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The Basenji is a breed of dog considered by some, particularly in North America, to be a member of the sighthound family. The Basenji is a Congolese hunting dog that rarely (if ever) barks, but does make a strange yodeling sound. In behavior and temperament they have some rather un-dog-like commonalities with cats.
Appearance: Basenjis are small, elegant-looking,
short-haired dogs with erect ears, a tightly curled tail, and
a graceful neck. Some people consider their appearance similar
to that of a miniature deer. A Basenji's forehead is wrinkled,
especially when the animal is young.
Basenji eyes are typically almond shaped, which gives the
dog the appearance of squinting seriously.Basenjis typically
weigh around 20 to 24 pounds (9 to 11 kg) and stand about 17
inches (43 cm) tall at the withers. They are athletic dogs and
are deceptively powerful for their size. They have a graceful,
confident gait like a trotting horse, and skim the ground in a
"double-suspension gallop" when running flat-out at
their top speed.
The AKC recognizes the following colorations: red/white,
black/white, tricolor (red/black/white), and brindle (black
stripes on a background of red)/white. There are additional
variations, such as the "trindle", which is a
tricolor and brindle, and several other colorations exist in
the Congo.
Temperament: Like wild canids, Basenjis don't bark.
They will, however, give the occasional single
"woof." They also chortle, whine, squeal, and make a
Basenji-specific noise called a yodel or a baroo. Also like
wild canids, most Basenjis come into heat (estrus) only once a
year, usually in the autumn.
The Basenji is as fastidious as a cat about its personal
grooming, even washing itself with its paws.
Most Basenjis, like cats, have a strong dislike for contact
with water, and will go to great, and sometimes amusing,
lengths to avoid getting wet. On the other hand, they are
extremely inquisitive dogs, and can temporarily be completely
oblivious to the pouring rain if something piques their
interest.
Basenjis are highly intelligent and learn quickly, but they
also have a cat-like independence and
"self-motivation" which can make them somewhat
casual about obedience. A healthy Basenji is a mischievous and
good-humored animal, and is not above testing the limits of
its environment and owner just for sport. They can be aloof
with strangers but form strong bonds with their owners. If not
supervised or trained properly, Basenjis can become bored and
destructive when left alone. Basenjis are also expert
climbers, and have been known to scale chain-link fences as
much as eight feet high.
Quick and fast on their feet, Basenjis love to run and
chase, so much so that they are sometimes competitively run in
lure courses. There are few creatures the Basenji is likely to
encounter (including its owner!) that it does not believe it
can outwit or outrun. This, combined with the breed's
typically fearless approach to the world, makes it a good idea
not to allow a Basenji to run free in an unconfined area or
where it may get into trouble.
History: The Basenji is one of the most ancient dog
breeds. Originating on the continent of Africa, it has been
venerated by humans for thousands of years. Basenjis can be
seen on steles in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs, sitting at
the feet of their masters, looking just as they do today, with
erect ears and tightly curled tail.
The Basenji had almost totally disappeared from the West
when Europeans came across it in the Congo in 1895. There, the
Basenji was prized by locals for its intelligence, courage,
speed, and silence. They were assistants to the hunt, chasing
wild game into nets for their masters. The Azande and Mangbetu
people from the northeastern Congo region describe Basenjis,
in the local Lingala language, as mbwá na basɛ́nzi.
Translated, this means “dogs of the savages”, or “dogs
of the villagers”. The word basɛ́nzi itself is the
plural form of mosɛ́nzi which is a deformation of
the French insult white people used for illiterate indigenous
people: mon singe (meaning “my monkey”). In Kiswahili,
another Bantu language, from East Africa, mbwa shenzi
translates to “wild dog”. Another local name is m’bwa
m’kube m’bwa wamwitu, or “jumping up and down dog”, a
reference to their tendency to jump straight up to spot their
quarry.
Several attempts were made to bring the breed to England,
but the earliest imports succumbed to disease. It was not
until the 1930s that foundation stock was successfully
established in England, and thence to the United States by
animal importer Henry Trefflich. So it is that nearly all the
Basenjis in the Western world are descended from these few
original imports.
The breed was officially accepted into the AKC in 1943. For
a fascinating account of the importation of the Basenji from
Africa, read The History of the Breed, a letter to the AKC in
support of opening the stud book to admit new African imports.
The AKC stud book was reopened to several new imports in 1990
at the request of the Basenji Club of America. The title
character of the 1954 novel Good-bye, My Lady, by James H.
Street, is a Basenji.
Health: Some Basenjis are prone to an inheritable
kidney disorder called Fanconi syndrome. A Basenji with
Fanconi syndrome usually begins to display symptoms after
reaching the age of four. Owners can test for Fanconi syndrome
by checking for sugar in the urine.
Basenjis, along with certain other breeds of dog, have been
known to be carriers of a simple recessive gene which, when
homozygous for the defect, causes genetic Hemolytic Anemia
(basenji.org). Most Basenjis today are descended from
ancestors that have tested clean. When lineage from a fully
tested line (set of ancestors) cannot be completely verified,
the dog should be tested before breeding. As this is a
non-invasive DNA test, a Basenji can be tested for HA at any
time.
As with other breeds of dog, Basenjis sometimes suffer from
hip dysplasia, resulting in loss of mobility and
arthritis-like symptoms. Malabsorption, or immunoproliferative
enteropathy, is an autoimmune intestinal disease that leads to
anorexia, chronic diarrhea, and even death. Special diet can
improve the quality of life for afflicted dogs.
The breed can also fall victim to progressive retinal
atrophy (a degeneration of the retina causing blindness) and
several less serious hereditary eye problems such as coloboma
(a hole in the eye structure), and persistent pupillary
membrane (tiny threads across the pupil).
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