Cunliffe Basenji

1. Auflage 2012
ISBN: 978-1-59378-723-3
Verlag: CompanionHouse Books
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 155 Seiten

Reihe: Comprehensive Owner's Guide

Focusing on 'the barkless dog of Africa,' this Comprehensive Owner's Guide is dedicated to the Basenji, which comes to Westerners via Africa's Congo. The Basenji is unique for his 'barklessness';he in fact yodels;as well as his felinelike cleanliness, his terrierlike hunting skills, and his teenagerlike naughtiness. British purebred dog specialist, Juliette Cunliffe traces the origins of the'Congo Terrier' (as it was once called) from the jungles of Africa to homes of dog fanciers in England and the United States. While the breed first entered the U.S. in the 1930s, the author updates this history with the various African sojourns which yielded brindle-colored dogs being added to the gene pool as recently as 1987. She continues with chapters on the special characteristics of the Basenji and the breed standard, assisting the reader better understand this uniquely primitive dog.New owners will welcome the well-prepared chapter on finding a breeder and selecting a healthy, sound puppy. Chapters on puppy-proofing the home and yard, purchasing the right supplies for the puppy as well as house-training, feeding, and grooming are illustrated with handsome adults and puppies bursting with attitude and personality! In all, there are over 135 photographs in this compact, useful, and reliable volume. The author's advice on obedience training the smart (but not too eager to please) Basenji will help readers better mold and train their dogs. The extensive chapter on healthycare, written by the highly regarded veterinarian Dr. Lowell Ackerman, provides up-to-date detailed information on selecting a qualified veterinarian, vaccinations, parasites, infectious diseases, and more. The chapteron showing and competing in trials will prove informative to the new owner who wants to get involved with his Basneji in the dog sport. Sidebars throughout the text offer helpful hints, covering topics as diverse as collars, behavior issues, toxic plants, first aid, crate training, carsickness, fussy eaters, and parasite control. Fully indexed.

Juliette Cunliffe has owned sight hounds for 30 years. She judges competitions around the world and is a Kennel Club Accredited Trainer of Judges. Shw is the author of many successful dog books and lives in Shropshire, England.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Cunliffe, Juliette

Leseproben

The Basenji is a very special dog, used in Africa as an all-around hunter and typifying neither a classic sighthound nor scenthound, as it hunts by both scent and sight. It appears to have developed from a diversity of canid types and indeed is probably most closely related to the pariah family. Over the years, the breed has also been described as both a terrier and as one of the spitz breeds, so to obtain a clearer picture of the Basenji we will peruse the pages of history.

Today’s Basenji is the descendant of a dog well known to the pharaohs of Egypt, for rock carvings dating back about 5,000 years tell us of the breed’s history in that land. There is no doubt that remarkably similar dogs were in Upper Egypt at one time, and probably also in Lower Egypt. The Khufu dogs are the first domestic dogs to have been known in ancient Egypt, found on tombs in the period of King Khufu (also known as Cheops), who reigned from 2,638 until 2,613 BC. Although they have been described as being of spitz type, they are more likely to have resembled the dingo/pariah type, but certainly show strong Basenji characteristics. It is evident that some, at least, were kept as house dogs, for they were shown on the chairs of their masters and were named “thesam,” which means “hound” or “ordinary dog.”

A painted wooden statue from the early Ptolemaic period, circa 300 BC, of the jackal-headed Anubis, god of death.

There were even accounts of individual dogs, so we know that they were well thought of by both the pharaohs themselves and by court officials. There is a remarkable account of a Basenji-type dog by the name of Abuwtiyuw, who was buried in fine linen. The following inscription was found on an ancient Egyptian tomb of about 2,650 BC and is well deserving of quotation to set the scene:

“The dog which was the guard of His Majesty,

Abuwtiyuw is his name.

His Majesty ordered that he be buried ceremonially,

That he be given a coffin from the Royal treasury,

Fine linen in great quantity, and incense.

His Majesty also gave perfumed ointment, and ordered that a tomb

Be built for him by gangs of masons.

His Majesty did this for him in order that the dog

Might be honored before the great god, Anubis.”

It is likely that many dogs similar to the Basenji we know today were entombed with great honors, especially those belonging to the royal household. It should, however, be recognized that Egyptian dogs more akin to the Greyhound were also honored in this way.

With the fall of the Egyptian pharaohs and as trading routes opened up, various tribes throughout the Congo adopted the dogs that had been so favored in Egypt. Merchants must have traveled with their dogs, and so the breed spread farther into Africa. In Central Africa, the Basenji was reputed to be very attached to its masters, and the affection was reciprocated. They were put to several different kinds of tasks; in particular, hunting and destroying the long-toothed reed rat that was a great threat to the natives’ homesteads and to their livestock. The Basenji also was used by native hunters as a beater of game and for hunting antelope. As a sporting dog, the Basenji is both fast and agile, and a remarkably good jumper. In Africa, it can jump sufficiently high to see over the tall elephant grass, for which reason it is sometimes known as the M’bwa m’kubwa M’mwa mamwitu, which can be roughly translated as “jumping-up-and-down-dog.”

