She is so bored. How do you keep them entertained?

[Sandy Hovis]

I take Thor out of the area I am going to hide treats. Hide them at first in site and pretty obvious. I have a a few in my hand, I do not give him the treat out of my hand, I tell him to “go find it”.....I only let him smell it. I guess the first few times I would stand in the general area (saying find it). Coached him a bit, he was young when we started. I use fuitables this is not a promotion, just saying what I use. I break them in half....so he doesn’t get overly full on treats. They come in a variety of flavors.... I have increased the amount of hiding place, and even had three different smells and more difficult hiding spots.... if you are an apartment dweller it’s a great indoor activity .....you build up slowly how many hiding spots for treats you want him to find. ....their sense of smell is uncanny... keeps um busy for a bit. The mental stimulation is tiring as well. I don’t do it every day, and you can also use, toys when the pup learns the names of their the toys.

[FernRN1]

@sandy-hovis Thank you, ordered some, will definitely try it!!

[tanza]

@fernrn1 - That is why I use Best Bully Sticks... and have for 30+yrs... these do not cause health issues

[eeeefarm]

@Sandy-Hovis , sounds like "nosework" which is a competitive sport, like agility. The dog has to search for specific scents and indicate when it finds them. You might want to check it out.

@FernRN1 One problem I see here is that rewarding attention seeking means you will see more of it. You want to be the one making the decisions about when and how you play, not the dog. There are many, many ways to engage with your dog. It's limited only by your imagination. You can teach her many things. If she is food motivated it is a big help, but if not you just need to identify what is rewarding for her, in this case probably your attention, so make her earn it. Don't give it away for free.

Basenjis like to be challenged by things. They like to figure them out. One thing I have done with my dogs is to teach them the names of various things, particularly their toys. Then if one hides those toys, one can ask for them by name and the dog can go and look for them. Yes, Basenjis can be taught to retrieve, but throwing something for them is not the way. Teach "pick it up" as a generic command, so that you can point to anything and the dog will get it. Once picking it up is on cue it is pretty easy to build the retrieve, starting with putting your hand under the object in the dog's mouth to receive it, then moving further away as they learn you want it brought to you.

I also taught my boy to bring the roller ball to me, and his reward would be to have it filled with treats. This was a more difficult thing for him, since he couldn't pick it up and had to figure out how to push it in the right direction.

I have a short video here that shows some of the things I did with my boy Perry. Not the best quality video, but it should give you an idea....

[tanza]

@FernRN1 - I mostly agree with eeeefarm.... but I would also suggest that you need to at times just ignore her when you have other things to do... tell her NO... go away... and don't give in to her, it does work if you are consistent... if she has other things to do/chew/play with or just sleep she will figure it out. If you continue to play into to her it will continue. My Basenjis were used to us being gone much of the day... and when it was the weekends they would just go and do what dogs do... sleep all day... or chase squirrels in the yard. I know that not everyone has a yard for their pups, but if so they find ways to entertain themselves... and most of the time after a 3 day weekend they would look at me and say "seriously, could you go away so we can just sleep?".... This idea of pushing her away and telling her no is really no different than human children... and when she does even for 30 minutes, reward her for good behavior... if she wants to be close to you that is fine but to push you to only pay attention to her, when you do it will encourage her to think that is the appropriate thing to do.... again, just my opinion

[Triggers Dad]

Trigger needs frequent stimulation and goes to doggie day care 2 - 3 days a week. He comes homes completely exhausted from playing all day and acts like a normal dog for a day or so after. During the shelter in place we have hit the trail for 3-4 mile hikes once or twice a week. For us, it’s finding the right amount of stimulation.

[DonC]

Yes Basenjis will not fetch. We had one that sort of did, she'd bring back a stuffed toy a few times, but that was about it. Maybe they'll chase a tennis ball for a bit, but not likely to bring it back. Someone told me the thought process was: "I'm not going to keep bringing this back if you keep losing it!!!" LOL

You seem to have gotten a Bobs-A-Lot for her. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B001JQLNB4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Sorry if that's not working. It's the only toy we've found that works, and it seems to work very well and very consistently. The problem of course is that you can't use it for very long since they'd eat themselves to death.

We've also found this toy seems to work. It emits something of a dying noise which seems to entertain. Perhaps because it seems like prey. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054C9B1I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 But these are games, and generally Basenjis like to hunt and chase prey. The best toy we ever had was a wind up little ball of fluff that moved very fast.. That really got them excited. However it was destroyed in no time and wasn't really safe. RIP.

My advice would be to second what others have said and get some weave poles and a jump, maybe even a tunnel, and do some agility training. It will tire her out, teach her how to work with you, and teach you how to shape her behavior.

[eeeefarm]

@donc said in She is so bored. How do you keep them entertained?:

Yes Basenjis will not fetch.

Beg to differ. They absolutely will if you teach them. The trick is to know how to engage them in this activity. Tip: don't just throw a ball or a stick. Educate them in what you would like them to do!

(did you see the link in my post above?)

[DonC]

@eeeefarm said in She is so bored. How do you keep them entertained?:

(did you see the link in my post above?)
Actually I have to admit I didn't realize there was a link. Usually it's a longer string and I thought you had just omitted it.

Love the video BTW. In my experience the move with the green ball is pretty common. Sort of a snazzy push more than a fetch! Did love how beautifully he moved on the jump. Nice.

