Best posts made by aprilk

Hi! My name is April. I have two Basenjis, Ivy a 5 year old red and white and Malcolm a 3 year old trindle (I had to look it up when I found him!) They are my babies! Both are fixed but we still show UKC a lot and they do all kinds of activities: showing, coursing, fastcat, some agility and we are just adding nosework and rally. I love keeping them busy and getting to introduce the breed to new people! We are form Medina, Ohio. These are my second generation of Basenjis- my Ivy is a full niece to my first basenji Sullivan who was the greatest dog on earth (I'm a bit biased but he was so cool my husband not only let me but wanted more Basenjis!) I am a teacher by profession. [removed ad text]
Here's a pic of by babies!

So I have to share a story...I wanted to keep my first basenji Sullivan in the kitchen as a pup so I built a half-wall, (it kept him in for about a week before he could climb it) My mom got out of work earlier than I did so she would come over to rescue my pup until I got home each day. One day she came home, opened the back door and called my Sullivan. She heard a noise and then a super excited, fast-moving basenji puppy came running to greet her with a large kitchen knife in has mouth (he was holding it by the handle thank goodness). My mom screamed and ran back out the door till he dropped it (it was terribly confusing for him). Apparently, he managed to climb on the counter and as he was pulling a knife out of the block my mom arrived. Fortunately no one was hurt, and now its pretty funny. Just be careful what's on your kitchen counters-they will climb them eventually! I ended up getting the largest crate I could find (for shepherds and labs) and used that for the first year until he could be trusted to have free roam of the house Good luck with your pup! You'll have great stories soon enough!

I also only crated when I was gone, you want to have them out as much as you can! I have had really good luck getting them to be trustworthy pretty quickly, my two now have free roam and are fine but a good base of training did this!

I'm going with spa day. I lay them down on a pillow in my lap, play some soft music and take my time...my boy will nearly fall asleep, my girl agrees that its still cruel and unusual basenji torture...

Thanks everyone for the kind comments! I started Malcolm in agility really early when he was just a pup and he definitely has a talent for it, we got sidetracked and haven't trained since covid but I'm hoping to start back up when we can. We just moved too and I have a lot more space so I'm going to start making my own equipment to train at home this summer. Jenjo, let me know if you ever want to talk, I can send you my email My Sullivan and my Ivy are both from Kiroja Basenjis. Here's a few more pics in action!

So, My basenjis have always been pretty good about not chewing things they shouldn't (except for the occasional tissue paper-they all need to die apparently...) I haven't had any of the horror stories you sometimes hear. The way I did it was to keep a TON of bones around...All different kinds and anytime my pup was thinking about chewing something they shouldn't I stuff a bone in their mouth (gently of course, its more like "Here, have this!" you can't actually stuff anything in their mouths if they don't want it ;). When they were little we kept a pretty good eye on this, but it started to stick pretty quickly. It has seemed to work really well for me-I'm not yelling or getting angry, I'm replacing bad chewing with something good (Basenjis are pretty ok with that...)

Also, and you may know this already, but basenjis are crazy smart even as puppies and will do stuff (like chew bad things) to get your attention, especially if they feel you are ignoring them or not playing enough...basically you only get a break when they take a nap!

Oh, and if you were asking me, no I am definitely not a breeder, I can hardly keep up with my 2!

I love your picture with her! You two look so happy!!!

So cute! You all are making me puppy jealous!
She looks like she has some brindle in there? Is she a trindle?
I liked your vet story too. The first time I took my first boy to our vet she said "Why did you get one of these?" (she can be a bit blunt- but she was actually curious why I chose a basenji, and she had never seen one either!)

Hi Milena!
So I get the picky eater thing, my first basenji was very picky and if he didn't like it he wouldn't eat it. He also had a very touchy stomach so if I changed what I fed him, it would take forever for him not to have loose stool (sometimes he never adjusted). After many failed trials I ended up keeping him on the same food/portions because changing was bad. Also, being an only dog he didn't have to eat right away because no one was stealing it so from my experience its not too surprising that your pup is acting this way.

