Hello there,

my boy (12 months) is scared of people, especially men, when they walk towards him. He also freaks out when we come near the market place, looks in every direction and pulls on the leash like he's running for his life. He is with us since he was 16 weeks old and we socialized him very well. When he was little the crowds were no problem, we could take the subway and walk downtown. He was always shy with men until he got to know them. Our male friends were going in and out but he never got used to men in general. And I don't know what to do with the crowed places. We have been walking nearly every day to the market place and the shopping center, sitting on a bench, giving him treats, to get him used to people but it hasn't been successful yet. And now in the puberty it's even worse. Does anybody have tips how to desensitize him? I'm really getting desperate...

Thanks in advance!

I'm so excited to say we've registered Roux in her first ever show on July 10th! There will be two days of shows and I'll be observing on the 9th to note any differences between Taiwan versus AKC standards. I don't think many if any Bs will attend, since there are so few here, but there will be stiff competition within the hound group anyway. I'm just eager to see if our girl places!
We have a show lead/collar and we've been working on stacking and gait, with lots of people handling her. She's still fidgety being a pup but I'm hopeful she'll do well on the day. Any tips or tricks y'all can pass onto a newbie?

Hi there,

This is a very sad post indeed, but due to reasons that are not the her fault, our basenji Mei needs a new home. Her breeder is aware of the situation already and agrees a new home would be best, but is unable to take her in. I am trying to make this as untraumatic as possible for her and hope she can go directly from our home to her new one.

Mei is AKC registered, chipped, and spayed. She is for a pet home. She is trindle in coloring (tri, with brindle in the red). Mei is a super sweet snuggly love bug! She does have some dietary needs, the biggest being a chicken intolerance, but after A LOT of trial and error we have found food and treats that make her belly and skin happy. She is happiest with her humans and 8 hours days alone would not suit her at all. Mei absolutely needs an experienced basenji home. She also needs a home without children. I cannot say how she would do with other dogs, as she has not had a lot of exposure to them. Mei is behind on her training and has major separation anxiety and is still destructive when crated. We take full responsibility for these things and also know that with some work and the right environment she would make an amazing addition to someone's life. Without going in to detail, it's not for lack of want or love for Mei that she is looking for a new home. We would really like her to find her ideal home and be able to live her best life, which despite months of effort is not something we can provide.

I am happy to discuss things further with anyone who thinks they may the right people for this loveable animal. We are located in southeast TN.

Long post, but want to describe the course of her illness: Wondering if anyone else has experienced a cough in their B that just won't seem to go away. We are on week four now. She had picked up an eye infection at the dog park (not sure if that was related) a week and a half prior to these symptoms. Started off slowly with some minimal coughing on exertion and tiredness. We spoke to our doc and sent video, they felt strongly it was kennel cough. About a week in, the coughing increased and in the course of one day, she went from acting fine in the morning to being lethargic, refusing to eat, fever, worse cough and respirations in the low 60's in the late afternoon (it was hot that day and I think she was also dehydrated). We took her to the ER and by the time we were seen (there was a four hour wait) her fever came down and she had had quite an incredible recovery. Lungs were clear. Eating again, respirations and temp within normal limits. The next day, however she woke with a stuffy nose that she pretty quickly cleared. Cough was inconsistent over the next week. Week three, we thought she was done with it, but I went out of town and when I returned she was coughing on exertion again. That nights again with a fever, respirations in the 40s, not nearly as poorly as she had been the week prior. By morning, she was fine again, like she had fought something off with the fever. I had already made an appointment with the vet though, so I took her in at the end of week three. The cough was so seldom and not predictable that I could not get video and we could not recreate it in the office, though the vet said when she massaged the throat there was some sign that she was still irritated. Lungs were clear. She looks and acts healthy. She said there has been a new cough going around that dogs were really struggling to shake. I felt like we surely must be near the end (and the vet was not convinced it was bacterial) so I said no to antibiotics and instead went home with Marshmallow Root elixir to give her twice a day to decrease inflammation. We are a week since seeing the vet and she still has the occasional cough. Today more than the last few days, at 2:30 pm I have heard it twice. Once when pulling on the leash, and once when just lying on the cough sleeping on the back covered porch. This cough seems a slight bit wetter than the dry "kennel" sounding cough we originally had. But again, pretty infrequent. The doctor entertained the possibility of allergies, but with the two fever episodes I just don't know. She said we could do a Benadryl trial and see if it will go away. Any thoughts or ideas? I have put her on dog vitamin C and would welcome any more ideas to support her health and healing. I am a nurse and know what to do to support my human kids' health when they are sick, but I'm at a loss with this dog. Btw, she is only 18 months. Another reason I think she should not take this long to shake a cough! Thanks for any help.

