If you can, try fresh food: raw meat, soft bones, cooked vegetables, eggs, chewing stuff like tendons, cartilage. Our Lela was a muncher with kibble but when we changed to raw, she became a little wolf, really into food. And despite what vets say, I hold fresh food healthier than kibble.

Pretty girl with a pretty name. You all are so lucky.

We are lucky to live in an area (Netherlands) where we can buy good quality raw (deep frozen) food, with good balance between muscle, bone and organs. Also lots of varieties are available. Why would a raw diet be odd? What would basenjis eat in the wild? Meat, eggs and plants. So we feed meat, eggs (one a week) and vegetables (raw/cooked broccoli, carrot, beet, cauliflower, beans and the like). No rice, no peanut butter. Pumpkin only in case of stomach / digestive trouble. No kibble.

Our Lela has a lot of pack howl in her musical variations, and LOUD! After a minute her quieter older sister Binti will join in, in a lower key. What we found that helps a lot is this: make good eye contact just before you leave, and tell you will be out and when you will be back. Just as you would to a human. Then make sure you are back at the mentioned time. No howling. When we got this advice from a dog therapist we didn't believe it, but we gave it a shot. It does work.

He looks wonderful! From his face and coloring I would put my bet on jack russel x basenji - quite a mix!

What works, depends a lot on the individuals involved, both human and canine. You just have to figure out what works for you. I found that body language that is congruent with energy works best for me. No touching needed, and very few words.

They can do well in a small house, but need walks AND exploration AND interaction with other dogs. Movement is not enough, you need to let them use their mind. When on leash our 2 sisters can sniff all they want, even if it means we do one mile in an hour. They will be tired afterwards.
Trainability: depends on the individual, the age, the human. On YouTube or dedicated fb-pages you can find basenjis showing perfect obedience, even stunningly choreographed doggy dance routines. Will take time and effort and patience. We found that if we treat them along the lines of how you would interact with a 3 year old child, all goes well (most of the times anyway).

What I would suggest, based on our own experience and literature:

• 4 meals a day up to 12 weeks; after that 3; 2 for adults;
• offer a serving for about 10 minutes, then take it away;
• puppy food up to 7 months, then adult food;
• 25 grams average per day for 1 kg of body weight; for adults 10 grams per kg; all depending on individual requirements and type of food.

Agree with eeeefarm. We have two lovely, laidback sisters, who growl and baroo a lot when meeting other dogs on leash. It takes calmness and practice to teach them to behave themselves. You can dedicate entire walks to addressing this issue. It can be a lot of 'work', but also fun and rewarding to see your B change. And it is wonderful for bonding.

@DebraDownSouth Well, I'm sure your dogs love it!

@DebraDownSouth

Swedish Animal Welfare Regulations

Section 13 of Sweden’s regulations on keeping dogs and cats states that, “dogs and cats may not be kept in cages” unless they’re used for transport, hunting, or a competition or show.

Even then, pet owners are required to let their dogs out of their crates at least every two to three hours.

@debradownsouth yes, it is in Sweden, the Swedes told us, unless for transportation and I'm sure when recovering at the vets.

I am sure you can find a lot of good info here on crating. Apart from that: why use a crate? Our 2 B's can sleep wherevere they want; they don't destroy anything. Sometimes they stay on the couch, sometimes they join me in bed. I'm from the Netherlands and I learned through other basenji-groups that crating is illegal in a country like Sweden, unless for transportation. All the best!

We have 2 B's and they sleep wherever they want: on the couch, in their own bed, or with me. Everyone is happy. Also: I wake up when something is up, need to pee, poop, vomit.

What worked for us while training was a harness with front attachment: if the dog starts pulling, it pulls itself around towards you, so you can get his attention and start over. Furthermore, we found out over time that when we walk the dogs, it's THEIR walk and they can sniff around as they like, on a long leash. When we need to go somewhere, we take the leash short, and by now they understand that this means walking nicely next to us. Maybe not by the book, but it works for all of us.

We have it easy - our 2 sisters hardly ever want to be in the garden, only when we are there, and even then they prefer the couch inside. As long as they know where we are. Our fence is less than 4 feet and they never even come close to it.

If you can, try fresh food: raw meat, soft bones, cooked vegetables, eggs, chewing stuff like tendons, cartilage. Our Lela was a muncher with kibble but when we changed to raw, she became a little wolf, really into food. And despite what vets say, I hold fresh food healthier than kibble.

Some good advice already here, and remember that you have to figure out what works for YOUR dog and YOURSELF - part of the magic of having a dog I guess (or kids). Our first pup, when in puberty could bite hard, too. We found that sound or verbal commands did not work (for dog and ourselves). We took to body language, standing firm (Yang in Chinese terms, putting some energy pressure, but not too much), silently, turned towards the dog, and turning with her movements, so she knew we were actively involved in the scene. As soon as she got it and stopped, we would go soft (Yin) again and turn away to take away the pressure. It took patience and practice, but we learned a lot about how these non-verbal interactions work and what makes our miss Lela tick. We still prefer - whenever possible - body language over verbal commands.

He looks wonderful! From his face and coloring I would put my bet on jack russel x basenji - quite a mix!

One of our sisters does not want to play. She is a hunter. She loves man tracking class where she can show off her tracking skills. Her sisters wants to play all the time. It's how it is.