The actual wording in the standard describes height as a single point. Females 16 inches at the withers. Males 17 inches at the withers.
The rule of thumb that I was always told, by many long time fanciers is that most breeders aim for being within +/- 1 inch of that mark. So for females that would be 15-17 inches and males 16-18 inches. I think we drift in that range quite a bit sometimes tending toward larger, sometimes smaller.
Thank you Lisa that makes good sense to me. 
I was wondering also what the percentage (if known) of Congo dogs to Sudan dogs are in the American bloodlines. I notice that, traditionally, the Sudanese dogs seem to be of a smaller build than the dogs from the Congo region. Does this account for some of the size differences we see in American Basenjis. I know I have allot of questions today, but I am trying to expand my understanding of the different bloodlines that make up our wonderful dogs.
Thank you all for bearing with me as all these questions pop up.
I don't know the percentages and am not sure if anyone has compiled that data.
Using my dogs and their lines as an example though, I think that there are many factors that influence the range of size we see. My dogs all go back to Kenset dogs for at least half of their pedigree. Nicky, my male, is about 17 1/8 inches tall at the withers. Rally is just shy of 16 1/2 inches, Rio is 16 1/2 inches, and Sophie is just shy of 16 3/4 inches. The male siblings of Rio and Sophie are all somewhere in the 17 1/2 to 17 3/4 range last I saw them.
Now this year, I leased a girl, whose pedigree is also heavily Kenset. TC is closer to 15 1/2 inches tall. So are most of the girls in her breeder's house, and all of them are at least 50% Kenset in pedigree. Most of the boys she has run tall, close to 18 inches.
So even in the same lines you can get differences that I think are influenced by breeder selection. Tomorrow we will find out if TC is pregnant, if she is, I would expect that the pups will all grow to be within that +/- 1 inch of the standard but it will be interesting to see how their heights turn out as adults.
Thanks Pat,
I almost included in my post that I know we don't have a DQ for size.
In your opinion is the size of a dog or bitch completely inconsequential to breeding as long as the body conformation is there (And of course HEALTH and temperament)?Also What is the tallest/shortest dog that you yourself have bred. Just as a curiosity.
The tallest, I think would be Tego, who is 17 1/2 (male) and the smallest would be Tiba (bitch) just at 15 1/4. I don't think that size is totally inconsequential and should consider in your "idea" of the perfect Basenji when breeding… but a decision, all others being equal would not just rest on size. And you have to take into account family lines on size, as I would think twice breeding two dogs from lines that either always breed big or small.
My Jamari (male) is to the small side at 16 3/4, so I would not breed him to a line that typically had Basenjis to the small side...
I think this thread may be a little old- but I just stumbled upon it & I am fascinated. Never heard the term "tail line" until today.
So, if I understand correctly, you trace the male & female tail lines, basically by clicking the uppermost or bottom-most link in the 5-gen pedigree?
If that is the case, Jibini goes back to Amantigazig and a dog named Kindu. Tana my mill rescue goes back to a dog named Tango on the female side, and a dog named Wau on the male side. It is very interesting to look back that far….you can really see the limited gene pool and linebreeding that took place.
I'm a little confused as to how a dog "loses" a tail line, however. If you can trace any Basenji back to the point where the pedigree says "unknown native dog"....how is the line "lost"?? How can you tell just by looking at the pedigree?
I'm just another pet owner who is endlessly fascinated with this breed & its genetics....so many things about Basenjis that simply don't apply to other breeds. I love it. Thanks for any input :).
Losing a tail line means that there are no longer any descendants that can trace back to that founder in that manner.
Very interesting thread - i am facinated by the history of all breeds, but the Zande pedigree website makes things so simple. Did a search on Tilly - she goes back tail female to Tango( via Bereke of Blean) , and tail male to Kindu (via Am Ch. Kingolo).
Ok, so this is cool. I still can not figure out how to use it though. I plunk in my dogs parents and then what? I just need some clarification…it's a blond thing..
Petra
On the main page, type in your dog's registered name and search. When your dog's name comes up, select the link that says "pedigree w/links". This will show a 4 generation pedigree. Your dog's name will be all the way on the left. The 2 boxes in the column to the right of your dog's name will be the parents. Then the next column will be the grandparents, etc. The sire (father) is always the top name and the dam (mother) will be below it.
To trace a tail male line you simply click the topmost male's link (all the way to the right) in the pedigree. When it's pedigree open's up you click the topmost male's link and so on and so forth. You do the reverse with female's clicking the lowermost female link and so on.
Thanks for the info. If I plunk in Otis' parents names here goes, first the sire all the way back on the top line - Kindu, and on the dame's side all the way back on the bottom line goes to Amatangazig. Did I do that right?
Either way it is really cool, like said previously to see pics of these older dogs and also of course to see were your dog came from.
Petra
All four of mine go back tail male to Kindu. Ruby goes tail female to Bereke of Blean, Bryn and Keiko to Amatangazig, and Ezri to Fula OTC.
Hey, that's really interesting. I've played with Sally's website like that before but had never heard of 'Tail lines' before. All 4 of mine have female tail lines to Amatangazig. 3 have male tail lines to Moko and 1 male tail line to Kindu.
Ayo - Amatangazig and Wau
Maca Amatangazig & Kindu
