• I see so many beautiful Basenji on this forum. A question that has come to mind is regarding dogs with freckles in their white areas. It adds character to the animal's look, but I hadn't seen that in any Basenji before this forum. Is it common and does it affect the score inside a ring? Just curious. Thanks!


  • Doesn't not effect them in the show ring… and seems to run in different lines. My Kristii is "loaded" with Freckles as is one of my other pups, Tego... I think it is just about as common as not. When it is on the skin it is really called mottling, like you see on an Appaloosa Horse in their skin... when the color is mixed into the hair coat it is called "ticking"


  • 😃 Thanks for the come-back on that, but I can't make sense of the double negative. I'm assuming from the context that it has no effect in the ring?


  • @AJs:

    😃 Thanks for the come-back on that, but I can't make sense of the double negative. I'm assuming from the context that it has no effect in the ring?

    There is no effect in the show ring, it was explaining the two different types of markings that we see.. one being the "ticking" and one being the mottled skin which really in the ring, no one sees since it is usually found on the the belly skin where there is no hair and where there is hair, you don't really see it..


  • Zoni has very obvious black mottling underneath the white hairs of her muzzle around her nose. The skin has a little pink section next to it too. Is that considered mottling too or is that called something else?


  • @Nemo:

    Zoni has very obvious black mottling underneath the white hairs of her muzzle around her nose. The skin has a little pink section next to it too. Is that considered mottling too or is that called something else?

    If on the skin under the hair, it would be mottling. Also if on the skin where there is no hair (like the belly). The pink would really just be normal skin color around the nose that you see when you have white around the muzzle

  • Houston

    Very interesting..I have seen it too, in some b's more than others. Otis has, I guess, mottling one a few spots on his legs, not his fur only the skin under it..


  • If you are technical and as a judge you have two dogs that are virtually identical and need to nit pick… ticking IS a fault.
    It makes the white NOT clear...
    Yes it can be looked down upon in the ring.
    So can a bad coat.
    So can bad movement.
    A fault need to be assessed to the degree of it's severity.

    I don't consider the ticking that big of a deal...
    but again, if it comes down to nit picking... you have to have someway to make the choice. Rarely could I see that happening, but it could.

    BTW.... I can't stand that ticking... but I do have some dogs with it... even my BENNY had some tick spots in his gorgeous white neck... but not where anyone would notice in the show ring... but they annoyed me.
    His grandson, CHARLIE, also has some in the neck.... this time around, I am used to them and they don't bother me so much.
    I prefer my white crisp and clear with nothing "muddying up" it's appearance.... but as my kids say you get what you get and you don't throw a fit!

    I do agree with Pat... there are some lines in which the freckled skin is very prevalent... and some that ticking is very prevalent.


  • I agree with you too Kathy, I would prefer not to have "ticking"… I think the question was more on the line of mottled/freckled skin and if that had any effect in the show ring. On a very find coated Basenji you can see the freckles if they are all over the body as they are on my Kristii.... but she has no ticking....

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