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Hello from Arizona!

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  • Hello all :)

    This is Hemi, I adopted her about 3 years ago from a family member that could no longer keep her. She was about 5 months old when I got her, and was originally adopted from the pound.

    The pound classified her as a heeler mix, but she did not display any of the characteristic heeler behaviors that I am familiar with. After doing some research I came across an article about Basenji's and everything finally made sense! We have always joked that she is more of a cat than a dog, and I have so many videos of her special "singing." She is INSANELY smart, stubborn, and the love of my life! :)

    I have asked my vet about her breed with no luck, so I was hoping for some sort of "confirmation" that I am right about her being a Basenji. I know that she isn't pure bred, but I think she has a good amount of Basenji in her. Any opinions are welcome!

    0_1472376754635_Hemi.jpg

  • Oh yes, definitely a Basenji! The look, the sitting position, no question in my mind. Very sweet looking girl and I bet you love her to bits!

  • It sure looks like it! There are DNA tests now that can narrow down breeds.

  • She looks rather basenji-esque to me too. :)

  • I am so happy to hear that I am probably right! The DNA test would be fun, maybe I will try and see. Basenji's are definitely a special breed. Not for someone that wants a low maintenance dog. How smart she is amazes me, and anyone that comes into contact with her. It makes me laugh everytime someone calls a basenji the "barkless" dog.

  • People post mixes here and on Facebook all the time thinking the are a basenji or a mix.. This one is one of the few that really might be! She's probably mixed but I have seen purebred capped basenjis and ones with heavy ticking. A dna test would be interesting!
    Her ears look a bit more rat terrier than basenji and the breeds have such a similar look that they get mistaken for each other a lot. I have a friend with a red/white standard rat terrier (show dog) who had a docked tail and is constantly mistaken for a basenji.

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    Goodness & Peace… Hope you find your Basenji & if you do... There will be some interesting times ahead...
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    Ahmet, welcome to the forum - I do hope you'll get your pup.
  • Hello from Arizona, USA

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    tanzaT
    @Phoenix44: Thanks for the warm welcome! I received Kaya when she was 8 weeks. She is usually mouthy during all play; I usually cannot pet her unless she is preoccupied with a toy (which I try to supply a lot of). I've tried the yelping, walking away, gently putting my finger underneath her tongue, water bottle spay…. pretty much every little trick (except hitting/yelling of course). I'm now working more on the positive reinforcement for stopping or being gentle. She shouldn't be too tired as I have a pretty good crate training schedule. I am hoping that this puppy class will help a little with the bite inhibition with the other pups. I will also contact the breeder (thanks tanza) this week and ask some questions. Thanks again for everything!! In puppy class, they really don't get that much time for interacting for learning bite inhibition. I would maybe guess she was removed from the litter to young to have learned this from her littermates or any other adults, like her Mom. It take time and lots of patience to teach "soft bite".. or no mouthing… and also a tired Basenji is a good Basenji. How much time is she spending in a crate? There are lots of threads on this Forum about puppies and play biting. You didn't comment about Fanconi testing? Were the Sire and Dam of your puppy tested?
  • Hello from arizona

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    JulieJ
    & do they love the hot weather!!!! I met one guy down here that owns a B & he was telling me that his dug a hole in the back yard right where the sun shines down the most & he just lays down in his hole all day..he has a dog door so he can go inside whenever he wants but he chooses to stay out in the sun all day :cool:
  • Hello

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    jys1011J
    I live near the mountains in Colorado. There are some great trails with open space all around to let thme run around. Gosh I'm so jealous!! We don't have any plasce we could let our pooches loose. I would love a big open space sans any basenji prey :) that way they'll come back
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    birdbarsB
    Good seeing you and mom last month.