Basenjis

Well the pictures of Lucas and my sister at the park are still coming, but I wanted to post about these two basenji's that where there.

They where very pretty dogs! One was the caramel brown and white and the other was black and white. They where both obviously pure bred and from a breeder as they where very pretty! But they came running up to us (Lucas, me, and my sister) without a leash or an owner anywhere sight! I gave Lucas to my sister as I knew she wouldn't do much as far as getting the dogs away And I told her to go up the hill in the other direction while I dealt with the dogs. I also told her to tell Lucas to leave it and come....so they went up away. These dogs had hackles straight up, but where very quiet....surprised me as most little dogs start barking.

Well I was calling for an owner, none came. So I shoo'ed them away which they did start running back to their owner. I followed them for quiet a while!! There owner was VERY far away! She was almost on the complete other side of this 1 mile circle lake!

There are OBVIOUS leash law signs everywhere! They aren't really inforced, which bugs me, but they are the law. SO I follow these dogs back to their owner as I didn't want them showing back up at another time and me not able to get them away or show up to someone else's dogs, they weren't friendly to dogs. To people they seemed to shy away from, but not aggressive.

So I go up to her and ask her politely to put her dogs on a leash and show her one of the many signs, then I tell her about the off leash area just a bit away. Well, she starts off by saying "Oh, my dogs are VERY aggressive to other dogs" >_< Oh boy! They are aggressive and can't go to dog-parks off leash so having them off leash and not in your control or sight with other on leash dogs around is SO MUCH BETTER!

She continues to say "well I've seen the signs, but I do not own two leashes, I only have one" *arg* I asked her to put the caramel color dog on leash at least, as it was the more confrontational one, leading the way towards Lucas and the other just followed behind.

She then says "Well, they are MY dogs, not yours! So butt out and mind your own business!" So I'm biting my tongue at this point, trying not to yell. I told her that her dogs where causing trouble with mine and that she either needs to put her dogs on a leash and buy a second leash or leave the park. That if she didn't I would call the cops. (I really didn't, I'm not sure they would do anything really, but I thought it was worth a try).

Well she just snickers at me puts the caramel one on the leash and trotts off towards the exit.

Well....at least she left and put one on a leash, hopefully she does buy a leash instead of just letting them roam. Such pretty dogs too, it would be a shame if something happened to them.

Basenji's dont bark..they can't. They yodel, which is almost worse, but it's a rare to hear them make any sound. They're also stubborn little buggers! My mentor went from GSD's and Aussies to Basenji's...still haven't figured that one out!!

They are kind of cool, though very independent. Why that lady would have EVER taken hers off-leash was pretty stupid. As she found out. She sounds pretty stupid to begin though.

Yup, I knew that it just surprised me at first that it didn't make a sound lol Just because of my experience with small dogs

Yeah, she didn't seem so smart!

DUMB woman!

I used to have a Basenji and I also agree that the sound they make is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy worse then a bark.:lol-sign:

I honestly don't know who in their right mind would let Basenji's off leash (unless in an enclosed area or at a lure-coursing event). They're not exactly known for their stellar recall (sigh...and neither or Shibas).

As to the fact that they're quiet- this is part of why I LOVE Shibas and Basenjis. They may be small, but they're certainly not yappy.

Of course quiet is a misnomer in both breeds. They're quiet alright...unless they want something, or feel that they've been abused (ie: they didn't get they're own way). Shiba and Basenji people love to compare notes on the "Shiba Scream" and the "Basenji Yodel." Guaranteed, once you've heard EITHER, you NEVER forget!

Oh good God, the Shiba Scream...I was treated to that one night when a rather unsocialized Shiba and his buddy (of whom he was very protective) came to board for the first time. He wouldn't let us put a leash on him, so we just sort of herded him outside with some of the beds and it worked. Bringing him back in...he just dashed right past the beds and we had to spend the next 20 minutes chasing him around. Finally I had to try and lasso him (I felt so bad, but he wasn't going back to his room on his own) and lordy lordy did he scream anytime that leash came near him! He made it back in his room and I put up a sign that said no one but me was allowed to mess with them. The next day I went in and did some "get to know you" stuff...the female was much friendlier and the male relaxed a bit when he saw that she was ok with me. Getting them both outside was much easier after that, though I had to move very slowly and almost trick him into putting the leash on himself.

I think my basenji's yodel is awesome!!! His ears fold back and he GrrrrrrrRRR-AROOOooooos. It's the best sound in the house.
Corky has slipped out of the house one time. Fortunately I was smart enough to train him to come and he came right to me when I called him. This was a MUST even in the house. If I don't hear or see him for a while, I call him and if he doesn't come right away I know he's into something. They are a hard breed to raise but worth every shoe, er ah, I mean effort.