Hello, This is Rebel, our beloved Basenji Mix. We adopted her through a rescue group who found her and her brother (who was tan and white). We were only able to get her, but we were told she was Basenji/Yorkie. Knowing nothing about Basenji's when we rescued her - I cannot find another dog that looks like her and have been skeptical that she is a Basenji - but from what I've researched, her personality seems to fit pretty spot-on with the major descriptors.
Rebel is big on self-grooming and doesn't bark (well, will occasionally if she senses a threat, but it's usually one "woof" and that's it). Rebel doesn't something between a yodel and a howl that we call a "coo" - it has a very specific vibrato and we've never heard a dog do it before. When she was a puppy, her ears were almost always straight up, they have since fallen with the occasional perk. She was black, white, and tan, which has muddled into a grey coat as she ages - she is 1 year. She definitely hast the hair style of a yorkie. She does not shed very much at all. She is wicked fast and super friendly.
We love her very much, no matter how often she decides to forget our training. She is great with company, kids, other dogs - she is very submissive. She will play for as long as she has the energy, which seems to be endless some days. Rebel, when home with just me and my partner, is generally calm, doesn't like to be left alone but does well in her crate, and is very, very curious about everything. Definitely a chewer, but thankfully it is with her toys now and not our stuff.
I have two pictures to post, the second one I posted with other dogs for scale and full body! She is 20lbs. Enjoy!
@flashgilbert very curious, the snout looks a little basenji and the underbelly curve look so too. You might try a DNA test, which are fairly cheap and would give you some definitive answers. Also helpful to be sure for any genetic illnesses in the future. Does she hate the rain, stand offish with strangers kind of aloof?
Very cute. Yeah, only a DNA will give you much concrete info.
Rebel's adorable! She looks like a miniature schnauser mix to me. It doesn't matter what she is - enjoy her! She's lucky to have found her way to a loving home.
@pawla she's adorable, whatever she is! You can do genetic testing for medical knowledge but love her because she is who she is and she loves you! Lucky pup,!
Is the person reliable who labeled her as a basenji mix? That being said, I am calling her a 'very possible' basenji mix.
The way she's sitting there, the ears half up, the look on her face - this camera is something new, but I"M not going to show weakness. My Ibis had the exact same look in times of caution,
Then, the photo of her standing, very basenji-like.
You know how your golden smells 'like a dog' when she's wet? When Rebel's wet, does she smell like that, or like a wet wool blanket? If the answer is the latter, put a check in the 'basenji mix' column. If she smells like a dog, that doesn't mean she's NOT a basenji mix, but a check goes in the 'not a basenji mix'
When she runs around the yard with the other dogs, does she run circles around them, (not literally, just boundless energy) and when their done running, she acts like she's not done yet? Butt in the air, front legs on the ground, bowing down to get them to run some more?
She has the coloring of a basenji, just not the fur.
This may just be a characteristic of basenjis that lived with me, but at about 7 pm, and she's inside, does she jump on the furniture, around and around, under the table, over the sofa, knock of the cushions, then suddeny collapse of them, as if to say, 'the day can end now"?
I can tell she's going to be a lot of fun, whatever is in her DNA. Enjoy her!
I gotta ask why people keep recommending DNA for identification when THERE IS NO RELIABLE BREED ID TEST....NO NOT ONE..Heck one of the bigger ones has a whole fb page of picture and results that includes bulldogs Id's as poodles.
what part of the country did the dog come from? to me it looks sort of border/cattle dog mix. but looks like a fun dog.
@dagodingo She definitely hates the rain. We have to hold an umbrella over just her, or else she won't go. She is stand offish to any shadowy figure, fallen tree branch, statues of Lincoln...you name it. If she can't recognize it immediately as friend, she'll come to attention, dig her heels in, and if she feels good about it, begin to assert herself.
