Biting
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Hello, I have a 6 year old female basenji. She has been a little aggressive lately. It all stems around when I am correcting other behaviors.
Like last night, she was taking food from the baby and I called her off. Normally I tap her on the behind to get her moving. When I went to tap her behind she spun around and bit me. She has never actually bitten before, she use to be very mouthy but I worked with her on basic "tricks" like sit, down, roll over, ect and she stopped being as mouthy. I am pretty sure it is a dominance issue, but I am not sure how to correct this.
I had her working with a professional at one point, but it didn't do much good for either of us.
Do you have any good suggestions?
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Do you know the breeder of her?
If so talk with her.
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I agree that is probably the Very Best Thing, but if you don't…do you have a Word for treat time? I would say whatever you use to stop her doing stuff you don't want, immediately followed by the treat word, and reward her...in Butu's case this goes "Butu, leave - treat". I'm not quite sure who's training who, here ;-)
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since this is a new behavior, i'd take her in for a full vet check up. Especially her thyroid.
You also need to find a positive reinforcement trainer. Here's a nice place to start.
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How did you react when she bit you? Better to avoid the confrontation, but if one occurs it's important that the dog not feel she has succeeded in having it her way by biting. I concur on the vet check, particularly with a six year old and particularly if the aggressiveness is a new thing. If it has been a gradual escalation, i.e. if she has always snarked a bit when corrected, perhaps she was in a testy mood and decided to take it to the next level, but at her age that would surprise me. Apart from thyroid, it is possible she has an "ouch" somewhere.
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Some good advice here already. I started to work with Bach remedies a while ago and know of many other that do, and the results are great. You might want to see someone with experience to get the right one(s). Also: www.anaflora.com (new flower remedies from the USA)
