Behavioral Issues

I remember Caesar as a puppy would poop in the Petsmart every time we went until he was old enough to be fixed. Never pooped in the house. I thought it was because he was a little guy. When Cairo was a super pup and would go to petsmart, I took puppy pads with me. We would walk around in the store together. When I saw him start stressing, or sniffing, or whining, I would throw the pad down even if I looked like a crazy B mom. It worked every time!! I wouldnt fret too much until you are at an age that is beyond Abby being fixed. Some of that stuff is pure puppy…..

@jys1011: I feel your pain Pat..WILDER is the word!! Or maybe BANANAS…I'm like shoo dog shoo go away will ya!! :D :D Exactly!!!! I want to put up a not "stopping" sign!!!!

I suppose there is a point where you become immune to the growlies with basenjis….female or male...you can tell when they have that rabid scarey sound and that of course, is the sound not to be tolerated if you want to remain queen couch potato!! (self proclaimed title) LOL I say squirt the sucker with a water bottle and you will get that spot back lickedy split! There is nothing worse than trying to settle down on the couch after a long day of work and have a basenji being a weenie. Basenjis are so full of isms....

That is exactly what Crystal is doing with Kobey… while she has been thrilled to have him... he loves to steal what she has...

@Quercus: you mean the dog that lived there first, right? Or do you mean the dog that gets to you first? Yes, the dog that lived there first

Mine doesn't usually watch TV, but in one of the episodes of Planet Earth there was a segment on wild dogs that were hunting strategically in packs. He was so worked up, it was like it brought out the wild dog in him. He was literally running up the walls but his vision was dead locked on the tube. I think he wanted in on the action!

Me too Funny.

Even with all his nipping and jumping all that meet him love him, do u blame them?

yeah, it sounds like separation anxiety to me also. Tayda would leave unbelievable messes when i first got her. she actually once completely chewed up the pan in the bottom of the crate and there was a coat of diarreah covering a 2 foot radius of the crate (which included the WALL) after much research on separation anxiety, this is what i did: i started feeding her in the crate and putting here in there for some time when i was home also.. whenever she goes in her crate, she would get a treat. i would close the door, even if just for a second, and then let her out. when she got used to being in there when i was in front of her. i'd give her a treat, close the door, and walk away for a minute. come back, open door. i'd repeat this over and over and over and over…. it got better eventually. just have to teach them that the crate is a good place. i used to videotape her while i was gone. it really did get better and better. i used to leave a camera on the whole living room area (where the crate is) just to see what she did while i was away. it got to the point where she was totally trustworthy out of the crate when i wasn't home. and actually, even when i'd just leave her loose in the house, i'd come home and check the video... and she would spend most of her time - in the crate! she'd walk around, pick up toys, take them to the crate, sit down, play, chew, walk back to her toy box, pick up another toy, go back to the crate... etc etc. just be patient and keep at it! it WILL get better! But Poor Tayda... ever since I got Lenny, they're both crated together. He is totally untrustworthy in the house!!

My B seems to do it the most right in front of the bedroom. Maybe he wants to lay down with me on the bed..he loves being on the bed and naooing with us.

@Quercus: I thought I suggested that a few threads ago? That was the only thing that worked with Querk. I thought that was a joke about spraying it on ourselves but will try this weekend. Yeah our B is getting better since we stop playing with him when he nipps. Moving slowly but surely:D

Kate i have a 2 year old Vizsla ans a ! year old Basenji when i 1st got my B she was very in charge. But now they can not be apart! My male V is very understanding V in a whole are very easy going laid back dogs . My in laws and husban is from hungary and say that V will take a back seat to almost any other dog so i feel that you will not have a problem later on. Just like w/ other V's give him 100 kisses a day and they will be happy Shannon

haha thanks for the info. will definitely check out that book as well.

My husband thinks the baby gate for our B is silly so I don't think i can talk him into the $100 playpen plus our B is too active, it won't be able to stay in place. I can see it already collapsing.

LOL, typical Basenji… but try really yummy stuff like string cheese... or something like that....

i was really worried about taking my new basenji to the dog park this past weekend, because his last owner said he was bad with other dogs, but he had so much fun! i'm proud of him! he even got a girlfriend (and boyfriend!!) (this gorgeous rosey light fawn-greyish colored italian greyhound - absolutely beautiful!) and then this grey male i.g. started humping him, lol.. that's the boyfriend :p . so good job to your basenji! it's so nice to see them get along with others!

@Mantis: so how is it working? the LEAVE IT command is great. Start with not cat objects you dont want you puppy to play with, say leave it, get the attention and give a tiny treat… you can also encourage this type of response while playing fetch. when the puppy brings back the toy, hold the toy until the pup releases it, say GIVE not participating in any tugging or shaking behavior which encourages the prey drive. i find that a soothing voice and looking the puppy directly in the eye does the trick. they will look away or release the toy. if this is hard, use a tiny treat to encourage the GOOD GIVE after the fact. Leave it is similar. i used to chase caesar around when he wanted to chase the cats....lots of LEAVE ITs and treats, but the give works as well....caesar bled the two commands together.... give is good becuase it establishes your terms to the game and doesnt encourage that shaking behavior if you want to avoid it ( i avoid the behavior in case we have small kids in the house that pull toys from the dogs) leave it is good to establish your own terms.... Great post, Mantis. I totally agree, and great explanation of the training steps!

@nomrbddgs: Did she dig out the bottom of the drawer or try to sleep in it?? I think it was simply her weight that popped the bottom out of the drawer. I was on the phone in another room when it happened, only gone 15 minutes mind you. I finished my call and went to check on Cory and that is exactly what I saw. I first screeched "ACK" but then started laughing and grabbed my camera. She was so proud of herself lol. I put the drawer back together with some duct tape and then marinated the outside with Bitter Apple. So far so good. ;)

Our dogs sleep downstairs so it never crossed my mind that Giz was still asleep when he occasionally wakes us up. It is the most unearthly howl I have ever heard. We watched Ghost Hunters last night and between that and the midnight RRRRROOOOOOOO my son was a little creeped out. :D. Ok, maybe I was too. It's just erie to wake up to that noise.

@elena86: Senji is 11 years old and was "fixed" at 6 months. He never really humped anyone, but first thing in the morning after he wakes up, he has his morning "boner". He just kind of air humps for a few seconds and then licks the exposed part of his penis. Squiggy does this too, I have never heard of it. He doesnt "expose" him self, but he does look around with a look that says "huh? what is going on?" or it could be "darn it, who woke me up?" he doesnt do it all the time, but when he does it is so funny. Air humping :p