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BASENJI - THE ROYAL DOGS OF AFRICA. African Hunting Dog – Congo Bush Dog Sight/Scent Hound ( THE BARKLESS DOG ). Basenjis are the ROYAL DOGS OF AFRICA and are also known as the “BARKLESS DOG”. Standing by the Pharaohs and hunting with African Tribes.
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BASENJI -THEROYAL DOGS OF AFRICA African Hunting Dog – Congo Bush Dog Sight/Scent Hound ( THE BARKLESS DOG )
Basenjis are the ROYAL DOGS OF AFRICA and are also known as the “BARKLESS DOG”. Standing by the Pharaohs and hunting with African Tribes. • Basenjis are one of newest breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club and they are VERY INTERESTING to share a house with.
The earliest recordings of Basenjis are found in cave drawings and Egyptian Tombs, like this hunting scene found in Royal and Commoners tombs and in Hieroglyphics .
There is some debate over whether “Anubis”, the god of dead souls, was part-man/part-Basenji or part-man/part-Jackal.
The reason for this debate is because both animals have erect ears, almond shaped eyes and a slopping head.
The Wealthy kept Basenjis as pets. When the owners died they often had their Basenji embalmed and buried with them.
They were, and still are, used as Hunting Dogs for African Tribes. • Hunters have been known to tie bells around the Basenji’s necks and use them to drive the prey into the hunter’s nets.
When their ‘People’ travel to neighboring villages the Basenjis travel with them and will wait outside the neighboring village as respect to that village’s Basenji pack. • In the 1930s some travelers in Africa saw a Basenji and some toddlers standing in the road. They were surprised when a truck approached and a native ran out to pick up his dog while his toddlers were ignored.
The Basenjis were first taken out of Africa and brought to England in 1895 where they died from distemper. • Basenjis were first brought to North America and Canada in the 1930’s. • The Basenji was recognized as a breed by the American Kennel Club in 1943.
Characteristics of a Basenji • Almond Shaped Eyes (with darker skin around the eyes like ‘eye liner’) • Profuse Wrinkles on Head • Sloping forehead • Small Erect Ears • Short Back • Tail that Curls Up Over Back and to either side • Small Oval Feet • Effortless Gate (resembling a racehorse trotting full out) • Do not bark like other dogs, but “Roo” or “Yodel” instead Information from: Kennel Club Books - Basenji
The reason they do not bark like other dogs is because of a shallow laryngeal ventricle and reduced laryngeal saccule. But this does not mean that they are ‘mute’. They can manage one or two barks at a time, usually separated by a second or two, and they can create a Horrific scream. This is our ‘Ruby Mae’ as a puppy
General Appearance • Height – Dogs 17”, Bitches 16” • They are a ‘Square looking Dog’ and should be the same distance from front of chest to point of buttocks. • Weight – Dogs 24 lbs, Bitches 22 lbs. • Flat, well chiseled head of medium width. • Balanced body with short, level back and strong fore- and rear quarters. • Intelligent and independent but affectionate and alert. Can be aloof with strangers. Information from: Kennel Club Books - Basenji
Like many dogs the Basenjis have varied coat colors. They may have a “Red & White” coat, a “Brindle & White” coat (red with black stripes), a “Tri-Color” coat or a “Black & White” coat. Many times they will have white legs and feet, a white stripe on their face, a white collar and always a white tip on their tails. Tri-Color Red & White Brindle & White Black & White
Basenjis are one of the few dogs that have a Double Suspension Gallop. This is where an animal will have all four feet off the ground TWICE – when their legs are extended and when their legs are gathered. • They love to run and are very fast. They can reach 35 mph and sustain it for a considerable distance. Therefore they do very well in the dog sport of “Lure Coursing”.
Along with Unique Coloring they have very Unique Personalities. They can be very defiant. They ‘CHOOSE’ whether they are going listen to you, or not, and many times they will just ignore you. They are very persistent. If they want to do something they WILL figure out a way to do it. ‘Lucy’
They are EXTREMELY inquisitive and energetic. They display greater intelligence then many other breeds - which can be part of the reason they have a very short attention span.
They are very ‘Cat Like’ in many of their traits. They do not like to get wet or have wet feet. They prefer to sit in high places rather then on the floor, or where a ‘normal’ dog would be.
They use their front paws to clean themselves like cats and can be seen sleeping in very odd positions.
Basenjis can be VERY DESTRUCTIVE! They have a very strong need to chew. • A Basenji Owner MUST rememberthis!!!!! and provide their Basenji with MANY, MANYheavy-duty chew toys. As you can see from these photos they are not very picky about what they chew on. Pillow? What Pillow?? Basenji ’Pancake Mix’ Party
But over all the Basenji is a very fun dog to have. I hope you have learned a little bit about the Basenji today. There is a saying that “once you have owned a Basenji any other dog is just a dog.” Now that we have 2 Basenjis in our family we fully understand that saying.
This PowerPoint informational Slide Show is from an 8th grade school project done by Megan Schafer • All photos (except for those of Ruby & Charley) were copied from the internet. I want to thank the other Basenji owners for sharing their very special photos on the internet.
CREDITS: Slides # 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 photos from bleedingeyeballs.com/basenjiart/ Slide # 2 photos from http://www.akc.org/breeds/basenji/photos.cfm Slide # 11 photos of our Ruby Mae Slide # 13 photos from http://www.akc.org/breeds/basenji/photos.cfm; http://www.rathje-basenji.dk/IndexUK.htm; www.suomenvinttikoiraliitto.fi/basenji.htm ; Slide # 14 photos from http://www.utahsighthounds.org/Pictures_Basenji.htm Slide # 15 photo is of ‘Lucy’ but I’m not able to find that web page again. Slide #16 photo from http://basenjicompanions.org/photo/imps/index.html Slides # 17, 18, 20 photos from http://www.geocities.com/rugosab/ Slide # 19 photos from http://basenjicompanions.org/photo/destruction/index.html Slide # 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 photos of our Charley & Ruby
Charley came to us as a 10 month old neutered male. He is a cousin to Ruby Mae and a very sweet boy. Charley at 9 months old
Our Official “Bird Watchers” Charley is fitting in very well in our family. He and Ruby have become ‘Doggy Buddies’. They will run through the house as if it were a race track. It is a lot of fun to watch them play together.
