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Can an abused Basenji ever be completely rehabilitated?

Behavioral Issues
  • Pat, I thought that was a Basenji Motto! LOL

  • When I got Ra & Shango last July, they were very nervous too, Shango, was scared of doors, loud sounds, I couldn't pet him…..So the first night, they just paced and cried. I just lite some lavendar candles and incense, layed on the floor with them and sang a lullaby, I know ....but it worked. I just had to transfer their little hurt brains to a calm, loving feeling......try it. I did this for three nights and after that no problems. Good Luck. Everyone Lavendar works on humans and B's and soft music.....

  • We adopted a 2 yr old red/white Basenji from BRAT last August. She also came from a puppy mill. when we first got her she was shy and nervous. We also have three house cats and a 1 yr old Basenji mix so it was quite an adjustment for little Bana. since August, we kept seeing a gradual improvement in all her behaviors. The past month she has really come out of her shell and is absolutely fantastic.

    We presently are considering another Basenji from BRAT and have had her in the house for 1 week…it has been challenging to say the least. Lucy is 4 yrs. old and was abused...mentally not physically. She is extremely over weight, the previous owner allowed her a self feeder...she blew up to 38 lbs, have been on a diet and is down to 38 now...needs to lose another 7 lbs or so until she looks like a Basenji.

    Lucy was very agressive with the other two, but they had their fights and things improved. Still have plenty of snarling by Lucy but no fighting. So stick with it, have patiance and continue to teach yours right and wrong. Basenji's are smart and will come around.

  • Thanks , I'm hopefull, he is a handfull, I can't keep a collar on him, he gets out at least once every 3 months, I can't tighten to much becasue he has a allergy and his hair rubs off. Our vet just has made a few extra rabies tags, sometime when it is not so wet I will find the two he has broken out of.

    Does anyone know of a collar that is basenji proof?

    Till Later Shango, Ra, & Belle's human:)

  • we have an escaper, and the only collar he cannot get off is one that is material and chain. it slips over his head and the leash clasps on the chain part. he cannot back out of it. we also use a reflective snap collar to put the tags on. when we walk him, he wears 2 collars, one with the tags and one with the leash. it works well. if you want pics. let me know and i will take a few and post them.

  • Crazybasenjimom, Have you considered not using a collar on him and maybe just have a harness, nice and snug, not too tight but snug enough so he can't get out of it?
    How are you feeling? I know you just had surgery right?
    Let's do a play date (I guess I am humanizing my dogs…) once the weather gets better, in the park..if you feel up to it..

  • There are collars that b's can't slip out of…they are greyhound type collars..*anyone seeing how narrow a GH head is, they see that this is the only thing to use on a basenji.
    I will try to find a site for them.
    the name escapes me right now, Pat or Lisa, do you know the collar I am speaking of??

  • I am not Pat nor Lisa, but i think you might be talking about Martingale collars, or lurcher collars..Otis has one.

  • Petra, yes, thank you honey…I had a hell day at work, and can't remember my own name.
    Those are the collars everyone should get for their b's...to keep them on a leash!

  • I would get one, but (only my opinion) they look so clunky to me. They look comfortable and I like the design of the fabric they use, but they're so big.

  • Not all martigales are big. I have several that are the same size as a regular buckle collar. For lure trials and race meets, I find it better to have the dogs on the wider martingales because loose leash walking goes completely out the door when the lure moves and I would rather spread out the force they are putting on their necks when they pull.

  • You can get them in thinner styles, the one Otis has from Lupine is not that wide..

    and they have a lifetime guarantee. If the dog chews it even if to pieces they will replace it..We have replaced Otis' once…

  • BIg is better with pulling b's…this makes the pressure on their necks less...the wider the band. Myself, I don't like "thin" collars for our breed.

  • I agree, I like the wider bands on their necks too.
    Otis' new collar is 2.5 inches in the front and narrows down to 1" at the buckle..so the tapered style, but if you want thinner, the option is out there..

  • AJ only pulls when he sees another dog. He might reconsider this, though. I let him play with a 1-yr-old Terrier earlier who kept humping him. AJ told him to stop a few times, but never nipped him. He looked so miserable! :o

    The owner wants to get him neutered, but says the vet wanted over $100 to do it. I told him take the dog to SPCA. It won't be as much.

  • @AJs:

    AJ only pulls when he sees another dog. He might reconsider this, though. I let him play with a 1-yr-old Terrier earlier who kept humping him. AJ told him to stop a few times, but never nipped him. He looked so miserable! :o

    The owner wants to get him neutered, but says the vet wanted over $100 to do it. I told him take the dog to SPCA. It won't be as much.

