I write this as someone who has raised a couple of Basenjis. I'm not a breeder or an expert of any sort. In my experience with the breed and in conversation with other basenji owners, however, certain patterns have arisen. Anyone contemplating the adoption of a basenji should know a few things.

The basenji isn't like other breeds. My theory is that they are only partially domesticated. The breed comes from Africa and it seems likely to me that there wasn't a dedicated breeding program to reinforce certain characteristics. Instead, I suspect, the dogs pretty much ran wild and did a lot of whatever they pleased until it was time to go to work and hunt. This is not to say that a lot of natural selection didn't take place. Surely the good dogs fared better than the bad ones and I'm sure problem dogs were booted out of the village. This is, however, not the path that other breeds have taken. Other breeds were strictly bred for dozens of generations to bring out specific traits. One of those traits, no doubt, was a desire to please the master. This desire is not present to any great degree in the basenji, although this is not to say that they aren't loyal dogs. Like cats, they can be very loyal and bond tightly with their people, they just don't necessarily have any built-in desire to do what humans want the way a Lab or Golden does.

Bonuses of owning a basenji

Before we get to the problems of owning a basenji, it's important to note that there are plusses as well. First of all, and very important to many people, they don't bark. They make a wide variety of other noises; they whine, they make a pleasant noise called a yodel or roo and when frightened or hurt they can deploy a high-pitched sonic weapon that will split your skull. The first time our basenji Pearl made this noise (at the vacuum cleaner, which she considered a tool of satan) I nearly turned a backflip. While they don't bark, some can let out a single yip that sounds like a bark, but it isn't followed by more (one of ours would do this, the other never has). All in all, however, they make a lot less noise than most other dogs.

Another pleasant aspect of the basenji is that they are very clean. Even without any regular bathing, they tend to stay pretty clean and rarely have that "dog smell", even when wet. Their fur is pretty good at shedding water and mud. When they do get dirty, they clean themselves like a cat. Our first basenji, Pearl, was a tri-color and her fur had a waxy quality that defied water and dirt. We called her the teflon dog. Our second basenji, Ruby, is a red and white and her fur isn't quite as good at shedding dirt and mud, but it's still better than most other dogs. Also, basenjis don't like to get dirty in the first place. Where other dogs will find a mud puddle and revel in it, the basenji will opt for staying clean (although, like other dogs, they will roll in stinky things, just not ones that are also dirty).

Basenjis can be very athletic and good with other dogs. This depends, I suspect, on good socialization when they're very young. If they are properly socialized, there is no more playful or athletic dog around (and if they aren't they will be standoffish and aloof, with both people and dogs, so make sure they get that socialization). Both of our basenjis played hard with every dog they could find. They love to run and chase and they love to play the bite-the-neck game. They will play with dogs much larger than themselves and hold their own. They can outrun most dogs (not a greyhound, perhaps, but most dogs not bred for speed) and their agility and stamina are astonishing. Ruby is widely known as the fastest dog at the dog park and the most likely to get all of the other dogs running around in excitement. All of this makes sense if you consider their environment: africa is full of predators and only the quick and agile will survive.

Basenjis bond strongly with their owners. Just because they aren't willing to do your bidding doesn't mean they won't be very loyal. A basenji will show great joy in greeting you and will usually want to be in the same room with you in the house. They aren't lap dogs (they're a bit big for your lap anyway), but they like to be close. Ours have always slept on our bed. Dog trainers and people who purport to be dog experts will tell you that letting your dog sleep on the bed ruins your dominant position. That is probably true for many breeds, but dominating a basenji isn't really an option, so don't worry about it. Basenjis are generally not runners, like beagles. You can take them out in the woods and they will keep pretty close. Of course, if they pick up a deer or rabbit or something, they'll be off after it, but they're smart enough to find their way back. Pearl chased a deer once when she was young and was off through brush at high speed. We thought she would never come back, but there she was ten minutes later, panting and pleased with herself.

Basenjis don't have strong instincts to particular behaviors. They're not water dogs, for example, so they don't feel like they have to jump in every body of water they pass. They don't become obsessed with balls, like some retrieving breeds do. Unlike beagles, they don't howl and they aren't prone to getting lost because they've followed a scent so far they've lost track of home.

Drawbacks of owning a basenji

Basenjis are quite intelligent, but this is a mixed bag. It's nice to have a dog that can learn quickly, but in my experience they mostly use their powers for evil. A basenji will learn very quickly, but they rarely have the will to do what you want them to. Just because they can learn what "sit" means, that doesn't mean they will actually do it when you say the word. If it's in their best interest –say there is a treat involved– then their butt will hit the ground immediately. If it's not in their best interest, then nothing doing. They simply don't have that innate desire to please humans. This leads us to rule number one of basenji ownership:

You must be smarter than the dog

Basenji owners have larger brains than the dogs and they have to put them to use if the relationship is going to work. You have to think ahead, plan, use the advantage of greater intelligence, language and a perspective that is higher off the ground. When she was young, Pearl would jump in the car on her own when we were done playing at the dog park. We would open the door, say "jump up" and she would jump in. For about a week. Then, she realized that she was only ending her own fun. After that, catching her was a daily chess game. Every day, while we walked, I would have to dream up a new scheme for catching her – there was absolutely no possibility of catching her if she didn't want to be caught, she could run rings around me. No, I had to lure or trap her. Some days, I would give a treat to another person and have them grab her (she was less suspicious of other people trying to catch her). Other days, I would lead her into a place, like a passage between two buildings or a porch, where she had nowhere to go. Some days, she would sit for a treat, as long as we weren't too close to the car –especially if I had given her treats for sitting when I wasn't trying to catch her. She could sometimes be caught by giving a treat to another dog and making her jealous for one. Every single day was a contest, however, and she would catch on to any trick used too often.

