Behavioral Issues

@TuckerVA: Where in GA do you live, BTW? I grew up in Atlanta… We live in Savannah. Neither of us are originally from Georgia; the Army sent us here and we just never left. Cory was born in Atlanta. Pat

We have a dog sitter too that stays at the house… It is someone that I work with and loves the B's... in fact she is in high demand through out the company...gggg for house sitting...

@luvsmy2bs: Have things gotten any better? Just curios,,,,,,I was reading your post and felt really sorry for you. Currently I have turned my dd's bedroom – thankfully she's away at college -- into a kennel. There is a 6 x 4' ex-pen w/top taking up the entire floor space of her room. Both Jazzy's and Keoki's crates are in there. At night he sleeps okay in that ONLY as long as BOTH crates remain open into the pen. If I close either crate, he flips out. During the day when we have to go out, as yesterday and today, I have to remove all "real" bedding and leave just paper toweling. Yesterday I made the mistake of leaving a small piece of carpet UNDER Jazzy's crate, and when we got home it had been pulled out and torn to shreds. It is obvious that he still wigs out, even in the large pen w/Jazz as today I noticed that the front of his crate {above the door, which was open} has been all chewed up, even though he was not shut in. Still working with the behaviorist; she and the vet are thinking long-term meds may be in order. That is still being discussed. He's going to hurt himself one day if we don't get a handle on this...and eventually dd is going to be home from college; then what? We can't travel with him like this either.

Thanks for the info! Yes we just got over the rain for the most part,,,,,,,thank goodness! What part of Maryland are you from? My aunt lives in Cumberland and the last time we were there we went to Rahobath beach (not sure of the spelling). We had a great time except for the DC traffic – we here in Southeastern Ohio are NOT use to that type of traffic! It was funny once my cousin (from Cumberland) came in town for a visit and we were going down one of our main drags on a Sat. morning and I said "Man,,I cant believe this traffic,,,,,its awful!" and she laughed and said I didnt know what traffic was! Well ,,,,,,,,,she was right,,,,,,,I couldnt imagine dealing with the DC traffic every day. About the furbabies though,,,,,,,they seem to be getting familiar with each other. Only a few minor scuffles today over a rawhide I forgot to get out of the backyard . Also, the marking has seemed to end-- we were a little worried. Lastly, the eating in there crates thing has worked out except our Bella (1st BRAT dog) has been dealing with some seperation issues again after we left her for the weekend to drive to Missouri to get Wrigley. Anyway, hopefully we will be one big happy family! One last thing, kudos to you and your wife for fostering so many dogs. My husband and I are considering volunteering for BRAT after this spring. My son is a senior and I am afraid as we get closer to the spring things will get crazy around here with all of his senior stuff.

oh yes and last night I was actually furless on the bed. Of course had to push Belle off the bed about 10times but at least she got the message before 12.00am and went to her bed. But at 6 they came up…Hey baby steps...

http://basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?t=921 Here's the link. :)

@sharronhurlbut: I think its up to us, the b's owners to make sure the kids have respect for the dogs we have. So true! We live three doors down from an elementary school so every day when kids get out (or on weekends… lots of kids in the area come to the playground) they love to "pet the poochies". Our Papillion eats up the attention, but Rocky stays in teh back ground. We've had kids run up to him and he will put himself between me and whomever is coming, but (luckily) he's very good with younger kids (ie infant - 5 years). Anything older than that he has little tollerence for. But it is up to us, the B owners, to remind the kids how to approach the dogs; to make sure the dogs are not over-stimulated or over-whelmed; to make sure it is as controlled a situation as possible. A difficult task with a swarm of children, but necessary. And if you can't do it, take the "poochies" back in the house until the cast of thousands clear out.

Shadow will still put the Boxenji in her place. Shadow weighs about 22-24 lbs, Zina weighs about 60. But, then again Zina thinks she a Basenji-Yours will probably think it's a basenji also. Even though I have an older heeler-she associates herself with the Basenji's.

Cory seems to really like her crate at night. It is beside our bed and when she sees that we are on our way to bed, she goes right in and does everything but shut the door after herself. My husband is away on a trip and so the other night I left the crate door open at bedtime to see what she would do. She still stayed in there all night. She didn't come out until my alarm went off the next morning. At least if she starts to shred at night I should hear it. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and hope that doesn't happen. Is Keoki in the room with you? Pat

Well, we tried having my son put down the food for Spence and he eventually ate it. We are making some progress, thanks to Osca Mayer again. Later Spence actually came and took a piece of hot dog from my son's hand! I think things will be fine. It will just take time.

Thank you so much for the advice! We have never kenneled our dogs before,,,,,,,,,I think that is why we are so hesitant to do that but like you said,,,,,it could be very very stressful taking our two then adding a third at the inlaws where the only animals they have around are a few feral cats that hang around the shed in the back yard. ARRRGGGGGGG!!!!!! Who knew you could stress and worry so much about furbabies!!!!!!!! I swear they ARE just like children!!!!

A woman on another list used one a couple of years ago and thought it helped with thunderstorms. I believe she simply used an ACE wrap, not too snug, around the torso and shoulders. I am fortunate that none of mine have anxiety issues, as we live in "the thunderstorm capitol of America". Anne in Tampa

@senji: I don't know if it makes a difference but Deke loves his crate covered. i put a blanket over it he can hear us but not see us. I think he feels safe(like a den). As a puppy he would cry until we covered it, then he'd quiet down. I don't know if that would help anyone or not. usually that technique doesn't work with crate phobic dogs because they freak out so much they pull the cover in and eat it :) been there, done that :) Good idea though, for the not-so crate phobic dog.

<> Yay! Excellent post, thanks so much for sharing your insight. I really like your synopsis that often biting is a result of a combination of issues...that is so true. Welcome!

@etzbseder: as far as I know, my B isn't racist, but he deffinately doesn't like any american bulldogs that he has ever met. and he wants to eat any and all pomeranians and chiwawas. Remember small "fluffy" dogs look like prey!!!!

Perfect! I now know when I can get her done. Then I can work on the breeding for next year.

Animals definitely know. The one day that I've been sick since Ruby arrived, she curled up with me on the couch for most of the day…wasn't her usual rambunctious self. I once was taking care of my friend's black lab for a weekend and was sick one of the days. I was on the couch and the dog just came over and put his head on me like he was saying "sorry you don't feel well...don't worry about running around with me, I'll stay with you"...it was the sweetest thing, and we basically just hung out in front of the fire for the day.

When I first got Tayda, I left her in the bedroom when i went to take a shower. When I got out of the shower, I noticed she peed on the bed! I totally thought it was out of anger that I left her in the bedroom. Strangely, when I brought Lenny home a year later as a puppy, he did the same thing.

My dog is only almost a year, and if he is allowed to he will just sleep on my lap all day long, with a short break for food.