I always wanted a dog, but my stepfather was allergic. My husband grew up with basenjis in the 50's in New Bedford MA. They never showed, just had them as pets. They did everything wrong– let them run loose, bred them without planning, but he had great stories about them, particularly one girl named Congo.
His family had a rescue B named Rusty, who was a great character (also loose, but luckily a homebody) when I met him in the 70's. I liked Rusty's aloof confidence, and got my first B in 85-- Kenji. He was backyard bred-charming but turned very dominant and difficult at adolescence, but we worked with and had him until he was 13.
We got our second dog from Matahari B's, and Caddie was a tricolor sweetheart for 15 years.
Now I've got the gentlest, most outgoing B I've ever met. Sol was raised by someone else, and they did a great job-- thanks Eldorado!
I adopted him at 5, and after a few weeks of thinking about it, he decided to stay (he jumped the fence twice, but came when I called the second time). He's my best friend, and even goes to work with me in the winter. And sometimes I wonder if he's really a basenji, because he wags his tail so much-- but only for me.
Interesting fact i found out about my basenji
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wow i guess it just depends on the individual basenji!
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My B's tail uncurls when he is completely passed-out…that's when I know I can mess with him and he won't wake up...hahaha
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My B's tail uncurls when he is completely passed-out…that's when I know I can mess with him and he won't wake up...hahaha
It is interesting that some do and some don't. The one thing I'm finding out about B's, they're very different in so many different ways!
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Whenever my Savannah gets scared, it uncurls. The other day we were at the park watching my step son play baseball and I guess she was a little unsure of her surroundings and it was uncurled. My husband picked it up and it went back on her back curled.
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Abbey's tail stays in a tight little curl when she's asleep. One day at the park she was surrounded by big dogs and she tucked her bottom down and her tail went completely limp. Curled right back up again when the dogs left!
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Jojo's tail will relax when she is stretched out relaxing or sleeping but the white tip always has a little curl to it. My favorite thing about the curled tail is her wagging it when she is happy to see someone…
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All my B's tails uncurl when sleeping… Kristii's does stay curled at the very end, but she has a very tight "kink" at that end.....
Also as they age the tails get Loose....
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The tails looses with age? Very interesting. So when people talk about they're B's tail uncurling, does it uncurl all the way? Like B-Boy Alanis would have to be broken to uncurl. It relaxes a little but the tip is always curled.
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Two have no kinks in the tail at all and can make their tail completely limp. Two have a little kink at the very end…....it's always there, but the tail can relax.
Two have kinks so tight, you couldn't straighten it......and those two just hate for you to even touch their tail. -
Yeah, Alani has a very tight kink on the tip. She relaxes that when she's deep in thought (I know I can get this apart, I know I can) or when she's sleeping. She also hate when you touch the kink. She doesn't mind the rest of the tail.
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Tana's uncurls when he's relaxed.
Funny that different basenji's un/curl in different, seemingly opposite situations- some when they're scared and some when they're relaxed.
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Corky's sometimes uncurls when he's sleeping and sometimes when he is comfortable. I can always tell if he's really OK with someone. If his tail is uncurled, they're OK by Corky!