@Shaye's:
I read somewhere that Basenjis do not like water, and was perfectly prepared to accept my puppy would not like getting her feet wet in the morning dew, and probably would never swim. But, it sprinkled out there the other evening, and she tried biting at the raindrops, kept putting her paws over her head one at a time to get it off of her head, and this brought a question to mind. Soon we will be having the long long rainy season in Florida. Do you think I am going to have a real problem taking her out to do her potty duties and get her exercise? Thanks for any info and anecdotes you may have.
Do not fear, I am here to tell you that Basenji's can swim just fine. I made sure that I put mine in the water with a life jacket and a long lead from the time he was a puppy just to make sure. I am not saying he is in love with the water but since he likes to go in my sailboat with me, I had to make sure he got comfortable in it and would be able to survive and take care of himself should anything happen while we were sailing.
As far as taking them out in the rain. Once our dog learned that we were going out in the rain whether he liked it or not I usually do not have a problem. Of course we still occasionally still have to push him off the porch when its raining, but once he is out there he gets over it. We have also been taking him walking in the park daily since he was a puppy. This is rain, shine, sleet, or snow. Even yesterday, we walked three miles in the park while it was raining. We have started putting a coat on him when it is raining to keep his body warm and dry, but it does not cover his head. He seems perfectly comfortable with that and will cry to get out of the car and go walk even if its raining. The most helpful thing I can tell you here if take command of your dog, even if you have to pick them up and place them in the wet grass. Do this enough times they will understand that this is what they are expected to do.
ComicDom1
Jason