Frequently Asked Questions!
- Do You Have Puppies/When Are You Expecting Puppies?
- Basenjis, as a primitive breed, generally only have one heat cycle per year, and it’s usually in the fall with most puppies born late fall into early winter. This is unlike most domesticated dogs which cycle twice a year, and is more like wild dogs such as wolves and coyotes. Our girls generally cycle in September or October, with puppies being born in November or December, but we will update the “Puppies” page as things progress.
- What are Basenjis like?
- Basenjis are not the dog for everyone! They can be sneaky and mischievous. They love to play and are highly intelligent. Basenjis tend to be dominant dogs and it’s necessary to understand dominance and dog behaviors when owning one. The best training for a basenji is positive reinforcement as they do not respond well to discipline and punishment. They have been described as vindictive and revengeful when training methods include discipline and punishment. This could mean peeing on your pillow or in your shoe even though they are house trained! They tend to be very social dogs with their people and love to be with you or touching you at all times. If your basenji isn’t with you, it’s probably time to investigate what they’re getting in to! You can compare them to a two year old child, if you wouldn’t leave that, do that, or have that around the child, chances are you shouldn’t have it around your basenji either. With their high intelligence they are quick to learn, but this doesn’t mean they’re obedient. It does mean that they will remember the pen you took from them that they were chewing and put on top of the counter is still on the counter and if given the chance and opportunity they will attempt to retrieve it! Like the child, negative attention is still attention, and basenjis love attention! So basenjis are not the breed for everyone, but they are experts at stealing hearts and making you love them even through their quirks, habits, and mischievousness. With patient, positive, and consistent training a basenji can be a wonderful companion that you’ll wonder how you ever lived without!
- Are Basenjis independent and aloof?
- This tends to be a common stereotype many people hear or read about basenjis. I will say that in my experience, I’ve come across a wide variety of basenji personalities. Some are aloof with strangers, some pick favorite members of the family and stick with them, some are friendly to all people, and some are pickier and not predictable on who they will like and who they will ignore. The best way to gauge how a potential puppy will be is to see how its parents are. A good portion of temperament is predisposed in genetics and the remainder is environment and socialization. A puppy from outgoing and friendly parents, who is poorly socialized, isn’t likely to grow up being very outgoing. Same can be said for a puppy born from parents who are more aloof and standoffish or independent, socialization can generally help the puppy, but it will still be predisposed to its genetics of being aloof and independent. However a puppy from friendly and outgoing parents who was raised in a social environment and well socialized by the buyers will likely grow up to be a friendly and outgoing dog! Some basenji lines are more standoffish and aloof, some are more friendly. Bellator dogs tend to be friendly and our pups are extensively socialized so we tend to have very outgoing pups. Your best bet is to meet the breeders you’re considering or talk to them and see how they describe their dogs.
- Do Basenjis really not bark?
- Basenji’s vocal chords are not designed in the same way that most domesticated dogs are. Therefore basenjis generally do not bark, but they are in NO way silent! They can make a bark like noise and sound just like they’re barking, but you can pick up the pitch and tone difference from that of normal domesticated dogs. Basenjis can also whine, loudly, to make their discomfort or thoughts/feelings known. They can also yodel, which is a form of a howl. Not all basenjis will yodel, howl, or baroooo, but the possibility is there. They can also scream, like a teenage girl or small children scream, they WILL voice their opinions, and can be quite loud in doing so! Although you will not be met by a chorus of barking dogs after knocking on my door, don’t let it fool you into thinking they’re always that quiet!
- Are Basenjis hypoallergenic? Do they shed?
- Basenjis are not hypoallergenic, but they do rate lower than most breeds on the allergen scale. We have had many visitors come to meet the dogs and test their allergies and allergic reactions to basenjis. If there is an allergy question we HIGHLY recommend you (or the person with the allergy) visit with the dogs for at least an hour to determine if there will be an allergy issue. There is little relation to a dog shedding and a dog being hypoallergenic since what causes the allergy is actually the pet’s dander or skin flakes and not so much the physical hair that is shed. Basenjis do shed, however their coats are very short and they lack the thick undercoats some breeds have, so their shedding is minimal and managed well with bathing and brushing during shedding season which is generally dependent on the weather. Basenjis, because they have lower dander, lack the normal “doggie smell/odor” that most dogs get and are very adept at self grooming. Their self grooming antics most closely resemble the way cats groom themselves. Regular bathing isn’t necessary as long as the basenji has a clean environment. We like to take our dogs to a dog park that has a lot of dirt and can become very dusty on dry days, therefore we have to wash our dogs a bit more than when we don’t go to the park and their only outside time is walks or time in our backyard.
- Are Basenjis good with children?
- While basenjis love to play and usually come with a good nature and temperament, you must also ask yourself “Is my child good with dogs?” Children, like puppies, go through many growth phases and must be taught how to treat animals with respect. Basenjis, like many breeds, are hard pressed to tolerate unfair treatment. Any play between dogs and children should always be supervised. Because puppies tend to “mouth” everything, fast hands and toys waved in a dog’s face encourage mouthing and nipping behavior. Hence, parental supervision will keep growing puppies and children moving towards positive development. Having a basenji can also be like having a small child; they will compete for your attention, and may develop jealousy issues if not trained properly, positively, and consistently.
- Are Basenjis destructive?
