Hey, congratulations on getting your first basenji! As much as a handful they are, they are SO much fun, and will make you laugh constantly. We are also in Wisconsin, near Sheboygan, and come to Milwaukee often, if you are interested, we should do a meet up sometime, i've only met another basenji once, and would love to see more! Plus it's always fun to share tips
As for the begging, Tosca does it too, in fact I am eating by the computer as I write this so she is doing it as we speak. I have not been successful in stopping her, other than to remove her, but what I do sometimes is give her her supper while we eat, and I put it into a kong. That way, while we are eating, she'll play with her kong, and work for her food That is kinda a fun way to keep her occupied. Good luck!