Thanks for the reply. Good reminder for an update ...

The doggy door has still been a very good thing for us and the pups. They have chewed a couple wood trim corners a bit (just need to paint them later) and got one corner of the sofa/recliner (they are getting old and need to be replaced anyways) but I am ok with that as other breeds I have had have done far worse in puppy stage. Occassionally they will find a magazine, sock, or similar sitting around they destroy but any puppies would. Most of this is instigated by the little one who is still just about 7 months and the older one is now over a year. Oh, the little one did chew through three doggie doors which cost me a good amount in replacements as she likes to sit half in a half out sometimes LOL to try and block her sister and knaws on the corner of the flap, but fixed this by using silicone to attach thin aluminum plates I cut to both sides and works great. We don't have to clear the counters, etc. (even some food on them) as they don't have much real desire to pull things off neverless jump up on stuff except couch/recliner. We do keep the floor littered with dog toys, elk bones, etc. which I think might be a key as well as leave them with dry food to eat if so inclined when they want so they have easier options.

Note, the above is also going though the Arizona summer, they are inside almost the entire time as too hot outside even in mornings but go out for some occasional sun and to do their business. Two more months and they will be outside much more so even less chance of destruction I think. We did need to add some rock to our landscaping in back as the bubbling noise the drip heads make really gets them excited and they would find them and pull them up. They also got to some wiring on the trailers I have on my side yard (put grease on them and they will leave them alone) but still they have been better than I was expecting. With having the room to run and roam they have zero desire to try and escape the backyard.

Update: She is making progress. Was making almost no progress for a while but found she just likes to be out and about so getting out of house was first step. Initial turning point was when had to take to vet for first exam. I think the smell of other dogs was comforting and being around female humans also seems to help. The harness has been great as she hates regular collars and freaks out. Now I can walk her which she likes but she is still a little nervous and more of a follower than a leader. She also started to do better on her own when leaving her outside during the day (somewhat risky step but has worked with her). The biggest discovery is she is WAY better when another K9 is around. She loves to interact with another dog and for some reason this also makes her much more comfortable with human's being around too since I assume she sees the other dog is not scared. This led us to get another basenji puppy and she in just a few days is making dramatic improvements. She was also recently diagnosed with Generalized Demodectic Mange which we now realize had started prior to us getting her, so it makes me wonder if this is also a major contributor to her being skittish ... not sure this really makes sense but if she was not comfortable in general or there is an underlying immunity issue still working itself out could lead to behavior changes/issues. Luckily it was recently discovered that Bravecto is very good at fighting this and in just a couple days I can see improvements in her coat/skin. Hopefully resolving this issue and the new puppy will continue to help her make her better in all aspects.

What a coincidence! I did get a Basenji (a 6 month old) and she turned out to be very "skittish". There is progress but very slow and around another K9 she was MUCH better. So, got another one last week and went with an 11 week old this time to have better influence on her. Yesterday the little puppy trained the now 8 month old to use the doggie door LOL just as first reply to this thread came.

Anyways, the first one was not happy in crate or pen so decided to take a chance and leave her outside while at work. She was not showing any signs of wanting to escape our back yard or much climbing or high jumping at all so figured it was minimal risk and took the chancer. It has been three weeks now. She is so much happier and just loves sun bathing and being free. Has been very helpful to get her to warm up a little more to us too. Having her know how to use the doggie door should help and she has shown zero signs of wanting to destroy anything inside the house. She does like to chew on bushes and sprinkler heads though. The little one is complete opposite in that follows us everywhere and is very active/gets into stuff so will be in the crate/pen for a while until determine how likely she is to want to escape when gets bigger. We have cinder block fence and no real way to dig out so its a good setup for a doggie door and leaving them out. My only real concern is if they jump on something else to then be able to jump the fence but have done what I can to eliminate this potential.

As eeeefarm says, I think it really is going to just come down to the individual dog and perhaps nothing to do with Basenji's in general.

We have a 6 month old that we have had for a week now and she is not warming up to us much at all. Strangest puppy I have ever seen. It is a bit interesting that she will cuddle with us if sitting in chair/on lap but otherwise is terrified of both me and my wife (no kids, no other dogs, no other pets or humans around).

Here is the bad:

• If she is loose in house or outside she just finds a hiding place (behind couch, under stuff in the yard) and wont come out ever until we catch her
• She runs away if we are walking around close to her even if ignoring her
• Just sits in crate in morning and does not want to come out
• Not eating too much. She does eat and drink enough to not be major concern, but no motivation for her to walk to her bowl. Sometimes I have to bring it to her after I know it has been way too long or move bowls far away from us where she might be more comfortable eating
• No real energy. She just wants to sit in her crate, or on our lap/chair/bed we put her in. She does not roam around much at all on her own.
• Not curious about anything …. just wants to hide. Was worried she would be tearing everything up but she does not do much if any exploring, sniffing around, or playing with anything
• Several different toys do nothing for her
• No interest in a treat ... I eventually just leave it in her crate and she will slowly eat it (would think would gobble it up). No care for human food either (just out of curiosity to see if anything would entice her).
• When she is running away from us can tell she is a fit and healthy puppy but otherwise she does not even know that she can jump up on couch or even jump down. We basically have to carry here anywhere we go once we catch her and put her down.
• No real response to calling her name or any other noises dogs usually react to
• Has no real interest to go outside. We leave the door open to yard and she rarely goes out. We have to catch her and pick her up to put her outside. She does roam around a bit outside but always very skittish.
• Several pet beds sitting inside and out and she has no desire to sit in them on her own. She prefers the dirt outside under something and the carpet behind something inside.

The good:

• No aggression at all. She is like a shy cat. She does not want to be picked up but once we do she does not really try to escape never less bite, etc. so she has some trust
• She is great after we catch her and put her on our lap. She will just sit there and rest her head on our hand, etc. No problem going to sleep next to us but second put her back down on floor the skittishness starts all over again.
• On rare occasion she will follow me around a little in yard or house if I ignore her, not make eye contact, and not say anything but almost never gets within 5 feet of us before running away again and hiding.
• She does not get extremely scared of loud noises, etc. rather she is just scared all the time so I don't think it is "events" causing this.
• She sleep in crate, dog bed, chair, etc. just fine

I think she might be missing her sister and she did take a plane flight to us that might have really shook her up but I thought only a couple days would start to see some better signs. At this rate I am thinking it will take a month minimum as not much progress

I was hoping not to get a Basenji that was not too crazy and tearing things up, but this is a little extreme and don't like her being scared so much!

Is the ignore her and let her do her thing to force her to need us at some point, try to keep her out of her crate and somewhat force her to be around us as much as possible to build trust, or a mix the best approach? I am basically doing a mix currently. I have never used dog crate so t bothers me a lot she is in there so much on her own, at night, and when we go to work.

Not sure she is ready for her new walking harness (Ruff Wear Webmaster), but maybe walking is exactly what I need to do to build a relationship. I would already be doing this but briefly tried a leash on her a few days ago as was all I had (yes, I am aware not the greatest solution) and she freaked out so I know any restraint is not going to come anything close to natural to her so worried of a setback if try the harness too.

Thanks for any help!

I am considering a Basenji but curious how they do when left alone and free to roam the house and use a doggie door to go outside? We have a 6ft cinder block fence so assume this will be good enough to keep from escaping. Hoping having the yard to roam will keep him entertained and use the grass to potty. I know as a puppy will likely have to keep in pen to keep from destroying the house but after a year or so are are they good on their own during the day with a doggie door?