I got my B because the first people that got her liked her catlike qualities, but forgot that she was actually a dog that needed to be exercised and stimulated. They left her in a back yard for 4 years before they decided to give her up for adoption. When I got her, I realized right away that she was the PERFECT Basenji! I’ve never given her a bath, trimmed her nails nor has she ever made a sound! She HAS however destroyed two pairs of my VERY expensive leather shoes, along with the shoes of a guest in our home. She knows good leather! However in the last five years that we’ve had her, this has almost completely stopped since she no longer feels separation anxiety (and we learned to never leave good leather out where she can get to it!) My husband and I walk her twice a day, and she has a routine that she’s comfortable with, so she’s pretty much never destructive at all anymore...except for the mouse that she caught in our kitchen two weeks ago...I think my husband was more proud than she was with that one — it must have come in through our garage! She curls up between us on the couch every night, and sleeps in our room at night on her own bed on the floor next to our bed. She definitely needs to be close to us at all times as part of our pack, but not “touchy-feely” affectionate. However, if one of us goes to the bathroom, she goes too, because it’s another opportunity for us to pet her, etc. This is my second Basenji, and as long as you keep them busy, tire them out, and give them lots of affection, they’ll let you be part of their pack forever.

Looks more chihuahua to me.

Looks more chihuahua to me.

I got my B because the first people that got her liked her catlike qualities, but forgot that she was actually a dog that needed to be exercised and stimulated. They left her in a back yard for 4 years before they decided to give her up for adoption. When I got her, I realized right away that she was the PERFECT Basenji! I’ve never given her a bath, trimmed her nails nor has she ever made a sound! She HAS however destroyed two pairs of my VERY expensive leather shoes, along with the shoes of a guest in our home. She knows good leather! However in the last five years that we’ve had her, this has almost completely stopped since she no longer feels separation anxiety (and we learned to never leave good leather out where she can get to it!) My husband and I walk her twice a day, and she has a routine that she’s comfortable with, so she’s pretty much never destructive at all anymore...except for the mouse that she caught in our kitchen two weeks ago...I think my husband was more proud than she was with that one — it must have come in through our garage! She curls up between us on the couch every night, and sleeps in our room at night on her own bed on the floor next to our bed. She definitely needs to be close to us at all times as part of our pack, but not “touchy-feely” affectionate. However, if one of us goes to the bathroom, she goes too, because it’s another opportunity for us to pet her, etc. This is my second Basenji, and as long as you keep them busy, tire them out, and give them lots of affection, they’ll let you be part of their pack forever.