Hello From Illinois

[OzzieMcMutt]

I live in a small town…about 2 months ago my hubby was riding his motorcyle uptown...and noticed a small dog in the middle of West Main Street...jumping up at cars...when he made another trip through town he saw the same small dog on East Main Street...jumping up at cars and stopping traffic...so he went into the street and picked the dog up...and stood with her on the corner for awhile to see if anyone would stop or come by and claim her...no one did...so he brought her home...and called the police and a few shelters around our area. STILL no one claimed her...we searched the newspapers in the area to see if anyone had place a lost add..and no one had...it took us awhile to figure out what kind of dog she was...Yep..you guessed it...she is a Basenji...We already had 2 dogs at home...Ozzie McMutt..A real Mutt...and Murphy McDog...a full blooded and registered Big Yellow Lab...With no one claiming the Basenji...We have ended up keeping her...and her name is Abby...So now we have 3 Dogs...Large, Medium, and Small...All 3 dogs get along great together..The Vet guessed her to be about 9 or 10 months old...we had her spayed, because of Murphy...Ozzie is neutered..he was a rescue dog from a shelter. Ozzie is 9 and Murphy is 7...I do have some questions about the breed..LOL...she is very active..and the boys and her play well together...she uses our doggie door with no problem at all. It took here less than 2 minutes to master it. The only problem we found out at the Vet was...she had mange...which she was born with...her mother was a carrier...and if Ab had pups, she would carry it also...but we treated it..and she looks great now.

1. Is it normal for them to sort of "fly" around a room?? She does it at least once a day...

2. Do they like to dig? She loves to stand and dig holes in our large fenced in backyard...and she uses her nose alot...so it is almost always scratched up.

3. She will pee outside with no problem...but loves to poop in the house...she will go days on end going outside to do it...then out of no where...she will poop in the house....We have NOT put her in a crate since we got her...

So glad I found the forum and hope to learn more about the Basenji.

Many thanks.
Joy Lynn

[dash]

Welcome to the forum. The flying around the room is called the Basenji 500. Mine does it to. They are escape artists and masters at manipulation. You may have found her on the street because she escaped from her previous owner. Dash does not dig so I am not sure about that one. As far as the pooping in the house…she should never be out of your site until the housebreaking is mastered. That will help you catch her if she is considering it. Dash gets distracted very easily and he will hold his poop for ever if need be. With the other dogs I can guess she probably follows them around until she can't hold it. Go back to housebreaking basics with her until she really gets it.

[WBL]

Welcome!! Glad that you rescued her, hope to see pictures

[OzzieMcMutt]

Thank you for the welcome….and advice...we have started watching Abby closer..Here are a couple of pics...Not very good...taken with camera phone.

[WBL]

awww cute pics

[OzzieMcMutt]

Thank you…we think she is pretty cute...and are still very confused as to why she was not claimed...again...small town, and it would not have taken much effort to find her...after reading posts here...we have been lucky so far...we have left the 3 of them alone for a little over 2 hours on 4 different occasions...it never mattered to the boys when we left...they could get in and out and had food and water...After reading the posts here...I'm wondering if we should put her in a create when we leave?

[WBL]

I really would suggest crating her when you leave if your dogs have free access to outside, or just closing the dog door so they can't get out (I'm guessing that you have a dog door)

[OzzieMcMutt]

Yes we do have a doggie door and a fenced in back yard.

[WBL]

Basenjis are known to be master escape artists from even 6ft fenced yards. So it might be better to crate her if you don't want to close the dog door. And I'd say even more beacause you have a chainlink fence, they tend to use those as ladders. Now granted some never do climb, but since your husband did find her wandering the street, chances she might have escaped the first time. I don't mean to scare you, just trying to help.

[OzzieMcMutt]

It sounds like it would be best to creat her. I'm learning a lot already from the forum…thank you.

[youngandtired]

Yea, she is a Basenji, and a pretty darn cute one at that! My B, stays in and out of my house all the time when I am gone. I also have a doggie door, but also underground fencing, where you have the chainlink. I don't see a problem with it except that she might get into your things in the house. Basenji puppies like to chew things, at least mine does, when she was younger I use to come home to chew marks here and there. I close off part of the house, (living room, bathrooms, and bedrooms). She might be good though b/c you have the other 2 dogs for her to play with, I just want to make you aware of this behavior, they are very curious and like to investigate. My B will dig to get rid of energy, she likes to dig in the corners of my sofa, looking to hide her treats, and sometimes just to dig. I am trying to change that behavior now, outside OK, not inside. These dogs are very loving, and loyal to their other pack members, bet when she is older that she will be the head of the pack. Good Luck!

