My wife and I purchased what we were told was a Chihuahua puppy last year in September. When I picked him up, he did appear to be a chihuahua. It was only after he grew at a phenomenal rate and started displaying odd behavior, that we realized that he was a Basenji mix. (He has all of the traits. Pointed ears, Crinkled Forehead, curled tail, massive chest and small waist. Grooms himself like a cat, has razor sharp teeth and loves to chew everthing to show that he has razor sharp teeth, makes strange noises, barks, but only one bark at a time, not continually like most dogs and last but not least...does what he wants to do when he wants to do it!) He is smart as a whip, but the most STUBBORN dog. My wife does not like him. I love him but he cannot stay as the wife has last say. (sadly I got him for her because she wanted a lap dog, but he is over 20lbs and hurts her lap, as well as scratches her lap, legs and body with his powerful claws.)
His name is Harry and he truly is a wonderful fellow. He is Basenji and something, though I am not sure what. I think maybe miniature pinscher mix. He is all beige or tan with some white on chest.
We live in Gainesville Florida area. I can be reached at: 352-278-3104. He needs someone that can keep up with him as he is also the fastest dog I have ever seen. Some athletic person that loves to run. email me for photo - soulsketcher@yahoo.com
Here are 2 pics of Harry. They are about 6 months old, so he has about doubled in size.
I want to add to this because I have already had some people contact me...my wife now says she DOESN'T want to get rid of Harry. So, please bear with me while I find out if she can decide.
I do not want to be rid of him, as crazy as he is, but will update when wife has made a solid/final decision.
Basenji's are a special breed. If he is being difficult it may be that he is an only dog. They really hate that. If you want to get a lap dog get one so he has a pal. They are very much pack dogs. Also they are stubborn but there are usually work around a if you are diligent. I had just one and he was hard. Peed in the house, chewed everything, clothes, furniture, pillows. We got him a sister and his behaviour changed. He still chewed, but he was so much happier. Good luck.
Thank you for the comment. I had actually just mentioned this to my wife a few days ago. Harry is rambunctious and needs an avenue to release pent up frustrations. I told her i can just see Harry and another dog running in and out of the doggy door playing. I think you are right and I am gonna see if my wife will go for this. I was mentioning to another Basenji forums user that I had to give up a dog about 22 years ago. He had been my constant companion for 3 years and we loved each other. But circumstances forced me to give him to another family and I had to do it quickly. I still remember the look on his face when I left him with the new family. He had this look like "what did I do. why are you leaving me" . I do not know what happened to him and have regretted that for all this time. I pray that he was taken care of and was happy.
But anyway, thank you again for the advice.
I am sorry but I had to totally disagree about you getting a 2nd dog. If you don't have the time, patience, and energy to train one dog ... adding another isn't going to fix it. And basenjis can often be dog aggressive, even if you get a female. So you could add a dog, and then have hellish life of keeping them separated.
If your wife wants to keep him, then it is time for serious training, and setting aside time to truly exercise him. A tired dog is a good dog.
Based on the pictures you posted, I don't see Basenji.... cute dog however. Not sure what you mean by razor sharp teeth? Puppy teeth are that way, but they get their adult teeth between 5 and 7 months. I also don't agree that being an only dog is the issue.... Basenjis are thinking dogs it is not that they are stubborn....
he is a puppy in those pics. now he is twice that size. i am sure that the only way to tell if he is basenji is dna testing, but i am positive he is a mix of basenji and something. he has the basenji brow. pointed ears, curled tail, yodels, grooms himself like a cat....what about those things makes you think he isn't a basenji mix? I did not say he is purebred, and no definitely not akc, but i am pretty sure he is a mix of basenji and something. definitely not a chihuahua as he is approximately 23lbs.
or he could be a giant chihuahua. i guess i could have him dna'd but i am not that curious.
i have also owned dogs since 1970 and i have never had a problem training my dogs. I have never had a dog that chewed anything in my house, or pottied in the house, after i trained them. harry is 180 degrees different than any dog i have ever had. you can call it "thinking dog" but i say stubborn. i had to bend my ways of training for him. it took a month or so to find out what actually motivated him.
anyway, i guess it is moot anyway, as my wife does not want to let him go.
@harold Glad to hear that he will be staying. I guess we will have to agree to disagree on both the mind set of a sighthound (or a Terrier for that matter) and if this cutie is part Basenji.
Regardless on whether you get another dog or not - good for you to keep Harry.
