• Tana wags his tail quite a bit at anyone he's familiar with and likes, whether it's when you've just come home or you have something he wants (i.e., food).

    He uncurls his tail when he's relaxed, but he broke his tail when he was a puppy (before we or his previous owners had him- probably at the breeder's) and he's very sensitive about it. You can pet his tail, but just can't play with the end too much or he SCREAMS!

    He will manage to squeeze out a "bark" if he's trying to get your attention. Especially when you tell him to go to his kennel, without realizing the door is closed. So funny!

    Does anyone else have a basenji that "waves"? Like when he's on a leash, and he sees another dog or person he knows, he stands up on his hind legs and furiously waves his front legs. His previous owner told us not all basenji's/dogs do that. He also has a game where he lies on his back in your lap (as much of him that will fit) and you wag your fingers towards his face or chest and he waves at them. So silly.


  • that is cute! my basenjis dont wave…..but it would be a great photo to catch


  • Both of my Basenji's wag their tale. My female does it more than my male. It is really a personality thing I think.

    Arlene


  • Rocky does the "light switch flick" wag… his curl flips back and forth over his back in an abrupt fashion, like a person flicking a light switch on and off repeatedly.

    It's adorable! Then he yodels and all is right in the world!


  • I can always tell when Chance is about to fall into a deep sleep…his tail will un-curl. Thats when I know it is safe to move about without him thinking it is playtime.


  • I find the tails very interesting. Some of ours wag tails, some don't. Our domestics have tails you couldn't uncurl if you wanted to….unless you broke their tail. The African's tails are very loose and go limp when they relax or sleep. When the AF female eats, its completely limp, hangs straight down.

    Just an observation based on what I see with mine.:)


  • Ours are the exact same, tri cant uncurl, african female goes limp and staightens out when running, sleeping


  • Jazzy's tail is tightly curled and only uncurls when she's sleeping.
    Keoki's tail is more loosely curled and uncurls regularly.

    They are related…but it's hard to say exactly what to call them in human terms....

    Gabrielle is Sprite's dam. Sprite is Paso's dam. Paso is Jazzy's sire. And Gabrielle is Jazzy's dam also. {So.. her mom is also her great-grandma? And his mom is her grandma/half-sister?}

    {Can everybody sing, "I'm my own Grandpa"?}

    Sprite is Keoki's dam. His sire is an import from Australia; I don't know how far removed from African breeding he is. {So, his mom is her Grandma/half sister}.

    We just say Jazzy is Keoki's auntie and let it go at that. LOL

    ANYway, Keoki has a looser tail than Jazzy, but I think his sire also had a looser tail....I've only actually seen his daddy once, and that was before the breeding took place, so I had no idea I was ever going to own one of Buka's babies and didn't pay that close of attention. And I've seen photos, in which the tail looks looser than Sprite's.{I believe he belongs to Khani's though, so she could tell you more about his heritage ...and tail....}

    Keoki wags his tail for EVERYONE he meets. Jazzy wags her ever-so-slightly for family members when we come home, and REALLY wags it for Bryan, my niece, and my daughter's boyfriend.

    I hope this makes sense. I am rudely trying to type while listening to someone blab on on the phone..... lol


  • Nala's tail uncurls when relaxed and sleeping. She wags her tail when we've been away and she sees us or when my parents arrive after not seeing them.
    I noticed another tail-wagging though…when she's "hunting" chipmunks or red squirrels! I know a Lab/Chesapeake mix that wags when looking for her ball in the brush. Does anyone else notice this? Just curious...

    PS JazzysMom - I do that too! Shhhh…. LOL!


  • Our female wags her tail when I come home as she runs to greet me. Our male is far too dignified for such pathetic displays of affection. He never wags, but will lay down a few feet away and try to make you come to him. I don't, I make him come to me.


  • @nala121498:

    I noticed another tail-wagging though…when she's "hunting" chipmunks or red squirrels! I know a Lab/Chesapeake mix that wags when looking for her ball in the brush. Does anyone else notice this? Just curious...

    For the longest time Nicky would only wag his tail for the lure. Then we got Rally and he would wag his tail when he very badly wanted her to play with him. He is never going to be a real tail wagger but he does wag now when he is really happy.


  • Tallulah definitely wags, but also only for very specific people. Often I'm not even one of them! 🙂 The tail stays curled but does a sort of enthusiastic twitch to and fro.


  • Sahara will wag her tail when you greet her for just about anyone. She is so friendly everyone she meets loves her. Her tail is tightly curled but she seems to get it to wag pretty well. The only time her tail relaxes a little is when she is asleep. I love her tail, it is my favorite part along with her muscular thighs.


  • Cassi - more of a fold over than a curl, and often hung down between her legs when she was scared or scolded. She never wagged it.

    Alex - tight curl, but will unravel some when he's asleep. He doesn't seem to wag it anymore, but when he was younger and got excited it would twitch like crazy!


  • Cory's tail has a nice tight curl but she will uncurl her tail and let it just hang when she is feeling really relaxed and when she sleeps. But no matter how relaxed the tail is, the white tip will keep it's little fishhook bend. When she wags her tail, it is a very slight side to side movement.


  • Casey doesn't wag her tail… She has one and a half curls and keeps it up (unless she's snoozing)... However, when I pick her up on the back of our SUV to set her down on the ground, her funny tail starts spinning like a helicopter blade! 😃


  • We have 3 Basenjis. Two older litter mates, a boy and a girl almost 7 and one puppy about 8 months old who is a girl. The older boy will only occaisionally give a little wag, usually when we have him sitting prior to getting a treat or tossing him a ball. Our older girl wags a ton when we first come home and any time she is happy and excited but it moves maybe an inch either way tops. The new puppy wags her tail even more, almost completely side to side.


  • I had a bitch once who really didn't wag her tail but she used it like a propeller. I was certain one day that it would lift her off the floor but it didn't.


  • My dog's tail is wagging most all of the time! Doesn't curl tightly but looks most like a big question mark. She'll wag it when she's standing, sitting, or laying down and sometimes spins it like a propeller when stalking squirrels.


  • Cheyenne wags hers all the time. Apache, only was when he's playing with Marlowe.

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