Skip to content
Basenji Forums
  1. Home
  2. Behavioral Issues
  3. Opposable "thumbs" (dewclaws)?

Opposable "thumbs" (dewclaws)?

Behavioral Issues
  • tanzaT

    @Varanus:

    I was wondering if anyone else experienced this. Yoshi, my basenji (probable) mix, has all four of his dewclaws and uses them in ways that I don't see in other dogs. His rear ones he uses like climbing spikes when he's scaling . He seems to be able to use his front ones independently (distressing!) to do things like hold onto windowsills, grab and hide the remotes, and manipulate his kennel lock. Am I gonna come home one day to find him typing away on the computer?

    In 25 yrs in the breed, I have never seen a Basenji with rear dew claws? Do you have a picture?

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

    0
  • basiB

    @tanza:

    In 25 yrs in the breed, I have never seen a Basenji with rear dew claws? Do you have a picture?

    We have never had rear dew claws either thank goodness!!. It could be because Yoshi is a Basenji mix.

    0
  • BasenjimammaB

    I was thinking that as well, not for B's but for dogs in general, so I did some research..i.e googled and there are dogs out there with dewclaws on the back paws, I had no idea. I have yet, needless to say seen one in real life. I would love to see a pick as well. Apparently the dew claws on the back paws are more of a fleashy type area, so the claw does not fuse with the bone like to front ones do, therefor they can be removed, rather painlessly for the dog. I would love to see a pic as well, really interesting.

    Petra and Pippin

    with Otis in my heart…

    0
  • basiB

    @Basenjimamma:

    I was thinking that as well, not for B's but for dogs in general, so I did some research..i.e googled and there are dogs out there with dewclaws on the back paws, I had no idea. I have yet, needless to say seen one in real life. I would love to see a pick as well. Apparently the dew claws on the back paws are more of a fleashy type area, so the claw does not fuse with the bone like to front ones do, therefor they can be removed, rather painlessly for the dog. I would love to see a pic as well, really interesting.

    Like many of the Nordic breeds the Buhunds have always had ugly rear double dews:eek: which we always removed.

    0
  • BasenjimammaB

    I also read that Great Pyrenees have it as a breed requirement, meaning it is not considered purebreed without'em.

    I had no clue, just goes to show how truly blond I am…swede all the way..

    Petra and Pippin

    with Otis in my heart…

    0
  • tanzaT

    I had forgotten that Yoshi was a mix.. that would explain it since Basenji do not have "rear" dew claws

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

    0
  • V

    Not only is he a mix, but I think he had a pretty rough life before me, so I doubt whoever produced him knew or cared anything about breed correctness (any breed!). If he were mine when he was a puppy, I might have had the rear ones removed, but now he seems to use them functionally. I was researching this also, and I found that few breeds even have double dew claws, so let me make sure I've got this right: a dog "should" have four toes on each foot, and the fifth is a vestigial "dew claw," correct?
    attachment_p_80690_0_img_0007.jpg

    0
  • BasenjimammaB

    Wow, thanks for posting a pic..how cool. I have never seen that before, so to me it is very cool. I don't know about the four toe thing, but the research I did stated that 4 was the most common.

    Petra and Pippin

    with Otis in my heart…

    0
  • renaultf1R

    @Varanus:

    Not only is he a mix, but I think he had a pretty rough life before me, so I doubt whoever produced him knew or cared anything about breed correctness (any breed!). If he were mine when he was a puppy, I might have had the rear ones removed, but now he seems to use them functionally. I was researching this also, and I found that few breeds even have double dew claws, so let me make sure I've got this right: a dog "should" have four toes on each foot, and the fifth is a vestigial "dew claw," correct?

    Wow…that is so bizarre to me - never seen it before. :eek:

    0
  • V

    Yeah, it was really weird when I realized he was using them to scale things and to stay on rough terrain. I'll try to get an action shot, but obviously that's easier said than done.

    0
  • thunderbird8588T

    Realy unusual

    Shelley

    Basenji Malaika

    Basenji Malaika
    Basenji Kwame

    0
  • K

    Basenjis just have front ones, which most show breeders have removed from their litters. They can be nasty if they catch on something and rip.

    I do know German Shepherds sometimes have rear dews. Not sure about most other breeds. lol Again they are removed as newborns (the rears).

    Kelli Harmon

    Kiroja Basenjis

    Southgate, MI USA

    0

Suggested Topics

  • P

    Couple of "Issues" with my Basenji

    Behavioral Issues
    11
    0 Votes
    11 Posts
    7k Views
    P
    I completely forgot about this topic, but I figure I would reply (after a 4 month hiatus) with updates. Thank you all for your responses. Marvel no longer bites (what a relief!). It stopped around the time that all of his adult teeth were falling out, so I assume it was related to the discomfort of his baby teeth. He will play bite every now and then, but nothing drastic. Marvel no longer wakes up absurdly early now that he's 6 months old, as someone pointed out. He typically gets up when we do except for the rare occasion here and there. Marvel has been marvelous and his behavior only gets better. The only "issue" we deal with now is his separation anxiety when we leave him in a crate. I'll probably make a separate topic on this. And he seems to be strangely attached/dominant to my girlfriends underwear when he manages to get a hold of it... Thanks! Peter
  • TimesthemythT

