All mine do this for various different reasons depending on the personality of the individual dog. Here is some info about it.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/15/messages/278.html
and
http://www.howtodothings.com/pets-animals/how-to-read-a-dogs-body-language
We often find if it is fearful or insecurity distracting the dog and then petting down the hackles telling them to stay calm is helpful as well as other techniques. If playful or over excitement we just watch. Often when basenjis meet they are raised and they go down once play begins. As I said in my dogs it varies in the how much hair raises and when.
Therese
Yup, as far as I know, all Basenjis do this… We call it their Ridgeback look!
Yup! I remember reading about the ridge on the BRAT page. I know dogs of all breeds will raise their hackles, but Bowpi doesn't seem to do it to appear more threatening or as a sign that she's about to attack or anything… as people have sometimes misunderstood. She just gets excited around new dogs or in new situations, and her hairs will stand on end.
Someone once asked if she was a Ridgeback because of the line of hair down her back.
Uhm, no.
Simon's hackles are very cute, which is lucky, since he wears them a lot 
He's a little nervous nellie. I think he is always on alert.
Miss Annie is rarely nervous about anything, but the couple of times we've seen her hackles they've been SO obvious. Maybe they're just more obvious in the black fur or something.
yep! mine too!
All 3 of mine do this. My African girl can make each hair stand up. I have never seen anything like it, outside a cartoon. She looks like a puffer fish!
LOL When I say "SQUIRREL", Arwen hits the floor, hackles literally from back of ears to base of tail, lol.
Oh, squirrel word means they all try to run out the doggie door first, and get the furry critter in the backyard. They wake up from a sound sleep to that word…
oh YES..we call it the Mohawk here too..although I have noticed Pippin's fur on the back is slightly thicker maybe, because it looks darker than other areas, almost all the time..
All of ours have done this at one time or another during times of stress.
yep, all the time. both boys do it. especially when they "think" there is hunting action coming up… which is all the time. and when inconsiderate people let their dogs run around off leash as we are out walking and said loose dog comes up to them and gets in their face. happens almost daily. very very annoying those owners of loose dogs... hum.
And they both get it when anxious,nervous,meeting someone new,someone knocks on the door rtc…
Yep, it is what Watson does when first meeting a new dog. Once he has established that they are okay his hair settles back down along with the rest of him 
Kipawa does it too - usually when meeting new dogs or encountering something odd, like the snake we came across last week.
Hopper does this too! mohawk!
Anubis does it a lot too…a new person comes over...a strange dog comes near him...some strange animal...when hes in trouble...everything makes him do it. I think its cute! It feels all fuzzy too lol. Ill try to comfort him and pet his back and I tell him to Put His Hair Down lol. And he does too
YES, Ayo does this all the time!, At first I used to freak out thinking he was about to get aggressive , but I have noticed that he does this almost every time hie melts another dog and hardly ever odes he get aggressive. it's just something he does , I always figure since he doesn't bark!!!
Yep Tenji does it also, I call it his "Mr. T" look though.
