@basenjicurious
It’s great that you’re doing your homework on the basenji. I think the reason you read all these “horror stories” is because they are not your typical dog. They are a beautiful and highly intelligent breed with a very strong prey drive. My Kembe is my first basenji but I was familiar with the breed because my brothers were basenji owners. I got her when she was 1years old - she was returned to the breeder by the previous owners. Kembe has never been destructive, she has free reign of our house, and I can leave her at home alone. It’s extremely important to exercise them regularly - especially exercise and stimulate their minds, and establish a routine (I can set my watch to my dog). They are definitely trainable - it scares me to see how smart she is and also well behaved. Basenjis are extremely lovable and hilariously funny. If I have a treat that my dog especially likes - she will do her whole “repertoire of tricks” without me even asking her. She dances to let me know it’s time to eat and will sit right next to me and hit me with her paw when she wants to go for her walk.
I think our basenji chose us - when we went to the breeders home to look at her - She jumped up next to my husband on the couch and curled up! I was sold on her! I really hope you find a basenji that right for you!
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Protective Basenjis?
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I always feel safe walking Butu, as the muggers round my way tend to pick on the most vulnerable…but I was musing - would your Basenji protect you? I may be wronging him, but I feel Butu would just watch with interest. Unless, of course, I tucked a tissue into the mugger's neckline - a sure way of making Butu go for the throat!
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My boyfriends one friend comes over from time to time and the guys wrestle and do dumb man things but Dolce tries to protect my bf and will go after the other guy. I love it! In a real life mugger situation I do not think she would do anything but probably run.. she ain't no rotti
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Hard to say. Of the five Basenjis I have owned, I think my one bitch would have gotten into it on my behalf. The rest probably not. OTOH, my Border Collie definitely would have. I had a "situation" once, with someone yelling at me aggressively. Nothing happened, but the Border Collie positioned himself between us and just stood there until the guy went away. I have no doubt he would have acted if the guy had come any closer.
When people play fight, I think dogs can sense it isn't serious. When you are afraid, your dog definitely senses the difference, so unless you are actually in danger, or feel you are, it is hard to assess how your dog is going to react.
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I ve had the most amazing experience with Ayo. We dont have any large dog parks or anything like that so he had never been off leash in a large open area before. Somebody's back yard was the extent of his freedom!!. I recently bought a piece of land up in the mountains and when i first took him there, i was really amazed and proud of how he acted. I wasnt sure if he was just going to run off into the woods, never to be seen again. I had practiced recall somewhat but had never had the chance to actually practice it in an open area. He was awesome. There was agroup of us. People he has known since he was a baby and then there was a group of strangers, a team of people that were there surveying the land, measuring the property. As we walked he would run up in front, then stop and head back towards us.always checking the area in front of us before we went, and then he would come back as if to make sure it was ok for us to proceed. ALso if someone from the group stayed behind, or got separated he wouldnt stick with me or someone else, he would run back and forth between the (now) two groups , making sure everyone was there, its as if he was herding us..it was incredible to see. I would call him and he would come running really fast and then he would leave again. Then when we were all together again resting he would lie down near us and just keep watch. When one of the men from the surveying team aproached , he immediatley stood up, walked towards him and stoppped , on guard, you know, stacked. The man stopped right away and he even grouled a bit,not loud, just like a warning. so I stood up and said "easy Ayo, its alright and went to greet theman. The minute I approached and started talking to the man Ayo just came up sniffed and went right back to lying down relaxed. He kept doing that all afternoon, everytime somebody new approached us… It was amazing to watch, he had this poise like he was , i cant explain, it felt like he was in his element... and all day his recall was perfect... until we were heading back and passed a house with some chickens.. then he just looked at me when I called and ran right at them!!! I had to run up and put on his leash!!!
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When people play fight, I think dogs can sense it isn't serious. When you are afraid, your dog definitely senses the difference, so unless you are actually in danger, or feel you are, it is hard to assess how your dog is going to react.
That makes a lot of sense. It is a very interesting thing to think about but I would never want to really find out and be put in that position… hopefully no one ever has to.
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That is very interesting! I'm certainly not going to try it out, but all your thoughts are fascinating. Sounds like Ayo did a great job - as long as you're not mugged by a chicken!
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My Peepsy? Absolutely not. All it would take is the click of a gun being ****ed or some other frightening, loud noise, and she'd be running off in a heartbeat. Save yourself, sweetie!
Back when we were a Shiba-only household, my bf was mugged by gunpoint when he was walking the dog at night. The mugger pointed the gun at Bowdu's head, and asked, "How much do you like your dog?" Bowdu apparently didn't react, as if it was a normal conversation between two humans, and BF played it cool – let him take all he had on him, which was a cheap cell phone and mag light (he deliberately left his wallet at home, thank goodness). I was out of town at the time and cried when he told me the story. What a perfectly evil mugger... but I'm so glad that nobody was hurt.
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What a perfectly evil mugger… but I'm so glad that nobody was hurt.
Evil, yes, but very smart. The penalty for killing someone's dog is a lot less than it would be for harming the human.
