The Wonderful Myths you hear about the Basenji's


  • @Quercus:

    #15…seriously?? you read somewhere that Basenjis don't jump??? I wish somebody would have told my dogs that....they clear 3-4 ft easily...

    Dallas doesn't jump! It's so weird & I have tried training him to do so. I imagine if he really wanted out of somewhere, like over a baby gate or something, he'd jump. However, when I told up a treat he will "dance" on his hind legs but has NEVER actually jumped into the air to get it. Well, he's jumped onto the sofa & from the sofa into the air. Perhaps that counts? Haha.

    #3 - Dallas will retrieve but only for a few minutes. After about the fourth or fifth time, he stops bringing the toy back & would rather you chase him to get it back instead :p

    #11 - Dallas prefers dirty, especially when eating them.

    #19 - Sometimes Dallas acts like a lap dog. He loves cuddling in my lap 🙂

    #26 - Ludicrous. My boy is a little love bug, as I call him.


  • My Maggii always jumped and/or climbed… gates, fences, trees.. ggg... my OJ Boy never figured it out, he would just stand there and watch with an expression of "How you do that?".... gggg


  • @tanza:

    My Maggii always jumped and/or climbed… gates, fences, trees.. ggg... my OJ Boy never figured it out, he would just stand there and watch with an expression of "How you do that?".... gggg

    Haha. Well Dallas & OJ were related. Maybe the Serengeti boys don't jump :p


  • @tanza:

    Basenji do have color preferences…ggg.. as lvoss said, from birth... it is quite amazing... and it will carry over to adults...
    One of my favs is "Basenjis don't shed"...... BIG FALSE

    Oh and for climbing trees, visit this site http://ankhubasenjis.com/

    Notice the 3rd picture of the Black & White blob in the tree… look close

    If there are footholds available, they certainly can climb trees!
    And without footholds, they manage to jump pretty high against them.


  • @Ninabeana26:

    Dallas doesn't jump! It's so weird & I have tried training him to do so. I imagine if he really wanted out of somewhere, like over a baby gate or something, he'd jump. However, when I told up a treat he will "dance" on his hind legs but has NEVER actually jumped into the air to get it. Well, he's jumped onto the sofa & from the sofa into the air. Perhaps that counts? Haha.

    Consider yourself lucky. My pup Liyah (4.5mos old) jumps 4 feet from the chair to the couch from a standstill :eek:…because the adults are suddenly on the couch and she wants in on the action. She has also started jumping "over" the coffee table to join in the b500 if she is on the other side of the action :eek:. From a run, she'll also jump over the coffee table right onto the couch :eek:. While on the couch, if she wants to go to the opposite side of where she is and Ruby and Brando are lying down...she jumps from a standstill over them both...they aren't impressed when she does that :D. The way I can tell she is tired is if she tries any of her jumps and doesn't quite make the distance and goes splat :D.

    She is also a climber. She regularly climbs over baby gates, she climbs to the top of the 48" xpen (good thing there is a top)...luckily she is not up to the top of the 5ft fence outside "yet"...but I expect to have to put rollers on the top. I've had 3 different trainers that have seen her in action at puppy play group ask if I had thought about her doing agility and that I might want to think about it.

    I have no doubt that if she wanted up a tree, given the opportunity - she would do it.


  • @Quercus:

    #15…seriously?? you read somewhere that Basenjis don't jump??? I wish somebody would have told my dogs that....they clear 3-4 ft easily...

    +1

    Kananga has no issue jumping. What else to expect from a breed that is all muscle? 😃


  • @Ninabeana26:

    Haha. Well Dallas & OJ were related. Maybe the Serengeti boys don't jump :p

    Or that they are/were not the brightest bulb in the box!!! :D:D:D


  • @tanza:

    My Maggii always jumped and/or climbed… gates, fences, trees.. ggg... my OJ Boy never figured it out, he would just stand there and watch with an expression of "How you do that?".... gggg

    This is our house exactly - Nexa can get anywhere…Leo can't figure it out:D

    An example of a barrier that only works for Leo:

    And Leo in a tree:


  • Although Gossy has shown no indication of wanting to clear the fence (standard 4 foot chain link yard fence) she will on occasion make it to the kitchen table 😞 in one leap. El D could jump straight up to nearly 5 feet from a standing start! And my first beastie never showed any inkling for this at all. An individual trait as are some others.


  • @wizard:

    Although Gossy has shown no indication of wanting to clear the fence (standard 4 foot chain link yard fence) she will on occasion make it to the kitchen table 😞 in one leap. El D could jump straight up to nearly 5 feet from a standing start! And my first beastie never showed any inkling for this at all. An individual trait as are some others.

