@Sandy-Hovis , sounds like "nosework" which is a competitive sport, like agility. The dog has to search for specific scents and indicate when it finds them. You might want to check it out.
@FernRN1 One problem I see here is that rewarding attention seeking means you will see more of it. You want to be the one making the decisions about when and how you play, not the dog. There are many, many ways to engage with your dog. It's limited only by your imagination. You can teach her many things. If she is food motivated it is a big help, but if not you just need to identify what is rewarding for her, in this case probably your attention, so make her earn it. Don't give it away for free.
Basenjis like to be challenged by things. They like to figure them out. One thing I have done with my dogs is to teach them the names of various things, particularly their toys. Then if one hides those toys, one can ask for them by name and the dog can go and look for them. Yes, Basenjis can be taught to retrieve, but throwing something for them is not the way. Teach "pick it up" as a generic command, so that you can point to anything and the dog will get it. Once picking it up is on cue it is pretty easy to build the retrieve, starting with putting your hand under the object in the dog's mouth to receive it, then moving further away as they learn you want it brought to you.
I also taught my boy to bring the roller ball to me, and his reward would be to have it filled with treats. This was a more difficult thing for him, since he couldn't pick it up and had to figure out how to push it in the right direction.
I have a short video here that shows some of the things I did with my boy Perry. Not the best quality video, but it should give you an idea....
