Skip to content

How do I get my basenji to talk???

Basenji Talk
  • I have an old harmonica that was my grandfather's, never fails to get a response. My first boy was pretty quiet on the yodeling front, but that would get him going. Current guy is more vocal on his own, but if I want him to go, harmonica always does the trick. Just to start, then he's all about the "singing" with me. Now that the weather is nice and windows are open, I often wonder what the folks walking/ running/ biking by on the street may think of the sounds….:)

  • My 2 1/2 year old r/w Shaye hardly ever makes noise - whines and mutters when we leave a dog park, and twice has copied her "sister's" bark - (Gemma is a mix and barks a LOT, also talks and yodels), but it didn't sound the same. One time she baroo'd when we came home from a long afternoon, but never repeated it. Because we keep telling Gemma to be quiet, sometimes Shaye looks at her as if to ask "What's wrong with you?!?" so maybe she has decided making noise is a bad thing. No matter - noise or no noise they can communicate very well.

  • Get a cheap Harmonica and try that or go to youtube and look for Basenji singing-turn up the volume and see what happens.

  • @2baroos:

    Get a cheap Harmonica and try that or go to youtube and look for Basenji singing-turn up the volume and see what happens.

    hello 2baroos - welcome to the forum! I see you are from BC - anywhere in the lower mainland?

  • I used to live in Vancouver and now live in Courtenay

  • i got my boy to "sing " by mistake…..lol. i was going through a web site called singing dogs ( basenji) and turned it up loud and guess what it got my boy singing along with the dog on line.... what a noise but worth it..

  • The two males I had previously never ever made a sound. My current female never has yodeled but she does "talk" back to me when I scold her and she "cries" like a tasmanian devil when in the car-kennel. My new male yodels every now and then but I haven't figured out what sets him off.

  • LOL, so I am on the way to the vet for Arwen's 3 mo teeth cleaning. First, understand she is very silent most the time, none of the usual basenji noises other than screams and demon noised. So suddenly she is talking a LOT (not normal basenji noises but something I had never heard her do). I am SOOOO excited, I am praising, reaching back patting her. She gets louder, longer and more excited.

    I get more excited. I am all but exploding happy. I am mad my phone doesn't have a video.

    Finally, she quits and I suddenly get it. She wasn't talking. She was screaming "HEY PULL THE HELL OVER I GOTTA POOP NOW!" So deciding i hadn't a clue, she did. Thank goodness I had a sheet on the back seat and a huge shopping bag in the trunk. I pulled over, let her out, pulled out the poopy sheet and put it in the bag, tied it up (and threw out when I got home). So much for Arwen talking.

  • oh how lucky you are… would love to hear her...

  • haaaaha i just re read your letter and realised what you meant !!!!!

  • My boy yodels when I say "I loooooovveee yooooooouuuuuuu" :D

Suggested Topics

  • Looking at getting a Basenji.

    Basenji Talk
    10
    0 Votes
    10 Posts
    1k Views
    tanzaT
    @jordandwilly - Thanks for clearing that up.... 9-5 is just fine, IMO.... I work and have always had to leave mine when I was at work, never an issue. That said, we were able to set up the house that access to the backyard (with 10 to 12' privacy fences) with a doggy door and a dog room in the house for them, Locks on the gates so there is NO access for anyone. Dogs sleep 90% of the day so being at work doesn't bother them... never have mine even when I had a litter in the house (And have been in the breed as owner/breeder for 35+ years). You can hire a dog walker to take them out mid day..which is a good solution. and give them a mid day meal depending on their age. I do not and never have used free feeding, period. Especially if you have more that one... you never know what/who is eating what. And you can set up camera's on line to watch them from "afar".... LOL. Keep in mind people that many of us need to work and have day jobs. The most important thing is the time you need to spend with them when you are home. Example would be, if you have young children and you work... when you get home you are going to spend your time with your human children... NO dog would be happy if left out... they need their time also because they are a family member and need as much time as a human child. Again in my opinion
  • When to get another Basenji