For my two that I have now, I have a girl with a touchy stomach (she's the niece of my first one and just like him!) and one who has had bladder stones and cannot have a lot of foods because of the ingredients so they both stay on a consistent diet. I use a kibble brand called First Mate Australian Lamb. You can get it from Chewy. Its a high quality kibble with limited ingredients. I feed this to both and for my girl I mix in a tablespoon of wet food (with sweet potato, it seems to keep her belly happy) and for my boy I mix in a packet of Core Simply Shreds. The shreds come in 4 flavors, is limited ingredients, not a ton of calories and he loves it! I'm really happy with that combo. Its easy, and combines fresh and kibble. Because of the stones we like his food pretty wet to help with that. Since I've had him on this combo we have had no stone issues at all (and I test often to make sure). They both have great weight, coats and energy so I have been very happy with the results so far! Oh! I also feed twice a day and monitor, (with two I have to but I find it keeps their weight right where I want them better and I can see if there are any problems easier (if something changes I know there could be a problem).

I like the idea for changing things up but for me it just hasn't worked because of how my two are. I have found that a consistent kibble and subtle change with the wet food (same brand variety of flavor) keeps them interested but problem free.

Beautiful Girl!!!!
You should definitely get with your breeder (or a mentor) and try showing, I had zero intentions of showing when I got my two but my Ivy was already showing (I got her at 2 years old) and I agreed to bring her to some shows for the summer for my breeder to try and finish her championship (she did :), and the next thing I knew, poof! I was standing in a show ring going "how did this happen!?!" The truth is my girl is awesome with people and dogs because of all her showing. I started my boy right away in hopes he would turn out as good as her. He is now awesome with people and not quite as friendly as my girl with other dogs but he does know how to behave himself around them. It has definitely made him a much better dog and its really fun to do. You also need to try dome racing-lure course and fastcats, it is just awesome to see them do what they are designed for. I'm also working on some scent work-its still in progress but I think we'll get there....Good luck with your girl, you're going to love showing her off no matter what you do! Such a beauty!

Hi Caitlin!
Welcome to the basenji family! I crate trained both of my pups in the beginning (just when I was at work or not home-there was no way to keep them "contained" without chewed doors or any separation fences they couldn't climb so it was for their protection but anytime I was home they were out and definitely always sleep with me. The cool thing is after a while, about a year and a half with my first and a year with my second, they became quite house trained and reliable to where now I don't have to crate them at all! They are fine in the house without me. I do keep a lot of toys and chewies just to keep them from bothering anything they shouldn't and I've had great luck with mine not being destructive at all except for the stray napkin or winter hat fuzzy (some things are just too tempting...). I still leave their crate up just to go in or if I need it (visitors, etc.) but I don't actively use it too much. Also, I have huge crates to give them lots of space and always keep toys (just be careful if yours eats toys or could get into trouble with them) and a clip-on water dish in there. You want them to be really comfy so they don't mind being in it...Good luck with your pup- keep him busy, a tired basenji is a good basenji!

Ha! I can see how your pup might have been spooked and sucked it back in, they have an uncanny skill to hold it like no other breed! When I had to "run" my pup out to go poo, the key was to do it very calmly (it took me once to figure this out too). I didn't say anything, just grabbed him and calmly carried him out and told him to go. He figured out really quick that this would happen every time so he just started going himself. They can be subtle about asking to go out, they certainly don't bark at the door so pay close attention to when he is asking to go-if you miss it he could get confused. My boy is real obvious, he'll stare us down or jump up on the door. I'll admit I'm not a huge fan of him pawing at my door but he's pretty gentle now and it beats not knowing he wants to go. My girl is super subtle and its easy to miss-she runs circles around the house. The problem is she always runs circles so its easy to ignore, she just runs faster or slightly different when she has to go, so of the two, pawing at the door is easier.

