First, hello to everybody!, My name is Ramon Ricardo from Mexico City, my english is not too good!. I'm a dogs handler(poodles, chihuahuas, shih tzus, etc), and now we are in India for a 4 months to show dogs in all the country, and we are very amazing because de 95% dogs in the street, fields, etc, are basenji tipe, heads, faces, eyes, ears, tails,in all cities we was, they have not owners, they live free, anybody have answer for that!, Thanks. Ramon
I'd love to see a picture of these dogs!
Basenjis romaing free!!! Oh how they must love that, although come to think of it, the don't have owners to attend to their every need lol. It would be a cool thing to see them just wandering around 
Many countries have dogs that are of similar type to basenjis that are street or village dogs. Look at the similarities between basenjis, dingoes, and new guinnea singing dogs. Medium build, erect ears, somewhat curled tail is the sort of default for dogs.
Yeah, me too. I know that in Egypt, a lot of the strays consist of the Ibiza Hound, which is a bit similar to the Basenji, but the coloring is different and the tail is not curled. Not sure about India. I did a google and found some pics with dogs that certainly DID look like Basenjis…
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41275000/jpg/_41275016_dog_300.jpg
***edit - deleted this link. I didn't realize what that was…I only saw the dogs and posted the link. Didn't really pay attention. All apologies!
Um, what are those dogs eating in the second photo?
Cuz it looks like that charred remains of a body…....
Um, what are those dogs eating in the second photo?
Cuz it looks like that charred remains of a body…....
yup I agree :eek: must be a delicacy
I'd rather not know 
They still look more like mutts than anything really basenji to me.
And welcome Ramon to our forum.
Well, I'd rather not know,too, I suppose. Except that if it is a human body,it seems somewhat disrepectful to have it posted. I'd rather not see it here, personally.
And yes, welcome Ramon! I didn't mean to overlook you in the process!
In your intro you mentioned that you are a dog handler, but didn't list Basenji as one of the breeds you handle. Have you handled Basenjis in the ring before? How are things going in India with the shows? Must be so amazing to travel the world like that!
An interesting thing I read about basenjis roaming free, which apparently is how they live in villages in Africa, is that they don't have all the quirky behavior they exhibit as house dogs here in America. There's no real aggression, unless they're protecting their property (owner's property) and they are not destructive. While reading the "horror" stories of basenji ownership some years ago, someone who had lived in the Congo said he observed basenjis living the way they had evolved to live with tribes and they behaved very differently than they do when we expect them to be house pets. I just thought it was really interesting. I think we ask things of them that are not natural for them by making them our pets and the more we can do for them that mimics what they were used to before we scooped them up and brought them to England and America, the happier and more well-adjusted they'll be.
Maybe they would be more well rounded dogs if we could let them do more things like in the wild. Everyone thinks I have a strange relationship with Abby as she behaves like a child so we treat her like a child. We really don't punish her as we have not found anyhing that works, but don't be fooled she know when she has done something she is not supposed to do. The only eal aggression she has is (i thing she is protecting her territory) when she is sleeping and gets woke up she has a tendancy to snarl and even snip. She sleeps under the covers in the bed and when my husband comes back into the room to get ready for work she will sometime growl at him.
…...95% dogs in the street, fields, etc, are basenji tipe, heads, faces, eyes, ears, tails,in all cities we was, they have not owners, they live free, anybody have answer for that!, Thanks. Ramon
Sounds like they could be the Indian Pariah Dog…."Indog". Martha Stewart had a show about dogs a couple of weeks ago and her Yoga instructor was on with two Indogs that she brought back from India.
Pat
Um, what are those dogs eating in the second photo?
Cuz it looks like that charred remains of a body…....
OMG….yuck!!!!
An interesting thing I read about basenjis roaming free, which apparently is how they live in villages in Africa, is that they don't have all the quirky behavior they exhibit as house dogs here in America. There's no real aggression, unless they're protecting their property (owner's property) and they are not destructive. While reading the "horror" stories of basenji ownership some years ago, someone who had lived in the Congo said he observed basenjis living the way they had evolved to live with tribes and they behaved very differently than they do when we expect them to be house pets. I just thought it was really interesting. I think we ask things of them that are not natural for them by making them our pets and the more we can do for them that mimics what they were used to before we scooped them up and brought them to England and America, the happier and more well-adjusted they'll be.
I think the problem is that we hold all dogs to higher and higher standards of what is 'acceptable' in the western world. We treat them like little humans, and expect them to behave like polite little children. When our parents grew up…dogs bit people who bothered them, and no one sued anybody..the kids were taught 'leave dogs you don't know alone!'. Dogs ran wild in the neighborhood, dogs got into garabage, and chased cats, etc. Now dogs are often surrogate kids, and are treated as such. And people expect all dogs to behave as well as their perfect 'baby'. And in particular, or society is ready to sue somebody at the drop of a hat.
I defintely think dogs would be happier if they were allowed to be dogs more often, but they certainly wouldn't be as safe...but I don't know if that is likely to happen in our society.
