Behavioral Issues

When Lela was a pup, at the end of the day she could work herself into a real frenzy, running around the house, not able to stop. A real B500 and then some. Nothing worked to stop or quiet her. Then, one time, I intuitively picked her up, and squeezed her tight in my arms against my body: she instantly went limp, offer a few movements with her paws and jaws and then would collaps into a fine, long coma. I have done it many times, and it worked like a charm. So, pressure seems to help - that's what a thunder shirt would do, I guess.

This is an interesting thread. Any afghan owners notice this in their dogs as well? When Beo was younger, back when I was using the crate with him, when he would have a 'poop' accident he would take a blanket and use his nose to encircle said accident, didn't do the same thing with pee accidents….I don't know if it's the same thing or not, honestly I think he just wanted it as far away from him as possible. He still does this mounding behavior with like bones and the like; he'll use his nose and push a blanket or something on top of it, and then further us his nose to bunch it up into a relatively good looking circle shape. He won't have anything to do with dog feces now though ....he prefers to go in the bushiest/covered area he can find, and then wants absolutely nothing to do with it afterwards (I have to literally drag him through public areas where there's a lot of dog poop lying around).... It is kind of funny to see his "wide-eyed, EW! ICK!" reaction when he accidentally steps in some. Seems like it's more common for basenjis to half halfheartedly attempt to bury it, as opposed to take the time to cover it up with their noses?

It is not unusual for Basenjis to enjoy sleeping in. Pretty much all of the five I have owned have been like that! One question: do you feed her breakfast when she gets up? I find a meal is a good incentive for them. Usually my boy shows up shortly after I prepare his breakfast. I am wondering about how your current problem began? Just out of the blue, or did something happen that upset her? In any event, it is important that she realize bed is an option, not a right, and that bad behaviour will not get her what she wants. I think I would start requiring some sort of "work" before she is allowed on the bed, and as Debra suggested, a key word that means "get off", and enforce it if she does not comply. Stay cheerful, but use the leash when you must to get compliance. Try to head off any aggression by distraction. "Oh, Macie, look at that!" and throw a toy or something. Let us know how you get on.

I used Stanley Steemer Carpet Cleaner. They were a little expensive, but they did a great job and I think it was worth it!

@eeeefarm: Sounds like transferred aggression to me. He knows not to bite the person, but is annoyed enough that he wants to take it out on something, and his tail is handy. :) I wouldn't worry about it if it doesn't get worse. I also wouldn't provoke it. Avoid annoying him if you can and the behaviour may extinguish on its own. Okay! Thanks for all your help!

Working with Oakley..progress is slow but had promising results during our "boarder stay"…he instantly remember the dog who we had as a 8-12 week puppy...he had moments of snarkiness which are very typical for him, coming too Close when he's sleeping, after he's played for awhile..as far as the food goes it was better than expected. He seemed ok to eat in the kitchen with her as long as he ate first...the only troublesome moments were in anticipation of the meal as I was fixing their bowls, he would go after her and snark and bite but not viciously..it was stern, don't get me wrong but he seemed not to take it to the next level which he would have done with a dog he didn't know. The bigger issue was when "I" was eating..my food sparked definite territorialsm, he would get aggressive but still with a stop filter..he wouldn't allow her near me and she knew to backoff and stay alway. I did end up crating him during my meals when he got too stimulated. Overall, I was surprised to see he didn't viciously try to hurt her but he definitely displayed inappropriate behaviors (for what I'd want to see in the future). I'm pleased it was better than expected and have a better direction in training

For what it's worth, I have noted that in households with a strong human leader/boss/alpha/disciplinarian (pick one!) there are less squabbles among dogs, at least when the human is present. My neighbour has Rotties, had two bitches that hated each other and would fight, but they didn't do it when she was around. She did have to be careful that they could not get together in her absence. ;) Interesting anecdote: If my mare is bothering my old gelding and I notice it, I can break it up by yelling at her out the window! Guess I am "alpha" in that herd.

I'm happy to tell you that Lela (as Binti) sees, hears and smells everything. And I have a strong feeling that they have a 6th sense also - they can sense big friend Kiko the Akita coming when she is too far away to be heard of seen or smelled.

Just 20 minutes ago Elliot was extra excited and running around and when he saw me he was SO excited he gave me a little kiss! I put a command to it ("kiss" lol) and praised him. I asked for another and he did it again! He got bored after the 5th or so time but I hope he remembers it! My Cody used to LOVE wet hair. If you sat down on the couch after a shower he would crawl behind you and rub himself on your head. It was both funny and annoying (much like a lot of basenji quirks).

thanks clokatys, i must to say that here we got 35-40 C i think 95 F -104 F and even we get at 44 at top 111F So when its to hot my girls sleep on the floor getting fresh .. inside the house of course or inside a cartoon box that they like and even with these hot weather they take some sun baths. But they dont like so much the comfort beds at the day because is too hot. So i cant explain to me leaving them inside a crate, i think is too hot. I even let a fan directly to my bed so they can go there and sleep with the air. I let almost daily the tv or the computer with the radio on, so they got the same noises that get when im there. And i left some clothes or pijama over my bed in case that the smell give some comfort. I adopted Laika because dont want that Maca was alone all day sure, i dont have such advise here or i were getting a male. They sleep all day and are very happy at nights getting outside the house to walk and getting some fresh. The house is so hot on the second floor, but the first floor is more fresh and they spent the day on that place and can go outside to make pee well… Maca does, Laika dont.. Or can go to check the lizards or the neigbours dog, we have 5 months on these new house and some days i left separate.. pff i must do that today.. Maca was anxious and i fail to read that.. just know writing i get the idea that i must left one inside and one outside on the garden, that have a little roof to give shelter from the sun and the rain. Well, so i thinks is too hot and boring having them crate.. so i separate them when Maca is anxious and these is the days that i must do that. Will carry on checking their plays and stoping when is too much. I notice too, lately that sometimes one invite the other to play rolling and showing the belly so the other grab the neck of the one showing belly or try because the other escapes and then they switch. Some times Laika do that, i mean push Maca with her side and then Laika seek the belly position to escape asap. The day they fight was when i was leaving the house to work and was on january i think was the strees of the new house, i must left separte and fail to recognize that. I need to learn to read them. I hope wont find any injury bad. On weekends i spent all day at home and they sleep and play or go to take sun baths or follow me while i do my house chores and get happy at the door to take walks that days. Will carry on checking his plays.. will make a video so you can check the kind of plays, sure all with hunting practice..

