Yodel? When?

[kiroja]

My dogs usually start to yodel when they're about 4 weeks old. lol But I have seen some dogs that just NEVER yodel, some that do occasionally when the circumstances really warrant, and some that do for any and every little thing. Also the non-yodeling thing seems to be somewhat inherited from relatives.

Sometimes they take a while too before they feel like shouting out loud when they greet you. Don't give up hope yet! It also helps when there is another dog with them doing it…monkey see, monkey do!

[Forever Amber]

I'm just soo impatient I guess. We already would like another Basenji lol even hubby asked about it. But I think I should wait till zoe is older and we get our fence in. If Brat approves us I know our next B will be a rescue.

[Quercus]

Half of ours yodel…half don't If she seems like she is close to bursting out in song, you can encourage it by egging her on "come on girl, I know you can do it" and get really animated and excited. Don't pet her until she makes a little noise.

They are really very individualistic about it. Our older male never yodels. Our oldest female VERY rarely does...like once every six years, or so. And the male's daughter also never yodels...they are all closely related. When Ivy, the oldest female, occasionally does yodel it is a really gravelly, croaky sound...and it seems like she REALLY had to work at it.

The others are also closely related, but not to the first group...they yodel...A LOT. Blondie is the oldest one in that group, and she will yodel on request. Bella, and her son Hippo, yodel when they are really excited, or just plain happy, also towards other dogs..but not so much when they are excited to see us. Their baroo sounds like a rooster.

But I agree with Kelli...usually a frequent yodeler starts as a tiny baby.

[JazzysMom]

Jazz is four YEARS old and we are still waiting. All we ever get is a low happy growl when we return home after a few hours away, but even that is infrequent.

Keoki yodels on rare occasion, usually if we're not fast enough with the food bowl or toy. Sometimes he'll yodel at Jazz when she's ignoring his invitations to play.

Overall, they're both pretty quiet. We treasure the noises we get – except for Jazz's very frequent Tasmanian Devil bitching at Keoki, LOL.

[bcraig]

Our Ella is going on 11 months and she has never yodeled. Actually, one time when she was unhappy in her crate I caught her making a yodel from outside our front door. We have tried to encourage her by yodeling ourselves and by playing her videos on youtube. We only get the occasional low grrrr when we come home. So we are accepting the fact that she is not a yodeler. But we are really appreciating our mostly silent barkless dog. So peaceful.

[AndrewnShango]

My Shango has only ever yodeled two times. It just depends on the dog!

[wizard]

I have never had one that yodels

[tanza]

Some Yodel, some never do….. and usually if they are going to... they start at 4 to 5 wks.....

[renaultf1]

My 15.5 wk old b puppy has now been yodeling every day for the last week…so I think she finally broke the seal :D:D. I had only seen her do it once before and it was at puppy play group about 3 weeks ago and she wanted a specific pup to play with her. Now she yodels when I come home, when she is about to be fed (my 2 adults yodel on command for their supper - so she is following their lead), or when she wants Brando to play with her.

So, Amber, don't give up...just lots of happy encouragement like others have said to get her excited...she sounds like she is getting ready. Maybe play a few YouTube videos to her of basenjis singing...that was how I got my boy, Brando to sing.

Oh, and Eldorado had a litter last year that started yodeling as soon as their eyes were open...they had a pic up on their site last year of it and it was too cute. That litter was appropriately named the Jazz litter.

[Kananga]

@JazzysMom:

Jazz is four YEARS old and we are still waiting. All we ever get is a low happy growl when we return home after a few hours away, but even that is infrequent.

That's all I get, and it's only with strangers. Never with me…

My B does roo a lot though. When he's in the car they are longer roo's. But usually they are very quick roos after a yawn.

[Shaye's Mom]

Shaye is 14 weeks and has never yodeled. Screamed when she didn't like the crate, whines when she is wanting something really bad, made like a "grup" noise really loud once when startled, but no yodels. We too really wish she would, but love her if she never does anyway.