[FernRN1]

@eeeefarm Thank you for the input!! She is food motivated for sure, loves treats. I did get one of the roller balls you fill with treats, and they have to roll it to get the treats out. She watched me roll it around so the treats would come out...it is still sitting there with treats in it, she is not interested. I did learn today she has buried some of her treats in the sand by the pool, thought about putting some in for her to "uncover" but I really do not want to teach her she gets rewarded for digging.

[FernRN1]

Thank you all so much. I have gotten some good ideas and great advice!!

[tanza]

@fernrn1 - Not sure I understand the "pool"...

[FernRN1]

@triggers-dad hadnt thought of the dog park, the man at the shelter said she was "indifferent" to other dogs., and when we go for our walk she will stop and look at them, but never makes a move to interact with them, a lot of times she hides behind my legs. I do have a friend who has 4 german shepards, but I dont know if I should "expose" her to all of that. She is a rescue dog and has been beaten, so she is skittish -- she will not let other people get near her.

[FernRN1]

@tanza I have an above ground pool ----- we set it up each year, ..... on a sand base in my yard.

[tanza]

Thanks and I get that.. but that does not replace interaction with a dog... so don't think that this would resolve the issues.... I still say you need to work on telling her no... when you do not want her to continue to pester you to pay attention to her... again my opinion

[tanza]

@fernrn1 said in She is so bored. How do you keep them entertained?:

@triggers-dad hadnt thought of the dog park, the man at the shelter said she was "indifferent" to other dogs., and when we go for our walk she will stop and look at them, but never makes a move to interact with them, a lot of times she hides behind my legs. I do have a friend who has 4 german shepards, but I dont know if I should "expose" her to all of that. She is a rescue dog and has been beaten, so she is skittish -- she will not let other people get near her.

I would be very careful with a dog park, that is not usually a solution to this type of problem... in fact I have never taken any of my Basenjis to a dog park. That could result in a dangerous situation... again in my opinion

[RugosaB]

I have to agree with the Doggy Day Care idea.
We had our first basenji, Sugar, for a year. She was a wonderful introduction to the breed, and she felt it was her job to keep me busy. I did when I could, until the kids got home but after a year we thought Sugar needed another. We got a male and though we added another dog, my job was cut in half!
Your girl is very bright and needs things to keep her busy. these types, if you don't give them something to do, they will?FIND something, and not always something you'd approve of.
Sugar was a fun loving dog, with a wonderful temperament, and taught me that having a basenji is like having a permanent 2 yr old child! She loved new things and loved walks because it was a way to discover new things.

[brindlebasenji]

My little Tess absolutely loves fetching. She will not fetch endlessly, but still loves it. She is 16, and winding down, but we have had fun.

She was trained most of the way through Open obedience with some Utility.
In true Basenji form, she would perform flawlessly during training, because it was fun, and then go open loop in the ring.
Too many interesting smells and sights.
I was accused of not having trained my dog by a one judge, who apologized the next day.
One judge was very impressed with Tess’s performance one day, only to ask if I had brought the same dog the second day (Tess stopped to dig a hole in the outdoor ring).

She loved fetching and jumping, but liked doing her own thing more than my thing. She is such an independent girl. But training was fun for her and kept her busy. It was a great for bonding.
I think Tess enjoyed the company of the other dogs in her training class and the fun of learning new things. She is a real show-off!

It was worthwhile, and I recommend it if you have the time and inclination.

Tess did very well in the Rally ring, she has her novice rally title and her advanced rally title.
She learned that the yellow star meant exit. And would gaily leave the ring. I had to keep up with her to avoid losing points.
Her performance was anything from “stunning,” judge’s words, not mine, to: “you’ve passed, please leave the ring,” spoken by an exasperated judge who was tired of watching me cajole Tess to down.

I gave up on obedience, she just didn’t want to behave in the ring. But, I’m not sorry we did the work. We had so much fun as a team.

So, I guess what I am saying is this, consider training you basenji.

My Naomi loved agility. She never left my side. She never even knew there was a fence around the big field we played agility in. She just wanted to run and jump!!!
She is gone, and I miss her so much. I am so glad we had those days together.

So, find something fun to do with your B, even if it is a series of behaviors that you make up and then find ways to make it fun for your B and for yourself.

It will be worth it.

[brindlebasenji]

I also want to add that training needs to be entirely positive. Your B won’t want to play if you push or demand. It has to be fun!

[elbrant]

The best thing I can offer is: variety.

I have a 3mile loop for our typical walk, but we don't always go the same way. And I mix it up. Today I couldn't take doodle out until after lunch and it was already in the high 80s... so we went to the woods instead. A treat indeed, we haven't been in quite a while. She had a blast. The bell on her harness scared off a turkey. A real live Turkey! Right in the middle of the woods in the city!!! (secretly glad she didn't see it, I would have been horrified if she caught it!)

Don't tell anyone, but we ran across some of her doggy pals at a little play park and we broke the rules and let them run together for a bit. They had so much fun, the four of them put their noses up together with tongues out kissing eachother. Sheer joy! (and shared doggy germs, ewww, LOL)

I guess what I'm trying to describe is a daily adventure as an occasional sustitute for the same walk, around the same block, over and over again, can go a long way to making life fun for your dog (and you).