IMO it is a myth that Basenjis cannot have good manners on a walk. Yes, great if you can do off leash, but when circumstances dictate that a leash is necessary then walking calmly without a lot of drama and pulling should be achievable. Personally I do not like long lines or flex leashes. Or allowing dogs to eat whatever they find on the ground, which can in some cases earn you a trip to the vet or worse. Like most dogs, Basenjis are not overly discriminant about what they will ingest. A short leash and being observant can protect them from unwelcome outcomes. Mental exercise will also go a long way with any dog. But one should have a definite opinion about who is running the show, and it should not be the dog....they are quite willing to take up the position should you abdicate.
Wet grass/rain issue
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Can you put up one of those 'Easy Up' tents or some sort of umbrella so the grass or a patch of sand is there for the elimination on those kind of days. Uzie's previous owner told me that Uzie would not eliminate outside when the weather was foul (Tenn). The first time it rained here in Fl after his arrival, I luckily had a canopy erected. I promptly wrapped him in a 'blankey', carried him out about the 30yards to the canopy, and put him down on the dry sandy area. Success even while it was raining. I opened the gate and he 'ran' back on his own to the house. Now, with the company of my other two, he will actually go outside and do his business during a 'sprinkle'. It gets cold here in the winter (Florida standards….!) No snow, but we do get freezes...another obstacle i am sure.....
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I get a rain poncho on and walk mine..one at a time until they go. I end up soaked, but I know that they've gone. I've tried to "match" Zuni once and it didn't work on her!
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My boy has held it for 16 hours(#1)-(#2-48 hours) and we have had to carry him down the stairs when it rains. He HATES to get his feet wet. I will now take him under a tree in our yard and he will eventually go. My female now does the same thing-under a tree and right back in to be dried.
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Sadly, this is why I look forward to Winter.
Kananga is extremely fussy outside during the warmer months, whether its moisture on the ground or in the air, he is extremely difficult sometimes.
In the Winter, however, he knows to go and go fast. He's experienced temps as low as -20 to -30 F (without windchill), and knows we only stay outside for a very brief moment and then we're back inside. Somehow he has learned that cold/snow = go fast.
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Snow means we shovel a bare spot in the yard or they wont go! I guess they would eventually but the whining and standing and staring in the snow isnt worth it. So, we dig a trench and a spot with grass.
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Oh I can't wait until the next rain fall and then winter time! Thanks guys, the walking helped so I'll try that for now and I'll try to find some all weather booties
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The method I've always used with Tucker is that the more he fusses and tries to go back towards the house, the futher I walk him away. It only took a few times for him to grasp this concept. Now I take him to his spot, and if he doesn't go, I move on a 50 feet or so further from the house and he gives up and goes. Typically, he'll just go like normal. Every now and again he'll need a refresher…
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This has been a bone of contention with me and my girl every since she arrived. Luckily this summer it hasn't rained much and thankfully not in the morning when I'm leaving for work!
I've tried the "take em for a walk" - but she balks as soon as I open the door and refuses to even go outside and if I try to "drag" her, forget it, she will try to chew through the leash! I've locked the door and stood outside and wasted my time with her - she will just wait until it hurts. The match trick works to get her to poop but what to do for peeing? Lately I've taken to getting her to run around the house or something else active and then shooing her out when it looks like she can't hold any longer (which doesn't mean she'll go right away but generally she'll go).
This for me is the only really truly consistently frustrating thing about basenjis. -
I have tried staying outside, matchsticking, you name it. I am going to put a cover on the wraparound part of fence, shipping pallet with shavings or straw and give her a dry place. It's that or kill her.
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Mine will run down the garden through the pouring rain and into the wood shed rather than pee quickly and come indoors! They end up absolutely soaked but very happy that they've managed to find somewhere under cover.
Basenjis!!!!
