New Basenji owners…...Don't be afraid!!!!!
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I would say most do when they are puppies. Whether they continue to do this as adults probably depends on temperament and environment. I have been fortunate in that none of mine have been destructive as adults. My current boy doesn't even get into tissues, and has never destroyed his plush toys. :)
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My Arnie can strip the outer layer off of a tennis ball and have it be intact and can shred a rope toy in minutes. I found this out when he was younger. My friends B would take the squeaker out of every toy. At the dog shows I would buy the toys without a squeaker at a big discount just for him!
Jennifer
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My 14 year old girl will usually 'kill' her stuffed toys, and any shoe or purse left within reach may be a victim.
She does not destroy everything or often, but the possibility is there!
The boys only shake their stuffed toys, and toss them around. Nicky is the only 'killer' here. My last pack (5 or them) were not destructive at all. -
We are lucky to have never had serious damage to our furniture. Our dogs like to destuff EVERY animal and take out all the squeekers. It's funny, the incision they make to get the fluff out is ALWAYS at the throat. Very instinctive dogs, they are. We also have to keep the door to the bathroom closed or else we'd come home to a TP'd apartment!
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Kiora does that! One one memorable occasion she decided to vomit on the couch and then proceeded to chew a hole into the spot where she threw up, presumably in an attempt to recycle nutrients. Fortunately the couch had been free.
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Smart? How smart?
anyways, I'd go for the #1. Leaving the trap for the #2. :)
Also, are they friendly to other dogs? like a bigger one, a bernard or bernese dog? -
So much information on the internet says basenjis are not smart. That is simply not true. I like to believe that basenjis CHOOSE to show you when they are smart. But if you are consistent with training, you will find that you can have a wonderful smart dog that will listen to you for most of the time :) Basenjis are not the kind of dog (are any?) that you can use forceful training methods on. They like reward based training - getting small treats of food (1 kibble or tiny treat) when they do something you have asked them to do. And you also must praise them a lot when they do something well. They work best with positive reinforcement training.
Basenjis do socialize well with other dogs, but of course that depends on how the breeder raises them and how you continue to train/raise them. I believe puppy socialization and puppy obedience classes are a must. They will like most dogs, size is not important, providing you have done the work to make sure they are well socialized.
One other thing that is critical to tell you is that basenjis should NEVER be loose (without a leash) unless they are in a fully fenced area. This is not the kind of dog that you can walk with without a leash on. They have a very high drive for hunting, and if they see a leaf blowing across a street, a squirrel, rabbit or other small animal, they will run to get it, not even thinking about cars or other moving objects that could hit and injure/kill them. For this reason, if you have a back yard, the yard must be fully and SECURELY fenced with not even a little area a basenji could get through. Otherwise if they see an opportunity, they will dig under the fence and get loose. You must also really control them when you or others go out of/into the house. They can tend to want to bolt outside. Sadly, there are some members on this forum who lost, or worse had their basenjis killed by a vehicle, when it darted out the door.
I'm not telling you all of this to scare you off of the breed. You just have to do all of your homework BEFORE you get a basenji. :)
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Ha ha ha , and just think it's only the beginning. We have discovered thar B's and Shiba Inu' s are all sisters's under the skin. Our 14yo Shiba, Sable, 5 yo B, Bitty,and the 2 yo B, Mr Baroo have tried their best to totally destroy our 3 cushion sofa, and 2 cushion love seat. They have torn the cover from all 4 arms and dug neat little nests in the center of all the cushions, just the right size for B's and Shiba's to curl up in. Karin says that if they ever grow out of it we are going to purchase a new living room set, but there dosent seem to be any chance of that happening any time soon.
