Skip to content

Size of Basenji

Basenji Talk
  • I have a silly question.
    I'm thinking to get a basenji.
    Have visited few friends with basenji in Europe and after I come back to USA I saw few dogs and it seems for me that here (in US) basenji are a little smaller.
    Am I wrong? What's normal hight of basenji male hight in USA?

  • They vary in size. I had dreams of a nice 18 pound bitch. My bitch won her championship, svelt, at a good 25 pounds. Her niece, our 2nd basenji, was this hard muscled machine and she topped 27 pounds at her best. (Sadly steroids from 4 yrs til death made her usually closer to 32 pounds.) I was at a show about 18 yrs ago and saw some part African basenjis that looked even bigger. But the European and US standards for size are almost identical (1 pound heavier for females in US).

    As for the show ring sizes difference, someone who shows internationally can answer. I just know from rescue that most that I see tend to be bigger, not smaller, than standard.

    The FCI (European) Standard:
    SIZE AND WEIGHT :
    Ideal height : dogs 43 cm (17 ins) at withers,
    bitches 40 cm (16 ins) at withers.

    Ideal weight : dogs 11 kg (24 lbs),
    bitches 9 1/2 kg (21 lbs).

    AKC Basenji:
    Height: 17 inches (male
    16 inches (female)

    Weight: 24 pounds (male)
    22 pounds (female)

Suggested Topics

  • Is she a basenji ?

    Basenji Talk
    50
    4 Votes
    50 Posts
    21k Views
    KembeK
    Looks can be so deceiving- here is an article of a woman who adopted a rescue dog in N.J. Dog looks like a basenji - even her vet thought it might be basenji. She did an Embark DNA test - no basenji. Turned out the dog was a mixture of Mountain Cur, Rat Terrier, Beagle, and Boston Terrier. link text
  • Is this a Basenji?

    Moved Basenji Talk
    5
    1 Votes
    5 Posts
    8k Views
    D
    @weedtrek Possibly Basenji mix, nose looks a bit wider and the eyes are less oval. Could well be a Basenji mix though.
  • My Basenji

    Basenji Talk
    2
    0 Votes
    2 Posts
    6k Views
    krunzerK
    ….is a wingnut, but can spot a squirrel a mile away.
  • Could she be a basenji?

    Basenji Talk
    27
    0 Votes
    27 Posts
    20k Views
    W
    @Thana: she does have basenji characteristics then apart from her colours and looks.- i also think she must have some basenji blood! She is lovely and lucky no matter what! adorable little face:))))) Having read about the characteristics I think she does. The lady with the basenji that we met also commented on some of the things she was doing as "very basenji" (eg. standing on her back legs so she could see what was going on). Has a lovely wrinkly forehead too. Got very frustrated with me earlier and did her funny bark, more of a wierd howl really. She is def one of a kind. Its a shame we have to have her spayed (not that I could ever justify letting her have a litter).
  • Is she a basenji

    Basenji Talk
    23
    0 Votes
    23 Posts
    18k Views
    W
    lol usually when you breed a bigger dog to a smaller dog the Male is the tiny one. Its just dangerous to do it the other way around. As far as DNA breed testing I would go for it if I could. But i am just interested in those kinds of tests. We offer them at our clinic but i haven't ever seen results for them.
  • 0 Votes
    21 Posts
    11k Views
    BarklessdogB
    Owning a basenji requires a good sense of humor and a large dose of patience and a willingness to do some creative thinking to convince the basenjis what you want is really the same thing as what they want. So true, never a dull moment with these dogs