The number 1 cause of premature death in basenjis is being hit by a car. They have no road sense at all.
I live 5 miles from any highway, and the only traffic leading up to our gravel road is us and 1 neighbor who is aware of our dogs.
I don't think it's worth the risk, but thought if i could train them it would be nice.
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Short answer? NO!
About one a million basenjis is reliable off lead...and that is ONLY with their person right there with them....not in the house waiting for the dogs to want to come in.
Personally, I would NEVER try this with any kind of dog...I value my dogs' safety too much...but it will only be a matter of time before a basenji roams enough to be lost, or hit by a car.
point taken, i will contnue my plan with the fencing thanks everyone
No, it's not possible to let them off leash, sorry to say. Not only do they have no road sense when they get loose, but some of them, my own included, become totally deaf fools. Cars are PREY to a basenji.
I'm not a big fan of loose dogs anyway.
Even if neighbors are "aware" of the dogs, they probably don't want them digging in their trash cans, etc.
I'm very aware and well acquainted with all our neighbors dogs, but I still get pretty pissy when they dump my trash or get into the stuff I have in my garage!
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good point! Can I add…crapping on my property, goading my fenced dogs, >>or killing my neighbor's cats; not to mention harrassing native wildlife...
Oh yeah!! We have enough crap to pick up in our fenced back yard! It is so annoying to have to pick it up in the open front yard too. Or the piles that seem to collect around our mailbox at the end of the driveway.
There used to be a lab in our neighborhood that was a very sweet dog, but he used to always try to dig under our fence to get into our back yard!
We nearly lost a cat a few years ago when a neighbors dogs came into our yard and attacked her -- a black lab and some yellow mutt about that same size. Traumatized my kids who were out with the cat at the time. And cost us $150 to repair the cat!
I'm all for fencing dogs!
just so you all know i live in a very rural area, they only other traffic in a 5 mile radius of our house is one neighbor and they live like 4 miles from us….in any case..........
i will keep them leashed until the spring when i can build a run.........because it's definetly not worth losing one of my babies over.
I was intrigued by my next little story, i met someone who spent some time in Africa and he told me he actually saw basenji's at work. I was in awe of him, he claims to have seen b's hunt a lion down...true(which i believe it is) or not, i thought in my head, now that would be something to see....fiesty little buggers they are. 
I just assumed they were bird and other small game dogs, not so much big game.
But then, I've never been to Africa. And I know they don't stand down from anything!
I understand that you'll tie/fence your dogs, so I'm not so much directing the following at you, but for the purpose of conversing on the general subject of fence or no fence.
I'm never sure any distance is enough with dogs. When they catch something in the wind, or get the bug to wander, they can go places.
My folks have 30 hilly acres, with plenty of space between them and their neighbors. Still, my dad's dog managed to travel about six miles and wound up at a neighbor's place. Of course, this story has a sad ending because, even though these people knew the dog {and in fact, my dad let their cattle graze on his land for free}, they shot him anyway/
I'm NOT saying your neighbors would do that; it was just how this particular travelin' dog story ended. The whole point was simply that there just ain't enough acreage to guarantee a curious dog will stay at home and/or not be injured somewhere.
sorry to hear about your dads dog,. your point was very well taken, and i plan on fencing them. they are too prceious to me to risk losing to any of the many elements that are out there.
I mnt bike with my Basenjis- off leash. This is couple of hours per day on the weekends and on National Holidays, a Monday. I found that water is a very good training aid. In the heat of summer, when water is scarce carry a small water dish and a Camel's Back. When they get thirsty, they will come back. It is important for pack cohesion to let them out and be Basenjis.
The rest of the time they should be fenced in. My 3 have about 10 meters by 8 meters. They spend most of the time sunning themselves by the rosemary. This is beneficial because rosemary, like Basenjis, loves full sun. So throughout the rosemary season thats what my Basenjis smell like.
Having a balance of freedom and confinment makes a happy Basenji. The only things I have to concern myself with is keeping the rubbish up and the toilet paper off the roll.
I don't know what your situation is. If you live away from major roads, carve up some mnt bike trails and take your Basenjis with you. Rocky Mountain, Canadian grown, makes a killer mnt bike. And your B's will love chasing you all over God's Acre
