Hello everyone !

[Disconnected]

Hello ! My name is Pedro and I'm from Portugal, sorry about starting my introduction with questions but i don't really know if I'm in the right place.. I found this forum after some time online searching for dog breeds to try and find out wich breeds my dog might have in him and i thought someone could "help" me with that, Ill begin to explain why..
I caught my dog on the street a year ago this month and he was about 6 months old confirmed by the vet; he didn't grow much since the time i caught him he was about 40cm high and he has grown not even 5cm since he's with me… At first we thought he might be a mix of Portuguese Podengo because they're quite common around here (go figure lol) but as the time went by and meeting other Podengos and searching online for breeds and breed traits i started to see less and less similarities to the Podengo, until i found the Basenji breed and read about it and the more i read the more i started to relate the traits in my dog wich I'm pretty sure he's a mix of some sort.. After bringing him home my gf and I couldn't decide on a name to give him for 2 days, until we took him to an area near by, to meet a friend and his dogs, wich Is like 500x500m of grass and saw him run.. He looked like a greyhound running, he also dribbled the other dogs just like a football player (lol) I had never seen a dog run so fast, much less a dog so small and because of that we knew he loved grass and running on it so we named him Neymar after Neymar jr. the new player from Brazil.. I never had much interest in finding out what breeds he might have untill I started clicker training him and saw what he could do, as i said he is aprox. 40-45cm tall and he weights 10.7kg (weighted 9.5 when i got him) he can climb 1,70m walls (I don't know if i can post youtube links but i will if i get the ok to do it) he has learned pretty much all the tricks i can teach him some of them being: Sit, Lay down, Paw, Sit-pretty(beg), rollover, play dead and i even thaught him limp ! He's an incredible dog and as i started to look for breeds the Basenji stood out by a long mile on trait similarities, except for the coat colour and the tail i believe his pretty much a basenji, thats why when i came across this forum i had to make a post... I'm leaving 2 photos of him and I will post some videos of him aswell... All this on my first post on this forum to leave you all with one question:
Do you think my dog Neymar could be a Basenji mix ?

[Alex]

Welcome to our community!

[eeeefarm]

I think he has some Basenji characteristics. I'd like to see a side on photo of him. He's certainly got a handsome face.

[krunzer]

Welcome to the forum. He is very handsome! What kind of mannerisms does he have that you would think he would be a basenji? He is nice even if he is not a B!

[stash]

Hi, whatever he is he is lucky to have you save him from a hard life on the street, he looks very sweet and smart.

Jolanda and Kaiser

[Disconnected]

Thanks everyone for the replies !
And in answer to krunzer, I read that basenji's are also know as the "Barkless dogs" and as the time went by i was surprised how quiet Neymar was, he never once barked inside the house even when strange noises caught his attention all he would do was make a slight "woof" noise one or two times wich wouldnt come close to an actual bark… The only time i heard him bark was one time at night when he got scared from a statue (lol) he got so scared that he kept at it for like 15 minutes, and he barked and barked at the statue but even in that day his bark was unusual, very high pitched and almost like screaming, again, not an actual bark.. One thing i forgot to mention is that i don't really know if his tail has been cut or he was born with it that way but the hair on it points as if it would curl just like a basenji's would...
Anyway thank's for such quick replies ! I'll upload a couple more pics of him soon !

[agilebasenji]

I have no idea if he's part basenji, but he's very good looking dog. But really I just had to respond to tell you that I also have a basenji named after a "football" (soccer in the US) player. My beloved Digital the brindlewonderkid was named after Digital Takawara who was playing "football" (soccer) in the Kansas City area when my pup was born. The breeder's son-in-law was a big "football" (soccer) fan and he named the breeder's keeper pup after the ball player. Due to some unfortunate health events with the breeder's husband, Digital (the basenji, not the soccer/football player!) came to live with me.

[QuizBasenji]

That second photo has a very B look about him. Does he get on his hind legs very often - either on the lead or approaching other dogs? He looks a lovely dog, no matter what his antecedents!

