Welcome to the Forum. You will find lots of information and be able to share your experiences here. I will add to the request for pictures, of course - we love to see all the B's who are part of this group.
Introduction
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Hi everyone in Basenji land!
I am new to this forum but would like to introduce my Basenji-mix, Mica. She walked into my apartment about 3-months ago, on a Saturday afternoon as the weather was nice and the door was open, around thanksgiving. I think SHE decided to adopt me as she introduced herself to my surprise by rolling over and requesting a belly rub. In fact she wanted two belly rubs at that time and the blue collar she sported hinted that maybe she belonged to a person. She was a bit skinny and I thought she might be hungry so I closed the door to my apartment and fed her the only thing I had that I thought she would like -a matza. (She gobbled it up). I figured she belonged to someone and was quite concerned that this beautiful creature had escaped so tried to find the owner with the help of animal rescue. She was microchipped, but this was to no avail, it wasn't registered. And she was (is) so sweet, that I decided I couldn't let her go down, and this was all in the decision process I entertained within the first 48-hours of deciding to keep her, or to surrender her forever if the owner couldn't be found. So about a week later, I took her home and she became my little puppy. She was miss-identified for a breed by both the animal rescue places she visited and the vet I took her to for medical checking probably got her breed the best - a basenji-mix. Since I have owned two malamutes at one time, I knew this little animal was not an easy handle. When I originally walked her, she would pull and almost dance on her hind legs, screeching until she was almost hoarse. She has taken a permanent liking to kitties and birds and now goes on walks at a much better pace; due to the advice of my dog-trainer to get a different harness for walking. She looks at the sky at birds as well as "hunting" them on the ground. She surprised me one day by jumping up to the crotch of a tree where a bird was perched on the top and climbed up the limb 8-10 feet and than walked back about two-feet and decided to go airborne and meet the ground, after the bird flew away. :eek: She has scaled numerous rock fences that easily start at five-plus feet here. She does this to say hello to other dogs on the other side and I know where all the dogs live in the neighborhood. She has a tremendous social calendar when we go for walks. She is now in her 6th week of basic dog training and has become a wonderful pet and companion. She learns quickly and is probably the star of the dog-class. Yet she adores the other members of the class too, and the other 4-peds that come her way at her pet lessons. I have had to research this "basenji" and my learning curve on these awesome creatures in the past few months has skyrocketed. Oops, she just wanted to be cuddled. 
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WELCOME!!
how sweet of you to rescue Mica!! -
I think she rescued me, she follows me like a shadow.
BaMica -
Yes, congratulations on being a new Basenji Slave! I hope to see some pictures soon…
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COngrats!! and WELCOME!! basenjis are amazing!!good luck!!
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What a story, thanks for sharing.;) Love to see some pics;) …...welcome and enjoy:) .
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What a heartwarming story! I'm so glad she found you and you both seem to complete one another.
Rescuing a dog is just so fulfilling isn't it?
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Welcome to the wild world of being owned by a basenji. They really are amazing animals. Congradulations on your new family member.
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Mica is going to basic-doggie training classes and has been for the past seven weeks. She has started with learning something new every week. We started with sit, stay, leave it, take it, down, down stay, up and than come and work on heel, or walking by my side, or I walk beside hers, if that is how she views it. She loves treats and those are carried in the pocket most of the time. She knows commands for getting in the car "load" and than she knows "busy-busy" and "pee-pee" too. Cars driving on the road have been checked with a "leave-it" and the other menagerie of things she finds and smells and snorfels up on her walks, that I don't always catch. She is busy. I walk Mica at least one hour a day, if not at least two hours and than sometimes more with a long walk to a different spot at least once a week. She keeps me busy. She likes to go for car rides, too. Toys are another matter with her development. She has come a long way from the first 48-hours when I first was taking care of this sweet animal before she became my little companion. Than she would almost walk incessantly on her hind feet and pull on the collar. I am so proud of her, she has become a joy and a companion and the dog lessons have added a dimension of respect and a communication line between her and me. She can also be quite stubborn. She has learned on walks that if she sits down, sometimes we will do what she wants. Like this morning on a walk around the park, she decided that when we were going through the parking lot instead of heading straight to the fence across the street from one of her social-doggie friends that she wanted to visit him first and not go through the parking lot. So I said "…show me..." to her and let her take the lead a little. She walked right over to him, after I insisted that she do a few sits, like at the curb, and than a sit before she went to the edge of the fence where she and that doggie friend, barked and talked to each other and pawed each other from beneath the opening of the fence. (she knows the command "go play" too). Indeed, she does try to jump up and walk the fenced rock wall next to the cyclone fence of this little doggie friend of hers after we leave. Amazing. So this next Sunday we will finish the final lesson, and I have found a t-shirt at target, where the other doggie t-shirts were talked about on this forum, but this one said "stray". That is for Mica.
She is such a perfect dog. I treasure every day and moment with her.
Mica gives me dreams, too. Does anyone else have beautiful dreams given to them from their little treasured B's?
BaMica
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She sounds like she is very, very smart!!!