An interesting thing I read about basenjis roaming free, which apparently is how they live in villages in Africa, is that they don't have all the quirky behavior they exhibit as house dogs here in America. There's no real aggression, unless they're protecting their property (owner's property) and they are not destructive. While reading the "horror" stories of basenji ownership some years ago, someone who had lived in the Congo said he observed basenjis living the way they had evolved to live with tribes and they behaved very differently than they do when we expect them to be house pets. I just thought it was really interesting. I think we ask things of them that are not natural for them by making them our pets and the more we can do for them that mimics what they were used to before we scooped them up and brought them to England and America, the happier and more well-adjusted they'll be.
That only makes sense to me. Of course they are not destructive – they are not confined, so they don't get bored, if they want to chew something there'd be plenty of things to chew -- sticks, straws, bones, whatever and no slippers, pens, pillows -- they can run to hunt, so the crazy B-500 is not an issue. They wouldn't need to be aggressive --if someone or something makes them uncomfortable, they can leave and go anywhere.
Remember the saying "A Tired Basenji is a Good Basenji". {That saying works for a LOT of breeds, all of which I'm sure would be much "better behaved" if allowed to roam free with nothing to destroy, such as shoes, neighbors tools, etc. Imagine how happy a little fox terrier would be in a field all day instead an apartment}
Don't you think we'd ALL behave better if we were always left free and never confined?
When I was a child, most dogs (even in suburbia) roamed around where they wanted. Everyone let their dog out in the morning and the dogs knew when they should be home. Our dog, a boxer, tended to bring home "gifts"…a man's work pants, a potted plant (pot intact until he tried to bring it up the steps), a stuffed toy, etc. He had a few canine pals that he sometimes ran around with and a number of human friends to visit. A good life indeed! Big downside....he was hit by a car and killed at a young age of 4.
Pat
I think we make a mistake treating any dog like a human - it makes us have unrealistic expectations of them. They're much happier doing what they evolved to do, and if it's impossible, then an appropriate substitute (like lure coursing or agility training) is important. I know how hard it is to find time sometimes to do all these things, but I can always tell when my dogs need more exercise or something more interesting to do - it's hard in the winter because I live near the beach and that's where I run them and it can get really, really cold, especially when it's windy. Anyway, when my dogs act up because they're bored, I feel responsible, I don't blame them. Then I know I better get off my arse and get some kind of exercise in there no matter what the weather, or even take them somewhere in the car just for a little excitement.
In response to abby_basenji, my Willie does that and I've read that it's pretty instinctive for basenjis to do that, although I know not all of them do it. If they're suddenly awakened in the wild, it could mean danger, so they wake on the defensive. When Willie's sleeping in his crate or in the sun, I always call his name a few times when I walk in to the room so he's not startled awake. It works really well (a lot better than surprising him!) I think it's so important to understand the nature of your dog and work with it to help him/her be a successful member of the family. Before basenjis I always had big lab, shepard, collie mixes and they were so different to work with. My first basenji was a rescue and so many of the ways I handled the other dogs just didn't work with him. I learned to do everything differently and in a more low key manner with him. He was a great dog and he taught me a lot.
When I was a child, most dogs (even in suburbia) roamed around where they wanted. Everyone let their dog out in the morning and the dogs knew when they should be home. Our dog, a boxer, tended to bring home "gifts"…a man's work pants, a potted plant (pot intact until he tried to bring it up the steps), a stuffed toy, etc. He had a few canine pals that he sometimes ran around with and a number of human friends to visit. A good life indeed! Big downside....he was hit by a car and killed at a young age of 4.
Pat
A great life, until as you said, they get hit by cars, eat the neighbors anti-freeze or fertilizer, chew the neighbors' new garden hose, pee in the neighbors' garage, kill the neighbors' cat, bite the neighbors' child, fight the neighbors' dog, I even had a friend whose dog died after getting into a bag of bird seed someone had in their garage . . . . .
Maybe not such a great life. A lot of those dogs don't make it to 12 or 16 yrs., and a lot of their deaths are unpleasant.
I really disagree with allowing dogs to run loose, anywhere outside of native areas.
So sad to hear that he was hit by a car, but what a great dog life he lived until then. When I first moved to Sag Harbor (east end of Long Island) dogs ran loose. I had a collie/brittany mix who was a crazy, frenetic dog. She had a big yard where I lived before, but it was never enough. When she started running loose, she became a different dog. Very calm, sweet (she was always sweet) and somehow seemed happier. She got to hunt (she was more brittany than collie in behavior) and hang outside with the other dogs.She just seemed to be what she was supposed to be. It was very enlightening.
But things have changed here since then and I wouldn't be able to do things the same way with her now. Many more people are here year round now. I used to live at the end of a long dead end street with little or no traffic and water all around. Half the time she was in the water. Happy dog. But we've been "discovered" and I would never let any dog run loose now. Well, that's not completely true - I would never let any dog out the door to come home when he/she was ready. I do have a "safe" place where I occasionally let the dogs run off-leash - a dog park, of sorts. I have to say, they're never happier than when they are there - sniffing - running full speed for as long as they want, playing with the other dogs (Willie has a thing for German Shepards).
