Basenji Appearance


Basenji Characteristics

  • Apartment Living
  • Active Lifestyle
  • Watchdog Ability
  • Child Friendly
  • Dog Friendly
  • Cat Friendly
  • Shedding Level
  • Exercise Needs
  • Social Needs
  • Grooming needs
  • Stranger Friendly
  • Health Issues
  • Trainability
  • Adaptability
  • Basenji  Appearance

    Appearance of Basenji is unusual, mysterious and very beautiful. The dog of this breed is graceful, proud and aristocratic but at the same time well concentrated and watchful.

    Basenji is small, smooth-haired breed with beautiful almond-shaped eyes and small, pointed, erect ears and tail which is tightly bent into a ring. This graceful dog with an elegant neck is like a small gazelle. On the forehead, the basenji has wrinkles. Dogs of this breed have an athletic build and look threatening in spite of their small size.

    Origin: Central Africa

    FCI Classification: Group 5 Spitz and primitive types. Section 6 Primitive type. Without working trial.

    General Appearance of Basenji: dog of this breed is lightly built, finely boned and higher on legs compared with its length. He has wrinkled head, with pricked ears, proudly carried on a well arched neck. Deep brisket runs up into a definite waist and tail tightly curled. Basenji has an aristocratic and proud appearance. He is always poised, alert and intelligent.

    Important proportion: length from top of head to stop (the transition from forehead to nose) is  slightly more than from stop to nose.

    Body: is graceful, aristocratic.

    Head: small, highly placed. The skull is flat. Muzzle tapered from eyes to nose, it is shorter than the skull. Cheeks are not prominent. There are wrinkles on the forehead.

    Eyes: dark, almond-shaped, obliquely set. The edges of the eyelids are dark.

    Ears: erect, thin, small, slightly pointed. Wide apart, a bit tilted forward.

    Chest: Deep. Ribs are well sprung, oval.

    Nose: black.

    Teeth: strong jaws, scissor bite. The upper jaw closely overlapping the lower jaw.

    Neck: strong, long, well-set into shoulders with pronounced crested.

    Back: short, straight and strong. The loin is short. Groin is retracted. Tail is highly set, tightly curled over the back in the ring, tight to the rump of the double ring.

    Forequarters: straight, thin, set moderately widely. Shoulders are oblique, muscular. Elbows are adjacent to the chest, sent back. Forearm is long. The pasterns are long, straight and flexible.

    Hindquarters: strong, muscular. Shins are long. Hocks are not close together.

    Feet: small, narrow and compact. Paw pads are thick.

    Coat: short, smooth, thin, tight to the body.

    Height of Basenji: Male 43 cm (17 ins); Female 40 cm (16 ins).

    Weight of Basenji: Male 11 kg (24 lbs); Female 9 1/2 kg (21 lbs).

    Disqualifying Faults:

    • aggressive or timid dogs
    • dogs with physical of behavioral abnormalities

    N.B.: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum

    Colours of Basenji

    • Red with white markings
    • Black with white markings
    • Tricolor (black and red - tan)
    • Tiger

    They all have a white breast or collar, white feet, white tip of the nose and tail. White should not be the predominant color. White color should not be dominated.

    Up