Basenji. Anyone have any familiarity with this breed?

[Taltarzac]

There are two of these that show up weekly or so at the Doggie Doo Run Run. (DDRR) But, these are the only basenjis I have ever encountered.

The ones at the DDRR seem rather aloof for the most part. One is a bit aggressive at times with smaller dogs while the other one kind of just hangs around its owner and growls at you when you try to pet it on the head. The aggressive one does not mind being petted though even if it is a bit of a problem to other small dogs.

I am told that they do not bark from some resources while I believe these two dogs' owner said that they do but rarely.

I guess every breed has its individuals.

I would never have guessed I would own a part chihuahua after my experiences as a kid riding my bike past a full bred chihuahua's fenced in yard in Reno, Nevada. That pooch acted like a junk yard dog when I would pedal by his fenced in yard like he wanted to take a jaw sized chuck out of me or my bike.

[TheMilkyWay]

I am familiar with this breed from about 15 years ago. They are very needy and require constant attention with people around them allll the time. Since I was alone I wasn't a good choice for the breed and as much as I hated to give her up, I had too. She went to a wonder family with children and other dogs so she had a wonderful forever home with them. You received correct information that they do not bark. They do however make a yodel sound. They are very feline, jumping up and down on everything like your family cat. They are a unique breed and their needs have to be closely examined before getting one. They should NOT be allowed off lead because of their hound and will jump a 6" feet to get where they are going with no regard for traffic or otherwise. They are special and adorable but not for everyone, especially not a single person or a sedate older couple, NOT!

[redwitch]

Basenjis are called barkless dogs although that is not quite accurate. They don't have a full-throated bark but do have a yodel, growl with the best of dogs and make other, various noises. They were used as hunting dogs in ancient Egypt, where they were ultimately considered minor gods and Central Africa. For the most part, they are very protective of their master and are very much one-person dogs. The aggressiveness to smaller dogs is not really common but not really rare, either. Some are accepting of other humans, some are not. Just don't threaten the owner -- you might just lose vital parts of you. lol The main thing to remember is that they are hounds with the energy and stubbornness of hounds (think beagle with a mild case of ADD and a HUGE case of mischief).

[Mikitv]

Yes we and friends owned Basenji's at one time. The dog loved my husband and was extremely anti social with anyone else. We finally had to give her up because she just couldn't function as a family pet. The same with our frineds dog, loved the wife and was nasty to everyone else that came near. We took our dog to a breeder and he thought we were wrong until he tried to hold the dog and she almost bit his hand off. The person who took our dog was single and lived alone on large property and him and the dog were fine.

[Pturner]

Interesting. We used to have a neighbor who had one. The Basenji was not friendly to me or my dog at all. Eventually, he became more tolerant of me, as I learned basically to ignore him and not try to speak to him or pet him when he was outside with his Momma and I stopped to talk to her.

[Pturner]

Oh, my post sounded harsh toward the breed, and I didn't really mean to be. No doubt it can be a loving pet in the right circumstances. For example, a person who lives alone might benefit from a protective, but non dangerous dog. Also, can't judge the whole breed based on one dog.

:doggie:

[Mikitv]

There was a program on Sunday Morning Show awhile back about Basenji's and their popularity during the 60's when we had ours. Because they had become so popular they were having problems due to the over breeding. Might explain why we had problems with ours. This gentlemen actually went to Africa to try and bring back Basenji's from there and try to work with breeding them again. Never saw anymore on it but the dogs I saw there were not the purebred I had.