Wondering if they're really basenji mix..

[theiaNjuntasmom]

Hello!
In the beginning of April 2010 I rescued 2 two week old puppies. I was given no information about them other than a picture of their believed father, I can upload that if it's helpful. Their names are Junta and Theia. Today while running around on the beach (a twice daily occurrence for us due to an insane amount of energy) a man came up to me and commented on my beautiful Basenji mixes. I had previously thought some sort of Australian Shepherd but was really quite unsure.

A little about the girls:
They turn 8 months old TODAY (birth date: March 30, 2010)
They stand about 17 inches (?) tall and weigh around 40 (?) pounds.
Their tails are held up with a little curve and a white tip, though they can and do pull them down.
They HATE the wet weather here in coastal Northern California, although Junta will swim if a stick is thrown, its 100 degrees out, and I'm already in the water.. Theia will not even consider the proposition.
They're little wrinkled brow makes them look constantly worried.
Juntas ears stand straight up, and one of Theias does.
Theia has a cataract in her right eye, presumably from birth.
They lick themselves, each other, or me constantly, especially when tired.
They love to be with me and constantly ask for my attention (maybe just a dog thing )

I've posted some pictures of them and I'd love to hear what you think!!

[Patty M]

Hi Junta and Theia's mom… welcome! It's amazing how much their looks have changed... but they sure are adorable. (They both look like they are wearing eye-liner, lol). You certainly describe many basenji traits.... do they make any noises?

[Quercus]

Hard to tell…they definitely are adorable! If I had to guess, I would say they are predominantly German Shepherd...and some terrier. But there could be some Basenji in there. Most likely they are the product of several generations of mixed breeds. The genetic tendency as dog breeds mix is to go (back) towards a generic, or original "dog" shape..and the Basenji shares many traits with the basic, primative dog.

Either way, they are beautiful girls and you are welcome here

[Patty]

Welcome to the forum - I'd like to see a picture of the father which you say you have. The heads look a little Basenji like and that's possibly why somebody called them Basenji mixes. It's very hard to tell if they have Basenji in them as so many breeds would seem tio be involved.

[sharronhurlbut]

Welcome, glad you found us.

[theiaNjuntasmom]

Hello

I'm getting the picture loaded and I will post it later tonight. I did, however, watch videos regarding the noises that Basenji's make. Theia most definitely makes these noises! We always just thought she was "special" She had never made a completely "baroo" but she's such a little drama queen, constantly throwing herself on the ground and crying. So when she was upset last night about her sister stealing her bone, I encouraged her to make the noises instead of shushing her. Sure enough, I got a baroo! I think she was more surprised than I was!!

Junta does not generally make noise. She will make noise if theia does.. MAYBE.

Theia does bark occasionally as well though… so I'm a bit confused!!

Any more help would be great.

Thanks,
Kelly

[Ellusionz]

I've found with my past mix and my current one that their vocal cords are normal enough to create the barking sound but unique enough to make the baroo's. Kismet, my new girl, barks more than baroo. But when she's yawning or feeling frisky I get to be honored with it Sandy, my dearly departed girl five years past, only barked once when she was out back to let us know she was ready to come in. Otherwise, she'd make baroo noises while playing or just be quiet.

[DebraDownSouth]

Okay I have to say every time I look at this thread, I cannot believe the 2 black puppies with black heads turned into the grown dogs. LOL are you SURE that is the right puppy picture?

[Quercus]

@DebraDownSouth:

Okay I have to say every time I look at this thread, I cannot believe the 2 black puppies with black heads turned into the grown dogs. LOL are you SURE that is the right puppy picture?

I know…I was confused at first, like why did she post a pic of these puppies....that is one of the things that made me think of GSDs...they are often born with heavy black masking all over, that fades as they mature.

[theiaNjuntasmom]

Oh I'm sure those are the same dogs : ) Theia was nearly completely black. Just wanted you all to see how adorable they were when they were babies. The only tentative picture I have of the dad is a really close up picture of his head. I've attached it but am not sure whether or not it is helpful.

