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Basenji Bevhaviorist

Behavioral Issues

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  • Newborn/Kids with My Basenji

    Behavioral Issues
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    eeeefarmE
    It would be useful to know more about this dog. Has resource guarding been an issue in the past? Has he bitten either you or your wife before? (a real bite, not playful nipping). Or anyone else? A dog that isn't used to children may be fearful of their loudness or quick movements. Perhaps you could do some socialization work with him, e.g. hanging around places where young kids congregate to accustom him to their noise and activity. Obviously not allowing any interaction as you are unsure of his behaviour. Dogs react differently to newborns. In my experience bitches are more likely than dogs to be tolerant, but it is very much the individual dog's reaction that counts. People have been blindsided when their supposedly tolerant and gentle dog turns out to be hostile to a young child. Bottom line, no dog should be left unsupervised around young kids, so in any event you would have to monitor his behaviour carefully once your baby arrives. On a personal note, of the five Basenjis I have owned, two bitches were entirely reliable with kids, the other was tolerant as long as they respected her space. One of the males adored children and was curious about them, the other curious but uncertain and would react to fast movements. I did not trust him and controlled any interaction closely. IMO, he would have bitten had he felt threatened. And kids, especially babies, tend to grab and pinch, ears, tails, whatever. Caution is always the safest route.
  • Basenji and Baby

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    tanzaT
    You need to get a professional to come to your home and observe... and give suggestions
  • Is your Basenji a lefty or a righty?

    Behavioral Issues
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    G
    @agilebasenji: wow - thanks so much for sharing that link. I'll start testing my pups tomorrow! I think it would be a very useful test when choosing a pup for eventual performance dog competition; might be a good test for choosing show dogs too in that it would weed out the pups that wouldn't cut it on the campaign trail.
  • What happened to my nice Basenji?

    Behavioral Issues
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    torchsongT
    When we see other dogs on our path, I tend to move off it and let them "play through". Every now and then you get someone curious about the breed and we'll instigate a meet and greet, just to see how far either dog will go. I tend to look for the "mohawk" - those bristled up back hairs that let me know she's on edge. Plus She-Ra's a growler, so you can usually get a little forwarning if she's not happy about the situation. Generally that's enough for both me and the other owner/walker to realize we should pull back. I get more incidents at the dog park than we do on walks, but I think that's almost to be expected. Never anything bad, though…She-Ra knows to run like hell if it gets too hairy, and she can pretty much outrun anything that's shown up in the park (so far). :)
  • Is my basenji dangerous?

    Behavioral Issues
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    L
    Basenji people are dedicated to our breed, and we all seem to be very responsible. Basenjis don't like all other dogs, so we socialize them the best we can and keep them on the leash so they can't attack other dogs or sprint off after a squirrel and get killed by a car. But there are still dog owners out there who just don't understand the principles of responsible dog ownership. You don't just worry about dogs attacking each other but people as well. I posted the story about how I was attacked by a doberman and nearly killed several years ago. If not for the mailman I wouldn't even be here to talk about it. The owner said he didn't think Raggs would ever attack anybody, so he would just open the door and let him out on his own to go potty. I'm so glad we basenji owners are more responsible than some folks out there who just don't seem to get it.
  • Same Sex and Basenji to Basenji aggression.

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    T
    I agree with Catherine, socialization is a must, but it depends on the personality of the individual dog. When we had 4, they all slept on the bed together and ran together and rarely did we have any problems. We added a puppy and things were still going ok, just really crowded. However, one day our youngest girl decided she was all grown up and didn't want to be bossed around anymore by our 'wanna-be' alpha. Neither of them was a true alpha. We managed to defuse the situation, but a month later it happened again. The girls could never be together again. In fact, the tri developed a predjudice against all red girls after that! Both girls were terrific with people and with Basenji males and even with males and females of other breeds. I had 2 intact males, brothers, who stayed together with absolutely no problem for almost 4 years until one went to another home. They even got along during season. Terry