Hey everybody,

Our older male (2.5yrs) has calmed down an awful lot but still isn’t great while the younger (1.5yrs) seems to be getting worse and worse. I’m wondering whether their being intact can have anything to do with this?

Most of the issues are when walking, with them being incredibly erratic and overstimulated (birds, people in the distance, dogs, DOG PEE), making it almost impossible to break their focus. They’re perfect indoors, but when outside I feel like I completely lose control of them. We’ve worked so hard with loose leash training, walking them separately etc, but it gets especially bad if:

The younger will lunge HARD towards any pee and desperately try to lick it, while the older also does this but with a little less intensity. I know this is also a training issue, but if neutering would help to stop this behaviour I would be over the moon—taking them out is super stressful and I’d love to be able to take them out more often rather than having to brace myself for the ordeal.

We’re in a new area for the next month, it’s very very quiet but the behaviour has somehow gotten worse! And it seems to be entirely driven by the smell of other dogs. If this is a training issue then I’ll work with somebody but if it’s an intact-basenji thing then I need to deal with it 😔

Hey y'all...

Interesting change in my boy's behavior lately. He has begun to whine and scurry around a lot in order to go outside. It seems like his need for exercise has suddenly increased greatly. While the solution here is obvious (e.g more exercise) it seems a little excessive. Even after an hour walk, he is being very.. very insistent on going outside (no need to use the bathroom, just seemingly anxious being indoors).

It's strange to me since he has been pretty low maintenance up until the last 2-3 weeks (he is now 1.5 years old) so I'm not sure what could have prompted this. Is it a developmental thing?

Sadly, I have long covid and doing a hike or extra long walk is out of the question for me right now so I'm relying on a dog walker and, starting tomorrow, a doggy daycare (I dislike them but at this point it seems like he needs the playtime pretty desperately... and I need him to quiet down lol). As a point of reference, he managed to get a great run around the other day with our neighbor's dog (they're not usually around) and his anxiety to go out was gone for two days so I don't think it's a medical issue.

More curious than anything else really - are these changes in behavior / exercise needs normal?

Dangerous Flea & Tick Collar

You should read this... I would NEVER recommend this for any pet... Not only this, humans can put their hands on this collar as can children... and other pets with their mouth..... Don't know how many here use these collars but please read the information and think about changing.

Our 6 Yr old female basenji has started biting at the air as if there are flies around her, although this is not the case. She can exhibit this behavior several times a day, lasting from a few seconds to several minutes. has anybody out there had this happen? This seems to be getting progressively more frequent.

As I mentioned in our introduction, we are brand new Basenji owners by only about three weeks. Our pup, Appa, has had his first vet appointment and third vaccine dose and we've given him one topical flea treatment using Advantage. But... he WILL NOT stop itching! It's gotten progressively worse and he's got red sores and scabbing all over his belly and in his front armpits. No fleas, we haven't over-exposed him, we are feeding him the same food as our breeder (Victor and Blue Buffalo soft food), and we've even changed our detergent from Tide to All for sensitive skin. I've checked his ears for signs of mites and cleaned them, but it doesn't seem like he has them. We've also given him two baths, one using a medicated shampoo.

Please help! Let us know if we're doing anything wrong.

Hi All! What a great online community. We are brand new to Basenji life, but loving every mile of the puppy marathon. Our little guy is almost 15 weeks old and we've had him for 3 weeks. He goes by Appa (if you know, you know) and he's been an amazing addition to our family! Looking forward to plugging in and asking lots of questions.

I need to know about the Basenji heat cycle.

As previously mentioned, "doodle" came to my home after she was spayed, I noted (April 20th) on another thread/topic that she seemed to be in season this year, and she has had a bloody vaginal discharge. It seems better, but she is still marking (every yard we pass). I thought that the Vet may have just removed the ovaries... but I want to make sure that this doesn't seem "abnormal" to any of our more experienced owners/breeders.

Based on your observations/experience/knowledge, is 6 weeks of discharge unusual, or normal?

Hi yall, I am new to Basenjis. We have always had tosa inus, or fila brasileiros (which need experienced owners). But now we are older, we are looking to get a smaller dog. I am hoping to get some good info here to make a good choice on a healthy pet.

