Basenji Training

LOL! PSD…I have to remember that one!

This weekend is the NLCC in Cat spring, next weekend is in Decatur but its a terrrible field. My dogs got totally shreded there on the cut cotton plants growing there so we won't be back. They usually have events in Dec at Cat springs and Waller, but were overcome by othere events this yr so the clubs all combined events at the beginning of the month instead. There will be coursing at Hutto the first and last weekend in March. McKinney has an event scheduled for Jan that we will attend with our 4 if the weather is good enought to make the 8 hour drive. We will mostly be doing events in north TX this yr vs going to the Houston area. Just too expensive to drive 12 hours each way when there are enough events closer to home. 90% of the events are AKC now, the clubs have stopped doing ASFA for the most part as entries were so low.

Agree 100% eeeefarm, that this would apply as well to dogs, especially rule #3.

Ah well, such is life – volunteers are volunteers.

None of my Basenjis have shown herding instinct, but to be fair they haven't had a lot of opportunity. Perry is interested in the horses and loves to greet them (and steal their carrots, if he can!), but they are a little big for a small dog. They were even a challenge to my Border Collie, but when all else failed he would get them moving by a nip at their noses. He was well aware the back end was dangerous! I have a picture in my mind (didn't have the camera with me) of him flying through the air snapping at my gelding's nose when the horse had been ignoring him….. On the subject of temperament, and my recollection that my earlier dogs were if anything better than today's........I had lunch with my niece today and asked her if she had the same memory as I did of my earlier Basenjis. She remembers a very tolerant Lady, who put up with a great deal from her and her sister when they were young. This was back in the seventies. There was never any worry that Lady would bite a child. When the kids were young she put up with everything, including physical abuse, without a murmur. (I once caught the two sisters fighting over the dog, each pulling on the opposite end, literally trying to pull her apart!) When they were older and they got out of line, she would warn them, but it never went further than that. Never a problem with adult guests either, although she would help herself to their beverages if they weren't looking. :)

Oakley will pee in the middle of the road or anywhere really but pooping is a whole different story…walking is the only way and he seems to do it in the same spots on our walks.. If the wind so much as sways it will deter him... In the cold he just flat out refuses to go! It is a basenji thing

@wizard: Now stay-forever is a much harder command to teach IMHO, even with the clicker. As soon as I started to wander away my dog would bolt and it took agility classes to finally get Gossy to stay as I walked away. Maybe because she knew she would have fun shortly if she stayed. I think it makes it easier if there is an obvious high value reward coming at the end of the exercise. Not food, necessarily. "Do what I want, then you will get to do what you want" is a great incentive! "Forever" can be a hard one, however, and I don't think many dogs in practice are going to achieve this. I came closest with my Border Collie, who performed a (completely accidental on my part) two hour stay. Somehow I just can't see a Basenji doing that!!:)

All my beasties have had strong prey drive (not too far down the line from African heritage) and it has taken a lot of work to partially control this. If you can find a special treat (takes trial and error but piece of steak maybe) that the dog gets ONLY when responding to "come", whistle, or whatever you use for recall, and work that relentlessly and regularly, then you can develop the "whiplash turn" (as described in "Control Unleashed"). BUT this takes a lot of consistent work and finding the right treat isn't easy. My 2nd male would instantly turn away from a squirrel when I used the whistle (even when on a dead run after a creature) but I have yet to find the right treat for my current female who sometimes will respond nicely. I'm still working on her.

i walk the lab and isis at the same time one on hand and one on the other, the lab seem to have a major drive to sniff out anything and track blindly and of course isis will be doing the same, the b is easier to control cause she lighter but the m1 tank of the lab well.. we've came across little furry friends on our nitely walks i need to stay very focus on my surroundings, one thing the b does if theres someone walking behind us doesnt matter how far , she walk ahead stop and turn to look back, she'll keep doing this repeatedly like she warning me these something there,im sure its instinct on her end to,of course i confirm whats shes doing but yeah those b's dont miss a trick

