Best posts made by elbrant

I didn't understand at first,
I thought she was misbehaving.
Grabbing the toilet paper and dashing out of the room...
Ripping (bigger) holes in the socks I left by the bed...
Chewing on the attachment to my hair dryer that never gets used...
I thought I was just learning about having a Basenji.
Then I caught her!
As she turned to look back half way down the hall...
I'd swear she had a laugh in her eyes.
With a "catch me if you can!" smirk on her face.
She wasn't trying to be a bad dog...
She just wanted me to play a bit with her.
So I knotted up that old ace bandage,
And we played "tug of war".
The material was stretchy,
Which just made it more fun.
We played a little bit.
She didn't need to grab more things.
Now we understand eachother.
She was only bored.

IMHO, I don't like that your Vet put a muzzle on a not-yet 5 month old puppy. I've never known a Veterinarian that was afraid of a puppy. Nor have I ever known one that didn't know how to handle a pup and/or calm down a frightened animal. My instincts say: "Get a new Vet!"

btw, cute little guy!

I am so proud of 'doodle' and I have to share this...

I have been taking doodle out for (typically) 3 mile walks (almost) every day for just about a year now. We cross several roads along our path and I have made it an iron clad rule that we stop and wait for all the cars to clear before we cross the road. We never run across with traffic coming. Never. We come to a stop and I give her our command, "wait". It's the only time I really ask her to wait, but the basic rule is that she remains next to me until I start walking again. Repititon, for almost a year.

So, we were on our walk this morning, passing along a row of tall hedges (that I could not see over) when doodle came to an abrupt stop, looking to the left. And just as she did, a white service truck pulled up to the edge of the driveway. The driver clutched his chest and said he didn't see my dog. But she was fine. She did exactly what we'd been working on with every walk. -- Do not walk in front of cars that are moving! --

I'm so proud of her for learning this valuable lesson! And I'm so relieved that a horrible accident was avoided this morning! Whew! WTG doodle!!!

@praz said in Should i go for a Basenji (I do want one)?:

I do plan to take 3 weeks off from work to settle the pup when it arrives.

Dogs, especially high energy breeds like the Basenji, need to exercise. Left alone all day, any day, is an invitation for them to find "creative" ways to entertain themselves. And that typically isn't something their people would have approved of. Like, when my dog killed my son's bed pillow....

I'm sure my girl had a reason to do this, but I have no clue what it would have been.... and since I wasn't there to see the pillow fight, she cannot be punished for it. Primarily because she would never understand what the punishment was for. There are stories all the time about Basenji's being destructive. A recent post provided a picture of a B ripping the wallpaper off a wall. So, you see... knowing that your dog will be unsupervised for extremely long periods of time is probably inviting trouble. Not to mention that you should never leave the door to your home open while you are away (even on the 3rd floor)!

I suggest that you wait and get your Basenji in a year or two when your life is better suited to having a dog. For now, get a kitten. Cats (even young ones) only require food, water, and access to their litter box while you are gone. They can be left the entire day, or even two days in a row, without any problems. Dogs cannot.

Someone recently mentioned how Basenji's would give you the cold shoulder if you upset them. Here is doodle this afternoon, she wasn't ready to end our hike and "get in the car". This is clearly a command that I have to work on!

Unhappy Basenji Behavior

@dres_actually My initial reccommendation is: stop the weekly dog bath. There is a good chance that the regular bathing is stripping away natural skin oils. So, skip them... try one every 3-6 months instead. If you feel like Sasha needs more grooming than that, use a boar bristle brush, or a damp microfiber towel instead.

Hair could be an issue as well. I shed when I brush my hair, toss and turn at night, etc. Every once in a while, doodle will ingest a stray strand of hair... when she "eliminates" it, it will often times result in a bit of solids dangling from her backside. It kind of freaks her out. I simply use the ever popular poop bag to assist in removing the dangling solid and any tether to it.

(that was the most polite way I could think of to describe it)

@roguecoyote Welcome to parenthood. Eventually you will realize that not every single thing is a death trap and you will be able to breathe again. I'm glad that you found Rogue safe and sound waiting to come back into the house. That your pup knows which house she lives in is a really good thing! Now... try to bear with me on the rest of this.

Rogue is your dog, not your Mom's. If you don't want Rogue digging into the trash, you can either teach her not to, or you can just take the trash out yourself. If your Mom thinks it's too expensive to buy extra trash bags, then you need to buy the bags yourself. If you are worried about Rogue getting sick from the chemicals in road salt (which seems logical), figure out a way to prevent her from gaining access to the shoes and boots. It isn't your Mother's responsibility to babysit, train, or clean up after your dog, it's yours.

One quick and easy solution would be to put a baby gate up at your bedroom door so that Rogue stays in your room when you are gone. That prevents her from being near the shoes and the trash while allowing Rogue to see/hear what's going on in the house. Once you get home, the baby gate comes off, Rogue gets to explore and hang out with everyone, and you are there to supervise her.

Now, please apologize to your Mother and let her know that you didn't realize how stressful it is to be responsible for someone (baby, puppy, etc.) other than yourself.

I spy... with my little eye....
a red&white B in bed with Kai?

Who might that B be?

@mikesull said in Screaming must stop!:

"he doesn’t enter the bedroom etc. he’s a dog", "tons of love and commitment, etc. not 24-7", "my way or highway"

He's a baby... where are your expectations at? Realistically, what did you think having a 2-3 month old dog would be like?

