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Breed guide · Dogs
He grooms himself like a cat. I still look between his toes every week.
Last updated 12 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
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At home
No bark at the door. Instead, yodels, howls and the odd scream when they are bored.
What's going onA Basenji's voice box is shaped differently. A sudden scream can mean frustration as easily as pain, so learn their sounds early.
At home
You ask for a sit. They look at you, and think about it.
What's going onForest hunters needed a dog that made their own decisions a few metres ahead. Keep sessions short and rewards good, and do not repeat yourself, because they get bored before you do.
At home
A cat, a bird or a plastic bag moves, and they are gone.
What's going onThey were bred to chase what they see. Keep them on a lead, or in a space fenced high enough, because many of them climb.
At home
Cupboards opened, cables chewed, something taken off the kitchen counter.
What's going onA bored Basenji goes looking for work. Clear the counter, put the cables away, and give them something that is theirs to destroy.
At home
They groom themselves, dislike getting wet and step round puddles.
What's going onThe short coat is easy. The weekly look over them still matters, because a Basenji will often hide a sore paw or a stiff joint without a sound.
At home
The water bowl empties faster, and there are accidents in the flat.
What's going onFanconi Syndrome (a kidney disorder that lets sugar and salts leak into the urine) runs in the breed. In a Dubai summer it is easy to blame the heat, so keep a note and tell your vet.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their day
Built for: In the forest, a few metres ahead of a hunter.
In Dubai: Much of the day in a flat.
Their work
Built for: Finding things, and deciding for themselves what to do about them.
In Dubai: Your shoes.
What they hunt
Built for: Game, for the hunter's nets.
In Dubai: The cables behind the television.
The chewing, the escapes and the yodelling at the lift mostly come from that gap.
You cannot give them a forest. You can give them things to find and puzzles to solve, and the ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around their breed: the risks on a Basenji's record at every age, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
Fanconi Syndrome (a kidney disorder that lets sugar and salts leak into the urine) is the first risk on a Basenji puppy's health record, and their puppy plan includes screening for it.
First fortnight, then every year
Why
Fanconi Syndrome (a kidney disorder that lets sugar and salts leak into the urine) is the first risk on a Basenji puppy's health record, and their puppy plan includes screening for it.
What to do
Take them to your vet within two weeks of bringing them home. Bring every paper the breeder gave you, and ask for both parents' Fanconi DNA results and eye results if you do not have them.
Many Basenjis are aloof with people they do not know, and a greeting they are pushed into makes the next one harder.
Every age, most of all puppies
Why
Many Basenjis are aloof with people they do not know, and a greeting they are pushed into makes the next one harder.
What to do
Ask visitors to ignore them and drop a treat on the floor. Give them a bed or a crate that is theirs, and never pull them out of it. They will come over when they have decided you are worth it.
Many Basenjis hate being held still, and they will need nail trims, eye drops and vet visits all their life.
Every age, easiest as a puppy
Why
Many Basenjis hate being held still, and they will need nail trims, eye drops and vet visits all their life.
What to do
Touch a paw, an ear or their collar for one second, then give a treat. Build up over weeks. If they pull away, go back a step. Never hold them down to get a nail trim done at home.
A bored Basenji eats cables, remote controls and whatever is on the counter, and opens cupboards to find more.
Every age, most of all up to 2 years
Why
A bored Basenji eats cables, remote controls and whatever is on the counter, and opens cupboards to find more.
What to do
Clear the counter, lid the bin, tie cables up out of reach, and use child locks on low cupboards. On walks, swap anything they pick up for something better rather than pulling it out of their mouth.
They were bred to find things. Ten minutes of searching tires their head in a way a walk round the block does not.
Every age, simpler puzzles from 7 years
Why
They were bred to find things. Ten minutes of searching tires their head in a way a walk round the block does not.
What to do
Feed at least one meal from a puzzle feeder or a snuffle mat, or hide portions round the flat. Make the puzzles harder as they solve them, because a Basenji who has worked it out stops bothering.
Their short coat suits a warm climate, and they still need shade and cool hours in a Dubai summer. They cannot pick the time of their walk, so pick it for them.
Every age, most of all puppies and from 7 years
Why
Their short coat suits a warm climate, and they still need shade and cool hours in a Dubai summer. They cannot pick the time of their walk, so pick it for them.
What to do
From May to September, walk before sunrise and after dark. Put the back of your hand on the pavement for five seconds. If you cannot keep it there, they cannot walk on it. Take water.
