I've adopted the anti-christ…

[rnasto]

…and she is a basenji.

HELP, we have just adopted a little basenji girl named Lori. Now we currently have a boy Indy (1.5 yrs) and Lori (4 months). Indy is great with other dogs, does the initial figuring out where everyone is in the pack order and gets along.

Lori at the park is totally fine, runs and plays, has fun, but when we go over to our friends house who has a female basenji she turns into Satan. Starting fights, being generally mean and ridiculous. I have tried a whole bunch of stuff:
(1) Time out
(2) Separating them for a bit
(3) Letting Zahara snif Lori and Lori snif Zahara
(4) Putting them in a larger area where they don't have to be near eachother

This is not just with the female it is with their male puggle as well.

Please help me I so much want Lori to be able to go over to others houses and not be ridiculous.

[renaultf1]

Can you describe what you mean by "starting fights and being mean"…

thx

[Vanessa]

Well first off congrats for the new addition to the family.
Second…I think I can speak for everyone on the forum in saying we feel your pain. They can be a royal pain in the you know what sometimes but we still love every moment of it.
We have learned from having a male first and then adding a female into the home how trying or tri'ing it can be. Especially when the female is a tri. Man can she push buttons. Its hard enough when she demands all eyes on her at all times and if you do not give her the attention she deserves she becomes "the devil's spawn child".

It can be exhausting. Especially when you just want everyone to get along. Most of the time our female has issues towards other dogs. She tries to be dominant immediately which sometimes can backfire. We have learned to introduce new furry friends separately. We used to just let them all meet at the same time which ended in angers being sparked. Now if we let our female meet the other dog first and get comfortable then allow our male dog to meet the other dog they tend to all get along and play well together. Also have them meet outside in neutral ground. When a dog is in its own environment and another dog comes into it, they tend to be more aggressive/protective of their space. Allowing them to meet say....in front of the house may help. You might want to give that a try. We have to do this every time we have play dates with other dogs. Even if they know each other they need to first meet one by one. Its odd but works
Hopefully you can find a solution. It usually consists of trial and error but I am sure soon you will find a way which works best with your little one. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

[rnasto]

Thanks for the advice

What I mean by being nasty is
Growling
Snapping and biting in a wildly out of control way
Starting fights with the other dogs

[renaultf1]

Like Vanessa said, I think those of us that have added a baby girl b to the pack can relate to how much of a PITA they can be at times (understatement). :D:D Also, what Vanessa said about having the dogs meet each other outdoors is always prudent…

I've never had a problem with my own little "demon seed", Liyah :D:D creating problems with other dogs in others homes...but my friends dogs are super tolerant of her puppy behavior...and in general Liyah LOVES other dogs, so she is all about play with them no matter what the situation has been. Luckily my friends dogs enjoy the play.

For me, at home is where the challenge is. Now that Liyah is getting older (5 months tomorrow), my 2 adult b's are much less accepting of her puppy antics and so the noise is getting louder. One thing I've been doing is that if I can see that Liyah is starting trouble (for the 10th time), I'll take her outside, separate from the other dogs and play chase or ball with her on my own or something with her that gets her flying around the yard, burns up some energy, gets her tired and takes her edge off...probably 10 - 15 minutes of outdoor "games"...good hard physical exercise. Then when I bring her back in, usually she is much more relaxed/tired and will stop picking on the adults. She doesn't pick fights, she just wants to play, but Ruby and Brando (especially Brando) get fed up with being chewed on all the time.

I'm just wondering if you could really get her tired before you bring her to your friend's house and maybe the adult dogs would be more accepting of her antics.

Also, has she been to other houses with dogs, and if so, how has that gone...is the problem just with these 2 dogs?

[tanza]

@rnasto:

…and she is a basenji.

HELP, we have just adopted a little basenji girl named Lori. Now we currently have a boy Indy (1.5 yrs) and Lori (4 months). Indy is great with other dogs, does the initial figuring out where everyone is in the pack order and gets along.

Lori at the park is totally fine, runs and plays, has fun, but when we go over to our friends house who has a female basenji she turns into Satan. Starting fights, being generally mean and ridiculous. I have tried a whole bunch of stuff:
(1) Time out
(2) Separating them for a bit
(3) Letting Zahara snif Lori and Lori snif Zahara
(4) Putting them in a larger area where they don't have to be near eachother

This is not just with the female it is with their male puggle as well.

Please help me I so much want Lori to be able to go over to others houses and not be ridiculous.

Typically two female Basenjis (just like two male Basenjis) will not share house space… or for that matter, many times even at the park... Is the female spayed? Is the male spayed? many times as already noted here, in-tact dogs react strangely to altered dogs. And female Basenjis are typically also at the top of the food chain between other dogs.. so most likely you will not get them to "like" each other... and not being a dog, you really don't know what kind of signs the other female is giving off....

Where did you get Lori? Have you talked to the breeder? 4 months is pretty young to show that kind of temperament, IMO....

[nobarkus]

I've never seen one that young myself act like that. When my blk/wht was 4 months, un-spayed she played happily with any dog.

