Help - My Basenji hates my boyfriend!

Behavioral Issues
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  • CRHenn2C

    No, Griffin is not a rescue. That is one reason his attitude in general has been so frustrating to me. I have had him since he was 9 weeks old. Again, I have had problems with both of my dogs because I probably didn't know enough about dogs in general to get a basenji in the first place, but what is done is done. Phoenix has really mellowed and blossomed through alot of the additional training we have done (and it turn really likes Matthew). I do think Griffin has improved in certain areas, but not with Matthew.

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  • lvossL

    I am sorry, for some reason I thought you had mentioned posting to a rescue list, I must have gotten threads mixed up in my head. Each dog is an individual and can all throw us a curve ball even when we are experienced.

    Griffin's behaviors sound alot like my mom's second basenji Levi. My mom got Levi when he was 10 weeks old, he was from breeder but that year was bit different then other years for that breeder. She had two planned litters when she found out one of her girls had managed to get herself bred all on her own so she ended up with three litters totaling something like 15 puppies. On top of that challenge, one of the members of the household started having some health issues so the amount of individual attention each puppy got was not nearly what they normally would have gotten. The result is that my mom's dog is not comfortable around all people and is uncomfortable when there are groups of people around. The good thing about him is that he did come well crate trained and will happily "go to crate" when told to if he is getting overwhelmed. Levi does well with people who know dogs well and pick up on his subtle signals that he is uncomfortable but alot of people will miss a "freeze" so he escalates to a growl. My mom has worked with him alot using the method I talked about and he has come a long way and does pretty well with a small number of people visiting. When there are lots of people he still becomes overwhelmed but now all my parents have to do is tell him "go to bed" and he will go to their bedroom and knows he is in a "safe zone" there and no one will bother him.

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  • tanzaT

    Well put lvoss…. My OJ was like that too, there were just people that he just didn't feel comfortable around and usually these were "non" doggy people. He too was very happy to go to his crate and just be left alone. Also, it would take him loads of time to become comfortable with people that he was unsure of or that could not read his body language. I would say that in the case of Matthew that maybe for the time being, as already suggested, he just leave Griffin alone and especially not toss him in the garage or lock him in his crate. I also agree that it is most likely very stressful for him to be taken over to Matthew's home and it might be better to just leave him home.

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

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  • mauigirlM

    Pat, how interesting that you say OJ was uncomfortable around non-doggy people. I was at Carrie's last night and I brought my dogs. It was Carrie and I and two "non-doggy" friends.
    Now our four basenjis have not seen each other for a little while. We did not do a re-introduction on neutral ground like we should have. But they acted so strangely for about 3/4 of the time I was there. Usually Riley is thrilled to be around Callie and Lola and they play and wrestle. He would barely look at them and if he did, it was the "submit to me" kind of eye contact. The first play bow didn't happen until the non-doggy people left.

    It was so weird!!

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  • CRHenn2C

    No, you aren't mixed up. I did say I posted info to a rescue list. I am a BRAT volunteer, but Griffin is not a rescue dog. For now, Griffin is going to stay at my mom's (BlueBell) for a few weeks and have a little vacation from Matthew. In the meantime, we will use your suggestions to decide our best course of action. Matthew realizes that he needs to change some of his actions and give Griffin another chance, but it is hard for him because these are not the kind of dogs that he is used to being around. I will post some updates in a few weeks. Thanks for all of the helpful info.

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  • AJs HumanA

    @khanis:

    Sorry, but boyfriends come and go… you brought Griffin into your life... not to be thrown away because some guy comes along. NO man is deserving of tossing aside a dog to be with him.

    I know you want to ignore comments about Matthew.. but he is making things worse with Griffin and it isn't fair to the dog.

    Well said, Ms. Khanis. I completely concur. I would think twice about a guy if my rescue boy didn't like him. It would tell me a lot.

    AJ's a people dog and can make friends with almost anyone, even non-dog people. The only time I've ever seen him "smile" and rumble at anyone was between two trailers in a dark corner of a truckstop when I got him out for a walk. Some dude followed me between the trailers and AJ communicated that he didn't like the idea. The guy looked at AJ and turned around quick. From then on, I completely trust AJ's judgment.

    AJ's Ride:

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  • AndrewA

    I'm on the "boyfriends come and go, but you chose to bring this dog into your life, forever, not just as long as it was convenient" bandwagon. Maybe this is offensive or rude, but I can't see giving either of my girls up for ANYTHING. Callie has the most even temperment, and has never ever met a stranger. Lola can be snobbish about people, and she has to sometimes get to know them on her terms. Once they are friends, they are friends for life, but it is my responsibility to ensure that every person she meets is a good experience. I know she is scared of children, which has to do with her "breeder" not socializing her properly and allowing her to come home with me too early. So I never ever force her to meet children. Instead, when I know we will be somewhere where we will likely run into children, I take treats. Anytime little kids run up to her, I stand in front of Lola, and explain to the children she is scared of them. I instruct them how to politely introduce themselves to Lola, and I give them treats or kibble to let Lola eat out of their hands. Thus, I control Lola's interactions with children so they are always positive experiences, and she comes to associate "big scary monster children" with "yummy food and soft pats on the head". It is a slow process, and I have to respect that some children are too little to understand how to interact with her politely. In those cases, I hold Lola & tell the children she isn't feeling up to company at the moment. Each situation is unique, and there are just some children Lola doesn't feel comfy with, so I don't force the issue too much.
    I guess my long winded soapbox is to say, have patience, take baby steps, and do what's best for the being that you committed to caring for.