Basenjis require tons of exercise. I don't mean a nice walk, either. They have to run, preferably with other dogs. Basenji's have almost endless stamina; you may tire them, but you're unlikely to wear them out. Young basenjis probably need to get out and run twice a day. Older basenjis can get by with a walk and a run each day, but don't count on it. What happens if they don't get this exercise? Then they get their exercise by destroying your house. They will chew, they will rip and they will claw. The energy will be expressed, you get to choose how. This leads to the second rule of basenji ownership:

A tired dog is a good dog

I can't stress this enough: exercise the hell out of your basenji and you will be much happier with them (this can be a plus, by the way, since you'll be at the park with them getting your own exercise). If you don't have any park to take them to or any place where they can run with other dogs, then raising your basenji is going to be a lot harder – to the point where you might want to rethink the idea and get some other breed of dog.

Basenjis are not water dogs. If you were hoping to take one to the lake and throw things in the water for them to jump in and fetch back, you're out of luck. They will wade and, of course, swim if they have to, but they see swimming as a last resort rather than fun. Basenjis do not fetch or retrieve. If you throw a ball, they will express great excitement and chase after it. Once the ball stops moving, however, they will lose interest. This leads us to our third rule of basenji ownership:

Understand the breed and its evolution

A basenji is a sight and scent hound. They chase prey. In their native environment, they were used to chase prey (even pretty large prey) into rope nets. They are also "ear" hounds (although there is officially no such thing). Pearl could distinguish the particular noise that a squirrel claw made against bark at a hundred yards. Basenjis were not evolved in an environment that included vehicles. They are absolutely stupid about cars – they will run right in front of them. Basenjis seem to know no fear. If confronted by a much larger, aggressive dog, they will tend to stand their ground rather than cower or run and this can be a problem. Pearl was once surrounded by three large rottweilers at once, all barking and snarling. She spun in a circle, baring her teeth and nipping at each in turn, not good.

You have to take all of this into account. A basenji that gets loose in the neighborhood is impossible to catch by chasing and will run right in front of cars. In fact, chasing a basenji will only encourage it to run farther away. The best trick is to get the dog's attention, then run in the direction you want it to go. It will see this as a chance to chase something and usually respond by running after you. Pearl used to be an escape artist (particularly when there was a plumber or some such at the house who wasn't used to her tricks). I would go out and open the gate to the back yard, then get her to chase me and run into the yard, getting my wife to close the gate behind us. Commanding her to "come", when there were all of those glorious things to smell in the surrounding houses, was like talking to a post. No treat we could offer (unless we had some chicken around) was enough to compete with those wonderful smells.

Basenjis, young ones at least, aren't very good on a leash. They can be trained, at length, to be acceptable, but they're not going to be model dogs. No matter how much they're trained, the sight or sound of a squirrel or some such is going to make them bolt. You have to be alert to this when walking them in the city – they will get away from you if you aren't careful. Also, you can't leave a basenji tied up for any length of time unless you use a steel leash. For example, they are way too smart to be left tied at the entrance of a store for any length of time while you go in and shop. Ruby was at a doggie daycare place once and the person with her on the leash stopped to talk to someone. After their conversation, they looked down and Ruby was gone: she had chewed through the nylon leash while they were distracted.

There is no point in trying to dominate a basenji. Much better to outsmart them. Basenjis will not respect you as the boss. You might succeed in making them mad or perhaps sad, but you're never going to make them feel subordinate. My guess is that, in their native environment, they evolved to see the whole village –both people and dogs– as their pack and never had a need for a dominate member the way that a pack of wolves needs a leader. In my experience basenjis have little need to either dominate or be dominated; they are content to just be a member of the group.

Basenjis are great with other dogs, if they've been socialized properly, but not necessarily with cats. It depends on the cat. If the cat can stand up to the dog and play, then they'll be fine. If they're scared of the dog and run away, then they'll get chased and be very annoyed. We had a big tomcat who ruled our neighborhood when we had Pearl and they played together all the time. Pearl would play-bite Claude's neck and Claude would twist around and play-bite right back. Ruby plays with the cat next door whenever she can, but it's a small cat (small, but game) and we worry that she plays too hard. The cat must enjoy it though, it comes back for more. I don't know about other small, furry things, like ferrets or hamsters. If the basenji was raised with them from birth, it might be OK, but introduced to them later on I think they would see them as prey.

Basenjis are not good with weather. They don't like being wet and sometimes won't pee if the grass is wet. They aren't afraid of thunder or lightning, but they won't willingly go out in the rain. Their fur is short and they evolved in a warm climate, so they don't do well in cold weather. We put doggie coats on ours when walking them in temperatures under 40 degrees or so. Of course, at the dog park, they can run and generate enough heat to stay warm without a coat.

The bottom line

If you find yourself owning a basenji by some happenstance, then following these rules will make the relationship work much better. If you're considering adopting one, then think it through. They are joyful dogs to own, but you have to know what you're doing and you have to have enough time to give them what they need. Personally, I like basenjis because they aren't subservient. I have no desire to own a slave. Instead, I like a dog that is an individual: proud and self-sufficient. If this appeals to you, then there is nothing like a basenji; they are truly a unique breed.