A Basenji who sees a cat does not hear you call. This is about traffic, not obedience.
Every age
Why
A Basenji who sees a cat does not hear you call. This is about traffic, not obedience.
What to do
Lead on every time the front door opens, and on every walk. Off lead only in a space fenced high enough that they cannot climb it. Make sure their microchip is registered to you with your current number.
They tell you quietly before they tell you loudly, and in a Basenji the loud version is a scream.
Every age, and new signals in an older dog can mean pain
Why
They tell you quietly before they tell you loudly, and in a Basenji the loud version is a scream.
What to do
Watch for lip licking, turning their head away, the whites of their eyes and going still. Give them more room when you see them. Never punish a growl. Learn which of their sounds means excited and which means hurt.
Worming and parasite prevention start on their puppy plan, set for what dogs meet in Dubai.
Every age
Why
Worming and parasite prevention start on their puppy plan, set for what dogs meet in Dubai.
What to do
Give prevention on the schedule your vet sets, every month of the year. After walks on grass or sand, look in their ears and between their toes.
A Basenji rarely makes a fuss when something is wrong, and drinking and peeing more can be the first sign of Fanconi Syndrome or, later, kidney disease.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
A Basenji rarely makes a fuss when something is wrong, and drinking and peeing more can be the first sign of Fanconi Syndrome or, later, kidney disease.
What to do
Once a week, run your hands over their ribs, spine, hips and feet. Weigh them once a month. If they start emptying their water bowl faster or have accidents indoors, note it and tell your vet.
Two of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
6 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 4 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
4 to 7 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
10 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Basenji dog breed
There is one Basenji, with two kinds of family tree. Most lines go back to a handful of dogs brought to England in the 1930s. Newer lines come from dogs brought out of Africa since the 1980s to widen the breed. Ask the breeder where their dogs come from, and for the health results that go with them.
Colours
Basenjis come in chestnut red, pure black, tricolour (black and chestnut red) or brindle, black stripes over chestnut red. Whatever the colour, look for the white feet, the white chest and that white tip on a curled tail.
The first six months
Vaccinations, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first, with screening for Fanconi Syndrome in their first months. Start touching their paws, ears and collar for a second at a time, with a treat, while it is easiest.
Puppy health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the flat ready
Clear the kitchen counter, lid the bin, tie cables up out of reach and put child locks on low cupboards. Then add a puzzle feeder, a bed or crate that is theirs, and a harness for every walk.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Fanconi Syndrome (a kidney disorder) and Progressive Retinal Atrophy (gradual loss of sight) are on a Basenji's record from puppyhood. Ask the breeder for both parents' Fanconi DNA results and eye results, and meet the mother if you can.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
For a new puppy: First 30 days with a new puppy · Puppy vaccinations in the UAE · Heatstroke in dogs
When it is not behaviour.
He'll keep grooming himself like a cat. Keep checking between his toes anyway.
Before they were yours.
No one knows when
In the forests of the Congo basin, hunters used Basenjis to find game and drive it into their nets. Some tied wooden bells round their necks, to follow a dog that makes very little noise.
What they still carryA hunter that decides for themselves, follows anything that moves, and rarely barks.
What genetics says
Genome studies place the Basenji among the breeds that split earliest from the rest of the modern breeds, alongside the Akita and the Saluki.
What they still carryA yodel instead of a bark, and one breeding season a year.
1895 to 1937
The first Basenjis brought to England died of distemper. In the 1930s Olivia Burn brought dogs from the Congo, and at Crufts in 1937 the crowds were big enough to need the police.
What they still carryA breed built from a handful of dogs, which is why a few inherited diseases run through it.
1980s to 2011
Breeders went back to Africa for new dogs to widen the small founder stock. In 2011, researchers at the University of Missouri found the gene change behind Fanconi Syndrome, and a DNA test followed.
What they still carryThe first question to ask a breeder.
Today
In the UAE a Basenji is rare, usually imported, and lives in a flat with nothing to hunt but your shoes.
What they still carryA forest hunter who likes to work things out, with very little to chase.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Basenji suits you, so might these.
Canaan DogThe same kind of dog: an old, natural breed shaped by hot country, bigger, and a keen barker where the Basenji yodels.
Desert and mixed-breed dogsAnother natural kind of dog, made for the heat, and every one a little different in size and coat.
WhippetA close match in energy, and another dog who hardly ever barks, though a Whippet is calm and quiet indoors and built purely for speed.
Australian Cattle DogA similar size and a short coat that handles warm weather, in a herding dog with even more energy to burn.
