Basenji

Basenjis are indeed special dogs. We got ours as a 'rescue' from a family that didn't understand her or train her well. She was two years old when we got her and it did take a lot of patience and understanding but she is now an amazing dog full of love and loyalty. I wish we had had this book in the beginning but it has provided some helpful insight even after we finally got her trained. This is not a dog for someone who expects immediate obedience! She is almost cat like in her grooming manners and independence. Graceful when she runs, spastic when she plays. She tosses her toys in the air and her food bowl if she wants more food. Extremely smart, she knows what you are saying and listens when she wants to. Now that I know these dogs, I would have another when the time comes.

Basenjis are exotic African dogs, long hailed as the Barkless Dogs of Africa. The basenji has a long history - they were the loved and doted upon dogs of the ancient Egyptian noble gentry. Basenjis are a part of Egyptian art - basenjis were featured in paintings; people had basenji shaped footstools and Anubis, the God of the Underworld had a basenji head. (Egyptologists maintain Anubis had a jackal head as a jackal was a scavanger. In looking at the drawings of Anubis, he does indeed have the head of a basenji). These beautiful dogs with the double curl in their tails are indeed distinctive - they laugh, cry and make a yodeling sound. Females come into season once every year. Basenjis don't shed or smell and they clean themselves the way cats do. These exotic dogs move gracefully and are known for their loyalty to their owners. Readers will come away with a wealth of information about this exotic dog and the breeding standards and care these curly tailed dogs require.