    The stand and spring without warning!!!:eek: The first and only time Kate did this she not only scared the crap out of us, she must have scared the crap out of herself….she never tried it again. (Picture a casual but special holiday table....candles, flowers, multiple guests, and all of a sudden a Basenji in the middle!! Well, not exactly in the middle, a little left center of the turkey. Delicate paws between the taters and the corn. Like an Olympic gymnast, perfect foot placement.)


  • 2. Basenji's cannot be Trained! - Depends…do I have pepperoni?
    3. Basenji's do not Retreive! - True, but She-Ra will chase whoever IS trying to retrieve something
    4. Basenji's are one of the oldest Orignal Breeds - That's what I've been telling people - one of the 8 "Ancient" breeds of dog
    5. Basenji's are deathly afraid of Water! - Yep! Well, mine is at any rate. But she'll tolerate a bath.
    8. Basenji's cannot be Trusted! - Oh heck yes!
    9. Basenji's have short a very short Attention Span! - Depends...do I have pepperoni?
    16. Basenji's are the Unintelligent Breed! - "They are not smart, but they ARE clever" is how I describe her to others.
    26. Basenji's are not loving pets! - 100% not true.


  • @torchsong:

    16. Basenji's are the Unintelligent Breed! - "They are not smart, but they ARE clever" is how I describe her to others.

    I think they are very intelligent. They are simply not very obedient compared to other breeds (unless you work with them more in-depth).


  • @torchsong:

    2. Basenji's cannot be Trained! - Depends…do I have pepperoni?
    3. Basenji's do not Retreive! - True, but She-Ra will chase whoever IS trying to retrieve something
    4. Basenji's are one of the oldest Orignal Breeds - That's what I've been telling people - one of the 8 "Ancient" breeds of dog
    5. Basenji's are deathly afraid of Water! - Yep! Well, mine is at any rate. But she'll tolerate a bath.
    8. Basenji's cannot be Trusted! - Oh heck yes!
    9. Basenji's have short a very short Attention Span! - Depends...do I have pepperoni?
    16. Basenji's are the Unintelligent Breed! - "They are not smart, but they ARE clever" is how I describe her to others.
    26. Basenji's are not loving pets! - 100% not true.

    Seriously? #16? You don't think they are smart?


  • I don't every say they are not smart, but when people ask I reply "they are clever." When people ask if they are hard to train, I reply "they can be hard to motivate"


  • I tell people that the Basenjis are problem solvers who think outside the box. And I too tell them that they can be hard to motivate.
    Our first Basenji, Dino, used to retrieve until we got our second Basenji, Holly. The first time she saw him chase a ball and bring it back, she looked absolutely horrified! Within 2 weeks he refused to retrieve any more… I think she gave him 'the word.'


  • When people ask if they are smart I tell them that I have no children in the house but every cabinet and drawer has a child safety latch installed so the dogs don't get into them and I had to buy an upside down refrigerator model so my dog would stop helping himself to tri tip roasts. I also tell them that basenjis have their own sense of humor and if you can not find it funny to come home to the inside of your house TP'd and your dog yodeling and wagging its tail in great satisfaction about a job well done then you probably want to look for a different breed.


  • I tell people they are way to smart for their own good… which is 99% of the time what gets them in trouble....gggg

    And Terry, that is a great line... "think outside of the box"!


  • I guess some people equate smart with easy to train…but I still contend that Bs ARE easy to train...really easy....the thing that is difficult is to motivate them to do it your way, not theirs.

    I think they are really, REALLY smart. Think of it this way...the smartest people are not usually the most obedient...they are the ones, like Terry said, that think outside the box.


  • @Quercus:

    I guess some people equate smart with easy to train…but I still contend that Bs ARE easy to train...really easy....the thing that is difficult is to motivate them to do it your way, not theirs.

    I think they are really, REALLY smart. Think of it this way...the smartest people are not usually the most obedient...they are the ones, like Terry said, that think outside the box.

    Exactly. 😃


  • @Terry:

    Our first Basenji, Dino, used to retrieve until we got our second Basenji, Holly. The first time she saw him chase a ball and bring it back, she looked absolutely horrified! Within 2 weeks he refused to retrieve any more… I think she gave him 'the word.'

    Ha! Bongo will retrieve, and Fiji gives him a look that says "Oh, please, have some dignity, we're basenjis for God's sake." She'll eventually run over and grab him around the neck if he won't stop. :rolleyes:

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