Maybe Malu is just shedding his puppy coat. It will blow out then his adult coat will grow in.

i was told recently…...that the basenji has the abillity to absorb itsown urine hence the lack of needing to pee often has anyone heard or read such a thing? it was from a reputable breeder.........????????????????

Dogs don't have to roll over to be submissive. Just laying down, not 'crouched to leap" can be very submissive. However, if this is the ONLY dog he reacts to, maybe he picks up something you aren't with the dog. Maybe the dog lives with other animals that set him off. If you can, find out from the other if OTHER dogs respond to it that way and what other types of creatures live in their home. I nearly caused Arwen and Cara to have a stroke one day when I came home and had been holding a lamb.

@Basenjimamma: He is adorable..I bet he loved it… As far as the sandals...Chaco's ROCK..I could so walk the face of the earth twice around in mine....well that was until Pippin just chewed the straps off...Otis did it before him so off to Chaco's the go for replacement straps....again! They are suedo hiking sandals with vibram soles, totally ergonomic to your sole and so adjustable, they fit like a glove. I'm a little over 2.5 years into my chaco's and I love them! I wear them everywhere I can. I think I'll need to send them out to Re-Chacco this winter though. Get them resoled and some new straps. I can't say enough good things about those sandals. Unfortunately, they moved all their production to China after I bought that pair, at least if I send them out for repair it will stay here in the states.

I don't have too many windows that my B has been able to reach yet (by prudent design) but she will sit at the patio door in between the vertical blinds looking out into the yard at squirrels, birds or just enjoying the sun.

that calculator says Malu will be about 29lbs, which is still pretty big. I was hoping he would be a little larger anyway, most of my friends have larger dogs, labs mixes and hound mixes. So he should have no problem "hanging with the big dogs". I was browsing through that book a little more. It actually has some pretty interesting data on different experiments they did with the 5 different breeds. Its kind of neat to see how the Basenji's compared to some of the other breeds.

His eyes are so so so pretty, love the bottom picture

My male, Corin, is a marker. He is 14 mos old, and likes to mark curtains, or hanging clothes. We were at a puppy play date with his breeder and several other pups from 2 litters when he was 8 weeks, and the little stinker tried to lift his leg at the play date. Everyone was like "Whoa, and he is going to be yours" :) He has marked ever since we brought him home at 12 weeks. He even marked me once when I came home from work. I'm a vet tech so I smelled like other dogs, and even though he had just been out, he lifted his leg and peed right on my scrubs. His dad, Kita, is a marker too. -Nicole

Shivering in a young dog vs older where it may be pain is 'fear' As the thread started out with a young dog, I was wondering if you can recall the circumstances before the actual shivering. Also remember that dogs' noses can be 10,000 times stronger than ours, hearing 'way better', and recall the animals that could tell when a tsunami hit, or bad storm, (barometric pressure for example or thunder way, way out there) the vibrations: of a train, a gun shot, a backfire of an engine, the list can go on. The fear is just something they are not understanding as it is not a (sound) that they are sensitized to, esp young dogs in a new home (up to a year….) Hope this helps (here is a link http://dogs.about.com/od/dogbehaviorproblems/a/signs-of-fear-in-dogs.htm )

@Kipawa: Kipawa doesn't seem to need lots of water either. It is there for him to drink, however, to make the night go more smoothly, I remove the water bowl around 8 p.m. He is just over 5 months now, and I can now just get up at 5:30 a.m. to let him pee. That is 6.5 hours of not needing to pee while everyone sleeps. I actually leave water in his crate overnight, because I was worried about him not drinking enough. He doesn't really use it and at 10 weeks, he is still sleeping through the night. I guess I just hope this continues.

He is darling, congratulations!