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@zande said in AKC National Championship today:

They had proper, if you like, old fashioned, Basenji heads (and apart from that, also true Basenji gait !) and I finally figured it out. . . .

Humans had had fewer generations to muck about with the natives brought back from Africa and so they retained much of what now we are losing.

Unfortunately once you start breeding to remove certain traits and accentuate others, you often end up losing something desirable or introducing unforeseen problems. Anyone who has dabbled in computer programming knows that a little seemingly innocuous tweak can cause unexpected results, and it is the same when you mess with genetics. The Russian Fox experiments are an extreme example. Breeding for better temperaments caused physical changes in the foxes.

There are valid reasons why sheepdog people did not want Border Collies to be recognized for show by the AKC and CKC. These dogs were always bred for performance, not pretty. You can lose a lot by emphasizing what the judges will put up in the show ring.

There is no other dog like a Basenji. Nearly every breed from poodles to pit bulls have retained approximately 8% of wolf genetics. Being an “Ancient” and the “daddy” of most Of today’s domesticated breeds, the Basenji retains approximately 24% of the Wolves genetics. A recent study also determined that of all breeds the Basenji has one of the largest “play drives” (You will find this out quickly) which was key and essential to the domestication of all dogs. The Basenji is truly unique genetically and in in temperament. This dog responds quickly to kindness and a soft touch, NOT yelling and physicality. YOU WILL NOT WIN A BATTLE OF WILLS. Adapt & overcome. LOL, This info will come in handy for the next couple of years. Congratulations, amazing animals.

He looks like a truck load of fun. Good looking little dude. Happy you’ve found one another.

@alibobo
Echoing what Sally (and Liz McCargo) has suggested re: not spaying/neutering, at least at this young age.
There's a very insightful and thoroughly informative booklet by the "Puppy Culture" founder on the subject. It is chockful of the latest scientific/medical/genetic research and also takes into consideration the social "pressure" of neutering/spaying one's pet.
(BF should read a few pages if he prefers facts to oft repeated false tales)

https://my.puppyculture.co.uk/resources/flipbook/spay-neuter-booklet/

Whether to neuter/spay is an important decision and so is its timing should you decide to have the operation.

@aalas89 and @suzanne One thing you might really consider doing is keeping a crate in your bedroom for your pup to sleep in if you're not going to allow the pup to sleep in/on the bed with you. If you try to keep your pup in a crate in another room you'll discover that Basenjis are not silent. In fact they can be quite vocal. And loud. And persistent. If you chose not to let them sleep in the room with you it's ok. It might take some time, but they'll eventually train you that being with you is really the only solution.

Thank you for the information, I just joined the group.

Your breeder is absolutely right ! I'll bet that as soon as you see another dog coming towards you, you tense up. This communicates itself down the lead to Dino.

As he is on a leash, I am not sure how much he can actually play, even with females.

I agree with @DonC that he may be quite happy not stopping for any socialising with other dogs. You certainly have another possibility there. I hadn't thought as far back as the eunuch of ancient Turkey but that is a lovely argument against castration for aggression although you say he is not aggressive.

First thing is for YOU to learn to relax and then you can either walk on by, talking reassuringly to Dino the while. Or stop and make friends.

But no need to cut him.

I had a somewhat similar experience. Joey had a seizure which I correlate to taking Simparica. He looked terrible so took him to the vet when the first seizure happened and he was late Stage 2. Put him on Royal Canin kidney kibble and Hills kidney wet food and 4 years later he has only had 1 more seizure and his kidney values have remained constant. I will believe your homemade version is most likely better if you have the correct proportions. All the best to your Bs! Joey will be 15 in November.

Hi there. I was about to post this question and did a search for this topic. It's been a while now! I am curious how running with a Basenji turned out? We are considering a Basenji and my husband wants it to be a running partner.

Back in the day our first B of hers she was shipped. She was $1200 us plus around $350 CD to ship plus customs around $130. The last 2 I flew in to pick up. I paid $1400 us for our Tika puppy, $600 CD to fly there but no customs. They never asked. I just had to show a vaccination record. Good luck! I hope she has one available. She has lovely dogs!

@bbuzzell
I’ll definitely let you know if we plan another!

@rugosab - Our C-Me does that as does Franie.... It's like "hey pay attention... I am here"!

@tanza said in We are looking for R/W puppy to join our family:

@eeeefarm - Agree eeeefarm, but I do not believe that with responsible breeders this is happening with Basenjis at least not in the US.

Nor the UK either !

@zande - WooHoo, welcome home Kito!