Wow! Quite honestly, I don't think my dogs have met 40 different people or dogs in the past YEAR, let alone the past week. This past week? Aside from the 3 people who live here (me, husband, roommate) they have encountered three other people; the farm manager for the land we live on, the guy who is raising pheasants in the 3 acre flight pen in my backyard, and the UPS man. All people they've met before and encounter on a semi-regular basis, at least 1-2 times a month. LOL.

We live on 3500 acres in South Dakota and our next door neighbors are 3 miles away.

However, we've only been here 4 years. For the Senjis, the country life is a big difference from where they started out. Jibini lived the first half of his life with me as an "apartment dog" in busy-suburban Orlando & Tampa FL….not city environment but enough people in one spot that we might encounter 5-6 others on our daily walks, plus we hit the dog park every other day when he was young. Then I got a job driving an 18 wheeler nationwide, Jibini accompanied me for 5 years and over a half-million miles....he has "marked his territory" in all of the lower 48 states. For that time in his life, every day brought a new "backyard" and new neighbors and endless opportunity for new experiences for both of us. We adopted Tana while we were still trucking, she rode with us for 2 years Before BRAT got her, she lived in a puppymill for the first 2 years of her life and was scared of her own shadow....today 6 yrs later you'd never believe it- she is confident, friendly, playful and loves life

My other 2 dogs (mix breed and Brittany) joined the family after we moved to SD. And yep, attempting to socialize a rural dog & offer the same types of experiences that are easily accessible to a city/suburban dog....is a fairly monumental task. Puts a lot of miles on your vehicle for sure. Chloe our mix accompanied me nearly everywhere for the first 6 months I had her- luckily it was fall with cool weather so I could take her along any time I made trips into town. Farm stores usually don't mind you bringing a dog in, so she visited Tractor Supply and the feed mill a lot. We went to parks, walking trails, worked on obedience with distractions, etc. Once a week for six weeks, we'd drive 120 miles one-way to attend group Obedience classes in Sioux Falls (I mainly did this to address a few issues with being reactive to other dogs, the training I could handle on my own- but she was originally a city dog from Hartford CT and I think much of it was just her temperament type not a lack of early exposure).

Ellie my Brittany was a lot easier- couldn't ask for a sweeter, gentler, more confident and friendly dog. No issues, I can take her anywhere and do anything with her and nothing fazes her. Plus she's one heck of a fine bird dog. I do think a lot has to do with genetics, she is easily the most well-adjusted dog I have ever owned and she has had the LEAST amount of socialization. The breed is generally supposed to be friendly, energetic and confident and that's her to a T. I knew exactly what I was looking for when I bought her, and she comes from some phenominal genes to say the least.....I think in some cases when you happen to have a dog who's genetically predisposed to be rock-solid with a great temperament, you can get away with less effort when it comes to socialization....the dog is far less likely to develop any behavior issues that are fear-based, which most common behavior problems such as aggression, are.

The older Jibini gets, the less he seems to tolerate the A/C even on a hot day. He is always under blankets beside me if he's sleeping.

This year, we really threw a wrench in his plan- we got a ChilliPad mattress topper, its actually an electronic system that circulates cooled water (also heats) throught the mattress pad to keep you cool at night. I've had a hard time sleeping in summertime my whole life, even with the A/C on full blast and three fans- the ChilliPad is expensive but uses a fraction of the power as an AC unit AND for the first time ever, I sleep soundly in July.

But boy does Jibini ever DESPISE the ChilliPad. His usual spot at night is in bed under the blankets curled up by my legs. He still burrows under out of habit but if I don't stuff an extra blanket under there so he can lay on it and not directly on the bedsheet, he will actually curl up ON TOP of my thighs, lower back or wherever he can fit without having to touch the chilled evil mattress.

I continue to promise him I'll make it up to him in the winter time, since3 apparently the pad will also heat up to 110 degrees- I'll turn on my husband's half of the system and heat it up just for Jibini

I'm kind of late joining in here, but I live in South Dakota and I keep my thermostat between 50 and 60 in the winter because I prefer it that way. I might bump it up to 65 if it's bitterly cold (sub zero) and windy, but otherwise I'm happy as a clam at 50-60 indoors. The dogs truly don't seem to be bothered, they adapt same as anything else.

