General Description

The African Barkless Dog is a well-defined breed created by nature many years ago. The Basenji has associated with man since long before the building of the pyramids. This fascinating hound is still used as a hunting dog by people in Africa to this day.

Basenjis are small, elegant-looking, short-haired dogs with erect ears, a tightly curled tail and a graceful neck. A basenji's forehead is wrinkled, especially when the animal is young or extremely old. Basenji eyes are typically almond-shaped, which gives the dog the appearance of squinting seriously.

Dogs typically weigh 24 pounds (11 kg) and stand 16 inches (40.6 cm) at the withers. They are typically a square breed, which means that they are as long as they are tall. The basenji is an athletic dog and is deceptively powerful for its size. They have a graceful, confident gait like a trotting horse, and skim the ground in a double-suspension gallop, with their characteristic curled tail straightened out for greater balance, when running flat-out at their top speed.

The Basenji is recognized in the following standard colorations: red, black, tricolor (black with tan in the traditional pattern), and brindle (black stripes on a background of red), all with white, by the FCI, KC, AKC, and UKC. There are additional variations, such as the "trindle", which is a tricolor with brindle points and rarely happens, and several other colorations exist in the Congo such as liver, shaded reds and sables, and "capped tricolors" (creeping tan).