I must agree that naive, first-time wanne-be owners need to do deep, extensive research. Basenjis are supremely unique and definitely not a good choice for a "beginner."
I adopted an 18-month old 3/4 Basenji (other 1/4 is Min Pin, yet another quirky little breed, with some "bad" similarities to B's). I was somewhat familiar with B's, but not even a little bit of "enough!!" Gosh, Izzy-Bella was a piperoo!! A little 18 pound bundle of energy, destruction, and escapism. BUT, I have always loved bad boys (9 years working in a high school), so a little bad girl was a sort of delight. But, again, it takes many years before these dogs mellow out and mature and maximize their amazing intelligence. Izzy is SO SO smart: her early unbridled destructiveness has pretty much ended, and now, at ten years old, she amazes us every day with her intelligence, innate understanding, observational skills, language acumen, and comedic skills. And at ten years old, she acts like a three year old! I hope this means she will live forever.
Once you have bonded with a Basenji, you are probably done and gone. But
first-timers REALLY need to do their research and homework.
Someone referred to entrusting their dog
to a family member. I would entrust my B to nobody except a bona fide Vet hospital/kennel, with big-time fences and enclosures, B's are exceptional diggers-under-fences and escape artists. And a Number One cause of
death for them is traffic. Their prey instinct sends them careening into
traffic. Dumber than deer.
But, bottom line: do your due diligence Basenji research, and understand early on that these dogs are singularly unique: indescribably destructive; escape artists; independent thinkers and behaviorists; smarter than you can even begin to imagine (I swear my Izzy understands everything I say and reads my mind!); and prepare to have lots of tissues on hand as auxiliary food, because apparently, Basenjis require wood pulp
projects to prosper!! I don't get it.
South Bay Basenji Meetup (San Jose, CA)
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Vanessa and I know a couple of Basenjis in South Bay Area, but there are probably many more that we have never met. I think it would be fun to get together once in a while and have play date at the park with our Basenjis.
If you own a Basenji and live in close vicinity to any of the following cities please reply to this thread with the meetup location suggestions.
- Campbell, CA
- Cupertino, CA
- Los Altos, CA
- Los Gatos, CA
- Milpitas, CA
- Mountain View, CA
- Palo Alto, CA
- San Jose, CA
- Santa Clara, CA
- Saratoga, CA
- Sunnyvale, CA
If you live in the North Bay Area / East Bay Area and willing to travel to meetup to South Bay Area you are of course welcome to join us.
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Buddy and I live in Redwood City and would like to meet up. Where in the South Bay do you want to meet?
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We could meet at Mitchell Park in Palo Alto. There is a dog park there, but we would not go in, just walk around the park itself. We usually try stay away from public dog parks due to diseases, fights and bad habits dogs pick up there.
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I sure wish we lived in that area, as we would love to meet up and play…but we don't..we are just a little envious
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Man, wish I was visiting California now! My first B still lives in Redwood City with my parents, I'll pass any confirmed info on to them
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Man, wish I was visiting California now! My first B still lives in Redwood City with my parents, I'll pass any confirmed info on to them
What street do they live on?
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Count us in… Mitchell Park in Palo Alto sounds good...
Since folks are probably at work on a weekday, maybe on a weekend (mid-day, noon-ish or something)?
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How about this Sunday, 1pm at Mitchell Park in Palo Alto?
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How about this Sunday, 1pm at Mitchell Park in Palo Alto?
Sounds good - we'll be there this Sunday (7/19)!
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We will see everyone there at 1pm. We can meet by the dog park and see how it is there, if it's not too crowded we could go in.
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Thanks to Alex for setting this up… We had a great time!
There were 4 B's (2 tri's, 1 r/w, and 1 brindle)... Since Cosmo is a scaredy/skiddish one :o, I didn't let her off the leash but it was fun to see the other 3 B's run (and turn) at full speed at the dog park :D... There were other doggies there (like a couple of staffordshire terriers, I think (i.e. the Target store dog) who were super friendly, jack russell, border collie, etc)... Even though Cosmo didn't like being sniffed, I think she really enjoyed hanging out and watching everyone do their thing!
It was really nice to meet folks on the B Forum! :):D:):D
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Sounds like you all had a good time. Did anyone bring a camera??
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Yes, it sounds like y'all had so much fun..Otis and I are very jealous..I hope somebody has pics from your fun day..
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I forgot my camera. Buddy run up to a dog from behind and got bit on the neck. The dog was standing next to his owner who was sitting in a chair. I heard him yelp but didn't fell the puncture wounds until I got home. They weren't too deep and are now scabbed up. Problem is the owners sit down in chairs and the dog's start to group and then you get the snapping. It didn't stop him from having fun though. He kept playing on and on. It was very hot too.
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It was very nice to meet everyone who showed up for this meetup. We hope hope more Bay Area Basenji owners will join us next time. It was a very hot day, but we still had a lot of fun. Basenjis were running the show at the park, running around getting chased and chasing other dogs.
Here are the photos:
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Great pictures, thanks for sharing,,wish we lived closer..
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Oh dear! I missed this thread, but we were away anyway, spent the weekend in Carmel (with the dogs, of course!)
Any chance of a do-over?
Sorry to hear Buddy got bitten, hope he's okay.
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We are definitely going to do this again. Feel free to suggest locations.
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Thanks for taking these and posting Alex! I was about half way to the park and realized I forgot my camera. Next time.
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There will be at least four basenjis at Ed Levin Park in Milpitas this Sunday from 11am. My husband and I have two, and a colleague of his has two as well. If any others would care to join us, it would be great to see you!
(The park is 3100 Calaveras Rd Milpitas. There is an entrance fee for the park, but I think it's worth it, it's a really nice park, and the off leash dog enclosures are some of the nicest in the area. The dog park itself is a little tricky to find - ask at the booth, or email me if you'd like directions )
Pics to follow!