There are throw blankets everywhere, and extra blankets in the dog crates for when I'm not home to be snuggled with. I do have space heaters which I may bump on in the mornings to take the chill out of the air, so the Basenjis aren't shocked when they ooze out from under the warm bedcovers. And if anyone gets sick or has an upset tummy or something, I'll go ahead and put a heater on near the crate or something, as even I don't like to be cold when I'm sick…...but otherwise my dogs seem just fine with how I keep it in here.

But if your dogs don't seem to adapt or you don't feel comfortable keeping them at that temp, the aforementioned suggestions of heating pads, etc are great ideas

The saying around our house is "Jibini is not a morning person". The older he gets, the more he takes advantage of the option to stay under the blankets, and I say he's earned the right to sleep in as much as he wants (hes 12). Chloe and Ellie the non-B's, are "up at the crack of dawn full of energy like they just did six lines of cocaine" dogs and since I work 7 days a week, I'm up with them if not before them…..but generally NOT as chipper or energetic as they are LOL. In summer, Tana is eager to wake up with everyone else, but in winter she's learning that Jibini is smarter than she gives him credit for, lately I've had to bribe BOTH of them with food in order to get them up in the mornings.

Tana also snores, sometimes fairly loudly....but nothing compared to the way my old Boxer used to snore, good lord she'd give my husband a run for his money.

Just out of curiosity, would you mind sharing who Digital's breeder is?

Probably something that's still a few years away, but I'm already trying to pay attention & learn more about bloodlines, breeders, etc. Jibini is the first & only dog I raised from a pup and went through the whole "try and find a good breeder, then wait for pup to be born" process, 12 yrs ago lol…..I haven't paid close attention to "who's breeding what"- at least not from a puppy buyer standpoint- since then. It was easy enough to find a nice pet with a good temperament for my first Basenji, I could have probably gotten that from any reputable breeder. BUT my next Basenji I am looking for something a bit different, as I have specific, perhaps a bit unorthodox, training goals in mind.... Just trying to get an idea about where I might start looking for the pup I want, when the time is right :)....if I could find a pup with half of Digital's talent and versatility to work with, I would be off to a great start!

Oh this is such a great post to read!!

I remember reading your posts about Digital on the Basenji-L, back in 2000-01 when I was awaiting the arrival of my first Basenji ever, a little tri pup who would be my Jibini. He turned 12 this month

At the time I was actively training/competing in Obedience trials with a Boxer and I was thinking I'd attempt to work with Jibini as well. I followed your updates about Digital with great interest. I was always so impressed by all the things you & he were able to accomplish.

I never did follow through with trying to compete with Jibini- by the time he was 2 I had decided to start a career driving a truck over the road, Jibini lived the busy life of a Truckin' Basenji, so competition was not in the cards for us.

Still, I remained a lurker on the Basenji-L for a long time and always enjoyed reading anything about Digital…..he was & still is an inspiration to me as a Basenji owner and former OB trialer. Knowing how much work it takes to train & trial ANY breed, plus knowing how much of an additional challenge it can be to do it on Basenji "terms".....I've got SO much respect for how far you and Digital went with your competition! Truly an amazing accomplishment, and an amazing Basenji

And I am so thrilled to hear he's living a long healthy & happy life. Count me as one of those people now reading about 16 year old Basenjis and hoping I get to spend that long with mine as well. You and Digital are both truly blessed

I have also had good results with the food- I switched 2 years ago when Jibini got a stomach upset that seemed to be linked to Blue Buffalo and a minor formula change. It's the best food I can get without having to drive all the way to Mitchell and thankfully it worked out well for my pups! (They sell it at Runnings in Parkston.)

They only recently started selling the grain-free variety there as well; in fact I just bought a bag. Made me happy to find it, since Tana is the only one who just doesn't seem to handle "normal" food formulas and I was still getting her grain free TOTW in Mitchell when she needed it, (and rotating her onto a raw diet every couple of months). Up until now I was feeding the other dogs the regular adult maintenance and Ellie (Brittany hunting dog) was on the 20/30 performance food when we bred her (didn't take) and I kept her on it since pheasant season started right after we confirmed she wasn't pregnant :).