[rnasto]

@tanza:

Where did you get Lori? Have you talked to the breeder? 4 months is pretty young to show that kind of temperament, IMO….

I got Indy from Mata Hauri Basenji in Enfield, NH. He had attended a puppy kindergarden class with his litter mates before he came home with us and knew sit and almost had down well down. He had been socialized with her little grandchildren, her children, friends and basically everyone who stepped in the house. There were many basenjis wandering around the house like pets in a well controled mannor. He loved people from the start he is great with kids and other puppies. I tell you this because you will see the surprise I got with Lori.

Lori I got from Wakan Basenji (the lady who does the basenji magazine). I don't know much back story on her but it took us a LONG time to get her used to even some people and she is still terrified of large people (we have a friend that is about 6.6 and 280lbs of muscle she runs ain terror from him). She was aggressive toward other dogs and she and Indy are still "working it out" a month later. She has gotten better with people although she does not like being cornered, and she gets on great with other dogs, just not Zahara.
I don't feel like she was as prepared to come home as Indy was althugh we got them at about the same age 12 weeks. So I don't know how much good it would do to contact her but I will give it a try.

Is there anything I should expect to hear? What would you say if someone called you with a problem like this? Just curious.

[tanza]

Well, honestly… I would say, don't take her to someone elses home... but that is just me...

And I would certainly contact Toni and talk to her about it... she is the breeder, she knows her dogs best... and I would trust what she says....

[lvoss]

My first question for you would be, have you been taking her to puppy kindergarten? How has she been in class? Have you talked with your instructor about the issues you are having? Did they suggest a plan for how to work with Lori?

I also would not take her to other dogs' houses. Neutral territory is much better and it seems she is doing okay on neutral territory with other dogs.

[Quercus]

Some dogs, and LOTS of Basenjis just don't care to spend time around 'non-pack' dogs. She may have a more timid personality, and just want to let other dogs know, right off the bat, that they shouldn't try anything with her. This is probably not the fault of her breeder.

Unfortunately, behavior like you describe tends to become habitual. Meaning, if a puppy has a bad experience with one dog, then she will react defensively around dogs habitually. It would be wise to immediately start a training program where you re-condition her to enjoy being around other dogs. Try the book "Fiesty Fido" by Patricia McConnell and/or "Click to Calm" by Emma Parsons. This will give you some idea of some steps to follow

[Shaye's Mom]

A very wise lady at the dog park we take Shaye to once said to me there's a reason you can't say girl without the Grrrrrrr - female's tend to be less pleasant to their counterparts than the boys - but yours probably needs some socialization training. . . when visiting, I'd leave her home for a while until she mellows some. Well, "mellow" is not a word you'd use ever for a puppy B, but you'll know when she's ready.

[BDawg]

I never had any issues with other dogs with Lexi as a puppy– but I always took her to the park (neutral ground). Might be best to keep things separated until she learns to improve her behavior.

Now that my dogs are older, my friends and I sometimes have doggie playdates at each other's houses. Even though our dogs all know each other and get along well, I'd say for about the first 15 minutes, my dogs have their hackles raised and are defensive and snarky. Then they calm down and play really well. It could be a territorial thing-- that your dog is trying to establish herself among the new dogs. But female Bs don't typically get along-- and there is something to the intact/neutered thing.

Might be best for you to meet the Chase & Zahara at the local park until they can all get along.

[renaultf1]

Rnasto…Andrea has some great reading suggestions for you. As well, I recently read the book "Feeling Outnumbered, How to Manage Your Multi-dog Household" by Patricia McConnell...great book and I highly suggest it for anyone with multiple basenjis.

Keep us posted on how you make out with Lori.

[rnasto]

Hey all. Thanks for the great advice. Lori is signed up for puppy kindergarder and it started last tuesday. I called her breeder and she said get Lori spayed wait a while and try again it could definetly be a hormone issue. So I guess we will just be patient and try again later.

Thanks for the advice cant wait to tell you how it turns out!

[Quercus]

@renaultf1:

Rnasto…Andrea has some great reading suggestions for you. As well, I recently read the book "Feeling Outnumbered, How to Manage Your Multi-dog Household" by Patricia McConnell...great book and I highly suggest it for anyone with multiple basenjis.

Keep us posted on how you make out with Lori.

I forgot about that one, it is really good!

[Quercus]

@rnasto:

Hey all. Thanks for the great advice. Lori is signed up for puppy kindergarder and it started last tuesday. I called her breeder and she said get Lori spayed wait a while and try again it could definetly be a hormone issue. So I guess we will just be patient and try again later.

Thanks for the advice cant wait to tell you how it turns out!

Spaying will take away the hormonal ups and downs, but it won't change her behavior towards other dogs. Definitely start using some reconditioning steps now, and that way the behavior won't have a chance to become more entrenched. Let me know if your puppy class teaches a 'watch', or 'attention' behavior, if not, I will get you the steps. It is the first step to keeping the dog under control in any situation.