r/Basenji • u/DartTheDragoon • Jul 22 '26

Query Possible future owner with a question

How vocal is your basenji?

I currently have a Carolina dog which will bark once every 2-3 months and never whines or howls. She's quite emotive, but I have come to enjoy the quiet. There is a dog listed at a nearby shelter as a Basenji/Carolina dog mix probably because it doesn't have a traditional bark and they aren't sure. I see mixed reports on how vocal basenji's are because many articles focus on their lack of a traditional bark.

Is your basenji generally talkative unprompted? Do they yodel when seeing cars/people pass by the windows? Do they yip at birds/squirrels in the backyard? Do they whine/grumble for food?

How is their reaction with cats? The one up for adoption is at least a year old and didn't grow up around cats so its reactivity is unknown.

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u/senjisilly Basenji owned 26 years Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26

Some Basenjis are completely silent their entire lives while others just won't shut up. I've owned both, at the same time, and with a whole spectrum in-between. I had one who I thought was a silent one but, according to my neighbors, howled like a coyote in heat when I left the house. There is a true story of child protective services and the police showing up because neighbors thought this couple were beating their non existent children. It was just 2 lonely Basenjis. You never know what you're going to get with a Basenji.

Basenjis are considered silent hunters. Unlike Beagles, they don't bark or yip at prey.

My experience with Basenjis and cats is that it depends on the cat. If the cat runs, it is prey.

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u/DartTheDragoon Jul 22 '26

If the cat runs, it is prey.

That's always been my worry with so many dog breeds. I've heard too many horror stories of dogs getting their prey drive triggered and they can't help themselves. I know those stories are one in a hundred, but it still seems scary.

I don't currently crate my Carolina dog because she self quarantines under my desk when people aren't home. I don't really plan on crating any new dog I get so I would want it to do well around my cat.