    Basenji Talk
    11
    0 Votes
    11 Posts
    13k Views
    ?
    Wow! Somehow, I never got emails letting me know I had responses to this thread and just assumed there weren't any. But now that I'm back in the loop, I did want to thank everyone for their feedback and provide some thoughts of my own. That makes me laugh about the rescue person who wouldn't let young families or lawyers adopt her dogs. :-D I can understand her rationale from both perspectives. It's a compelling argument on her part about lawyers, but not all lawyers are the same, of course. I know a lot of extremely busy lawyers in large firms who struggle to hit their billable hour requirement each month. They're machines instead of people, and I wouldn't even let them dogsit my babies for fear of neglect. That's not my situation, fortunately. The young family part will be, but I've been thinking really carefully on how I'll balance this when the time comes. My dogs are my first children, and I would hire as many trainers as needed and try as many alternatives as I could before I would give them up. Unfortunately, I don't think a lot of people have that mindset about their dogs. :( I would absolutely be open to the idea of having the breeder choose a puppy for us based on their experience and prediction as to personality. All basenjis are gorgeous to me, and as long as the markings aren't completely off-base and I can get a tightly-curled tail (I've seen that the Avongaras can be lacking in this area, and I need a cinnamon bun in my life), personality is the most important thing. I wouldn't nitpick it to death. I'll have to decide on a breeder at some point, and I'd love one who's relatively local so I could visit. The man I got Penny from had great pet Basenjis that he bred… I'd like to go with a more reputable breeder this time around. At the very least, he tested for Fanconi. I can be grateful for that, as all is well so far and I more than likely dodged a bullet when I ended up with such a fantastic dog. My plan would be to decide and get on a waiting list far enough in advance that if there were a couple litters that just didn't produce what my family and I were looking for, we wouldn't be waiting forever. In short, what I'm banking on is that the right pup with the right personality will fit in pretty flawlessly. I know what sets my basenji off in other dogs, and I'm hopeful that I could find one that would suit her and suit our home. Daisy certainly worked out well for her, and I'd love to have that same success again. I've done three puppies in my lifetime, and all of them have grown up to be well-adjusted adults. I know what it takes, and I know it's hard work. I would never go the route of having an infant and a puppy at the same time (isn't THAT actually the definition of insanity?? ;) ), but I am still trying to shoot somewhere in the next 3-4 year range so my two aren't past ten and too old to handle a puppy.
  • Questions before I get my Basenji pup!

    Basenji Talk
    80
    0 Votes
    80 Posts
    40k Views
    L
    That sounds exactly like benji…his ears stay folded back for awhile when we get home he's so excited. And he is the smartest dog I've ever been around also. He knows what alot of different words mean just by picking up on our conversations and he does quite a few tricks when he wants to as well. And he has to be with us constantly too. The breeder had named him Wyatt so you might remember his pics and I posted some also.
  • Basenji Talk in Scotland?

    Basenji Talk
    7
    0 Votes
    7 Posts
    3k Views
    basiB
    @Elscodobermann: Best date we have for this talk is either 20th or 27th March. Will post more info when its available. cheers Have made a note Scott:D
  • Talking about Basenjis at the University

    Basenji Talk
    7
    0 Votes
    7 Posts
    2k Views
    JannekeJ
    It is a wonderful job indeed.. And I hope all my colleague-students remember this leason about our B's!! :D But I'm boring them all with my b-stories.. so for sure they will remember something about them ;) B's in Congo are wonderful, so I've been told by the 'african' colleague. He can tell very passionate about them.. It was really cool, he saw a pic of Tillo very briefly and said: aaaah.. a basenji…!!! And I was like....:eek: He told me they are very free in Congo.. just doing their thing.. And they haven't got that tightly curled tail there as they have over here :D ;)
  • Poll: Where Did You Get Your Basenji?

    Basenji Talk
    19
    0 Votes
    19 Posts
    6k Views
    youngandtiredY
    Well, it started when I was out with my 22yr. old son at the mall. He said, "Hey, Mom lets look at the dogs in the petstore ", I replied, "I don't have time besides your Dad has too many ideas what a dog has to be like for us to get one", I'll never find a dog like he wants". That was 3 yrs. ago this Jan., and I had never heard of a Basenji. I called DH about 3 times the night I found Sahara to persuade him we needed this dog, but she was very expensive so it took some work talking him into me buying her. She is owned by my son, me and my husband, she lives with my husband and I. She is the best dog I have ever owned, and I have had many through my lifetime. I would never get another dog from a pet store (didn't know about puppy mills)but I would have not known of this breed if I hadn't stopped and looked that night. My husband loves this dog so very much, he buys her whatever she wants or needs. I love her also, she is my joy and I can't stand to be from her for very long, we just got back from a trip and it was so hard missing her. My son said that she didn't eat very good while we were gone and was very destructive in the house. Guess she missed us as well!