If you get a puppy from a reputable breeder you have a better chance of a well behaved dog and the breeder will work with you even after you take the puppy home.

Thank you for the reply nobarkus. I agree that any dog can be destructive to some point. I guess what you are saying is that it's all up to the owner and how the dog is raised? If that is the case I should not have too many problems.

Yes, we are getting it from a breeder. We met with them this past Tuesday and they seem to be very professional and aware of the breed they are selling.

Hello everyone,

After months of research and discussion with my better half, we have decided on purchasing a Basenji. There are many traits that attracted us to this breed, such as size, short hair, "barkless", somewhat odorless, high energy (we jog a lot) and I really liked the fact that this breed has been domesticated so long ago.

The more I read the more I'm thinking that we MAYBE making a mistake. For some reason, in the past couple of days all I have been stumbling across online are negatives such as "destructive", "stubborn" , "chews up furniture" and "aggressive towards children"

I figure I'd ask everyone here since you actually own this type of breed. I would hate to not pick one up because of one persons bad experience.

More about us:

We have a 5 year old daughter and we live in a 3 story home with plenty of running space in our fenced back yard. We plan on crate training it and walk it minimum twice daily. The longest it will stay in it's crate on weekdays is 5-6 hours (until fully trained).

Thanks in advance for your help.
Ray