[Disconnected]

I uploaded more pics, I couldn't decide on any particular one to upload so i uploaded a bunch of them ! As you can see by one of the photos he doesn't like water very much, i figure its because i never really had the chance to go in the water with him and help him like it, don't know if any of your B's have had that same "issue" but i don't think its relative… He's a pretty good hunter but to small prey only, like ratting dogs, he doesnt really do anything to rabbits for exemple but he chases them until he gets close and loses interest, but he's very good at hunting lizards eheh..
Also, from having him for a year now he always had a tough personality, i used to think it was due to being a stray dog for the beginning of his life and having to make it out on his own wich would mean with time passing he would improve to the point of being "perfect", wich didn't happen yet and, probably won't if in fact he's got basenji in him, he's really alert and easily distracted and sometimes really has a mind of its own, I really need to get creative and go the extra mile in order to get hes atention wich is not as easy as pretty much any other dog but when i get his attention its awesome, its like im training a Collie !

@agilebasenji: Thanks, he's a wonderful dog ! And i don't know why i very often relate dogs to football players from the way they play with other dogs eheh also i bet your's is a wonderful dog aswell !

@QuizBasenji: He does get on his hind legs very often, when i first put a choke leash on him he didn't like it very much and he would get up and walk bakwards on his hind legs.. but yea in pretty much daily life he does it quite often, while playing with other dogs he's usually the first one to do like a bear-hug on the other dog... He also gets next to the table while we're having dinner and gets up and looks like Dobby from Harry Potter 'cause he stands there for about 5-10 seconds looking at our plates without touching the table lool... And he also jumps really high without balance, he can catch his toy from my hand while standing still and then jumping at heights of 1,50m / 1,60m

Edit: I forgot to mention in my post about his bark but every single time he yawns he makes noise just like Basenji's do
Edit2: Btw, i think he shows more resemblance to the tri-color Basenji than to the regular tan one...

[Chealsie508]

In my opinion, I see some basenji in there…retain mannerisms and looks are reminiscent of the breed. He's adorable! Glad you found the forum

Welcome and hope you stick around to enjoy the conversations

[Disconnected]

I'm also glad i found the forum ! But even if Neymar hasn't got a single bit of B in him, I'll gladly stick to the forum because from now on all I can learn from this breed will be usefull because from everything I've read, I've come to love this breed and will be the breed on top of my Dog-to-Get List !

[agilebasenji]

The other breed to research is the Decker Terrier. I understand the basenji was used in creating the Decker, so if he's a Decker, he's still part basenji. Of course I have no idea if Deckers have migrated as far south as you are, but stranger things have happened.

And basenjis are addictive. I'm up to 3. (my Digital who I mentioned earlier, really is the most perfect dog/being I've ever met. He's now 16.5 years, so we've enjoyed a long jouney together.)

[krunzer]

To me it looks like he is definitely part B. The first pic of him running on the beach definitely looks like how Bs run and his face and eyes look very much like basenjis. Most Bs hate water, and my boy Tucker is afraid of statues too!

[stash]

The photo of him in the water looks very basenji like and also some of the other photos look similar to how my dog moves so now I do see some basenji in him from those photo's. Also his personality from what you said, would be interesting for you to meet someone with a basenji to compare.

Jolanda and Kaiser

[vickayx]

I agree the running, the water, and the laying out all stretched out look a lot like my baby girl! Hahaha not an expert in anyway but not a lot of dogs I know do those weird things..

[Disconnected]

@agilebasenji:

The other breed to research is the Decker Terrier

Indeed It really looks alike but then again the coat pattern on Neymar relates more to the basenji's wich has white on his chest going up to his neck and making a colar of white… Although i assume if he does have Basenji, some part of him will also be some sort of Terrier ! Yea I believe they can be addictive, they're so beautiful and have the perfect porportions, plus the personallity ! Everything i read about 'em is making me fall in love with the breed even if Neymar doesn't have it i will one day give home to a pure one ! And that's awesome about Digital, thats also something that I liked reading about some Basenji's is that even though they're a pure breed, they often live past 15 ! Thats quite unusual in pure dogs ! Also i bet a journey that long with a dog so wonderful has brought you a lot of happiness !