    Need some creative thinkers for confinement "anxiety" issue

    Behavioral Issues
    24
    0 Votes
    24 Posts
    10k Views
    TimesthemythT
    Ha, I know, forum posts are like a novel sometimes - except sometimes you don't always find out what happens at the end. There are lots of posts here where I'm like "well, what happened?!" The long and short of it: we have a "success story". He's always been kind of a strange dog, never doing things by the books. For his anxiety…...nothing I did really helped him. I originally put him on Prozac as a last resort, but overtime he just improved on his own; I know it's not due to the medication, because he's been off of it for awhile. He still hates confinement but he's learned that once he's in...he's not getting out. SO he basically goes through cycles where he'll whine for about a minute or two every so often (30 minutes to 2 hours) or so then goes back to sleep, until I get home. It gets better and better each time. One of our biggest issues I think was him being able to escape, and that fear was feeding off itself. In the beginning he would pull out all the stunts to try and escape, some of them working of course. Once I made it so he could not escape, the major destruction and psychological issues died down. I ended up putting wood pieces around the crate (as suggested above) and that helped immensely to fortify the area. He still does cry, and rip things up while I'm away...sure. But, as long as he isn't endangering himself, getting too worked up, or making a huge racket? It works. After we got that solved. I moved onto trying to get him to be ok in a crate - which has been successful. He goes into it fine, lays down and doesn't cry a whole lot, or try to escape. I think his 'anxiety' is not unusual, or inappropriate. Just a natural fear that dogs have of being alone, confined, and in a new space. I also didn't go over 30 minutes when I was teaching him as a puppy....big mistake. Things that have helped: Music, not having the light on, making the pen one giant bed (instead of allowing an area where he could stand), leaving random tissues around in the pen, not letting him out of the pen directly after coming home, giving a single cookie before leaving and returning if quiet, having the area be inescapable obviously, and brushing his teeth if he comes out of the pen right away. Things that didn't really help: thunder shirt (was working until he ripped it up), medication, mirror outside of the pen, leaving delicious food or toys inside the pen, DAP diffuser, etc.
  • S

    Frequent little "sprinkles" on walks

    Behavioral Issues
    7
    0 Votes
    7 Posts
    3k Views
    Chealsie508C
    This I always my "rule of thumb" and only based on my experience but frequent long urinations= possible UTI and several quick squirts=marking….but every dog is different, even so my mind still automatically looks for those signals
  • AndrewA

    Introducing a dog with "issues" to basenjis

    Behavioral Issues
    6
    0 Votes
    6 Posts
    3k Views
    AndrewA
    Sorry I haven't responded to this post sooner; I got busy & forgot about it. I don't check the forum nearly as often as I should. To answer above questions: My girls have both been around bulldogs before. Oddly enough, a guy I dated about a year ago had one, and although not outwardly aggressive or anything, they didn't seem to love her. She was attention starved though (first among reasons why a relationship did no develop with this guy…), and was very overwhelming, barreling around chasing them. They just tried to avoid her mostly. At dog shows and stuff, they don't seem to be weirded out by bulldogs. Otto does better with dogs than people, and he prefers small dogs/puppies to people. My girls seem to love everything except some other female basenjis. Otto is neutered, Lola is spayed, and Callie is not as she is currently being shown. Because the times we can visit one another are few & far between & having one on ones would require introducing them on Otto's turf, I don't think its feasible to introduce mine to Otto one at a time before the move. All three are crated when humans are not around, so leaving them out together unconfined is not an issue. My dogs are intense in that often when they meet a new dog, they will "rush" the dog, sniffing, etc. On leash, I don't allow this behavior with strange dogs, but at dog parks, etc, they sometimes can be overwhelming to more submissive or nervous dogs. My dogs are constantly meeting and playing with new dogs and are very well dog socialized. Otto is less so, but, again, tends not to have a lot of issues with smaller dogs. The meds have made a definite improvement in Otto's mood, but he still bites occasionally when he's overstimulated. The most recent occurrence was during a visit with my boyfriend's dad. His dad unwrapped a present that was in brown paper bag material. Otto was interested & started playing tug of war with dad. Otto got a little too excited, and when dad tried to calmly end the game, he got bit. Thanks for all the tips. Hopefully, everything will go just peachy, but we're trying to be as prepared as possible, with any little advantage possible. And Andrea, we will likely be in Richfield.
  • JazzysMomJ

    "Stupid Dog" kind of night…...

    Behavioral Issues
    6
    0 Votes
    6 Posts
    2k Views
    JazzysMomJ
    @Ninabeana26: That's a basenji for ya right? :p Yup, for "unpredictable" dogs, they sure are "predictable". :D Still think he's a big turd.;) And honestly, if Jazz would just scoot over….......:rolleyes:
  • GriffinsMomG

    Such a thing as "Confinement Anxiety"?

    Behavioral Issues
    12
    0 Votes
    12 Posts
    5k Views
    dashD
    Jazzymom, I know Jazzy will have to have her space after the spay so this may not be much help but what about an ex-pen?