For those of you who battle with an aggressive Basenji, there is hope…...!
-I grew up in a dog home. I have assisted in training LOTS of dogs, and mother bred yorkshire terriers. My husband never owned a dog growing up. This was our first experience together. We chose a basenji because I was an experienced dog owner and he is a behavioral consultant.
My husband and I purchased a Basenji through a breeder in Florida. At the time of purchase she was 3 months old. Before the purchase I knew the dog had to be flown in to NY because I could not afford the drive down to pick her up. Upon picking her up at the airport, I learned that she was on a series of 3 Flights!! The breeder told me it was one straight flight - she also came covered in Fleas, larvae, & eggs, and had white paint blobs on her coat. So right away I knew I was dooped. I believe that the series of 3 flights tramautized my little one because even today at a year old she is terrified of loud noises, and sirens.
-There is always an adjustment period for a puppy however our Nia was showing ALOT of aggressiveness towards EVERYONE! It was so disturbing that we were very close to sending her back two weeks later when her behaviors were not changing. She would snarl, growl, and bite at anyone besides myself. So I knew she saw me as her alfa. HOWEVER, this is not OK! We saw two behavior consultants about her behaviors and neither could give us a solid answer. So we took the best of both worlds and adjusted the training to what the pup needed.
-One thing with aggressive dogs is they NEED to KNOW their LIMITS! Limits for basenji's I have learned is ENDLESS!! They see the world as their oyster.
The trainings were as followed:
-We used her intellegence as the stepping stone. We started by keeping her on a leash in the house AT ALL TIMES! We began teaching her basic commands such as look, sit, stay, come, paw, paws up, lay down, roll over, crawl, etc. We taught her one new trick a day, and made sure she got LOTS of exercise. I noticed when she hasn't gotten her fill of exercise during the day she was more prone to being aggressive. SO TIRE THEM OUT! When she proved she could listen in the house without me having to chase her is when I took the leash off in the house.
-House training her was easy as long as you are consistent. We brought her out every two hours and rewarded her directly after she went. Eventually she put two & two together. accidents can happen when they are excited (like any puppy)
-OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM was with her aggressive behaviors. To overcome this it took MAJOR consistency on our part. We socialized her by having random people come by the house. When they enter the home we had them completely IGNORE the dog! Basenji's like being the center of attention (but on their command) SO, what this created was the dogs WANT to be pet, or payed attention to. If you go to pet an aggressive dog when they dont want to be pet, your asking to be bit.
-For the most part that worked. *if She did go to bite, we used three techniques depending on the severity of the aggression. (ONE KEY POINT IS-You want to get rid of the bite, not the growl) the growl is the pre-curser to the bite. SO, if she was on the leash, you can easily teach her to walk away by guiding her into another room. OR who she growled out would take the leash (only if they are comfortable)! This shows the dog that whoever is holding the leash is in control! instead of the other way around.
If the person isn[t comfortable with that, the dog went in the cage for a time out. (The CAGE was our SAVING grace! - It tells the dog…. U need a time out!) The third technique we used was more aggresive on our part. *she still goes after my husband on occasion and this is how we have lessend the occurance. WE HOLD HER DOWN on the floor! It seems really cruel at first because she made all sorts of noises to make you think you could be hurting her BUT YOU ARE NOT! REmember they are manipulaters! We have made large strides with this technique. Everything with Nia is putting the world in an alfa system. This reminds her that she is alfa to NO ONE in the house! and it WORKS! Only when she is injured, ill, or extra tired will she growl now.
*WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS- USE THE CAGE!
-NOW we can have as many people at the house as we want. When she is getting over zealous, we give her time away in her cage. She has also learned that if you don't want to be pet, walk away, or go in your bed. And we respect that if she is in her bed, we do not pet her. I respect her space.
This way we are being PRO-active. Anticipating what could make her bite.
-As far as other dogs go- this was a VERY long training for us. And we are still continuing it today. At first we couldnt walk her without her being paranoid. She turned around a thousand times to watch people/dogs walk by. etc. This is when we got a choke collar. Or a chain link collar it is called. As cruel as it sounds, IT WORKS! What you try to encourage is her to either look at you by using the "look" command and rewarding her when she does. Or continue to walk away and let her do the pulling, do not pull on the leash.
EVENTUALLY after 9 months of training she has finally got it! YEY! (we ran into trouble for so long because this is the only dog I have EVER known to refuse a treat.... even her ultimate rewards!! She doesnt' eat anything when she is anxious!! So we had to be really creative! Now she can finally go for walks without worrying where that person or dog on the street is going.
-When it came to meeting other dogs face to face Nia was EXTREMELY aggressive. We bought a muzzle. This helped for the initial greeting. (and with the vet) We used the walk away technique from our other trainings. We would let her smell the other dog for 1 second, then walk her away. If that was successful without a growl, we would go back for a second greeting. However, to this day the technique that worked best is: When we want her to meet another dog (like a friends dog) we set up a "play date" we meet at a park (neutral ground no domination of property) and we simply take a walk together in the park. Eventually Nia became so curious that she started smelling the other dog cautiosly. After a couple of times walking together. That eventually became playful. We still use this technique with friends dogs. Now that I know she has learned self-confidence and maturity we have began bringing her to dog parks, and she LOVES it. She loves the freedom off of the leash. I keep close by just incase. But I know now she looks to me for that reassurance that she is doing well.
-She is still iffy with strangers (people and dogs) and I dont' think I can ever trust her 100%. (and I do not trust her at all around children) but we have made leaps and bounds to where she was originally.
-In my opinion the owner has to educate themselves and become SUPER responsible. You need to stay on top of them, do not let them roam the house alone until they are old enough to handle the responsibilty. They become bored VERY quickly and destroy anything that is underwear, strings, stuffing, etc. So try to keep them in line. Its like a teenager. THey will push their limits and THEY KNOW which of your buttons to push if you are not paying attention to them. It has been a long 9 months for us but I am so glad we decided to keep her. She has enriched our lives, and is now growing into a responsible, adult dog, with our guidance. It is how you train them! and learn to love their comedic personality! Please don't hesitate to conact me with any further questions!
