Basenji loyalty

[Gabriel]

For those of you who have had basenji's for a while, I've got a question. I am a newly parent to a little b girl. She loves me and never bites/chews on me but she attacks my kids. (4 & 6). I can't even keep her in the same room as my kids because just jumps on them, bites at them and scratches them and now they are afraid of her.

Do B's normally choose one family member to be loyal to?

Thanks,
Julie

[agilebasenji]

I would guess that at some point she learned (or is learning) to play rougher with kids than with adults. Kids also do things that trigger prey drive.

[MacPack]

Is she playing rough, pawing and mouthing, or seriously biting them (not in fun)?
How old is your basenji? If she is a puppy, she is treating them like littermates and that can get rough. I wonder about spraying bitter apple on your kids?
If she is an older dog, she needs some structure, and long walks to get her tired out and use some of that energy. Then have your kids give her small treats, so she equates them with good things. There are whole chapters written on getting a dog used to kids, and 4 & 6 tend to active, running about and doing things that trigger 'prey drive'.
Basenjis tend to favor some family members but not usually exclusively, like some breeds.

[sharronhurlbut]

Has she had any training with a gentle basic obedience class?
I think you will find it helps everyone in the family.

[tanza]

That is what I would guess to… the kids are a trigger to her "prey" drive and how she would react to her littermates. And I have found the same... they are not usually "exclusive" to one family member or the other.... The children need to learn to be still and quiet around her... Also remember that in a family situation... she will be trying for her spot in the "food chain"... meaning that she would like to not be at the bottom of the dominance ladder... and she thinks she needs to be above the kids. You might be well advised at this point to call a behaviorist...

Have you talked to her breeder? Was she socialized with children before you got her?

[Quercus]

@MacPack:

Is she playing rough, pawing and mouthing, or seriously biting them (not in fun)?
How old is your basenji? If she is a puppy, she is treating them like littermates and that can get rough. I wonder about spraying bitter apple on your kids?
If she is an older dog, she needs some structure, and long walks to get her tired out and use some of that energy. Then have your kids give her small treats, so she equates them with good things. There are whole chapters written on getting a dog used to kids, and 4 & 6 tend to active, running about and doing things that trigger 'prey drive'.
Basenjis tend to favor some family members but not usually exclusively, like some breeds.

Yeah…definitely...ours favor whoever is still eating

Seriously, the OP needs to determine if the puppy is acting in aggression (probably not) or play (probably). It can be really hard to monitor that age with the puppy, but it has to be done. The kids run and squeal and pester, and the dog thinks that is *awesome! Both kids and dogs need to have firm rules about what is allowed with their interactions. I tell my five year old, no running (unless you want the puppy to jump on you), gentle touches only, and the puppy tries to mouth your hands, you stand up with hands straight up, and walk away. As long as I am there to redirect the puppy, this works pretty well.

Kids generally don't have the social standing in the family from the dogs eyes for the dog to bother listening to the kids...just as MacPac said, they are siblings, not authority figures. The adults have to be there to control the situation until the pup grows up enough to understand the rules.

A positive reinforcement puppy class that welcomes families would be ideal. Good luck, let us know how it goes!

[Gabriel]

Noel, my B, is 14 weeks old, so yes she is a puppy and she is ver hyper. She has been crated most of all the day. My husband is home for 3 hours during the day so she is crated, between 1-5 p.m. so when we get home we let her out to potty and then she comes in and runs like crazy. (understandably) She has never acted "aggressive" with the kids, it is just playing. We will defintiely get her into obedience class and I will work with her and the kids more.

Thanks for all who responded. It really helps.

[tanza]

@Gabriel:

Noel, my B, is 14 weeks old, so yes she is a puppy and she is ver hyper. She has been crated most of all the day. My husband is home for 3 hours during the day so she is crated, between 1-5 p.m. so when we get home we let her out to potty and then she comes in and runs like crazy. (understandably) She has never acted "aggressive" with the kids, it is just playing. We will defintiely get her into obedience class and I will work with her and the kids more.

Thanks for all who responded. It really helps.

Have you talked to her breeder?… I would still want to know if she was socialized with children?

[Thylacine]

Same issue.. Our three month old male dotes on me, his poppa and loves my wife and six year old daughter, but gets extremely aggressive with them. We got a boy because we read that he would bond better with the girls.

We had baby back ribs and I gave him a bowl full of rib bones (took them away after the meat was gone) He growled at the girls when they got near the bowl. I gathered them up with out a peep from him.

These are nearly wild dogs, never forget that.

[SNA]

My Basenji Jessie (now about 8 months old) is rough with the kids (now 2 and nearly 5). She has gotten a lot better as she's gotten older, but she still gets stuck into them sometimes. I ended up using a water gun outside when she went into 'hunting mode', not much, but it seemed to help, I haven't needed it in ages. I wanted her to stop doing it of her own free will, not for her rough behaviour to be suppressed just when I happened to be around with the water pistol. My son (the older child) also started biting her back (to my exasperation!) which also seemed to help! I wouldn't recommend that of course. I got to know by her body language when she was in one of 'those moods' and would watch her more carefully. I tried to teach my kids how to treat her, to get up off the floor if she was attacking them etcetera, which helped, my son definitely developed an assertive behaviour around her most of the time (from being scared of her at times at the beginning). I think she's just getten better as she's matured. It's definitely play, the kids do the most awful things to her sometimes and she just takes it mostly. It's been difficult because my son has been so difficult to train as well, and my daughter is a bit too young to consistently treat her the right way though. But we're getting there. I can see that as she matures she is going to be a great dog. But it's been a long puppyhood that's for sure! I'm reading The other end of the leash, and Control unleashed and When Pigs Fly at the moment and I think all their comments about behavioural training are useful, especially when you have a more 'dominant' dog. I'm still getting through them.
Anyway, good luck with it!
Sheree

[Thylacine]

I have those two books, they are very usefull-unfortunately the girls don't read them. Our daughter will stand there crying while Pharaoh bits her feet having a great time. In the mean time I am screaming at her to yell ouch and put him outside. She dwells on the unfairness of it.
Really, he is a very good puppy-even for a regular dog.