Squiggy is 4 also and he plays. Maybe yours didnt get socialized to play? I bet he comes out of it once he gets settled in and comfortable. Get him a stuffed animal and see if he "guts" it. Squiggy does that and then plays with it. We also play the hugging game, where i stand up and say "Im going to hug you" and he gets down and runs around real fast and low to the ground. and he will stop and I will lunge at it again…and he could do that forever. -OK, quit picturing that and laughing:)
I have never had a dog tap before and Squiggy does that all the time. He also digs, mostly in the bed before he spins and lays sown. But it is like he is digging a hole to china! he is very quick at it:p
That's so funny about Squiggy digging in his bed before he lies down. Cody does that too! He's dug some of the fluff off his bed from his ritual. Both the tapping for attention and digging in bed must be breed traits. They are such characters, Basinjis. Between Cody and my Shiba, they keep me laughing. Their behavior is very similar, which is strange considering they have such different countries of origin. I'm glad I had my Shiba, because he prepared me for fostering this Basenji. I haven't been quite as blown away frustrated as I might have been. I took them to the dog park Sunday, and Cody was so beautiful when he trotted across the yard, almost floating. Then he would stand at attention and look so regal. He likes Zorro, but looks confused when Zorro runs around him, doing the play bow and trying to engage Cody in play. I think Cody was just left all alone in a yard with no other dogs and very little training. I guess it will take him a while. Maybe I'll take toys with us to the dog park this weekend, and see if I can get him to play.
That's so funny about Squiggy digging in his bed before he lies down. Cody does that too!
That is a TRUE TRUE Basenji trait 
We like to say that all B's gather in China for their daily basenji meeting LOL LOL
but looks confused when Zorro runs around him
It sounds like Cody may giving calming signals. Does he turn his head to the side?? Maybe a couple of yawns?? Or maying drops his nose to the ground kinda looks like he's sniffing?? These are all calming signals. It could just mean that he's feeling a little anxious in the environment & wants to let the other know that he's trying to chill out & they should let him chill out.
Yes, Cody drops his head and sniffs the ground when Zorro tries to play with him. Sometimes he looks off into the far distance and Zorro races madly around him. It's kinda funny to watch. Eventually Zorro sighs and gives up. Is that way of communicating "Chill out" a Basenji thing or a dog thing? I am learning more about the way dogs communicate, having been a cat person for years.
I have learned to give my rambunctious border collie Jenny calming signals when we go outside. She wants to jump up and down in front of me and grab my shoelaces and zip around crazily. I learned on my own that if I don't look at her, but look off in the distance as if I see something far away, she will leave me alone and go running ahead of me as I do my chores. So it must be a dog thing, not just a basenji thing. Petrie, I love your stories of Cody and look forward to meeting him when you come up! I'm going to try to scan the photo you sent, and let the basenji people see him.
Christy, I like your description of Squiggy as a studious fellow with a pipe. How funny.:D
Dogs have their own language and they give their own signals…the more in tune you are with your dog the better you will understand what your dog is trying to tell you.
Check out www.dogwise.com
I really like the DVD "The Language of Dogs" and a book by Turid Rugass "Calming Signals"
I also really liked the Language of Dogs DVD. Sarah Kalnajs who made the DVD also does seminars. I attended one this past February and it was great. Her website is http://www.bluedogtraining.com and has links to her seminars and the DVD.
I have not had a chance to read Turid Rugaas' book yet but hope to pick it up soon.
You'll really like it. It's short but very informative. I've also purchased her book on "Help My Dog Pulls" and it seems to be helping us very much. Dogwise was at a dog show so it was great to preview the items 
Thank you, everybody, for the tips. I'll get that DVD. I'll also get that book about dogs who pull too. Cody and Zorro both are pullers. Cody is VERY strong too. That will really help, I think. You're right about knowing your dog. I've had Zorro, my Shiba Inu, for two years now, and I know how he thinks and can read his behavior. Cody is different though, so I'm never sure if it's a Shiba thing, a Basenji thing, or a dog in general thing. Do Basenji's tend to be picky eaters? At first, Cody was, but now he looks foreward to dinner and cleans it all up. He also has a "saddle of coarse, lighter-colored hair on his back that I thought was a "winter" coat, but he's not seeming to shed that. I don't know if that's normal, or if his coat suffered from being kept outside all the time. I have no idea what he was fed before I got him. I read that Basenji's have problems sometimes with sensitive tummys and skins. His skin is beginning to look better already, but he still has that funny stiff-haired saddle.
He also has a "saddle of coarse, lighter-colored hair on his back that I thought was a "winter" coat, but he's not seeming to shed that. I don't know if that's normal, or if his coat suffered from being kept outside all the time. I have no idea what he was fed before I got him. I read that Basenji's have problems sometimes with sensitive tummys and skins. His skin is beginning to look better already, but he still has that funny stiff-haired saddle.
Squiggy has longer harder hairs on his saddle, but they are dark (normal for him) colors.
If it is lighter and looks cotton-y it is probably his undercoat. can you pick out tufts of them?
If you can, I could on squiggy when he blew coat, get a shedding brush. It looks like a metal loop with little metal teeth (not really like a brush). You can brush him with that and it helps TONS. I just got him finished the other night and he now looks sleek and handsome.