    And in California a neuter would be way more then that… and if using a SPCA clinic, hate to say it.. you usually will have more problems after then the going to a regular Vet that doesn't do them on a assembly line process

    As they say, you get what you pay for

  • @tanza:

    and if using a SPCA clinic, hate to say it.. you usually will have more problems after then the going to a regular Vet that doesn't do them on a assembly line process

    We live in an area with a very high stray concentration so we have neutered two males who we found, then found them new homes. (we take them in, put up flyers and take out classifieds looking for their owners, then if no one shows up, we neuter them and find them new homes.)

    The free neuter at animal care & control cost us over $200 to fix, but the $40 neuter at Anti Cruelty went very well. (Yes, we spent over $200 on a stray we had no intention of keeping. Yes, we are crazy. the second stray cost more than that even, because we had to save his life when we found him.)

    A regular vet runs $250-$300 for a neuter in our area.

    -Nicole

  • [QUOTE=AJs Human;100027
    The owner wants to get him neutered, but says the vet wanted over $100 to do it. I told him take the dog to SPCA. It won't be as much.

    OH, I ONLY WISH!! Up here in my area we pay anywhere from $350 to $500.:eek: It's ridiculous. I only wonder if they know they are not anestizing an elephant!:)

  • @nomrbddgs:

    OH, I ONLY WISH!! Up here in my area we pay anywhere from $350 to $500.:eek: It's ridiculous. I only wonder if they know they are not anestizing an elephant!:)

    I don't think it's that much for a human vasectomy! It's not like they have to dig around inside the animal's abdomen! I had my cat spayed for $17 and she hasn't had any problems at all. I took her to Lincoln County Spay/Neuter Clinic in Newport, OR.

  • When Ruby was spayed it was around $350 - 2yrs ago. One thing I heard when investigating low cost spay was that it often doesn't include the price of meds. I chose not to do low-cost because of anasthesia issues with sighthounds. I contacted a local breeder and they gave me a recommendation of a vet locally that was knowlegable (and had done surgery on basenjis) so I had Ru's spay done there. I also had heard of problems with low cost spay and pee leakage issues following. It was worth the cost for me for some peace of mind.

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    @sienna: I adopted a Basenji/Shepherd Mix about six months ago. She had been starved and beaten in her previus home. In the beginning the training went smoothly, she seemes to be happy to be in a home, and she seems to get along fairly well with other dogs. Recently however, she has been getting into aggressive standoffs and fights with other dogs. She and I were attacked by a dog a few weeks ago who was off of her leash (mine was leashed). After chasing another dog today, she was bitten by a pitbull. She is also very defensive around men. Not all, but some. She does not appear necessarily aggressive, but protective. For instance she will come between me and the male and her hair will stand on end and she'll bark. Im concerned that if I cannot get a handle on this she will hurt someone who doesn't know not to touch her or another dog. Or eually as bad she will be seriously injusred by another dog. I have lots of expereince dog training and I have never had this much trouble containing and controlling a dog's behavior. Any suggestions are helpful as I have run to the end of my training experience. It is normal for dogs to "honeymoon" (ie act very nice :) ) for anywhere from a few days to several months after you get them. How old is she, btw? As they adjust to their new home, you start seeing "the real dog." My first concern is that you have had her attacked by a loose dog, then chased another dog? How did she chase it? Truly, you need to limit this dog's access to strange dogs and their's to her. The more of these incidents you encounter, the harder to correct over time. For now, i would concentrate on the home issues. Men. Go to a place like a ball field or game where dogs are allowed on leash only. Take tons of treats. Take a friend and enlist them to having men come up to you. First, let them just TOSS a treat to her, no eye contact, no talk, and go on. Once she is looking at men approach relaxed or expecting treats, have them actually come up and give her the treat… in flat palm much like feeding a horse. :) Next step, have them talk to her while giving treat. Finally have them talk to YOU but give her a treat. What this does is simply rewire her brain response to MEN = need to protect to Men = treats. It may take you a couple of weeks, but its effective and can be done. Once you have that conquered, then think about the other issues. Dog aggression is not abnormal in this breed. Goes with the territory sometimes. Dogs are not children in fur clothing and they really do NOT have to socialize with other dogs outside the family. If she gets along with your own dogs, I'd simply keep other dogs away from her and her from them. And I would work on my own obedience training especially a 100 percent solid "leave it" or "look at me" as a way to diffuse her obsessing about another dog if she sees one.