- Basenjis, like many breeds, like to chew; in fact, they like to chew on everything and anything…shoes, socks, newspapers, chairs, sofas, rocks, metal fences, mini-blinds, trees, and especially you. Puppy-proofing is very important; as is keeping things out of their reach. Providing plenty of exercise and the right chewy toys for your basenji should help eliminate the need to chew on “forbidden” objects. Basenjis are also highly intelligent and will become bored easily so they need the mental outlets of exercise and available chew toys so that they do not become destructive. Positive training early on will ensure a well raised, well mannered, and balanced basenji later on. Crate training or confinement to a specific room is a useful tool to ensure your basenji is kept out of harms way when you can’t be around. Crates and confinement however should not be used as punishment, and should not be used for long periods of time.
- Is a male basenji or a female basenji better?
- Both make good pets. However, females tend to be more aggressive towards other female basenjis, and males tend to be more aggressive towards other male basenjis. Un-neutered males do tend to be a bit scrappier with other dogs, especially when females in season are around. Females do tend to be more demanding of attention and dominant with other basenjis. A pack is often run by a dominant female. Males tend to be more easy going and give in to whatever the female wants. The solo basenji owner might consider this and choose a male. The owner with other non-basenji dogs might consider getting a female. Either choice ultimately should hinge on the temperament of the individual puppy and how it will fit into your lifestyle and home.
- Are Basenjis good with cats? What about other dogs?
- Basenjis are pretty fun-loving and playful but they are hounds bred to be hunters with a high prey drive. Getting along with cats is really determined on a case-by-case basis and it can really depend on the cat. A more reclusive animal might not appreciate the activity and curiosity of a basenji. The more outgoing cat might look at this as a new sort of playmate. A cat may want to run away which the basenji will see as an awesome game of chase! Starting with a puppy is probably a good idea, but the right adult basenji has been able to live in harmony with many felines.
- Basenjis generally tend to get along with other dogs better than they do with other basenjis. They lean more towards being a dominant dog, so that needs to be considered when thinking of bringing one home to an already established pet. Sometimes their cat like playing can be too much and too annoying for other breeds. Basenjis tend to use their front paws in play, similar to the ways cats play, batting at toys and their playmates. Basenjis also like to “kill” their toys, so that cute stuffed animal toy will likely have all of its stuffing pulled out and you will have a very happy and proud basenji! Given that detail, sometimes small fluffy dogs don’t make good basenji companions as they’re too easily confused for toys with interesting sounding squeakers!
- How are Basenjis with obedience training or agility training?
- First, keep in mind that a basenji is a hound and hounds have no accountability to humans. Basenjis have a desire for purpose, and to a basenji there is no purpose to the constant regimentation of obedience instruction. Basenjis are however, generally very highly food motivated. If your basenji knows it will get something it wants (like a treat) they will be much more willing to do something you want (like sit down). A basenji has to have fun performing, and can learn very quickly, but as soon as the training gets boring, it quits, or worse, becomes counterproductive to his owner’s goals. Basenjis always seem to put their own unique “spin” on every command. The sits might be crooked; they might take their time sitting down, their minds and attention might wander. Since basenjis are “eye-contact” dogs, you can alter their behavior just by looking at them a certain way. While a basenji is a bright and adept pupil, just remember that they are just as bright and adept at creating their own training routine and will respond the best to consistent, patient, and positive reinforcement and training. In some dog breeds the treat incentive for the desired command may be able to be removed later on in training, but with basenjis they will quickly learn that they are no longer getting what they want, therefore you will no longer be getting what you want! Their high intelligence lends them to be master manipulators! Also, just for a moment, think about the Basenji’s origins. It freely roamed jungles for thousands of years, surviving as an independent quick-witted hunter. It’s not likely to fetch your slippers just because you say so. It will, however, if it loves you dearly and sees a reason to do so at that particular moment!
- What’s better, one puppy or two?
- My recommendation is to get one at a time and add a second sometime after your dog is 1.5-2 years old. Here’s why; Basenjis are a primitive breed designed to not really need us in order to survive. Granted in today’s day and age in the USA, they need us to survive, but don’t tell them that! Haha. For that purpose though, getting two puppies at once can cause issues with them bonding more to each other and not listening to people. There’s ways to mitigate this, like lots of one on one time with each puppy apart from the other puppy, separate walks, separate training classes, crating separate and in separate rooms. All this is done so they don’t hyper bond together and/or develop an unhealthy co dependency on each other. Keeping two puppies can be done but it’s a ton of work and no guarantee it’ll work long term. I’ve known seasoned breeders and trainers that ended up with issues keeping two puppies. Problems can also include the pups becoming jealous and fighting with each other or ganging up on other dogs, or severe anxiety if they’re apart, or over protectiveness of one or the other against people or other dogs. One that i saw would become jealous of his sister if she was getting attention from people and would attack her. He ended up getting re-homed because they were too bonded to break the bad habits. So my recommendation is definitely only one puppy. Many people may say they’ve done it and it worked fine, but to me it’s just not worth the risks and often times people may just not be aware of issues either. You can google search “litter mate syndrome” so more information and articles. So if you want two dogs, it’s ideal to wait 18-24 months in order to introduce a new dog to an already established and mentally stable dog where the new puppy will learn all the good habits of the established dog. Waiting one year has worked as well, but sometimes the established dog will regress in house training and general training skills as it’s still a puppy and now sees the new puppy getting away with things so it will test the boundaries as well. Quite often a two dog or multi dog household works well for people when done correctly but you also may find that your basenji prefers to be an only dog and doesn’t want or need a constant playmate. It’s important to know your basenji!