Kipawa ready for 2nd set of obedience classes

[Kipawa]

I got a message yesterday (I need to call back) from a dog training facility I called two days ago. Looks like Kipawa has been accepted into the obedience class for dogs from puppy to adult. This class will be more sit, stay, come, down, etc. My teenager Kipawa is being a teenager and is testing his boundaries ("I don't think I want to do that").

Yesterday I was reading something online (need to look it up again). It was about anxiety in dogs. I'm thinking Kipawa is displaying some signs of anxiety, and I am not sure why. Nothing in our home has changed, and no changes to his daily routine. A couple of things he has been doing are:

1. Yawning a lot when we take him with us in the car or van.

2. Crouching down low (laying down) and gazing at dogs he sees coming towards him. At some point he goes towards the dogs and then greets them, but he seems on guard.

He was doing these things before his incident with the Weimaraner.

Kipawa is an extremely loving, kind dog. I might be going too deep into psychology here, but I'm wondering if he is trying to figure out how to handle his hormones. We have made the decision to hold off neutering for the betterment of his health.

Comments appreciated, even those that will tell me I am off my rocker. I view everything as a way to learn.

As a side note, my husband who is in a wheelchair but drives, had an accident last night. He is fine, though emotionally shaken up. He hit two parked cars after the locking system that holds his wheelchair in place unlocked. His wheelchair went flying into the back of the van and he lost control of the steering wheel. Incidently, he was having the locking system repaired yesterday. Kipawa really picked up on the nervous energy last night. He was running around the house and backyard like crazy - then he saw a squirrel and all hell broke loose.

[tanza]

Crouching down low at approaching dogs is a pretty common trait in Basenjis…. I call it the Stalking Mode......

Remember he is just a pup and needs time to be just a puppy.... my personal opinion is that you are reading way more into his behaviors then there needs to be.... just my opinion however

[Nemo]

I'm glad your husband is okay, that sounds scary about his wheelchair coming loose.

And I agree with Pat, don't read to much into what Kipawa is doing. But I can understand the temptation to try to do so, I'm probably guilty of that myself (I read too much, LOL). Context is everything when trying to interpret body language on their part. Sometimes a yawn is just a yawn.

Having him in more classes I'm sure will help. I've found a nice consistent rules structure at home helps a lot too.

[LindaH]

@tanza:

Crouching down low at approaching dogs is a pretty common trait in Basenjis…. I call it the Stalking Mode......

Blaze will do this to Gracie when we're out walking both dogs. And Maxx often did it, too, when another dog was approaching…unusally freaked the other people out because they were sure he was preparing to attack!

[lvoss]

Car stress isn't too uncommon. Some get a bit of nausea and so they anticipate this and stress a little. I have one that absolutely has to be in wire crate in the car to calm down and another that has be in a plastic crate or he gets car sick.

Stalking other dogs is pretty normal. Mine do it all the time when my husband takes some out and then I follow along with the rest. The ones ahead will stalk the others.

[Moth]

Watson is a teenager…now 7 months old. They are a handful on some days. Always pushing those boundaries. The main thing is to stay consistent. The obedience class will definitely be helpful. I need to sign Watson up for another as well

As to the yawning...Watson does a lot of that, but it doesn't have to be anxiety related

I would look to see if there are any other signs of tension or nervousness...

Glad your husband is alright.

[tanza]

@Moth:

Watson is a teenager…now 7 months old. They are a handful on some days. Always pushing those boundaries. The main thing is to stay consistent. The obedience class will definitely be helpful. I need to sign Watson up for another as well

As to the yawning...Watson does a lot of that, but it doesn't have to be anxiety related

I would look to see if there are any other signs of tension or nervousness...

Glad your husband is alright.

LOL…. teenage years for a Basenji are from about 9 months to ...????? LOL

[Kirsten]

It's hard to tell without seeing for myself whether you are describing stalking other dogs (which Ariel does all the time quite playfully) or more of a shying kind of behavior. I had a male who was very well- socialized who became fearful at about 6 months old. He had entered a fear period and had a mildly bad experience from which he never fully recovered. I neutered him, which did not seem to improve his behavior (which was in no way extreme), but I knew I would never want to breed such a sensitive dog.

He was a wonderful pet, but after some attempts to bring him around, I just accepted that he would always need some extra time to get used to strangers.

My advice: Don't neuter early due to this behavior and don't push him into situations that seem to cause a fearful response. Wait out the fear stage and then try those situations again later.

GL!

Kirsten

[Moth]

@tanza:

LOL…. teenage years for a Basenji are from about 9 months to ...????? LOL

Noted…but I think we are pretty lucky. Watson is a sweet boy. He was not the pushiest one in his litter