    Carrie & the Brindle Babes, Callie & Lola (Not Andrew)

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  • C

    Desperate for help with my biting basenji

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    M
    Hi - a few thoughts in case they are helpful, although ours doesn't bite. For biting: Figure out the reasons for biting first. if it is around toys/possessiveness - we gave him the toy on his bed and let him be there gnawing on his own. Then walked close by (not too close) and threw him something yummier in his view (eg a small piece of sausage that he can eat quickly) and walk away. Do this at random (though not too often) and have different people in your family do it. Soon she will associate your coming close to her and her favorite toy as something good. Progressively get closer (ie throw the sausage from closer), and then squat down, then touch on head briefly, then hand sausage to her, then move hand towards toy but don't touch it. By this time she will anticipate your coming to her when she has a toy as "yay, something more tasty coming my way". Evenutally, you should pick up the toy/bone hand her the sausage then hand back the toy/bone. Pretty soon she'll let you pick up her toy/bone without biting or thinking you are going to take it away. The key is to progress slowly in terms of distance etc, and mix up the treats (sausage, cheese, chicken). -if she does bite someone, then immediately isolate her in a basenji-proof room where she cant destroy things. And when letting her out, ask her to sit and be calm for a few seconds first so that she's not hysterical and she learns to watch and listen to you. There may be something else that one does for biting, so maybe others or a trainer would have good ideas. For pulling on walks, 2 things worked for us: A gentle leader - suggested by our trainer. This means she can't control her head (if they pull forward their head moves to the side like a horses halter) and so she won't be able to forge ahead. It will give your arm/shoulder immediate relief while you work on the rest. In the yard and on walks start rewarding with small treats every time she looks back at you/checks on you. At first she'll do it by chance, or if she is checking to see what you are doing, and sometimes it's a side glance. As soon as she does it - give big verbal praise and get her to come to you and give her a treat and lots of pets. She will begin to do this more often. initially treat every time she looks at you, and once she is good at it, then randomly. On walks you'll find her looking back and coming back to you more often, and as a corollary less pulling, which is a relief. We usually keep the leash in one hand and a handful of small, soft treats in the other - so you don't run out and have to keep going into your pocket to get treats. So, she'll come and nose your hand and you can pet some times, treat sometimes, etc. The one thing is to progress slowly, praise the right behavior and don't get impatient (count to 10, stop training or go do something else for a bit till you feel ready to try again). When doing the praise really have an excited voice and go overboard even! Our basenji really loves being praised. It takes more time perhaps than other methods, but it's long lasting because they see these behaviors as rewarding so you don't have to get into a battle of wills. And once they get the idea, they'll improve rapidly, even over one walk. Good luck!
  • R

    New to the basenji world, need HELP!

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    C
    @DebraDownSouth: Andrea, great post. I have taught many dogs bite inhibition at a much older age, though… only thing you wrote I don't heartily agree with. Yes, I understand that it is possible but I'd like to know more about it. Generally it's accepted that teaching remedial ABI is difficult to do at best, at least amongst the trainers I know, talk to and read. Dunbar says he's done it but I tried to pin him down at a seminar and he was evasive. I was hoping to get specifics, training program and how to test it or pointed at one. He said to buy his DVDs. I did. Best I could find was teaching a better ritualized bite and jaw prudence and done my best to scour books and websites as well (and speaking with colleagues, natch). What I found didn't really satisfy me. I mean, when I think of teaching ABI, I am thinking of teaching it so that it holds up even under duress since that's when it's most important. For instance a colleague was recently contacted about a Level 5 biter. If it's possible to teach reliable ABI in adult dogs THAT dog should be a candidate for sure. I'd love to assist someone teaching it to a dog like that, or in training a dog that has poor ABI with other dogs. How could you train and test that safely or humanely? What is the liability there? Pretty serious, I would think. I do remember my first basenji experience though. I have trained and worked with dogs my entire adult life. So imagine my surprise when squeaking caused her to bite MORE, lol. Change of tactics. Life offers us so many opportunities to learn new things. :) Ah yes, I've had one of those. I changed to a calm "too bad" and then removing myself. Worked MUCH better. Depends on the dog. EDIT: I just looked at the site you linked and what she is talking about is what I refer to as 'jaw prudence'. When I use ABI, I'm referring to how hard the dog bites when it bites, not if it puts its mouth on you. For instance, your Rottie I would say had great ABI but iffy jaw prudence. OTOH, there are dogs with great jaw prudence but the one time they use their mouths they do it will full jaw force. I'd much prefer the former.
  • Patty MP

    Help with newly adopted basenji!

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    BasenjiByTheBayB
    What a sad outcome for that pup, but good to hear that you'll continue to love basenjis and basenji rescue. It's so hard to stop at one. :p Bet you'll be adding to your B family at some point, all the wiser.
  • Kalima62K

    Do basenji's love or hate water??

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    cazC
    Marley followed me in to the sea once. That was it. Soon as he realised he was getting wet he spanged back out and has refused to go near it since!
  • SweetpeaelfS

    My Basenji is only aggressive towards other basenjis

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    agilebasenjiA
    You know, my boyz like dogs the same color as they are. Jet LOVES tri colored dogs - Berners, tri Aussies, etc. And last time they were at Anne's dog park, poor Digital was the only brindle basenji. Jet played with the basenjis and Diggie went and hung out with a brindle greyhound. Remember that Anne?
  • P

    Very Aggresive Basenji Pup. Help!

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    Whoooops! Sorry Andrea….. I meant to say "Then I give him the treats".....LOL But I guess you got the idea.