Hi all,
I have been coming here more and more over the last couple months…so I realized it's time to stop lurking and say hi. I adopted a basenji mix (?) from the shelter in January and after many moons he is finally a good boy (usually). This forum has helped me SOOOO much with advice specific for sighthound/I hate the rain/how to meet cats/etc.
I tried to attach some pics so hopefully that works.
The other reason I joined was so I could see everyone else's cute B pics that you have to be a member to see.
About my dog-
Good:Housetrained, loves people, gentle with kids, likes dogs, loves learning tricks.
Bad: Leash reactive with other dogs (started a class to help).
Ugly: Even extra tough dog toys become a shredded pile of fabric/rubber, can eat a Kong tennis ball in 5 minutes, can't leave any toys out for him to play with.
He absolutely refuses to poop unless on a walk, and generally refuses to pee unless on a walk. I can't keep him in the yard unsupervised because of escape artist tendencies. So we take a walk in the morning, I come home for lunch and we walk, get home from work and we walk, evening go to the park and walk, before bed we walk.
My dog training friend suggested teaching him to pee on command. After following all of her advice, and tried the command in the yard. He lifted his leg immediately (nothing came out), wagged his tail and ran to get his leash.:mad:
He is beautiful. Keep trying with the elimination command. It will come in time. Console yourself that he needs the exercise anyway 
One of the happiest times in my (and my husband's) life was the day we completed our completely dog proof fence. No more midnight walks in the neighbors field
Oh, and WELCOME! Glad you decided to join in
Hi, welcome to the forum, he's gorgeous. Is his name Link?
We have a Basenji pup of 10 months and recently she has refused to do anything in the garden and only on a walk. I wonder if she sees it as an extension of the house. As a very young pup she did go in the garden.
Look foward to hearing more anout your boy.
Welcome. He's a charming-looking boy. Definitely see the basenji in him.
Yes, name is Link. I appreciate the welcomes and kind comments. Oh and there is hope for the potty issues, he will pee in the yard most mornings now (and then gets his walk immediately after). This only works if I refuse to take him out after 10pm and let him wake me up in the morning (usually about 7am) so he really has to go. Any other time of day he has a bladder of steel.
Welcome..nice to have you onboard. Link looks like a sweetheart, I love his name by the way.
I wish I had any ideas on the lack of elimination( in the yard) issues..but I only have ..be persistent..it will pay off.
My dogs now have the luxury of a 2 acre backyard, so we have no issues in that department.
Glad you found us. I have a 9 mo old puppy here, and we work on routine for peeing/pooping..
She heads toward the front door, I take her out and when she goes, I give her lots of praise.
It does work.
Welcome, I too have a dog that prefers (insists rather) going potty on a walk instead of in our yard. Many say it is a basenji thing, due to their desire to keep their area clean. Others say they learn it by having the luxury of going on walks regularly. I think it is a combination of both.
Link is a handsome man, do you think he may be pitbull x basenji?
Your picture of Link in the tree reminds me of a picture I have of my boy Dude, in a tree while hiking
Glad to have you here!
Welcome to the forum. I look forward to hearing more about the adventures you and Link will have. He is very charming looking.
Welcome, Link is a great looking dog! So glad all the basenji advice has helped you; basenji quirks can drive you crazy till you figure out how to work with them.
Thanks everyone. I think Dude and Link would get along great. We go on a hike every weekend, and he loves it. Especially chasing lizards (he can spot a 3 inch lizard on a log from 30 feet away).
Wow love the dog in tree pics! Both quite handsome dogs!
I so love my 6 ft chain link fence. But when I got Sayblee I actually bought a hot wire to put at the top if she ever tried scaling it. She didn't. It sat in storage about 7 yrs and I threw it out. With my luck Cara will try. I put down pea gravel along one side of the house to stop digging. The fence is buried 4 inches and has stakes, but I hate digging.
LOL on the pee. I am there. I tried to teach Cara to potty on command with treats. She actually would get in "pooping position" and then RUN to me for the treat without ever going. I had to eliminate the treat. But I can tell you what I did wrong. I said "GOOD POOPY" as she got in position. Of course, I should have waited til she actually went. Oh well, she goes pretty much on command now but no treats, just praise.
boy, that potty on command is an awesome " perk"… both my rescues came 'trained" to go on command. it sure is NICE. but they dont ever bm in our yard... only in tall grass up the road. so we do lots of walking too.
ps i love elimination talk... LOL .
Welcome to you and Link.
I agree about using a command for pee and personally I use a different one for poop. Some learn quickly and some pretend not to!!.
How big is Link - I can't tell from the pictures?
Link is about 18" at the shoulder and 30 pounds. He is a very strong dog for size, so the whole pitbull x basenji may not be far from truth. My neighbors are convinced he is what happens when you cross a pit and chihuahua (I really hope not). I've also thought about red heeler mix. At the dog park everyone asks if he is a basenji, and his trainer says absolutely some kind of sighthound mix.
On a side note, discovered this week during Balloon Fiesta that he is terrified of hot air balloons. Unfortunately the balloons have been going directly over my place the last couple of days. This has actually led to him peeing in the yard much more than usual and then running back inside to hide from the "sky monsters".
I attached a pic to help you see his relative size. He is very sad in that pic because I left outside alone for a few minutes.