[DebraDownSouth]

Andrea that makes sense, and the middle pic, yep does look very gsd.

[Patty]

Thank you for posting the picture of Dad. In my opinion he is certainly not a pure Basenji. No matter they are still very charming dogs and I'm sure you love them.

[antalioops]

The noises they make are unique & unforgettable! My Nala baroos for my husband almost every evening when he comes home. She has graced my only a handful of times. She has barked twice, to my knowledge. It is my understanding that Basenji's do bark. When the breed was being perfected in Africa for hunting, the hunters chose to breed the dogs that barked the least until they got what we have today. I am by no means an expert. I just read that about them…

[antalioops]

I shouldn't say they do bark. I should say they are able to bark.

[Quercus]

@antalioops:

The noises they make are unique & unforgettable! My Nala baroos for my husband almost every evening when he comes home. She has graced my only a handful of times. She has barked twice, to my knowledge. It is my understanding that Basenji's do bark. When the breed was being perfected in Africa for hunting, the hunters chose to breed the dogs that barked the least until they got what we have today. I am by no means an expert. I just read that about them…

I would probably disagree with that theory. I have read that their vocal chords are shaped differently, so when they do bark…it is more of a singular "boof"...instead of a "woof, woof, woof". This is pretty typical of primitive type dogs. I doubt that Africans spent much time selectively breeding dogs that don't bark...in that situation, if you were going to select for anything, it would be effective hunting...barking wouldn't really matter, in fact it would probably make it easier to find/follow them in the jungle.

[Patty]

I totally agree with Andrea. Basenjis have a different shaped voice box to many other dogs and it's most unlikely that they are barkless by selection. In my opiinon which is also the opinion of others they are descendants of a barkless animal.

There has so much been written about Basenjis but it is not all accurate.

[DebraDownSouth]

I truly would wonder about any really barking basenji… I'd like a dna test on that, lol.

That said, Cara boofs a lot. A whole lot. She likes to boof. Boof.................. boof......... boof. It is almost like she is trying to teach the neighbors barking dogs that they do it WRONG with that woofwoofwoof nonsense.

Ditto on breed selection for not barking... probably not.

[antalioops]

Okay, I didn't mean to offend anyone. Nala has let out a "bark like" noise once or twice. 1 noise. Not a woofwoofwoof… I don't think she spelled it with a "w" or a "b". I read the selective breeding thing somewhere on the internet. I'm sure we here in the USA are not the only ones to breed for certain characteristics. I'm also pretty sure it wasn't just for the noises. Unlike hunting here with Braking & baying dogs, the game there is quite different. I just wanted to share something I read. Didn't intend to start a debate or argument. I'm a little sorry I shared at all

[Quercus]

@antalioops:

Okay, I didn't mean to offend anyone. Nala has let out a "bark like" noise once or twice. 1 noise. Not a woofwoofwoof… I don't think she spelled it with a "w" or a "b". I read the selective breeding thing somewhere on the internet. I'm sure we here in the USA are not the only ones to breed for certain characteristics. I'm also pretty sure it wasn't just for the noises. Unlike hunting here with Braking & baying dogs, the game there is quite different. I just wanted to share something I read. Didn't intend to start a debate or argument. I'm a little sorry I shared at all

I think you might have misread my tone I wasn't arguing. I have read that info as well…but there is a lot of conflicting info out there about Basenjis. And I just wanted to provide you with more/different info. I didn't mean my comments to be in regard to your dogs at all....they definitely could woof, or boof and be part Basenji.

Don't be sorry you shared

[gbroxon]

My Magnum will bark when amazingly startled. One bark. In the 6 years he's been with us, we've heard it about a half dozen times…startled us more than him. I don't think he likes to (maybe it hurts?)...maybe he feels it's unseemly :D, but he can and will bark if he feels the need. I am completely sure he's purely bred.

I need to do some research on the differently-shaped voice box. I've only heard tell of it, haven't seen the physicality of their voice box as compared to other breeds.