Hi everyone,
A few months ago our boy Cafu escaped from our house, and we ended up running after him for half. Two miles from home, he finally "turned himself in" to my daughter. It was a huge stress, since I was afraid he would get run over by cars, and needless to say here, its nearly impossible to catch a Basenji determined to escape from you. After this event, I introduced special locks in my house, since Cafu has learned to open regular doors quite easily. Still, the fact that he could find a way out was a big stress. Last week I bought a GPS tracker ( Tractive GPS) . This is a small device that attaches to his collar, and it can be used to tell me within a few feet where Cafu is. There is a phone app that goes with it, and you can see where he is in a map. The device also has a light that can be turned on from your phone, in case the dog is out at night. The only major inconvenience is recharging the device every 4 days or so. But now I feel a lot more relaxed, knowing if he were to get out, I can locate him quickly. I highly recommend this system (I have no financial interest in the company by the way) for peace of mind.
Tom Prolla

Hi,
We had a lot behavioral issues too with our boy Cafu. He used to destroy furniture when we left the house. He also destroyed pillows, sheets, conforters, door frames, clothes. He essentially destroyed almost everything in the home. He also does not tolerate the crate. We used to go out despite all of this, although never for more than two hours or so. Today Cafu is 2 and his behavior is much better. He seems to listen more and does not destroy things anymore when left alone. He seemed to have improved a lot after reaching about a year and half, so hopefully you will see the same. We d

Hi,
We had a lot behavioral issues too with our boy Cafu. He used to destroy furniture when we left the house. He also destroyed pillows, sheets, conforters, door frames, clothes. He essentially destroyed almost everything in the home. He also does not tolerate the crate. We used to go out despite all of this, although never for more than two hours or so. Today Cafu is 2 and his behavior is much better. He seems to listen more and does not destroy things anymore when left alone. He seemed to have improved a lot after reaching about a year and half, so hopefully you will see the same. We d

Congrats on your new boy, he is gorgeous! Our boy Cafu (2 year old) is also from Marjani! (we picked him up from Julie when he was 12 weeks old). Some advice on dog parks: After Cafu became 1 year old, he started to occasionally show or receive aggressive behavior from big dogs in dog parks. I could not believe it when he attacked a pit bull 5 times his size! another time he was attacked by a german shepherd, and I was very concerned that he was going to get seriously hurt. He is a very sweet, friendly dog, so I was shocked. I only take him now to dog parks that limit areas by size. If he stays in the "under 25 lb" area, there are usually no problems. Another issue is the dog potentially running away. I don't trust giving Cafu to walkers, unless they are very familiar with him. He can outsmart them, and if he is really interested in running away, he can find a way to cut his leash. Also, I recently placed a GPS tracker on him (see my post on this), in case we lose him. I feel much better knowing that we can easily locate him if needed.

Hi everyone, Thanks for the advice. He does have a microchip, in addition to the GPS tracker. My main concern is not that he will not come back if he runs away, but that he could be run over by a car, since he likes to try to chase animals when we are out. Once when he escaped I was in a soccer field and I did lay down, as I was tired of trying to catch him. He did come check me out, so I agree that this works well.

The tracker does work great, and at this point it is more of an insurance since I have not had any more issues with him getting out. He is almost two now, so I guess learned a lot. He outsmarted me constantly in the first year and a half, but now I am catching up to his tricks...I hope!

Hi,
I leave my boy home for 1-2 hours regularly. If he is upset, he may chew on something, or find some personal item to either play with, or destroy. As long as you keep your valuables out of reach, it will be fine.
Tom

What a beauty!

Hi everyone,
A few months ago our boy Cafu escaped from our house, and we ended up running after him for half. Two miles from home, he finally "turned himself in" to my daughter. It was a huge stress, since I was afraid he would get run over by cars, and needless to say here, its nearly impossible to catch a Basenji determined to escape from you. After this event, I introduced special locks in my house, since Cafu has learned to open regular doors quite easily. Still, the fact that he could find a way out was a big stress. Last week I bought a GPS tracker ( Tractive GPS) . This is a small device that attaches to his collar, and it can be used to tell me within a few feet where Cafu is. There is a phone app that goes with it, and you can see where he is in a map. The device also has a light that can be turned on from your phone, in case the dog is out at night. The only major inconvenience is recharging the device every 4 days or so. But now I feel a lot more relaxed, knowing if he were to get out, I can locate him quickly. I highly recommend this system (I have no financial interest in the company by the way) for peace of mind.
Tom Prolla

He seems to be doing a little better, eating more. Knowing him very well, I can sense that he is very sad. I guess based on the replies that just like people, there is a lot of variation on how the animals respond. Maybe he is a very emotional animal.

I took him out for walks twice today, and his behavior seems normal out of the house. Temperature seems normal and respiration as well. She did travel before a few months ago, I remember that he seemed down for a few days, but not this bad. We are both caretakers, but he is more attached to her. If she is in a room in the house that he cant enter (closed door), he will show anxiety sometimes. He does not do the same with me. Also, when we come from outside, he greets her more than me.

I am so sorry for your loss. My boy Cafu is only one year old, but I sometimes wonder how am I possibly going to cope when his time arrives. I had dogs before when I was growing up, but I have never established a bond with an animal like I have with him. I have now realized that this is the norm, since previous Basenji owners often approach me and they tell me how VERY special in their life their Basenji was. It has been great and he is my constant companion, but to be honest I had no idea how strong this bond would become. I really feel that there is something very unique about how this breed relates to us.

Hi everyone, Cafu is our 1 year old black and white Baseji. After one year with him, I am so amazed at how human-like his emotions are. My wife left for a long stay in CA two days ago. Cafu is unrecognizable. He has spent most of the last two days in bed, ate only half of his food, and he has not done any of his typical play, such as running around the house, stealing clothes, etc. I am shocked and now I am depressed as well to see him like this. Any similar experiences?