Are you ever going to send us a picture of this little guy?:)
This is the season that Basenjis blow coat… so not surprising that he still might have the long dead hairs... and if he was not on a good diet or left outside, it might take a while.
Yes, some Basenjis have sensitive tummys, but most do well on quality food....
Here is a photo of Cody the Jeep. I hope it shows up the right way!
Oh, I thought it would show in the thread. You can see his shedding coat. What is a "mane" that I saw mentioned on another thread?
Cody's beautiful! Love this pic with the kitty on the other side. My prayers are with you and Cody for a baroooootiful union.
Please keep in mind that using training treats of very high value is a key to success. Good advice I received about this breed is: (addressed to me)
Breeds like jacks and basenjis have a different value system - they work for themselves, not for us. If they decide to do something for us, it is because the value of the reward means more than the task being asked - unlike other breeds that will work for us because they want to please us; your combination of breeds is only interested in what pleases itself. Understanding that can go a long way with training.
My boy Duke is a basenji-mix (1yr 4 mos old), I think with jack russell. In all . . a really big handful in his puppy time, 4 mos. before I knew what the heck he was. Today? Ahhhhhhh - he is my true baby love. Training him how he needed to be trained saved face for me and him. He is my loyal subject - with big wings that Daisy must trail. She is only 4 mos old, in training. She has another personality and we have some training problems, but I am more prepared than before. Big treat rewards . . . cheese, bacon, steak, corned beef. Yeah - I believe in spoiling a li'l.
Hi Duke and Tanza - are those little pictures of your babies? I never knew Basenjis came in black and white too. They look so sharp - like they're wearing tuxedos! It's helpful to hear that Cody is a normal Baseji and that there's hope for training him. I know treats are how I discovered that he 1. knows his name 2. can sit on command and 3. will down on command. Up until then, I didn't know he knew anything, because there was NO response to my voice…not even an ear flick. Even my cats will give me that much. But I had a Puperoni (which is my Shiba's favorite snack and for which he will do ANYTHING), and you should have seen how fast Cody zipped over to me when I called him after he saw the Puperoni in my hand! So now some of the mystery of Mr. Cody is exposed -- he will respond if somethings in it for him. If he does something naughty, he appears to care nothing for my reprimands and just goes on his merry way. Zorro at least looks ashamed when he gets in trouble, and tries to cute his way back into my good graces. But not Cody! He cracks me up. He's my little foster juvenile delinquent.
If he does something naughty, he appears to care nothing for my reprimands and just goes on his merry way. Zorro at least looks ashamed when he gets in trouble, and tries to cute his way back into my good graces. But not Cody! He cracks me up. He's my little foster juvenile delinquent.
I know exactly what you mean! The brain is hardly wired for guilt - no reward in that after all! Though after consistent training, you probably will see guilt. I've seen it before and (interestingly) see it now in Duke for things that Daisy has done. When Daisy has pooped in the house, Duke will put his paws up in a sense to keep me from finding it :eek: - or to say "If you see it, please know I didn't do it - Daisy did!" :eek: I just love him - for this reason, he has begun to be a better companion too. Daisy will surely catch on - in time . . . sigh
Are your dogs both Basenjis? It's nice to know they have the capacity for guilt - Cody, now named Rowdy (we figured a name change is OK since he doesn't come to anything you call unless there's a treat, and then he'll come no matter what you call him) by Jeep Jeep, is getting better. His riding-in-the-car manners are improving, but now we have to work on letting me get out of the car before he does. His house manners are a little better, but he's still very busy and destructive if I don't watch him every minute. The cats all HATE him. So far he's had sense enough not to bother my Manx cat, who is almost as big as Rowdy, and would slice Rowdy to ribbons. He's only had two accidents (both peeing) in the house and that was the first two nights I had him.
That's so cute about your male dog telling you it wasn't him. Zorro, my Shiba Inu, always looks scandalized when Rowdy does something Zorro knows is not allowed. I can almost hear him saying, "Ummm, look what Rowdy did!" You all on this website have been so helpful for me fostering Rowdy.
Basenji typically come in four colors, Red & White, Black & White, Tri color (Black, Tan and white) and Brindle and White. There are other colors that pop up depending on the breeding and what is behind the pedigrees of some of the Basenjis.
In my picture it is a Tri (my most favorite color)…. and my Mickii (the Tri in the picture) is the tattle tale in my house.... when someone does something wrong/bad as soon as I get home she will sit there and yodel her head off....ggg
Mickii is beautiful! I never saw a tri-color basenji before. That's so cute that she rats her fellow puppies out.
I had never seen a basenji in real life. I've only seen pictures of them, so when I went to the pound that day and saw Rowdy peering at me through the kennel gate, I was amazed. I knew what he was, and was really surprised to see what I though to be a relatively rare dog in the pound.
I don't know if I've heard Rowdy yodel yet. All I've heard is a bleating sound he does, and a strange little whimper he makes when he gets excited in the car. Once when he got his head stuck in my picket fence, he emitted this horrible screaming noise that made me cover my ears and Zorro run for cover. That's about all the sounds he's made in the three weeks I've had him.
