1. General Appearance & Characteristics

The Basenji is a lightly built, finely boned aristocratic looking animal. Featuring pricked ears and appearing high on the leg compared to his length, the Basenji has been likened to a gazelle. Other characteristics of the breed are a curled tail and wrinkled forehead, which gives an almost quizzical expression.

Basenjis come in four different colour combinations: red and white, black and white, tri-colour (black, red and white), and brindle (which consists of black stripes on a red background). All Basenjis should have white feet, chest and tail tip. White on the face and neck are optional.

Despite the fact that they cannot make the traditional "barking" or "woof" sound, Basenjis are certainly not mute. They can produce a variety of sounds, amongst them whines, growls and their own particular noise, which is best described as a mixture of a chortle and a yodel. Basenjis use this unique gift as a form of speech, and as one owner has put it, "they do not bark, they talk".

Their extreme cleanliness, ease of house training and almost total lack of doggy smell makes them hard to beat as a house pet.

E-V1.0 - December 1998
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Page Created: 28 December 1998 - Last Updated: 10 June 2007

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