@tanza, absolutely. No doubt Basenjis can excel at nose work, just not too many people who own them are into that sport.
Actually, I meant to add that once upon a time people did hunt with Basenjis. An excellent section on hunting in Susan Coe's book "The Basenji, Out of Africa to You" describes hunting both birds and small game with Basenjis, and makes it clear that they hunt by scent as well as sight, even pointing, flushing, and retrieving birds. Sadly, not many people seem to be doing that kind of thing with them these days. What is interesting is Major Braun's description of training a Basenji for the field. He suggests that by the time a pup is four months old it should be solid on basic commands "sit, stay, and come, promptly and happily in a field situation". He also recommends teaching "whoa", to "stop the dog, steady him on point, preventing him from flushing the bird and to teach him to honour the point of another dog". There is also a bit on Basenji Field Trials, which apparently used to be held in Minnesota back in the day. There is a detailed report on a trial held in June of 1980. This comment was interesting. "When a Basenji is given a chance to hunt, he will prefer hunting over any other thing."
Seem obvious when you consider their origins. I also note that in the section on training the only reward mentioned was "Good Dog" and gentle fondling. The recommendation was for "firm but loving discipline and plenty of praise" to turn out a willing and obedient dog.