Just be careful of one thing: my Oakley (having just had surgery for his incessant dietary indiscretion) eats cotton or cloth material, fleece blankets he won't but actual bath towels he will shred and eat…while I doubt many dogs would go that far, if yours has a liking to cloth materials then I'd suggest supervision or nothing when not home....safety trumps comfort... Luckily (in my case) oakley finally stopped shredding his beds (out current bed is a year old and probably the 17th bed in his first year and a half...and he stopped shredding blankets...hope for you it's a habit that can be outgrown!! Been there,done that!!

Hi, thanks for the input, very helpful - we already found suppliers.

I hear you, Chealsie! I'm still not sure I'll survive Ava's adolescence. I'm pretty good at managing stress, but there have been times– many times-- that she has almost sent me over the edge. I had wanted to get another B puppy in a year or two... but no more.

Shivering in a young dog vs older where it may be pain is 'fear' As the thread started out with a young dog, I was wondering if you can recall the circumstances before the actual shivering. Also remember that dogs' noses can be 10,000 times stronger than ours, hearing 'way better', and recall the animals that could tell when a tsunami hit, or bad storm, (barometric pressure for example or thunder way, way out there) the vibrations: of a train, a gun shot, a backfire of an engine, the list can go on. The fear is just something they are not understanding as it is not a (sound) that they are sensitized to, esp young dogs in a new home (up to a year….) Hope this helps (here is a link http://dogs.about.com/od/dogbehaviorproblems/a/signs-of-fear-in-dogs.htm )

My breeder said that if your basenji lays his ears flat backwards when greeting you it's a sign of affection. I see that my 3month old does that to me and she adores me and my boyfriend. Maybe thats your other signal .

I made sure when my girl did it, I con tinued to pick her up and say stop being so snarky and she would stop imedietely and lick me. I have a very unusual Basenji who loves to kiss and maybe that is because we kissed on her all the time from the day we got her, and whenever she got grumpy and than stopped she got loved on and kissed on. She rarely gets annoyed now because we follow through and never let her think she is the boss. So just follow through and tell her no and dont stop what you already started or she will think she is in control. I was literally a nervous owner with mine because I had heard so many stories about Basenjis and how difficult they can be, and I always had Whippets which are so laid back it is not even funny. But now I have totally gotten over it. I would get another Basenji in a minute and not think twice about it. She is the most entertaining awesome dog we have ever had. Just make sure she knows her place in the pack and love on her alot. It has worked with ours.

@Basenji420: We just recently got our new bundle of joy Nala… 8 weeks old. Shes such a sweet heart.... Loves to snuggle up to you and keep warm....plays around and is so much fun. We are having a few i say minor problems. First off... She keeps pooping everywhere in the house. When we take her out to eliminate she only goes to pee. She seems to only poop in the house in the corners of rooms. She pooped outside this morning and we gave her praise and a treat. The breeder had a "kitty litter" type thing in the corner which is why she still thinks she should pee in corners i believe. She keeps nipping at us even though she is a puppy. She takes it too far. We have been consistant with when she does nip or try to bite us we yell out like if it hurt tell her no and even stop playing at that moment and ignore her for a while... She stops for a min but then is back at it again or just keeps doing it right after. She hates the leash...we got her a collar nothing special and we just even tried to put it around her neck and she just keeps scratcing at it...... She always pulls away and resist to even getting use to it. We tried giving her treats and sniffing it to get use to it but to no avail. Any help would be great as we do not want to have to deal with issues that can be corrected to get worse in the future. Thanks, MM Ok well yes we spoke to the breeder and she gave some tips about it. THey didnt use a collar on her before we got her She is also doing much better with going outside and letting us know. GUess it just takes time. I guess i just thought she needed to be walked. She has so much energy sometimes after a good nap but we are not walking her as of yet. I did not use a kitty litter cause i did not want her to get use to this. Why use a kitty litter if we dont plan on using it. THe nipping is still happening but i guess we cant really do much we just stuff a toy in her mouth and tell her chew so she knows to chew/nip on her toys. Anyone have any tips on crate training their basenji.. She absoulutely hates the crate in the day..unless she is super tired and will nap on us then we will take her and put her in the crate.. She HATES being away from us and being along. Has no issues sleeping in the crate at night too. Goes in with ease.

On all but the mouthiness front, he's amazing - he's friendly with people and other dogs, he loves to sit in our laps (for now at least), and he's doing well in the basic commands we are teaching him. We're so happy to have him around! But ignoring him has given mixed results and little progress in the last week. Remi just turned ten weeks so we are not too worried yet. At the same time, it sure would be nice if we could solve it sooner rather than later. Also, any suggestions on your dog's favourite chew toys are welcome. We've got Remi some nylabones to gnaw on for the moment.

I think a large difference in age can be an issue also. I know my Bambi who is 10 does not like overly playful dogs pestering her so no young ones for her but I think she would be good at teaching puppies manners as long as they did not stay permanently! Jennifer