@krunzer:

To me it looks like he is definitely part B. The first pic of him running on the beach definitely looks like how Bs run and his face and eyes look very much like basenjis. Most Bs hate water, and my boy Tucker is afraid of statues too!

Good thing i mentioned the water ! I didn't find anything written about the B's relationship with water so i just figured it would be an isolated case just because i never had the chance but yea getting closer and closer and finding more traits that resemble B's everyday !

@stash:

would be interesting for you to meet someone with a basenji to compare.

I know what you mean, there's nothing like the real thing and who knows the day i see one i might even change my mind and think they have nothing to do with one another but… If you were to describe both dogs Neymar and a Basenji by text the only differences would be coat and tail but yea I'm keeping my eyes wide open and I'm doing everything to find more about the breed, unfortunately I still haven't found any info on B's regarding my country, whether its about breeders from here or just owners but I'll keep searching and keep you updated on what more I can find out !

Thanks everyone for all the replies ! I can tell this is a wonderful community and I'm glad most agree that Neymar has Basenji in him ! I'm getting more and more certain, perhaps when we meet one I'll be sure ! I feel blessed to have been chosen by such a perfect dog

[DebraDownSouth]

I don't know what he is, but to me, certainly basenji in there looks very possible. Looks like he has the right gait in picture six, lol. And personality galore. Welcome. Basenji or not, you are both welcomed!

[Disconnected]

Quick update: from a bit more reading and viewing pics, i can tell that Neymar's hair is just a little bit longer than a Basenji's and thats the reason why the wrinkles on his head don't show very much, because he does have them ! One more thing is that i read that B's noses are supost to be Always black and although Neymar's nose has a black stroke surrounding his nose, the main color of the nose is dark brown but that could be from being mixed… I also forgot to mention in my previous posts that i own two cats one male non-neutered and a spayed female, he doesn't really get along with the male cat because the cat's afraid of him but I've taught him how to guide the cat into the room (lol) but with the female cat they have an awesome relationship, everytime i get home from walking him, Muffin(the female cat, males name is Bob) comes right up to say hello to Neymar and smells him and rubs on him since the first time she did that, Neymar starting doing it to, rubbing against Muffin. then people he likes and also other dogs he likes lool.. We also kind of call him the cat dog because of that plus his agility and when i hold him in my lap with his chest facing up, if i let him go he will land on his paws ! eheheh

[MrBaRooampBitty]

First, let me say 'welcome' to you Pedro. Then I have to tell you that not all pure blood B's have black noses, our little gitl, Bitty, has a dudley nose, dark brown and pink. Our second dog, an adoptee from BRAT (Basenji Rescue And Transportstion) was listed as a Basenji mix but I was totally convinced that he was all B, he had all the physical traits, tight curled tail, pointed nose and stand up ears. His chest is white as is your Neymar's with the white collar. All B's have 4 white feet and the tip of their tails are normally white. As you mentioned he has the normal wrinkles. Taking all of these points as a group your Neymar has all except fro the tail, which in my estimation would make Neymar at about 90% B. So, again, let me say welcome to another new Basenji lover.

[Disconnected]

@Mr:

First, let me say 'welcome' to you Pedro. Then I have to tell you that not all pure blood B's have black noses, our little gitl, Bitty, has a dudley nose, dark brown and pink. Our second dog, an adoptee from BRAT (Basenji Rescue And Transportstion) was listed as a Basenji mix but I was totally convinced that he was all B, he had all the physical traits, tight curled tail, pointed nose and stand up ears. His chest is white as is your Neymar's with the white collar. All B's have 4 white feet and the tip of their tails are normally white. As you mentioned he has the normal wrinkles. Taking all of these points as a group your Neymar has all except fro the tail, which in my estimation would make Neymar at about 90% B. So, again, let me say welcome to another new Basenji lover.

Thanks, I'm glad that you agree ! I'm getting a pure B now to be Neymar's companion, a black and white female ! I made a thread about her on "Show of your dog" section ! As she grows up i'll manage to even more tell the differences or similarities