[Forever Amber]

lol Well I tried to encourage her this morning and she made some sort of gargling sound lol so I caved, just couldn't resist scratching her all over for just that little sound. I have to admit I was looking forward to the yodeling again but I wouldnt trade her now for anything. I'm pretty sure she wont be our only B for long anyway. Hubby is hooked she makes him laugh so much and he is already looking at the brat site with me. There are 2 near us now and we almost caved but I want my fence up first.

[sherryclarke]

At six months, Bassit has only ever screamed…except for 3 barks I've gotten. Each time, it's been when I've come home and let her out of puppy jail. I get a tiny little 'ruff' and she works really hard to wag her tail, but really, it just wiggles a bit.

[Maya]

According to Maya's breeder she and her sister were the first to start yodelling at 6 weeks of age… The boys caught up eventually

Maya is a real yodeller! I get several yodels a day, mostly when i come home from work and she's excited to see me. I have noticed she never does it on walks or at someone elses house, its only at my house. Though she will do it infront of other people at my house, which is odd lol Its just the cutest noise though!

[renaultf1]

@Maya:

According to Maya's breeder she and her sister were the first to start yodelling at 6 weeks of age… The boys caught up eventually

Maya is a real yodeller! I get several yodels a day, mostly when i come home from work and she's excited to see me. I have noticed she never does it on walks or at someone elses house, its only at my house. Though she will do it infront of other people at my house, which is odd lol Its just the cutest noise though!

I have to agree about how cute it is. While my adults do it and I think it is cute and I love it…there is NOTHING cuter IMHO than seeing a young pup do it (little puffed out cheeks) and hearing the little noise. :D:D:D Plus when Liyah does it, her tail is flipping a mile a minute which only makes it that much cuter.

[Woofless]

Jibini is 8 years old and has yodeled twice in his life. The most I ever get when he's excited or happy is a big yawn with a lilting little, "Aahhh-ooo" at the end of it. Tana is even quieter. I thought she might truly be mute until I heard her whine….it's a GRUNT more than a whine. "Mmmph, mmmph, mmmph, mmph"....is ALL she ever says, and only when she sees a cat or squirrel. Two very quiet Basenjis even though I had really, really hoped for yodels when I picked this breed!!!

The first time Jibini yodeled was at a local dog park when a too-young Husky puppy got knocked by a big dog and started yowling loud enough to wake the dead. Everyone crowded around to make sure he was OK. Jibini burst into the center of the crowd, took a deep breath and belted out a nice, crisp, clear, "RRRRRRROOOOOOOOooooOOOOooo-OOOO!" Everyone hushed for just a split second- even the Husky quit overreacting long enough to notice the "silent dog" making a noise.....

The second time Jibini yodeled was to voice his deep-seated moral objections to "adult" images on TV. My ex boyfriend and I were out of town for a Lure Coursing meet & were settling down in our hotel room. The TV had one of those "pay-per-view" movie boxes hooked up to it. All sorts of films from family-friendly to "adult". So my ex was flipping through the options. As soon as he started browsing the "adult" category, Jibini went nuts. Staring at the TV. Yodeling. Pacing the bed. Yodeling. Tilting his head to one side. Yodeling. Jibini would stop if my ex changed the channel. As soon as the naughty stuff was back, Jibini would yodel again.

The good news is, I got it all on video. The bad news is, I'm always the last to upgrade to new technology so it's on a Hi 8 CASSETTE tape....AND I've lost the AC adaptor for the video camera. I have a great tape that won't play on anything and no way to transfer it to digital until I break down and upgrade to new technology again. One day, it'll be on Youtube. I promise.

Danielle, Fred
Jibini & Tana

[Forever Amber]

Thanks woofless
I did take everyones advice and would egg her on and I managed to get her to baroo twice but it took like 5 minutes of voice and I was almost horse each time. lol this was weeks ago now and I havent got her to do it again beside I was exhaused after the effort. I am resigned to a silent dog except for an occational whine. We cant even get her to howl. All my friends think I should be thanking the lord for such a quiet dog but like you I was hoping to get the yodel that I remembered so well as a kid.

I havent been to the dog park yet maybe the excitement will get it out of her I hope to get there tomorrow since i'm off work.