[MacPack]

Bless your husband for saving her and all of you for keeping her! Basenjis are very smary and tricky, but not all are escape artists, well they all can be, but in a happy family with 2 good buddies to play with, she may not try and escape. Some pups just love to dig…but...if she is digging at the fence, that could be a probelm. I have had basenjis since the 70's, with a 4 ft chain link fence, and the only escapes have been from the gate left open by meter readers, and friends loitering int he doorway. Teaching her to sit when the door is opened wil be a big help, that is where 95% of basenji escapes occur. And as you already know, she is rather a fool in traffic. Teaching to love a crate is a good thing, especially in emergencies, but many basenjis are not destructive once they are grown and don't really need to be crated forever. She will learn your routine from the other dogs and follow their lead, at least until she realizes she can boss them around! Basenjis are wonderful and occasionally very frustrating, you will find a great support group here!

Welcome!

Anne in Tampa

[tanza]

@WBL:

Basenjis are known to be master escape artists from even 6ft fenced yards. So it might be better to crate her if you don't want to close the dog door. And I'd say even more beacause you have a chainlink fence, they tend to use those as ladders. Now granted some never do climb, but since your husband did find her wandering the street, chances she might have escaped the first time. I don't mean to scare you, just trying to help.

I do not agree with crating them or closing them off from the yard… "if" you have a secure fence... and of course depending on the area you live in... I have never crated mine, they have a doggy room in the house with doggy door to outside and have access to it 24/7. We do have 10ft privacy fences with padlocks on the gates and there is no need for anyone to ever have the access the back for things like "meter reading" as it is out front.... and the house is set back off a quiet street with no neighbors close as it is a very old neighborhood.... and really a 6' fence is OK depending on the type of fence.. in our area of California, I don't know anyone that crates their dogs if they have a secure fenced yard.... Just my opinion....

[tanza]

@OzzieMcMutt:

Thank you for the welcome….and advice...we have started watching Abby closer..Here are a couple of pics...Not very good...taken with camera phone.

QUOTE]

She is very cute... and I would suggest that you consider have blood drawn for a DNA Fanconi test especially since you have no idea were she came from.. you can learn about it at www.basenjihealth.org

[OzzieMcMutt]

She only digs in the middle of the yard…LOL which is a good thing if she is going to dig I guess...we have never seen her even put her feet on the chain link fence we have. And the only thing she has bothered in the house is paper towels...she loves tearing them up if we leave them lay someplace. The people who had her MUST have taken time to teach her things. She is pretty well behaved, and will sit on command...The Vet did do the Dna blood test and all was good. And I have to agree..they are a breed all there own..LOL

[tanza]

@OzzieMcMutt:

She only digs in the middle of the yard…LOL which is a good thing if she is going to dig I guess...we have never seen her even put her feet on the chain link fence we have. And the only thing she has bothered in the house is paper towels...she loves tearing them up if we leave them lay someplace. The people who had her MUST have taken time to teach her things. She is pretty well behaved, and will sit on command...The Vet did do the Dna blood test and all was good. And I have to agree..they are a breed all there own..LOL

Your Vet can not do the DNA test for Fanconi, your Basenji must be entered on the CPP site and the blood has to be drawn and sent to the U of Mo…. if this was done, sorry to doubt, but it is important that everyone understands that this is NOT a test that can be done by your Vet, only drawing the blood and sending it off with the required paperwork and payment for the DNA test

[tanza]

@youngandtired:

Yea, she is a Basenji, and a pretty darn cute one at that! My B, stays in and out of my house all the time when I am gone. I also have a doggie door, but also underground fencing, where you have the chainlink. I don't see a problem with it except that she might get into your things in the house. Basenji puppies like to chew things, at least mine does, when she was younger I use to come home to chew marks here and there. I close off part of the house, (living room, bathrooms, and bedrooms). She might be good though b/c you have the other 2 dogs for her to play with, I just want to make you aware of this behavior, they are very curious and like to investigate. My B will dig to get rid of energy, she likes to dig in the corners of my sofa, looking to hide her treats, and sometimes just to dig. I am trying to change that behavior now, outside OK, not inside. These dogs are very loving, and loyal to their other pack members, bet when she is older that she will be the head of the pack. Good Luck!

Good luck trying to change the dig behavior… have never heard of anyone able to do this... they almost all do it....

[nala121498]

Welcome! Looking forward to hearing about and seeing more of your adorable pups!

[tanza]

Again for everyone you can find the informtion at www.basenjihealth.org

[abby_basenji]

Where at in Illinios? I am also from a small town in IL and my baby girl's name is Abby. Too funny. Definetly keep an eye on her my Abby is in a 6 foot privacy fence she has not gotten out of the fence but she has escaped from the house and they are hard to catch. Unfortunetly she may have been dumped as not everyone is cut out to own a B! Good luck with her and maybe if we are close enough we can have a play date.