I took Cali to the vet the other day because she has been scratching herself a lot. I found out she has skin allergies and the doctor told me to give her benadryl every day and it seems to be helping. Anyway, Cali weighs 25 lbs and the vet said she is overweight and that she should only weigh between 22-23 lbs. I feed her a cup of food in the morning and 1 cup of food in the evening. The vet told me to cut in down to 3/4 cup twice a day. I have also cut back on her treats. She gets plenty of exercise, but obviously not enough. She is a Basenji mix. As I have posted in another thread, I am not sure what she is mixed with as she was a rescue from the pet humane society. The vet said she is mixed with some sort of terrier, from her markings I am thinking possibly Jack Russell:eek: (this might explain why she is extremely hyper and her barking/screaming/whining at other people and dogs)
My neighbor told me last night that I need to shut my dog up, which I will not say what my response was:mad: As she has a yorkie and miniature pinscher that constantly bark all day when she is not home.( Her dogs started barking at us first) I am working with Cali on the outdoor barking (she does not bark in the house unless someone rings the doorbell) at strangers and other dogs. She is an excellent watch dog! She either barks because she wants to play/get attention or she barks because she is being protective. Basenjis are definitely stubborn so I am trying a few different techniques. Of course I don't expect her to stop barking completely because this is how she communicates.
I apologize for getting off the topic, but I am still a little agitated about the incident with my neighbor last night. A couple of people have suggested that I need to put a shock collar on her or a muzzle and I am not going to do this. With the proper training and patience I feel confident that I can correct her excessive outdoor barking at people/dogs(she has a very unusual high pitch bark and her screams could probably shatter a mirror):) . When my brother takes her for a walk she does not bark at people and dogs outside. I guess I needed to vent a little about these 2 topics. Nevertheless, back to my original question, How much does your Basenji weigh and do they every bark/woof at strange people/dogs?
tlbuddy
My basenjis weigh between 20 - 24 lbs; and are between 16 and 18 inches at the shoulder.
For the barking, you might want to think about using a Citronella bark collar. It emits a little puff of stinky citronella when a dog barks. It usually works spretty well getting rid fo unwanted barking; without hurting the dog at all.
I weighed Sandie today =(( …. She's at a whopping 26 lbs... and im hoping will not gain no more... we had to get her a new collar she's out grown her last... She is a mix tho and im not sure of her other half =(( ...
Jazzy weighs 21 lbs.
She gets one cup of food a day, plus a treat {puppy biscuit, chicken strip, etc} once or twice a day. Every other day or so, sometimes every day, she also gets a raw hide or some other chew treat as well, usually when she is acting particularly bored.
my dog is a whopping 50 lbs. He's mixed with Boxer though, so that's why.
As for barking, my dog is crated when we're not home, so no, he doesn't bark because his crate isn't set up so he can see out the window. If he was left free in the house, I think he would bark at things. if he's outside in the pen, he will bark at anything that moves - people walking by, other dogs, or to just "talk" to our neighbor's dog. We allow a couple of "alarm" barks, but after that, we shush him up. I taught the QUIET command - so after I ask for QUIET - he usually just grumbles softly.
Abbey weighs 22 lbs. and is 16 inches at shoulder. Being pure basenji she doesn't bark at all except for an occasional Erp which can't be heard outside.
Sayblee when in the "starve myself" mode, has gone down to 21 pounds. She is at GOOD weight at about 24 to 25 pounds. Right now, after nearly 2 mos of steroids and lots of eating, she is up to about 28 pounds. I am not worried as she will drop it off as soon as she is off the steroids. 
Arwen should weigh around 23 to 23.5 lbs, is up to 24 1/2. its amazing that less than 2 pounds shows up on her but it does. At one point she got up to 29 pounds… cut back food and she ate poop So I put her on Hills Science DIET formula and she got down to 22 pounds and has kept it off for over a year. I think the recent weight gain was child overfeeding her in the summer. Now that I am back feeding her she is dropping again slowly.
But dog's weight is dependent on build and how they look. Ideally I like to ALMOST be able to see the back rib on a dog.
For the barking and neighbor, I hope you pointed out that his dogs bark continually?
I have used an antibarking collar on a rescue. I have neighbors, strict police codes, so I had no choice. She would bark LITERALLY from the second her feet hit the back porch til she came back inside. It took her 2 zaps to get it, and that was it... warning buzz after first bark and she would stop. She was a chow/retriever mix, btw. She was not placeable how she was so I have no regrets using the collar. I took her to a teacher and family in PA almost 6 yrs ago... they think she is the best thing since sliced bread. 
So it depends on your situation. If you have TIME, you can retrain not to bark. If not, the citronella or shock collars are effective.
