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I think I have a Basenji!

Member Introductions
  • M

    We adopted our dog Ziggy from a shelter about 7 months ago, and we adore him to bits! His breed(s) has always been shrouded in mystery. The vets, shelter volunteers, and I guessed Aussie Shep X with maybe Beagle or Corgi?
    Today I was just browsing around the internet as people do, and came across a Basenji picture randomly, and had a bit of a Eureka moment. I feel kind of silly, because I should have known better. I worked at a busy dog daycare for several years, and have come across Basenji's before, but just never put two and two together until today.
    I've spent an hour or two this morning looking up Basenji characteristics, temperament, etc. and I'm becoming more sure by the moment. He is obviously mixed, with something bigger, heavier, and slightly longer haired; perhaps some kind of Shepherd or Lab? He is about 55lbs. He has a deeper 'baroo', and seldom barks, preferring to do his howly sounding noise. He has the forehead wrinkles, high prey drive for little creatures like lizards (but is good with our cats), despises water, and his front two toes are fused.

    As far as an introduction, my name is Melanie. I'm a stay-at-home mom and have two beautiful daughters aged 6 years and 5months, two cats including a Manx, and of course the aforementioned Ziggy! We live in New Mexico currently (but I'm Canadian).

    So what do you guys think? Do I have a Basenji (mix)?

    0_1485635346708_ziggyshelter1.jpg
    (Ignore the dirtiness. This is his picture from the shelter.)

    0_1485635408346_ziggyshelter.jpg

    0_1485635426746_ziggypark.jpg

    0_1485635435482_ziggycache.jpg

    0_1485635448451_ziggycone.jpg

    I have far more pictures... but I just got a new phone and need to upload from my old one.

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  • DebraDownSouthD

    What an adorable dog! I am not seen much basenji, but you could find out more by doing a Wisdom panel. They aren't cheap, but rated as pretty much the best out there.

    The cloven toes has teen a topic here before. Consensus being many of us have seen them, but not the standard nor on all of them.
    https://basenjiforums.com/topic/1787/cloven-paws/2

    Nothing in the basenji standard about it, but 2 of my 3 had them.
    https://www.basenji.org/BasenjiU/Breeder/TheStandard/Forequarters.html

    Debra

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  • tanzaT

    Cute, but I don't see Basenji

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

    0

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    Basenji or not ????

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    I have to go read your link, but having been called to the shelter to see a chow that was an overweigh pomeranian, a rottweiler that was a lovely hound dog (Rottie rescue in FL told me keep quiet, they knew it wasn't a rottie but had a good home so just get it. I expected a LITTLE Rottweiler looking... bahahaha, no.)... vets who thought our basenjis were so many other things, not much surprises me.
  • GigiG

    Newbie, I think I have a Basenji Mix?

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    DebraDownSouthD
    @Gigi said in Newbie, I think I have a Basenji Mix?: @eeeefarm She only barks if she actually sees or hears something - and it will be more than one bark, but she is by no means yappy - could be the collie in her :) Then again, when I tell Bailey to get the" red" or "green" ball, is she seeing the same "red" or "green" that I'm seeing, or is it just by word association, who knows? She always gets it right. I agree talking to our dog keeps them engaged with us. Here's a bit of news for you.. we don't see the same red and green as other humans. Not just those with various types of color blindness, but in general. Take one of those color vision tests with someone and you'll see when you rank things, or decide if blue or green, or if you can see the numbers in the pics. Neitz confirmed that dogs actually do see color, but many fewer colors than normal humans do. Instead of seeing the rainbow as violet, blue, blue-green, green, yellow, orange and red, dogs would see it as dark blue, light blue, gray, light yellow, darker yellow (sort of brown), and very dark gray.Oct 20, 2008 Psychology Today"
  • G

    Basenji Aggression

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    Yes to the suggestions to get her checked and also spay her. Aggression may not necessarily be vicious but rather reaction to the scary situation she encountered. It can be dealt with through consistent and regular training (with treats to start) - you might try the Fenzi Dog Academy online classes (they have a great class for retraining reactive dogs). But regardless you need to be more aware of her surroundings and not put her in a situation that may be scary to her or at least get her attention back on you (treats) when you can't avoid the situation.
  • K

    Getting a basenji

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    HI, we don't have many breeders in New Zealand but luckily there was one that had a website which came up when I did a search on the web and was given information about more breeders here. If you do find a breeder please make sure they are a responsible breeder and do all the health testing etc. Lot's of info on this forum regarding this and maybe someone can help further. Good luck with your search. Jolanda and Kaiser
  • S

    This is Scarlet…do you think she is a Basenji mix?

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    Scarlet is a cutie whatever she is! If you have a real interest in learning what she is, I would recomment wisdompanel.com - there you will find a site that will send you swabs for her cheeks, then will later on send you a report showing everything that is in her, and how much of each - it goes back five generations and the reports are wonderful. I know I sound like a commercial, but we sent off to find out what our Gemma was mixed with, and found she is basenji all the way on one side, and sheltie on the other, with a little collie thrown in three generations back. Because the reports send along information about what the breeds personalities are, it's really easy now to see when Gemma is being sheltie-ish and when she's being basenji, which is mainly when she's interacting with her PB sister. Good luck with Scarlet, and welcome! I think you can also pick up the DNA kits from wisdompanel at PetSmart, or so someone told me.
  • M

    Do you think Lucy is a Basenji mix?

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    This should be a better pic. [image: lucy3.jpg]