Basenji Resources

The basenji is an ancient African breed. It is a primitive dog, like the dingo of Australia. It is not like a traditional dog in many respects. Many owners would say its behavior is more feline than canine.

Basenjis come from central Africa, where the hunters use them to flush out wild prey.

Basenjis have not been domesticated as pets very long. In the middle of the twentieth century, some dogs were transported to England, and breeding began from that group. More recently, dogs have been brought to the US from the Congo to replenish the gene pool.

Basenjis are in the hound family, and they are both scent- and sight-hounds. They enjoy lure coursing because of their high prey drive.

Basenjis have four color patterns: red and white, black and white, brindle and tri-color.

Basenjis give birth only once per year. They generally hate to get wet, or even get their feet wet. They are excellent climbers and have been known to scale chain-link fences. They also like to bolt out of open doors.

They shed very little and are exceptionally clean. They exude almost no "doggy smell" (perhaps to avoid being detected when hunting prey). They need no grooming, except toenail clipping.

The physiological reasons behind the barklessness have not been fully explained. Some experts say that the anatomy of their vocal cords is different from other dogs. But beware, they are not silent!

This is Tika, our basenji who died in March 2007. We called her the BDCA -- Barely Domesticated Companion Animal.

Her favorite hobbies were lying in the sun, eating lots of carbs (noodles are her favorite) and romping outside --but never when it's raining.

She loved to be in the same room with her humans and suffered some separation anxiety when kenneled. She howled and whined when she was upset, despite being barkless. When in pain, she would let out a short high-pitched squeak.

She disliked other dogs (and went crazy with aggression) and barely tolerated getting a bath, but luckily she only needed one per year.

Like many basenjis, she "woke badly" -- meaning that she startled easily out of a deep sleep and let out a menacing growl. She sometimes slept with her eyes open.

She was intermittenly obedient. Food, however, was what made her snap to attention, allowing us to make her sit, shake hands, and even yodel on command.

1. When I come out of the shower, she licks my legs dry.

2. If I give her a kiss on the snout, she licks her lips every time.

3. She tries to bark at the vacuum cleaner, but no sound comes out (photo at right caught her in the act).

4. She hardly ever wags her tail, and then only a tiny wiggle.

5. She loves to be rubbed with a wet towel.