When working as a beating dog, a so-called “king” dog was selected to lead the beaters. As the Basenji did not use its voice, around its neck was tied a dried gourd, filled with pebbles, which would make noise.

In Central Africa, the Basenji found itself with many close relatives, among which were the Niam Niam and the Manbouton. It also found itself with a variety of names—Belgian Congo Dog, Congo Bush Dog, Congo Hunting Terrier, Lagos Bush Dog and Congo Terrier were all commonly used for this breed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CONGO TERRIER

Writing in 1906, Robert Leighton gave a description of the Congo Terrier and incorporated a picture of “Bosc,” who was kept in the Zoological Gardens in Paris. He wrote of the Congo Terrier as being one of the most authentic of African breeds, a symmetrical, lightly built dog. Though he described a rather long head, large upstanding ears and intelligent, dark eyes, the size varied enormously, from 12 to 24 inches tall. This is a much wider range in height than in today’s Basenji; thus, the early dogs were seen both much shorter and much taller than the modern breed. Teeth were well developed “but mostly overshot,” though, of course, by this Leighton may have meant a scissor bite. The short tail was usually curved over the back and was somewhat bushy.

CANIS LUPUS

“Grandma, what big teeth you have!” The gray wolf, a familiar figure in fairy tales and legends, has had its reputation tarnished and its population pummeled over the centuries. Yet it is the descendants of this much-feared creature to which we open our homes and hearts. Our beloved dog, Canis domesticus, derives directly from the gray wolf, a highly social canine that lives in elaborately structured packs. In the wild, the gray wolf can range from 60 to 175 pounds, standing between 25 and 40 inches in height.

Sitting in the celebrated Anubis fashion, the Basenji is a thoroughbred aristocrat with a long and proud history.

Interestingly, the writer comments on a ridge of longer hair along the spine, even though the rest of the coat was short. This surely leads one to make some connection with the Rhodesian Ridgeback, also an African breed. The color was red or mouse-gray, with large white patches. Leighton comments further that Sir Harry Johnston had noticed that “these dogs were much used for terrier work in the territory north of the Zambesi. In a degenerate state they become pariah dogs, and as such may often be seen prowling about the Congo villages.”

A “BARKLESS” DOG?

Although the Basenji as a breed is unique, there have been rather far-fetched stories about the breed’s being absolutely mute and unable to bark. It is true enough that the Basenji is a quiet dog and normally does not bark, but with the exception of a terrier’s yap and a hound’s bay, it is, when excited, capable of all other canine sounds and has a few interesting sounds all his own. The Basenji is not alone in this, as some other Equatorial dogs utter their sounds in a gentle murmur that can increase to a chortle, which rather resembles a yodeling sound. The Basenji uses this sound to express pleasure. It is interesting to note that the wolf, too, is capable of barking, though it seldom does so.

YODELING IN THE CONGO

Known as “the barkless dog,” the Basenji is, in fact, capable of barking, but its vocal cords are not really shaped for barking. The reason the Basenji makes sounds different from those of other dogs is because the larynx is not located in the same place as it is in others. The result is a wide variety of delightful vocalizations, including yodels, chortles, mumbles and others that you just have to hear to understand!

PHOTO COPYRIGHT KÖNEMANN VERLAGSGESELLSCHAFT MBH, KÖLN/ A. JEMOLO.

In the burial vault of Pashedu, about 1,150 BC, Anubis jackals, on royal pedestals, are guarding access to the vault. Notice their resemblance to the Basenji.

A PRIZED POSSESSION

Among its many practical functions in Africa, the Basenji was used to hunt the reed rat, a vicious long-toothed animal weighing 12–20 pounds. The Basenji’s silent manner of working proved a great asset. Basenjis also have wonderful noses and can scent at a distance of 80 yards.

The value placed on Basenjis by African natives was high indeed, for they not only hunted antelope and a large species of reed rat but they also were capable of driving larger game. Their worth was more than 20 times the value of a spear.

THE BASENJI GOES TO BRITAIN

Two Basenjis, entered as Lagos Bush Dogs, were exhibited at the Crufts Dog Show in the 1890s. These dogs were red and white, with white on their necks, “rather dingo-headed, and decidedly breedy-looking,” and it was noted they could not bark properly. Sadly, both died of distemper shortly after the show.

In the 1920s, Lady Helen Nutting owned six Basenjis in the Sudan; these she kept in Khartoum before bringing them to England. Unfortunately, all of them died due to the effects of the distemper inoculation, something that was then only in an experimental stage. Despite this dreadful experience, she retained her interest in the breed for many years to come.

In the 1930s, Mrs. Olivia Burn, who lived near Canterbury, brought home her Basenjis from Central Africa, and took advice from the noted canine author Mr. A. Croxton Smith as to how best she could obtain publicity for them. He suggested that she show them at Crufts the following year, so they were exhibited at Islington’s Royal Agricultural Hall in 1937. Upon meeting the dogs, Croxton Smith thought the breed was well worth encouraging, for they were of a convenient size and yet looked sporting and intelligent.

Mrs. Burn had first seen the dogs when she was visiting her husband, who was holding an appointment in the Kwango district up the Kwillo River, a tributary of the Congo. Mrs. Burn was the breeder of the well-known Blean Wirehaired Fox Terriers,...