This is an excellent idea, and good for you to think of it. A person can read up on and follow forums on and hear all they can about a Basenji, but until you have actually spent lots of time around one, you cannot really know what you are getting into. They are definitely a breed apart and require an awful lot of patience, but they are a challenge that is ultimately worth it. As you live day to day with their cleverness and independence, you will find out a lot you never knew about yourself as well as the dog. The longer you study a basenji, the more you know you do not actually have a "dog." The basenji and you have a joint living situation, and the level of respect each has for the other will determine if you are up to it IMHO.