Basenji, newcastle upon tyne, UK, looking for good home


  • that's good news Scott. Whose Stuart Bell ?
    Vwithers you sound as if you are working realy hard with Mindy, it's a good job she's got you to look out for her.
    I'd be a bit careful about the off lead times and be very selective about where and when you let her off, the prey drive is very strong and Basenjis are very unpredictable.
    We have worked very hard with our girls training and she has perfect recall if it suits, however there have been several times where she has totaly ignored me and put herself in danger.


  • Theresa - Stuart Bell is the secretary of the Basenji Club of Great Britain. i think there will prob be something on the dog papers about her nxt week too, so fingers crossed.


  • Yes have noticed how strong her prey drive is….yesterday she pulled lead out of my hand and went off rabbiting....the lead got tangled in bush and i had to crawl through brambles and under a hawthorn bush (all in the rain) to release her!!

    She is unpredictable with other dogs and ideally would be better on her own. Or with someone who has plenty of time (and energy!) to oversee her interactions with other dogs.

    Unfortunately, i am a pet sitter so there are ever changing dogs in my house which she finds unsettling and depending on the other dogs and her reaction to them she ends up spending long periods in her crate which is not good and i don't like to do but obviously i have to protect the other dogs first.

    Sadly there has been no interest in her what-so-ever which is very sad and i worry about her future as i know long term she can't stay with me.
    Initially i had thought if necc would keep her but with my dogs she is not improving/calming down and i will not let her go to a shelter as I don't think with her issues/personality she will just get worse.

    I have three dogs of my own, my old man she bullys, my bitch and her both want to be top dog and have to be closely supervised as they can suddenly erupt!
    Then her and my young boy who is a month younger than her are absolutley fine together and have not had any issues at all....

    To be honest am very annoyed by her breeder (who won't name) but who she was sold to were first time dog owners and not at all suitable for this breed of dog and completley unprepared for how to deal with her.

    Oh Mindy what are we going to do with you (as i write this she is curled up on my knee being adorable!)???


  • sorry you have had no interest in Mindy. I did mention her to a couple at dog training but they have two bitches. Generaly the advice is for people to get Basenjis of the opposite sex if possible as same sex ones can fight. Basenjis can be a bolshy breed and even when play fighting can be quite rough and noisy. With the right owners and family circumstances i'm sure she will be fine.


  • yes she does play quite rough, which is why she fine with my young boy cause he likes to have good chase and (friendly) fight.
    She is also getting on nicely with a male cavalier i am looking after but think this is cause he so laid back she doesn't find him offensive!


  • My two play fight and it sounds awfull, lots of snarling and flashing teeth. It's true that they can be too much for some dogs thats why we got another one,lol.
    Our two get on with a cavalier, like you say they are so inoffensive


  • sorry can't remember, have you contacted the breeder ?


  • her original owners tried her first.
    Think she is probably more motivated by money than where her pups ended up.
    By googling Mindy's pedigree have read couple of other comments about the pups which don't make her sound like the most ethical breeder.
    maybe i'm wrong but as said before i don't think most basenji breeders would have sold her to her original owners with their level of experience of dogs.
    When i first met her at 7 months old was obvious already struggling with her and the first thing i done was send them to a dog trainer…they went for a few lessons and then gave up!


  • Any idea which dog paper she might be getting mentioned in??


  • Mindy is a beautiful Basenji and we are very interested in her if she is still available? She would be a perfect companion for our basenji Travis.
    Many thanks, Birkin family.


  • just an update for all those spreading the word about Mindy… Tilly29 is coming on sunday with his boy basenji to meet Mindy..... so fingers crossed they all get along....will post after they have met and let you know outcome.


  • Oh yay!! Keeping our fingers crossed!!!


  • Brilliant fingers crossed!!


  • I hope this works out for everyone involved!!


  • Wow, that is wonderful. Paws crossed that it is a perfect (well as perfect as Basenjis can be..ggg) match!


  • excellent - hope all works out well.


  • thanks for the update. I hope everything works out well.


  • I do hope this works well and you'll be happy with this girl and she'll be happy with you. It's a big step taking on another dog but please contact this forum for advice if you need it.


  • Just to let everyone know Mindy (now Indy) went off to her knew home today, thanks to everyone who spread the word about her.
    Hopefully she will settle quickly and am sure she will be much loved x


  • Fantastic news, she's lucky she had you to take care of her.

Suggested Topics