1st Time Owner
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Just saying hello. I just adopted Moses last Saturday
(4 month old basenji dog, red & white)
I'm totally in love with him, he is exactlly what i wanted for my family.One question I cannot get answered thru my research & reading - How do we get his attention. I try treats and he goes nuts for them, but he's not really listening to the commands? Of course I try not to spoil him but he's soooo cute & sweet?:)
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Just saying hello. I just adopted Moses last Saturday
(4 month old basenji dog, red & white)
I'm totally in love with him, he is exactlly what i wanted for my family.One question I cannot get answered thru my research & reading - How do we get his attention. I try treats and he goes nuts for them, but he's not really listening to the commands? Of course I try not to spoil him but he's soooo cute & sweet?:)
Puppies have very, very short attention spans… and while 90% of the time he may be responding to the treat.. it is still a positive experience and he will put 2 and 2 together...
Love to see pictures.... who did you get him from?
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Basenjis are very good at having selective hearing. If they think there is something in it for them they will take you on .
I once had a man tell me that my dog was stone deaf, he must have been speaking to Benji and got no response. Benji was realy a dogs dog.
You are so lucky to have your puppy, i hope you have years of fun,
Shelley -
Congratulations on your adoption and welcome to the world of basenjis.
Not only do basenjis have selective hearing they are also really tuned to activity, particularly to small animals outside, shadows or rainbows across the floor, dust motes in the air, anything moving that might be catching their attention. Just keep working with him. You might also want to read through the basenji training thread for tips and resources. -
Just saying hello. I just adopted Moses last Saturday
(4 month old basenji dog, red & white)
I'm totally in love with him, he is exactlly what i wanted for my family.One question I cannot get answered thru my research & reading - How do we get his attention. I try treats and he goes nuts for them, but he's not really listening to the commands? Of course I try not to spoil him but he's soooo cute & sweet?:)
He's still really young, so I wouldn't have great expectations for him to "listen" to you just yet. Responding to the treats at this point is fine and a positive thing. Just keep working at it and one day he will listen to you…... sometimes ;). I mean, he IS a Basenji. :p
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Hi - welcome to the forum!
By all means, spoil your B! Mine love to be spoiled I love spoiling them. I have a 4 month old boy too. He is an angel compared to his 10 month old female companion, who's suddenly become fascinated with pulling up carpet strands with her teeth. :mad:
For what are you trying to get your B's attention? My pups won't normally come to me when called unless I have something good going on - & even that's not enough sometimes. -
I would think about getting him into a gentle obedience class?
Is that something you can do? -
Moses is actually getting a lot better and it's only been a couple of short weeks. He will "COME", that's about it! LOL! :)
I have started working on sit, (and heel when we go for walks).
I'm not stressing him over heel though. We stop & smell thru almost the whole walk but he's being good so "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". -
I would still recommend an obedience class - not only does it help with your training at home it helps socialize your dog to other dogs and other people.
Work especially on the come command because sooner or later your dog will bolt because he sees a squirrel or the door got left open a crack or whatever (nearly everyone here has had this happen) and if the come command is really strong chances are you'll get him back - just a warning to be prepared. "If it does break you'll wish you had fixed it." -
Patience is key.. our 18-wk old pup listens to us now. However, once he has done it a few times.. that's it. With repetition, he's good.. treat or no treat he sits, comes and we even taught him 'give me five!'
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Welcome I'm pretty new myself and love reading this forum. Can't wait to see pics. My B is now 5 months. She is my 4th B but my first as an adult.
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I would still recommend an obedience class - not only does it help with your training at home it helps socialize your dog to other dogs and other people.
Work especially on the come command because sooner or later your dog will bolt because he sees a squirrel or the door got left open a crack or whatever (nearly everyone here has had this happen) and if the come command is really strong chances are you'll get him back - just a warning to be prepared. "If it does break you'll wish you had fixed it."[/QUOTEMoses has taken off twice over a leaf, and luckily he did run right back when he was commanded to come. My husband has purchased some "dog whisperer" books & videos of some kind and is doing a great job training without frustrating Moses to bad. We train for about 15min a day, twice a day on the weekend.
