well, i do not own a purebred basenji, though i have loved the breed for years. my family has owned akitas for over 30 years and after their last akita died 2 years ago…they adopted a mutt from the SPCA. "Cleo" is their first non-akita in over 30 years. LoL, my mother adopted her as she wanted something "a bit smaller"... well needless to say Cleo is more of a handful than any akita we've ever had at times.
Cleo was labeled as a rotti/chow. she is anything but that. she is very fine boned, weighs 40 pounds, never ever barks (but makes all sorts of crazy noises), balances on various house-hold furniture, and is EXTREMELY primitive.
the more and more i spent time with Cleo i started bouncing around the idea of a possible basenji mix. Im now almost certain of it. She manhandles my parents 110 pound akita like hes nothing. She takes joy in constantly chasing the cat around the house. lol, and hearing her YIP as she looks out over their 2 acres when she sees an animal is hilarious.
we're guessing she is mixed with pinscher of some sort. either miniature, dobe, or german. she is surely the most interesting dog ever.
I also volunteer at the local SPCA ocassionally, and fell in love with a dog they had in their a few years back. So I made my friend adopt him. Lol. We named him "Ezra". she was "rehabbing" him if you will until we found him a better home.
This dog surely put cleo to shame. we have since guessed he was a basenji/hound mix (possibly pharoah hound not sure). he was a step above feral. the first time he went in for training...he was almost un-handleable (lol i dont believe thats a word). Ezra was clearly never trained or socialized, but he learned VERY fast (as has cleo).
Ezra was re-homed with a family who dress him up and love him very much.
I'll try to remember to post some pictures of both dogs tomorrow. Im very glad to be here and see all the basenjis and read the forum!
And PLEASE post pics we LUV them :p