Earlier this year we had 9 very nice French imported hunting dogs (including my dog's sire) from a well-known breeder staying at the kennel where I work; the owners use Nutrisource and all of their dogs were in excellent condition as well. Excellent muscle, beautiful coats, nice shiny eyes, compact poops, lol. I definitely think it's a decent quality food, especially for us rural folks who don't have much to choose from. I can definitely say it's the best available food in my area, unless I want to go all the way to Mitchell.

The only other "local" food I'd consider if I had no other choice, is the Native Performance line of foods put out by Kent animal feeds, but I kinda think the Kent dealer in my town is a bit of a jackass, LOL…..suits me just fine to go ahead and drive the 30 miles to Runnings

Welcome! I grew up in Orlando and lived there when I got my first Basenji, Jibini….it's been nearly 11 years ago now :). I grew up in the Lockhart area but lived near Winter Park off Goldenrod when I got Jibini. Several nice dog parks in Orlando as I recall!

Interestingly enough, my 2nd Basenji girl (adopted almost 4 yrs ago) is also named Tana. :o LOL, so I have to compliment you on your beautiful name!! She was rescued from a puppymill; and her original name was Tanya Ann. I didn't think that name fit her, plus I wanted her to have a new name for her new life. But amazingly enough she responded to her name even though she'd been a kennel dog all her life. So I tried to pick something that sounded like "Tanya" but with a more suitable flair for this little princess Started looking up Swahili words & definitions (my Jibini is also a Swahili word, meaning "cheese" LOL) and found the word "tanashati" which means "pretty". Shortened it to Tana; she responded to it, so the name stuck!

Such a pretty and fairly unique name....you are the first human Tana I've come across! I hope it doesn't bother you to share your name with the world's sweetest Basenji I used to try to avoid giving my dogs common "human" names mostly since I like to be weird & creative (i.e. Jibini=Cheese)....But kind of gave up on that a couple years ago when I adopted a 10 month old super smart shelter mutt named Chloe and last year bought a 14 month old fully trained hunting dog named Ellie. IMO not worth confusing the dog if they're really responsive to their given name. So I gave up having creative & unique dog names at that point.

Again welcome to the board, jump on in & join us! I love this forum; though I read more than I post. Tons of great info and great people here. I've "known" some of the folks who post here since before I got Jibini and we were all on the Basenji-L email list. Having easy access to advice & info from so many experienced people was invaluable as I was learning about the breed for the first time!

Oooh! I love that, it's beautiful! Thanks I'll definitely have to check her out!

I can see this being a problem for me, LOL….I'm going to end up not only buying a gift for our friends but having one made for myself with my dogs on it too, LOL

I want to get a really nice and unique gift for someone this Christmas; I have a general idea what I'm looking for but I am wanting to get some feedback & ideas of what else might be out there. I could spend forever looking through Etsy and the like, but I know we must have some artistically gifted Basenji folks (or folks who know other artsy folks, or folks who've had artists do custom stuff of their dogs) here so if I can patronize a "local artist" so to speak, all the better

The recipients of the gift are "dog people"….not Basenjis, but suffice to say they are very passionate about their breed so I am sure they would like something related to it. I know they have had paintings done of at least 2 of their foundation sires; excellent artwork and not cheap. I am thinking of getting something customized with one of their current top dogs on it; something nice that would do justice to their dog & add to tasteful home decor, but not quite as much of a 'focal point' in the room as an expensive oil portrait, lol.

My upper price limit is going to be about $200; I am looking for anything that would count as "home decor"....something that'll look nice hanging on a wall or sitting on a shelf basically. My initial idea was to have a stained-glass window hanging made, with a head study of the dog (based on a photo of course). I found a few online artists who do custom stained glass and it seemed like I could get a reasonably sized piece made for that price; but again I figured I'd see if anyone here did it as well.

Going along that train of thought.....I was wondering about other artsy handmade home decor type pieces that can be similarly customized with their dog(s) on it? Tile mosaics? Needlework? Pillows? Pottery? Sculptures? I have no idea what else might be out there or where to go beyond taking a chance on Etsy and hoping for the best. I am hoping maybe somebody will come out with a neat idea I didn't know about If any of you do this sort of thing for a hobby OR you can personally reccomend an artist, or you just plain have a better idea for me altogether......please share any info you have!

Thanks!