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.
Min
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!
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.
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.
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.
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 
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.
I am pleased that I started this thread, it's all really interesting…
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!
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.
Well, you can't protect him if YOU are sleeping! LOL
I will say this:
I walk Oakley when I get home at 6pm and its already dark..a couple weeks ago I was walking in the park down the street ( it's the safest area around, we'll lit and within a quick run to help! Yes I need to think about such things). Well, I came across a man who only spoke Spanish and a tiny English..he seemed innocent enough and asked about my dog, so rather than be rude I answered what I could..soon he started asking me if I had family, if I was married and tried to get me to "walk" with him…immediately from meeting him oak was aloof but as soon as I started feeling tense and uneasy, amazingly Oakley read me and started to growl, snare ad show his teeth..even stepping between me a the man. It was enough for the man to leave and even as I walked home (making sure no one was following me) Oakley kept looking back, fur on his back up..even after getting home you could tell he was shaken but to my surprise he really stepped up to the plate and I now know, he WOULD protect me..perhaps it's his vet strong bond with me, I just never thought he would even react to my body language as he did but it made me feel proud.
Ps- I saw the man again in the park yesterday and Oakley knew who he was and I had to redirect his attention from the man and calm him down…I've decided to alter my route..although I'm limited in places to go when it's dark that are safe. I'm looking ino other means of protection of course so I can feel more comfortable and less limited. After all, I'm a single woman in her mid twenties and am not that intimidating...it seems time to get a little more protection...even with Oakley, as there are others in my neighborhood that when they see Oakley they comment "oh, there's the rare dog"...not a term I'd like used as rare tends to lead others to think $$$
Do the Charlie Brown comment about Beagles - "Oh, they're a dime a dozen!"
And the last two posts confirm my opinion about overdoing the socialization. It's a conundrum. Do you want strangers to be able to catch your dog if he gets loose? Do you want your dog to think that thieves are his friend? One thing I like about having a dog that is a bit stand offish is that he is unlikely to be stolen. Of course, all bets are off if the thief has a nice, juicy steak!
Chealsie508, yes, Oakley read your feelings well. When you got concerned, so did he. And he would try to protect you, I have no doubt. Unfortunately, that could end badly for him. Small dogs don't do well against determined aggressors. But you are using your street smarts, so hopefully all will be well.
Well, I guess I Tempted Fate with this post, and Fate responded! I was mugged tonight. In broad daylight. On my steps. Butu and I are okay. He was no help. I have lost some precious photos of him, though. If anyone sees any photos of a B. on a surfboard, please let me know!
QuizBasenji, very sorry to hear this, how awful. I'm glad you are both ok. There are some scumbags around, i hope Karma deals with them.