My boy just turned five months and is about 13 pounds - there are no other basenjis in our area I can compare him to, but he seems pretty big for his age (very lanky, just long and tall!) His mom was on the smaller side while his dad was very big for a B, so I was wondering if his weight was around average for his age, or if he's on the bigger side. (Hoping he grows up to be bigger like his dad.)

My 8 year old Olly is the most mellow laid back girl you could ask for. Perfect pup for an older single woman living alone and working from home. I've had her since she was 4 after she retired from the ring. My little paper chewing machine is always crated when she is alone at home and enjoys going to daycare periodically when she watches the other dogs, naps and spends more time hanging with the human counselors. She has always slept in the bed with me at night or during a daytime nap. In the last 8 weeks, she has been shaking her head, looking up as if she is being buzzed by a gnat (which I don't see) and taking off as if she is being chased by the hounds of hell. This can occur at at time of the day or night and from any location, her bed under the kitchen table where I work and surprisingly even in our bed at night. She was treated for an ear infection about 8 mos ago by her regular vet. When this episode started, I couldn't get to the regular vet so I took her to one close by who treated her a minor ear infection in two visits but the ear shaking and wild flights have commenced again. I have an appt with her regular vet this week. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this type of activity and what were the causes of it.
Thanks for any info and experiences you care to share.
NJBasenji

Hey,

We just ran into this new issue, where our soon to be 6months B has been feeling rather sick for the past few days. He has a runny nose, especially after waking up (seems to be clear, transparent fluid), and increased sneazing. Eye boogers (whiteish) seem to appear more often, as well.

We've been to the vet and he said he has mild conjuctivities and inflamed nose passages. He couldn't say for sure if it's seasonal allergy or the begging of a kennel cough (was not vaccinated for it, I was not aware he needed to be before joining a group of dogs he's been hanging out with). He gave him an inflammatory shot and prescribed us some eye/nose drops for ~7 days, to see if anything changes. However, it's been 4 days and I don't see much improvement, in fact, yesterday I took him for a short walk and he started to sound like he couldn't breath. I don't know how to describe it, but it scared me so I took him to ER (another VET). They gave him another inflammatory shot and told me to increase the nasal drops to 2-3, and come back for another 2 shots and see how he reacts afterwards.

The inflammatory shots (MELOXICAM) seem excesive to me when they don't even know for sure what the cause is. I hate it when docs, in general, do 'experiments' to find out the issue.

Although he eats and drinks as usual (still food motivated, too), he's been pretty lethargic today.

Anyone else confronted with something similar? I suspect it to be allergic to grass, as it seems to get worse when he sniffs around it (especially freshly cut grass), but he's been fine until past week. Could it be food related, although he doesn't have any skin rashes? (the only new things we introduced him to are some homemade biscuits)

Hi everyone

I'm looking to get a dog and will be a first time owner. I live in a medium sized apartment and mostly work from home and have narrowed down the breeds of dogs that I admire and will suit my lifestyle: Basenji or Whippet.

One thing that concerns me is that both these breeds are prone to separation anxiety, at least that's what I read. There will be times when I would have to leave the dog at home for perhaps 8 hours.

I'm interested to hear from members here about their experiences with separation anxiety in Basenjis and better yet if you had experiences with whippets as well and how they deal with separation anxiety compared to basenjis.

My 10 yr old basenji has high liver levels, my vet has determined that is most likely due to sludge in the gallbladder. I was curious if anyone has dealt with a similar health issue with their B before? If so, any information and advice would be greatly appreciated! (My vet and I have come up with a treatment plan)

There is a male Basenji that is 17 months that is a breeder return... available in So. California. He is a red/white and available to either a possible show home or pet home... either is fine... can be neutered as this time he is not.. if interested please contact me and I will give you the breeders information... he can be neutered, but should be placed with a female. Please contact me if interested and I will give you the breeders information. He is from a responsible breeder that I have known for years. Contact me for information you can find my email on my website, link below. Breeder would prefer a West coast placement, but not required if a good match. He is health tested and clear for Fanconi and PRA... well bred boy... just didn't work in the placement with other Basenjis, male/females in the home. This is the reason he needs to be with a female...
5/29/22 UPDATE NOTE THIS BOY HAS FOUND HIS FOREVER HOME!

Are there any basenji jungle gyms or obstacle courses anyone can recommend for a backyard? We have good space and want to put something cool out there for them to play in.