Basenji

The basenji is among the most primitive of breeds, discovered on the African Congo with Pygmy hunters. Early explorers called the dogs after the tribes that owned them or the area in which they were found, such as Zande dogs or Congo terriers. The native tribes used the dogs (which often wore large bells around their necks) as pack hunters, driving game into nets. Early attempts to bring basenjis to England in the late 1800s and early 1900s were unsuccessful because the dogs all succumbed to distemper. In the 1930s, a few dogs were successfully brought back to England and became the foundation (along with subsequent imports from the Congo and Sudan) of the breed outside of Africa. The name basenji, or "bush thing," was chosen. The early imports attracted much attention, and soon after the basenji was brought to America. The breed's popularity as both a pet and show dog grew modestly but steadily. In the 1950s, a surge of popularity occurred as a result of a book and movie featuring a basenji. The 1980s saw two important but controversial events for the basenji in America. First, several basenjis were brought from Africa in an attempt to widen the gene pool and combat some widespread hereditary health problems; some of these dogs introduced the previously unrecognized brindle color into the breed. Second, the basenji was recognized by the American Sighthound Field Association as a sighthound and was allowed to compete in lure-coursing trials. Its body structure and hunting style had previously been deemed too unsighthound-like. The basenji has always been hard to categorize. It retains several primitive characteristics, most notably its lack of barking ability and its yearly, rather than twice yearly, estrus cycle.