Coat, Ears & Tail

AKC Hound Group · No. 92 in 2025

How to identify a Basenji

The Basenji is a small, light African hound, ranked No. 92 by the AKC in 2025. Look for fine wrinkles on the forehead, small erect ears and a tail curled tightly to one side. Every Basenji has white feet, chest and tail tip.

Photo of a Basenji
Photo: fugzu · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Field marks

These four marks are the ones the game gives you as clues. They paraphrase or briefly quote the AKC Basenji standard.

  1. Forehead wrinkles that are “fine and profuse” when the ears are erect
  2. Tail set high and “tightly curled” over to either side
  3. “Small, erect and slightly hooded” ears set well forward
  4. Chestnut red, black, tricolor or brindle, “all with white feet, chest and tail tip”; coat “short and fine”

Tell them apart

Basenji or Shiba Inu?

Check the markings and the forehead. A Basenji always has white feet, chest and tail tip, plus fine wrinkles on the forehead, and its tail curls tightly to one side. A Shiba Inu has cream urajiro on the cheeks, throat and belly, and a thicker, stiffer coat.

Basenji

Basenji

  1. Forehead wrinkles that are “fine and profuse” when the ears are erect
  2. Tail set high and “tightly curled” over to either side
  3. “Small, erect and slightly hooded” ears set well forward
  4. Chestnut red, black, tricolor or brindle, “all with white feet, chest and tail tip”; coat “short and fine”
Shiba Inu

Shiba Inu

  1. Small, triangular ears “firmly pricked” and tilted forward
  2. Thick tail “carried over the back in a sickle or curled position”
  3. Red, black and tan, or sesame, always with cream-to-white “urajiro” on the cheeks, throat, belly and inner legs
  4. Somewhat triangular, deep-set eyes; stiff, straight outer coat; males 14½ to 16½ inches

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