I am co-owner of a dog we were told by the shelter is half yellow lab and half Basenji. From what I have read, this dog's behavior matches that of a typical Basenji. I have taken this dog on 3 mile walks, jogging for parts of it, and when we get home the dog can still play for hours! I get the feeling she wants to run, but I have read that they tend to take off and risk getting hit by cars, harassing strangers, etc. What else can I do to excercize her? Also, I have never had a dog before. (The other owner has.) She sleeps alone at night, and doesn;t seem to have too much of a problem with it, but in the morning when we open she is VERY shy and hesitant to come out. It was worse today, I got up later than usual and she had had an accident on the floor. She seemed to know she had done something wrong before I even came in the room. She hid behind a table and didn;t come out until I went to her and told her it was ok. When we got her from the shelter they said we were her forth owners, and she's only a year and half old! I suppose anything could have happened to her in these other homes, but do you think these are signs of mistreatment? Could she just be a shy dog? Back to the excersize question, how often/long do people walk their Besenjis?

Thanks!

Jackie