Hello everybody! I'm a pretty new Basenji owner. I didn't have the slightest clue that my sweety Lira, was a Basenji until a vet told me she looked like a "pit/basenji mix". Of course, she didn't look like a pit to me, so I did what anyone would do - I Googled. She meets all the requirments, height, weight, color, etc.
You see, nearly 6 months ago I was out looking for a new friend at the local pound, you know, to give a dog that needs a home, a home. So, there she was back in her little cell near some pitbulls, she was so afraid she wouldn't come to the cage door, or even look at me. When I talked to her calmy, and in a sweet voice, she gave me her left eye, and it was just like love at first sight. Of course she came home with me that day.
But, an odd thing I notice is; She can bark and will. Her tail does not curl, it is semi-curled and she is very obediant. She also can't wait to get a bath.
Are any of those things uncommon for a Basenji? She doesn't yodel…at all....she does make some odd crying noises if I put the gate up to teach her a lesson, and she can't see me.
A website I visited said that Basenji's are very aggresive....and don't excell in obediance - I don't know if I have some sort of super basenji, but, she is not aggressive at all. She is also the sweetest smartest dog I've ever had. Sometimes how smart she is creeps me out. She learned how to use objects as tools, to get from one end to the other, and to also get her ball/treat/anything I put in a high place, or a place that is just unreachable to her. I'm beginning to think that the website I visited, was full of it.
An example; I put her favorite ball on the top of my dresser, then I will look at her eyes and say "Lira, focus, focus, go get the ball." She then looks for ways to get to it. If I act as if I dropped something and bend down or pull a chair out she will use it/me as a tool to get her ball/anything els I tell her get. She will alos jump from table to stand, then from myself to the ball/whatever it is I told her to get.
It strikes me as something odd, when I speak to her - it's like she actually knows what I'm saying. It could be that "B-Stare,"I'm hearing about. and the way she tilts her head side-to-side. I don't know, shes highly intelligent I think.
What I want to know is, are any of these things uncommon for a basenji to do? And is my LiLi, a basenji or basenji mix? I'll include a picture of my sweety, maybe you can answer some of my questions. And tell me if she is a Basenji or a Basenji mix.
It sounds like you have a special girl with lots of great qualities. Many Bs have those qualities....my boy is just too smart for his own good :eek: he's done remarkable things to get what he wants 
