Basenji - TOP 10 Interesting Facts

1) Ancient History

Basenji is probably one of the oldest dog breeds of all. Basenji like dogs are probably depicted on ancient egyptian and libyan artifacts, which are more than 5 thousands years old. It is believed, that they were transported to these regions from Central Africa as gifts to pharaos.

2) No barking

Basenji are best known as the barkless breed. But they make different sounds – they are especially good at yodeling and they like to growl as well. But dont worry, they are not using the growling and yodeling often.

3) Cat like

Basenjis do not posses the typical doggy odor and they are overall very clean dogs. They groom themselves just like cats do. And this is not the only trait they share with cats – the independence, aloofness and the fact they bond closely to only one or two people are another similarities.

4) Hunters

Basenjis are hunters by nature. They have extraordinary sight and well developed nose. Their hunting instinct is just great, as well as their intelligence and courage.

5) Independent dogs

Just like many ther hunting breeds, Basenji is extremely independent. They are also quite aloof, alert and not trusting around strangers. On the other hand, they are very loyal, loving and friendly towards their owners and their family.

6) Egyptian God

The egyptian god of afterlife, the Anubis, has a body of a man and head of a dog. Of course, we can not know, if it is really basenji, who inspired this, but the distinctive pricked ears and slender snout is very similar in both – the Anubis and the Basenji.

7) Basenji vs Lion

Basenjis were used to lure lions out of their caves in Kenya by Masai hunters. They would use approximately four Basenjis to find lions and get them out to the open space. Once they are there, the hunters had much bigger chance to hunt down the lion. But of course, the basenjis could never hunt lions by themselves.

8) Hard training

Basenjis are smart, but independent dogs. And we already said they have kinda cat like personality. They just like to do things on their own and they make their own decisions. Because of their independent personality, the obedience training is pretty hard and you must be very patient trainer.

9) Speed

Basenjis are fast. Like really really fast. It is believed that they can run up to 35 miles per hour. For comparsion, the fastest dog in the world, the Greyhound, can run up to 45 miles per hour. They are definitely fast enough to steal your sandwich and run away so no one catch them.

10) Scared of night

Basenjis were bred to spend their time outside during the day. And for some reason, they still feel that way. It is common that these dogs are very nervous, when you také them on a night walk. Sometimes they completely refuse to do it.