@curlytails: Basilboy, I just saw this post recently and thought of your post. "Dog Park Etiquette: Dos and Don'ts from a Trainer" http://dogblog.dogster.com/2011/10/04/dog-park-etiquette-dos-and-donts-from-a-trainer/ (I'm having a weird issue where all links to that blog keep redirecting to one specific post, not the one that I intended to link, so you might have to go to the main page? Anyway, sorry for any confusion) I personally prefer dog parks where I can keep moving, where there are lots of trails and plenty of things for my dogs to sniff and see aside from just interacting with dogs – because not every dog enjoys playing with every other dog! I feel like they learn to keep a closer eye on you (and you on them) if you're a moving target and not grounded to one spot all the time. So I don't really like small, completely fence-enclosed dog parks myself, but I do need adequate physical barriers (large bodies of water, partial fencing, etc.) combined with high visibility in order to feel secure letting my dogs off leash. Thank you for the article, a great read for before going to the dog park. Though I think we will wait until our puppy classes are over and I'm more confident in his behavior.

If you really want to be sure your dog responds appropriately to invisible fence, it is essential to "proof" it properly. After you have thoroughly conditioned the animal to the fence, you need to use very high value distractions or lures while you are present (but not visible) to observe behavior. It's the only way to be reasonably sure your dog will not bolt through the fence, and then you still have the problem of other dogs or people possibly trespassing and causing a problem, since there is nothing to keep them out. In the country, invisible fence can work well, although there is still the chance that the dog will learn to run through it. My friend uses it at her farm, and one of her three dogs (not Basenjis) will go through the fence if the temptation is strong enough.

Congratulations!!!!

@DebraDownSouth: Okay that is pretty funny! Glad the judge passed her. Hey, perhaps the judge appreciated the intelligence to go check something out then resume business? Thanks everyone. She had really lovely runs all weekend (except Sunday's Std run) and I'm so very, very proud of her. She went through a fear(?) period on courses towards the beginning of the year, so she's come a long way. And, DDS, no, agility judges do not appreciate creativity on course. If you don't believe me, ask Jet the trying. :D Of course I always thought maybe the judge watching Jet would think "Gosh, that really is a nicer course."

Ah - great idea Renaultf1! We went and picked up a big piece of linoleum yesterday so I'll cut it tonight and set up our new enclosure! Thanks!

Go online to see more ways of keeping her occupado….http://k9domain.org/problems.aspxYou should definiately put things up and out of harms way, even if you are home…it only takes a few seconds-I Know!!!! here is an excerpt from Whole Dog Journal that only allows copying if it is for informative purposes:Destructive Chewing- Simple Ways to Prevent and Cure Destructive Chewing One of the basic tenets of positive dog training is that it's much easier to teach the dog what to do rather than what not to do. If you program your dog's chew preferences early in life by consistently directing his attention - and teeth - to appropriate objects and preventing his access to inappropriate ones, you won't have to constantly tell him he's chewing on the wrong things. Interactive toys can help here too. A stuffed Kong suspended just out of your dog's reach can keep him occupied and work off excess energy as he jumps and grabs at the tempting prize. Instead of giving him his bowl of food in the morning, fill the Buster Cube with his kibbles and make him work for his meal by pushing cube around to make the food fall out. He won't have the time, energy, or desire to shred your grandmother's antique afghan if he's out "hunting" for his breakfast! Hope this all will give you something to go on…..

@Shaye's: Good for Kwame and you, too! Love his collar, great picture. thank you, his collar is vintage blue leather with a silver running hare surrounded by crystals, i don't normaly do bling but couldn't resist this

@Shaye's: We took our B to PetSmart and the basic puppy training they give you is very good - for anything advanced you would have to go to more classes, but they do continue on for a couple more. The important thing is to follow up and be consistent. And the most important part of training is the bond between you and the pup. We have had some difficulties with ours because we are not always consistent, and my DH and I disagree on training. Be sure everyone in your home is on the same page. Petsmart training can be hit-or-miss, so like everything else, go watch a class and make sure the class you are signing up with is the trainer you watched. Some trainers are better than others.

Hey, excellent! I just checked to see if it was up a few days ago and it wasn't, so this is breaking news. I hope everyone enjoys and learns from it. It's geared for people who have never done agility before, so do feel like it will be over you head or too indepth.

When I lived a bit further north, my 2nd Basenji and I used to go cross country skiing. My current boy wouldn't last ten minutes in the cold that girl could handle! When we came back home she would head straight for the wood stove. When I damped it down for the night, she would practically crawl underneath it! Of course, at bedtime she was cuddled up in our bed with us. :) I have never used a litter box, but there have been times when I wished I had trained for that. Boots do the trick when the weather is extreme.