My current boy gets upset if anyone comes near the house, and he will run upstairs to find us. I think he is afraid to face strangers on his own. My girl that I thought might protect me if pushed would run around looking out windows, hackles up, and "huff", very aggressive looking, and not seeking help from us at all. We would know something was up because her "huffing" was quite loud.
In my limited experience, a Basenji loose in a strange place will want to keep tabs on his or her people. The more familiar the place, the less close they stick. But the ones I have allowed loose have always been concerned with my whereabouts, and if I hide from them there is definitely concern until they find me.
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Blood runs cold at curlytails' story. Evil just isn't the word…
Our muggers' don't normally do guns. Knives, yes. Round me, snatching old ladies' bags in charity shops seems the style - big brave boys that they are...
Keep the thoughts coming - they're all really interesting...Min
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I have a sneaky feeling that if we were faced with danger it would be "Every man/Dog for himself " as far as the Basenjis are concerned. Much as i love them they are takers in life,lol.
I think if frightened Kwame would maybe bite an attacker but it would be to save himself and not us.
We once had a realy big cross breed dog called Max, he was a real gentle giant but would bark at people who came to the gate. There was once trouble brewing in the street where we live with a gang of teenagers. They were threatening violence with several neighbours, eventualy we said we were going to realease the dog, which we did. He promptly ran away and hid , bless him.
Dmey your mention of the chickens made me giggle
Curlytails you're story sounded terrifiying -
I had 3 b-brothers many years ago who slept while we were robbed, but they were rather protective and I think they would have protected us from personal danger. Current crew…hmm... Eddie becomes agitated and will nip the butt of a dog messing with either of the rest of the pack, distracting the aggressor. Ed runs off, the issue averted. I think he might do something like that if he thought we were in danger. I think Chipley would just watch and fret, and Nicky would be off stealing something herself!
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Wonderful - we have similar experiences with Lela and Binti; they don't run away (OK, chickens…) but really keep in contact. Whenever possible we hide behind a tree, and within seconds they come looking for us. When in new terrain, it really feels they act as scouts.
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ROFLMAO at : Unless, of course, I tucked a tissue into the mugger's neckline - a sure way of making Butu go for the throat!
Thing is, protective in a 25 pound dog, not a good idea even if they were. Easy to stomp on or kick one. I'd rather mine run and hide. Different when I had 90 to 125 pound Rotites, just the SIZE was preventative.
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Shaye would probably not interfere if there was trouble. She will occasionally become snarky if she is under my bench at a dog park and another dog comes up to me, but I do not believe that's protective, just possessive. She seems totally uninterested in any exchange between me and any other human, or my husband and any other human. My basenji/sheltie mix Gemma, however, is a different story. She normally wants to go up and sniff anyone who comes near us, although not in an aggressive manner. One night I was walking alone with her, and a lone man was walking toward us. When he got close enough, she became snarly and barky and if I had not held her back, she would have gone for him. I do believe that was protection and she sensed I was alone with someone who could harm me if he chose. He did not of course, he was just another neighborhood guy walking. Still, that one time made it pretty clear to me that when I am alone, she might protect me.
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I think Zorro would try to protect me. My boyfriend once came home a bit early and I was reading in my bedroom with Zorro. I was startled because he let out a little bark when he heard the door open (I hadn't). When I opened the door to the bedroom I screamed because I saw my boyfriend in front of the door. We both started laughing but when he went to pet Zorro, he growled at him and showed his teeth until I petted him and told him it was ok. We got the dog together so my boyfriend is his "dad", I think he wanted to protect me because I was startled.
I like to think he would protect me!! But you never know! -
My house has been broken into twice, two different basenjis. Both were crated at the time, I was at work both times. I think, had they been loose, both would have just run out the door. My current B was in his crate the last time, shortly therafter I started leaving him out. I still think he would run away. 5 years and I still look for the signs of a break-in when I drive up to my house and my main concern is "Where will Arleigh be?" I sure hope he would come home eventually. That being said, he seems to have no interest in strangers coming to the door or the doorbell ringing. Whenever I go the the door, expected or not, he cares only that he may be able to go out front. (he usually is only allowed out back). Protective, not sure, my thing is just depending on him to hear stuff that I might not, which he does quite handily
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I recently learned of a Basenji owner passing away in her sleep. Her boy Basenji stayed with her not allowing the police, who were summoned after the lady did not show up for work, to go anywhere near her. A neighbor of the lady saw the commotion at her home and immediately phoned a family friend who came and was able to crate the Basenji. I thought this was an amazing story and tells me Basenjis are protective.
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I am pleased that I started this thread, it's all really interesting…
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I think it depends on the basenji. My older ones are much more likely to be protective-especially Sugar. Shadow would probably do a sneak attack-wait until their back is turned, nip them in the butt and then run like heck! Sugar would probably meet head on if she didn't like something. Johnny and Rose would just wag their tails and want to be petted. But I don't know if they would really attack without provocation. If the robber left them alone, they would probably just watch them from the comfort of the sofa!
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Thabo showed last week what he would do. We were on a road trip and stayed overnight at a motel. The folks on the floor were part of a wedding party, and they were coming & going until the wee hours. Several times, Thabo woe me up growling at the door. But when he saw I was awake and on guard, e curled up in the bed and went right to sleep. So if I'm there, he'd save himself.