@dmcarty said in Rebel! Basenji Mix:
I gotta ask why people keep recommending DNA for identification when THERE IS NO RELIABLE BREED ID TEST....NO NOT ONE..Heck one of the bigger ones has a whole fb page of picture and results that includes bulldogs Id's as poodles.
The more dogs in a test company's database, the more accuracy. Nine years ago, Wisdom panel could show parents of a dog with 2 purebred parents at 84 percent. In 2017 they said 84%. Accuracy with a purebred grandparent is also high. So when you want to know the DOMINANT breeds in a dog, the accuracy for Wisdom Panel and Embark are very good. Just looking at mixed dogs, people - including professionals-- have less than 1/3 accuracy.
In 2009 the National Canine Research Council found Wisdom Panel to be 84% accurate when testing dogs with F1 parents, that is dogs who have two purebred parents. Mars has since added more genetic markers to their tests and claims 90% accuracy.<<
Even an article from 2011 from the Veterinary Information Network says you are mistaken. Perfect no, reliable, probably, especially with the major breeds of a dog. If you're looking for a crystal ball, not there even now. But if you have a dog who is mostly 2 or 3 breeds, the tests will indeed give you a fairly accurate idea.
http://news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx?articleId=23206
2017 article
“Mixed-breed DNA tests are as accurate as the diversity of samples they are based on and the computerized algorithms used to generate the results,” says Jerold S. Bell, DVM, a canine geneticist at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. “Dogs that are first-generation offspring of two pure breeds will have the most accurate results.”.....
But DNA tests may be able to tell you more than just what your dog is. Besides an individualized report on the breeds that make up your dog’s ancestry, some tests now provide genetic health information as well. That’s the future, says Urs Giger, DVM, a canine geneticist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and co-author of a study on the potential of genetic panel screening as a diagnostic and research tool in veterinary care, research and breeding published last August in the journal PLoS One.<<
http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/dog-dna-tests-can-reveal-your-canines-breed-and-shed-light-on-health-information
The DNA tests:
https://www.caninejournal.com/dog-dna-tests-reviews/
For rainy days when Mojo refuses to go out, I carry him down the block (under an umbrella) and when I put him down, he heads straight home, usually stopping to potty at least once on the way back (during which time I hold the umbrella over him). Has he got me trained or what?!?
With my former pack, I bought a small kiddie wading pool with pine straw in it to keep on the covered porch. They never used it to potty, but it made me feel like I at least offered a solution.
Tummy rubs to Rebel.
@flashgilbert sounds very Basenji-ish lol. The other test is tissues, might apply to any dog, but I have never known a Basenji that didn’t have a madness for ripping up tissues.
@pawla said in Rebel! Basenji Mix:
For rainy days when Mojo refuses to go out, I carry him down the block (under an umbrella) and when I put him down, he heads straight home, usually stopping to potty at least once on the way back (during which time I hold the umbrella over him). Has he got me trained or what?!?
With my former pack, I bought a small kiddie wading pool with pine straw in it to keep on the covered porch. They never used it to potty, but it made me feel like I at least offered a solution.
Tummy rubs to Rebel.
ROFLMAO, in all situations someone gets trained. I am on the trained, not trainer, end a lot. 
And yes, you at least offered a solution! Though the moss pads and grass pads meant for pottying might work better if you still have the pool. Putting a small pile of poop in it may help. I honestly wanted to cover the wrap around for our fence so the area was dry. I now live where rain is limited so Cara is happy most of the time.
@dagodingo said in Rebel! Basenji Mix:
@flashgilbert sounds very Basenji-ish lol. The other test is tissues, might apply to any dog, but I have never known a Basenji that didn’t have a madness for ripping up tissues.
I would agree about tissues, except it is not completely fool proof - Mojo actually doesn't bother tissues unless they have been used (definately a gross spin on it).
@pawla All three of mine loved tissues, especially as puppy’s, used or fresh lol. My latest dog, Bandit, used to grab the end of the toilet roll and unravel about 30 feet of it around the house.