With pups, I've always let them out often and every time they asked to go, just so they learn to "ask", but for me it was easy to let them out so it was not a big deal. My goal was just to get them to learn that pottys happen outside period. So a few extra trips to avoid accidents was worth it.

I have two basenjis and I know what you mean about walks-they are not always a fun experience for me either-we have tons of wildlife around our house as well. The best success I have had is to replace one prey drive with another. I do coursing with mine so from day one I have used a horse lunge whip with a plastic bag on the end to "play" with. Its long enough to give them some space and action to really go after it. It doesn't stop them from still hunting but it gets a ton of steam off so they are a bit more tired and easier to walk (just make sure they don't eat the bag). Also, when they have gotten loose, all I do is grab the bag wave it around and they have always come right back for it. Its my emergency catching tool. I agree that the busier you keep them, the better they are. They love to have a job and be active!

So cool! Honestly those are some very primitive breeds so you'll probably see a lot of basenji-like traits and behaviors like prey drive. My friends with ridgebacks and akitas seem to a have a lot in common with us basenjis. You'll have a blast with him, cheers!

So funny! I just walked in my living room the other day and my kiddos had pulled out like nine different bones and placed them in a pile in the middle of the room....I think winter is starting to get to them!

My boy from day one has been skeptical of vets. (I have a vet who also cares for my horse so in the scheme of things dogs are not as dangerous to her which is helpful) but from the first time in we put a muzzle on him just in case -he even looked to me like he was thinking about it so I totally agreed. He has never actually tried to bite (I think he knows he can't with a muzzle on) but because of his eyeing us, we continue to use it just in case. He knows the routine, and is definitely better when I'm holding him myself but its not worth taking a chance on anyone's safety and its been fine. I agree that a good vet office should know how to handle untrusting dogs. With a young dog I would definitely want to be with them to make them as comfortable as possible and establish good experiences, especially if there have already been bad ones so I would look for a vet willing to work with you and let you be present, if they are not willing, they are not worth it...

I agree with Sally, both my boys were shy poopers, they kinda hide in weeds or plants and don't want me to watch, but in poor weather (I'm in Ohio so there is a lot of that) I do need to be outside with my girl and boy to get them to go-its kinda like, "if I have to be in this you do too!" It was much easier to train my boy as a pup because I had my girl who was two and knew what to do. You definitely want to make sure he gets what to do and eventually that inside is not an option. My girl has been a bit harder about accidents, as I got her as a two-year old and she spent a lot of time in a crate and she has a sensitive stomach-sometimes she can't help it. If the weather is bad, she won't go and then will sneak somewhere in the house to go later. For her, especially, because I know her routine and usually you can tell if they have to go, she has to stay out till she goes. I usually get her to go pretty quick now, she knows I'll make her but sometimes we have to wait it out. They are super smart, so beware they are not playing you. My boy will even fake-it sometimes in bad weather. Fortunately he is not very good at it so I can tell...he looks at me like "are you buying this?"

Also a routine helps, both of mine are pretty predictable and as long as you follow the basenji rules (out before leaving, out after dinner) we have very few problems. Keep at it you'll get there. My boy is rock solid now, he really only took about a month to get there, mostly I think because my girl totally helped train him!

My boy was very soft as a puppy and now as an adult its pretty wiry. I actually like it this way though, he's very sleek and beautiful and the burrs don't stick! He can just shake them off! (we used to have a very soft mini schnauzer and I had to spend hours picking burrs out, agh!) If you ever walk through the woods you'll love a nice sleek basenji coat!

I just thought about this too- if you see him starting to poo try to get him outside asap, you want to make sure he knows that its supposed to happen outside. I had to rush my little man out a few times mid-poo and we didn't get far out but he got the idea, and then praise the heck out of him!

Also, (not sure if this will help-I'll be curious to see what others say) but my two both go way easier when they are excited- so maybe some running around and playing while your outside might help the process!