I think it's a 50/50 chance that people take without seeming rude and looking. Basenjis are smaller dogs and it would be pretty obvious if you were to actually look.
True, now that I think of it… Some people would be embarassed to check out the undercarriage, LOL 
Well…doggy people can often tell just by looking at the head. A male dog should have a masculine head in most breeds. Otherwise you say a male looks "bitchy" and a female should have a delicate head or else she looks "doggy"
i think the general public just guesses 
My three year old solves this issue by telling everyone, as soon as they look at Ariel "this is Ariel…she's a girl...she's a puppy...but she's getting bigger"
True, the males do have the "blockier" heads.
Yeah, but folks who don't know the breed won't know what the head is supposed to look like in the first place.
Ohhh, here's a good one for you guys. I went to the vet and my reg doc was out on a house call so another vet took a look at the baby (Damisi) and said, "Gee, she really has a smooth coat." I was looking at her weird and said, "Um, she has a really good coat." The vet said, "Oh, I was thinking they're a Shiba Inu!" How's that for someone not knowing a breed!!
Yeah, but folks who don't know the breed won't know what the head is supposed to look like in the first place.
Right, but I can look at a breed I don't know, and usually guess if a dog is an intact (or neutered after maturity) male, or a female. Not always, but blockier, bigger heads is a secondary sex characteristic…not just a breed standard.
Ohhh, here's a good one for you guys. I went to the vet and my reg doc was out on a house call so another vet took a look at the baby (Damisi) and said, "Gee, she really has a smooth coat." I was looking at her weird and said, "Um, she has a really good coat." The vet said, "Oh, I was thinking they're a Shiba Inu!" How's that for someone not knowing a breed!!
hee, hee…funny....
Oh gosh I get Shiba Inu AAAALLLL the time. I try not to get offended but REALLY my dogs are much cuter 
Ok GUILTY AS CHARGED…I'm a complete idiot when it comes to figuring out sexes...I try to take a glance at the undercarriage but I'm not always right. So I go with the generic "he" 
What's my punishment??!!
Oh gosh I get Shiba Inu AAAALLLL the time. I try not to get offended but REALLY my dogs are much cuter
Ok GUILTY AS CHARGED…I'm a complete idiot when it comes to figuring out sexes...I try to take a glance at the undercarriage but I'm not always right. So I go with the generic "he"
What's my punishment??!!
Fifty pokes with dagger-like doggy feet in the middle of the night!
Related story…last night was uncomfortably hot in our bedroom...two dogs was way too many to have under the covers. So as I thrashed around, in my sleep deprived haze, I thought that Tim had gotten up to use the bathroom, so I shoved the dogs towards his space (evil, I know)...but apparently I had dreamt that part, because he growled "ow, don't push them into me!" He gave pity to Querk and let him go under the covers on his other side.
Strangely, I kept hallucinating (or maybe it WAS real) that I was getting bitten by mosquitos if my legs were out from under the covers....hmmm..probably more than you wanted to know about my sleep deprived self.....
Oops!
ROFL!!! HAAAA!!!! sounds like you had a rough night!! Maybe a bigger bed & a mosquito net is in order LOL
I can't share the bed with the pooches and a 6'5" GIANT :eek:
ROFL!!! HAAAA!!!! sounds like you had a rough night!! Maybe a bigger bed & a mosquito net is in order LOL
I can't share the bed with the pooches and a 6'5" GIANT :eek:
Sadly, we have the biggest bed commercially available Before we remodeled it completely filled our bedroom…and yes, we bought the bigger bed because of the dogs :rolleyes:
And I am amazed (and grateful) that Tim hasn't banished dogs from the bed yet! It is great in the winter...but not so nice in the summer...and with the cost of utilities, I am unwilling to turn on the AC until maybe August this year!
Now...what to do about the mosquitos..I like the idea of a net...but I see dogs tangled and chewing and chasing a net....figures.....maybe I could keep some bats in my room....shuddering at the thought of dog activity that would bring on!
Now…what to do about the mosquitos..I like the idea of a net...but I see dogs tangled and chewing and chasing a net....figures.....maybe I could keep some bats in my room....shuddering at the thought of dog activity that would bring on!
LOL, I'm shuddering at the thought of the bats!!! Uuugh!
blockier, bigger heads is a secondary sex characteristic…not just a breed standard.
I know, this is exactly why it seems so obvious to me that Bella is a GIRL (even w/out an undercarriage check)! LOL!!!
I have tried pretty pink collars on Zahra and people still get it wrong. Drives me crazy! LOL!
This is TOTALLY of-topic, sorry, but I just had to say this after ChaseandZahrasmom's comment:
When my oldest daughter was about 6 mos old, I was standing at a travel agency desk when an elderly man came in and starting chatting about the baby. Bear in mind, my daughter was dressed in a little yellow dress and bonnet.
Old Man: Is this your first baby? Me : Yes. Old Man : Is it a boy? Me: No, it's a girl. Old Man: Should have been a boy.
Me: uh, well, she's a girl.
What a weird thing to say. 20 yrs later and I still don't know if he meant that because she was the first, or because I had an ugly little girl. LOL
This is TOTALLY of-topic, sorry, but I just had to say this after ChaseandZahrasmom's comment:
When my oldest daughter was about 6 mos old, I was standing at a travel agency desk when an elderly man came in and starting chatting about the baby. Bear in mind, my daughter was dressed in a little yellow dress and bonnet.
Old Man: Is this your first baby? Me : Yes. Old Man : Is it a boy? Me: No, it's a girl. Old Man: Should have been a boy.
Me: uh, well, she's a girl.What a weird thing to say. 20 yrs later and I still don't know if he meant that because she was the first, or because I had an ugly little girl. LOL
That *is weird! I have had a couple people tell me that Ethan is so pretty he should have been a girl….again, like you said, hard to know if that is a compliment or not
Actually- I do the same thing someone else mentioned….for some reason I think of all dogs as masculine, and cats as feminine. Maybe cause our first dog was a boy and first cat was a girl (when I was growing up). Of course, our second dog was a girl and second cat was a boy.
Now I have Jack....who is aaaaaallll little boy. like 2 year old little boy.
Okay- I tend to look before I say things– Or I say, "Oh, cute dog! What's its name?" That's safe.
But less we forget that "he" is universal.
Lucky for me, Miles is a huge big man Basenji. And Lexi is a dainty little (Lexi, hold your ears, darlin) "runt". They're at the opposite ends of the size spectrum. That in combination with their gender specific collars makes it easier for people to tell who is what.
