We have Kona, he's 5.5 months old.

I just had him at the vet and apparently he lost all his teeth…by what she says? haha

And yes, he also is EXTREMELY energetic...the weather has been cold and rainy the last few days so he has been driving his mommy nearly insane :)

FINALLY!!!! I took Kona to the dog park tonight and he met his first basenji!!!! They played awesome together and Taz's owner was very nice also!!!

This is a picture of a lot of what went on….along with A LOT of running :D

p.s. Kona is doing the dominance showing haha

When we got Kona he had a little bit of darker fur around his white markings on his back…well now it is a line the whole way down his back about 2 or three inches wide. Its not that noticeable....it kinda looks like he's just ruffled up haha I just wondered if their coats change at all...he's a little over 5 months old.

I have also not seen another basenji around…however I have found a lot of excited people to see a basenji in "real-life" hahaa They always get so excited when he is at the dog park :D

That is funny! My B just seems to hide this one kind of bone that I give him every time I leave for any long period of time… I don't think he knows that I want him to be occupied while I am gone! haha He waits until I get home and then crawls under my bed and gets his bone to chew on!!!!:)

I haven't ever seen any other Bs on my walks or in the park but it would be cool if there were!!! I am so excited to go back there…its like a fun place for me too...haha

Everyday I walk Kona, I walk past a dog park but I have always been hesitant to take him in because there are always so many dogs in there…

Well today it was a little overcast and was sprinkling out so there was only one other dog in there, a golden retriever that was about 8 months old. At first, I kept Kona on the leash so he could sniff and stuff (basically because I was scared, not him, haha). I let him off and they played soooooo well!!! I was so excited! He and the golden took turns chasing each other...he would have out run her if his legs were just a little longer :)

Anyway…I'm really excited about this positive experience because he has so much energy and my walks with him tire him, but not enough haha! I'm still only going to take him in when there is only one or two dogs until he gets the idea of what the dog park is.... :D

Wow Quercus…that is sooo helpful! Thank you so much for searching that for me!!! I appreciate it so much....if you ever fly into Pittsburgh....you have a place to stay :)

My B's tail uncurls when he is completely passed-out…that's when I know I can mess with him and he won't wake up...hahaha

Oh no!!!! Try this…because you are definitely missing out :o

http://www.basenjiforums.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/573

I am looking into classes for my almost 5 month old B and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions…

One of my boyfriend's co-workers praised petsmart classes but I am hesitant because Basenjis are so different(complicated) compared to other puppies. I am living in the Pittsburgh area and looking for advice. Kona isn't by any means bad, he is quite calm compared to stories I have read (except for the occasional basenji 500 - I call it "the running of the dog" hahaha)....anyway, I'm getting off topic.

I just want Kona to work on being around other dogs, barking seems to startle him a little and I would like for him to obey basic commands...I taught him "sit" and "paw" very easily (they are SO smart) :)

Thank you!!! :D

I am a photographer now-a-days…I LOVE THIS PICTURE...pure basenji moment

lowendfrequency,

My B is the same way…so far...he is terrible in his crate and thrashed inside also and ended up with his eye swollen shut. When I leave him home, not in the crate, the very worst he does is find tissues and spread them throughout the apartment :) I will take that any day over a gutted couch.

He definitely has his Basenji tendencies but he's got a little laid-back twist...I think I rubbed off on him :D

I have some pics from when we first got the little runt….I need some new ones of him :)

http://www.basenjiforums.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/573

Thank you for the suggestions…we are looking into socialization classes and obedience classes...I'll let you know how it goes!!! :)

We got Kona from a pet store when he was about 2 1/2 months. We don't know about how he was treated in his first few months so I don't have the answers there.

However, once we brought him home, I was still in college and I lived with my parents and Kona stayed home all day with my mom. She doesn't work so he always had someone here with him. Maybe we should have left him alone more often as a pup…but I feel that he is really doing good with his anxiety. I think he just needs more training and with age, he will get better.

Our B is about 5 months old and he has moderate separation anxiety. We started using the "peekaboo" training with him about two weeks ago and he has gotten a lot better. We started by being in the same room with him and just ignoring him (not touching him, not looking at him…) then we move into another room where he could still see us, but not be right beside us, next we went into a room where he couldn't see us anymore but could still hear us, and finally we left for short periods of time. He has been good enough to leave by himself, uncrated, for an hour or two. I'm not sure about longer periods of time yet, but we will work on it. They are just SO smart and he is starting to realize that we are coming back for him.

We tried crate training him but it seemed to be a useless goal. In a short period of time in the crate, he beat his head off the crate so hard that the left side of his face was swollen so much he couldn't open his eye :( We still kept trying and the last straw was when he was left in the crate for about 45 minutes and he broke off the metal bars of the crate. I am more scared that he is going to hurt himself in the crate than out.

Since he has been out of the crate while we are gone, the worst he does is finds tissues and chews on them.

Our boy is red and white…he's really beautiful...and I do agree, all Bs are sooo cute! haha That's so funny that yours is good too, actually its refreshing...and I am quite the slacker too (maybe they DO take after their owners) lol

I was wondering if you stay at home with your B or if you leave him at home by himself? Right now I am at home a lot with him but I have left him for an hour or two a couple times and he has been excellent. Also, if I'm not being too nosey, I wondered if you neutered him yet? I heard that calms him down a lot too...ours isn't yet but we're working on it...haha

Hi everyone! My boyfriend and I are new Basenji owners…and compared to the horror stories I have read, we are in heaven with our little boy Kona! We've had him for about 3 months and he is well on his way to being house-trained and does not seem to have any destructive tendencies...(cross my fingers) Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and that I am excited to talk to other Basenji owners!