@roguecoyote said in Hunting with Basenji:

I contacted him. I saw he's got the blue lives matter flag flying though. Makes me think he probably won't like me very much. ...

You are interested in something he is also interested in. Which gives you common ground. Start there. You want to find out about hunting with your Basenji... she's very young and you are contacting him to get advice on how to start training her. You found out about him on the Basenji Forums and think he is the best hunting mentor you could possibly find. All of that is true. And nothing about that has anything to do with how other people have treated you in the past. Be respectful to him and he will be respectful to you. Leave politics out of the conversation.

You can do this!

doodle wasn't cooperating with her tail shot, so I had to recruit my son to assist (he held her still for the sheer torture)...
doodle's tail is most often referred to as a "Cinnamon Bun"

Typing "out loud":

May I suggest taking family walks together on a daily basis (weather permitting)... The idea may seem a little daunting, but understand that dogs are very social creatures. Walking together signifies acceptance within the dogs "pack". Walking also helps to get rid of energy. If you schedule the walks for after dinner, you will have a tired Basenji and a tired 3 year old who can drift off to sleep around the same time. That might not solve all of the problems regarding a 3 year old and a Basenji, but the idea is that they would be more accepting of co-existing together.

I am curious about how your toddler is reacting to the dogs reprimands. The repeated incidents indicate that he isn't afraid of being bitten. Does he not understand that the dog is saying, "no"?

I also wonder if there isn't any way for you to provide a private sleeping area for your dog. (I never use a crate, but... I don't have young children either.) Does your dog have a crate, or dog bed, someplace where the child cannot gain access to the dog while it's sleeping? Either by physical barrier (kiddie gate) or through an interior doggy door (although a 3 year old child may be able to fit through one of those). Would it be possible for you to set something like that up?

I just Thanksgiving. For me it is spending all day with a carefully synchronized dance through baking a Turkey, casseroles, some sweet potatoes, rolls, and pulling together a few other items until my buffet cannot possibly hold anything else. I love it! Mostly I think I absolutely treasure not having to think about what to cook for dinner... for almost a week after!

The popular family tradition of going around the table and coming up with one or two things to be grateful for taught me to carry that through the rest of the year. And I often remind myself how grateful I am for the little things that go unnoticed. Like squeezing under the yellow light (whew!) before it turns red. Getting a good parking space. My son. And, my Basenji. Whose walk (today) is scheduled somewhere between flipping the bird over and pulling the bird out of the oven.

If you are one of our many members outside of the U.S., please join us for a moment and think of something you are grateful for. And for those of you in the U.S.... pace yourself... (snicker) ...leave some leftovers. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

@italeigha In all fairness, doodle came to me at 18 months old. I have had a little (doberman) pup that I brought into my bed. I couldn't handle the crying and once I put her in bed with me, she hushed and fell asleep. No "accidents" in the bed! Even at 9 weeks old!

Just accept that puppies chew. It's what they do. Growing new teeth hurts! Take a washcloth (not one of your good ones), soak it under the faucet, wring it out then freeze it. If your pup is chewing something she shouldn't, give her the frozen washcloth. It's like a puppy teething ring. Watch to make sure that she isn't chewing something that you don't want her to chew or something that would hurt her. Offer something that's ok to chew instead and you will be teaching her what is (and isn't) "okay".

It takes a little while for your pup to learn the house rules. The first hurdle is for you and your pup to learn how to communicate. Once you can figure out what she is thinking, it will be much easier to teach her what is okay and what isn't.

I have not needed to board doodle. One of the reasons I chose the Basenji breed was so that she could travel with me, we just haven't done a lot of that yet. Still, I would rather have her with me.

Doodle has full access at home at all times, whether I am home or not. She typically hangs out with me, sleeps with me, sunbathes behind my desk chair, and eats when I eat (which is never at the same time each day). Sometimes she goes out with me, sometimes she stays home.

She gets a chance to toilet in the morning, and then she gets a fun outing later in the day. In the winter it's during the warmest part of the day, in the summer it's during the coolest. Her outings rotate through a list (1-3 mile walks through the neighborhood, getting lost in the woods, one of the dog parks, the beach, etc.). I want her to have some fun, but never know for sure what we are doing that day. Keep her guessing, so to speak.

Perhaps you could contact your breeder, they may have used crates during transport or other times. If so, they could give you some insight into what their set up was like.

Thank you @Zande and @Kembe, @Redial is our other Moderator... I promise to keep an eye out for 'spammers'.

@senjisilly said in Queen Ellie and her subjects:

I am not a miniature deer.

That's why doodle wears an "orange hunting safety" harness when she's in the woods!!

@jkent said in Fear period aggression:

These last two times she has done that and then growled aggressively whilst sniffing their hand,

Maybe they need to wash their hands? Dogs smell things we don't so.... maybe these particular people are using a soap that has a stinky smell, or your dog is picking up on fear/anxiety pheromones, or... as you suggested, you are dealing with doggy PMS... I am certain that doodle gets mating season PMS, so... possible.

Kudos to the guy with the doggy biscuits!
@eeeefarm "I will not be opting to pay legal fees..."

@alibobo said in Lockdown puppies' flood rescue centres:

This makes me very sad and scared for the futures of all those unfortunate dogs

While it concerns me, it also makes me think that I should open my home to one of them. A second Basenji isn't out of the question for me. I've been thinking about bringing another B home anyway. It's something for me to reconsider. Perhaps I should contact BRAT in case they need homes or fosters in my area.