LOL you might print out a copy of these for your neighbor!
http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/96/6.6.96/barking.html
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/barking.pdf
http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/applied-ethology/behaviourproblems/barking.html
Thanks for the suggestions and links on barking. I do know that Cali does not bark when I am at work because I have left a recorder on while I have been gone. She also does not bark when I am at home unless someone rings the doorbell, but usually just a woof, woof. Oh, and there is the occasional bark when she sees her shadow and screaming/whining when I step outside for a few minutes. Sometimes I have to laugh at all of the different sounds that she makes. One of my neighbors that just moved in about a month ago didnt even know that I had a dog because he said he never hears her bark during the day. She does really well in her kennel while I am at work as I leave the tv on and she seems to like this. Today, another of my neighbors commented that Cali seemed to be doing better with her barking. I have started correcting her immediately after the first bark by saying quiet or no barking and she did good today. Of course it is harder to get her to stop barking when my neighbors(the one that was complaining) dogs start to bark and then Cali starts barking back excessively. My neighbor that made the comment to me does nothing to try and stop his dogs from barking.
I will definitely be consistent, but will probably use one of the citronella collars as a backup.
Cali could probably stand to lose a couple of pounds so I am going to cut back on her food a little because she is getting a little thick around her waistline:) It's has started getting chilly here so we have shortened our walks because she hates being out when it is cold.
tlbuddy
Zahra is 8 months and weighs 19 Lbs. She seems tiny compared to the 10 month old little boy Basenji we saw at the dog park. I have also seen two older Basenji's when we went Lure coursing, they were 5 and 7 and seemed so much more muscular and bigger then Zahra.
weighs about 23 pounds, she is perfect I think. Her coat is nice and shinny,but I don't want her to get any bigger. She eats alot better these days since I started adding a little wet food with her dry.:D
I took Cali to the vet the other day because she has been scratching herself a lot. I found out she has skin allergies and the doctor told me to give her benadryl every day and it seems to be helping.
One of our dogs has food allergies, wheat flour. As long as he doesn't eat anything with wheat flour in it he's ok. It could be any number of things your dogs alergic to.
Molly is 22 lbs and 16 "..she has barked maybe once in her short life, that was when she saw something in the bushes, she of course does 'whine/whimper a bit when she is not happy…...makes her perfect for traveling in motorhome, never bothers her neighbors....she does have sort of a moaning friendly growling sound when she 'greets' visitors........eats when she wants too, often eating the cats food, we are trying to break her of that.......:(
Well I have a 1/2 Basenji, 1/2 Aussie cross, we rescued her
from a pound. When we got her she was skinny, she weighs around 28-30 now and looks very good! She also is a barker, when she sees things, people especially; I was told by many people that she is rescource guarding! I got the message, when she barks, I now tell her: Good girl, thank you, enough now, and she usually stops, unless our Male B gets in the fray, then its useless to talk!! 
Carole
11-1-06 Took Sandie to Vet today to get her Heartguard meds… she weighs 31 lbs now...
Upi & Sierra
I have two female Basenji's Upi weighs 16 lbs and Sierra weighs 32 lbs (aka - Fat Dog). I think it really has to do with the type of food, how often you feed your dog, the amount of treats that are given to your dog and how often they are exercised. Unfortunately, I work during the day and both dogs are crated while I'm at work. I have a large back yard where they run and hunt all the squirrels and wild animals that are brave enough to enter at their own risk. Sierra doesn't bark and harldly yodles. Upi will only yodle when she is happy. Mostly my dogs are quiet. I use a low cal dog food by Nutro Max. For the longest time, I had a horrible time finding food that both dogs would like. Basenji's are very picky with their dog food. I wish you luck with your neighbors. It's funny, my neighbors tell me to stop barking when I let the dogs out. I have to bark in order to warn any rabbits or squirrels who might be in the backyard to get out or be eaten. My neighbor told me that my barking was unnecessary. I told him that I didn't want any dead animals in my backyard. Good Luck!
Cheryl in Michigan
Duke was just weighed for Heartguard med last week too. He is 24 lbs now. He'll be 10 mos old this month. He was 22 lbs for about 3 months. I almost switched him to adult dog food, but he wouldn't eat it. So I have been lightly mixing Nutro adult with Science puppy kibbles. He wouldn't stand still for the measuring stick, but it looks like he is maybe 15" or 16" tall at the shoulder. He is all muscle.
Trying to move him is like pushing a brick wall. All four of those feet give him good leverage to resist my efforts. I have had sore fore arms for a couple months. - Dr. said I have "tennis elbow" Duke is constantly nosing into everything I do. I wonder how many pounds per square inch (PSI) he could push and pull. Anyone have any stats on that kind of data with Basenji? Does anyone know what I mean to get your B to move when they're being stubborn and in your way? Not only are they smart - they're also strong!
Jill…
I know exactly what u mean they dig in and its no pudging... Sandie is so strong and her paws which i call hands grip like a vise...
I was thinking soon as this puppy food is gone im switching to adult... she isnt picky as long as she has food she dont care what it is...I know shes a mix and a mix of what i dunno... but i hope she has stopped growing...Shes 6 months old now so my next trip is to have her spayed.. this worries me also... last female i had spayed gained weight...
