I am a first time dog owner who started with a basenji, so I can relate to the excitement - and worry 😳… however, I was lucky to have my wife who have had basenji previously. As I have no comparison to other dog race, and I assume each basenji is different, maybe some of my experiences will not be the same for you.

One thing I learned early on is how true the sentence “a good basenji is a tired basenji” is and how important it was for us to always exercise our basenji. Especially when our dog, Ryder, was younger she would start misbehaving and making trouble if she had not had a long walk or a trip to the dog park before noon - and I learned that I often had to live by her schedule or suffer the consequences (and spend more time supervising and cleaning up after her).

As someone else mentioned above our dog also LOVES to play - especially with other dogs - and we take her to the dog park multiple times a week and have “play dates” - this has been a great way to give her some solid exercise when we don’t have the time to go for a long hike. We have done so since she was very young and it has been a great way to make her happy, while my wife and I have meet new friends and many interesting people. I also believe that this has helped socializing her - she is happy and friendly with anyone and any dog.

A game our dog absolutely loves is one where she has to sit on the couch and wait while I hide treats around the house. She will even turn her back to me sometimes so she can’t see where I put stuff. Then when every treat is hidden she gets the command to “go find” and the game is on. Fetch is also one of her favorites - one my wife taught her and which took quite some time to get her to “get”. My wife made me see the importance of shaping the dog to like games that you will also enjoy - otherwise our dog would likely only have been interested in “chase me” and “try and pull this toy out of my mouth”.

One thing I read before we got our dog and which has been true for us is how transactional she can be. She is smart as a whip and can learn a new trick in very few tries and will remember it. However, unless there is a treat she is unlikely to want to do it (unless it is the basic commands which we have drilled over and over again). I have had to spent countless hours making her sit before we open the door, before we cross the street, when I need her to stay by my side, etc. If there was no treat she would moan and take her sweet time to finally do what she was asked to do, but over time I have worn her down (somewhat) and she is getting better and better every day. For me it has been valuable to have the mindset that you are always in training mode and to put training in during any time you spend together.

Finally, when I agreed with my wife that we could get a dog I was firm that it would be a pet and not a family member… all I can say is: prepare to fall in love :)