Behavioral Issues

Arwen starts a hole and destuffs. If the toy is intact, Cara loves to play forever… a hole, and she joins Arwen. 9 yrs of Arwen and destuffing. My old Rottie LOVED his woobie, would carry it in and out to potty, sleep with it. We get Arwen and end up having to take them because she would rip up in yard and I feared they would eat and get blocked. Ditto in room, Sayblee would squeak toys forever... Arwen desqueaked. I have finally gotten tough and have squeak toys only in Cara's cage and going postal when Arwen touches them. But some weeks I still destuff 4 or 5 toys. Haven't had to in a few weeks but I am sure the cycle will begin again. Meantime, Arwen is busy with her new game. She discovered she can flip both bathroom AND kitchen trash cans (with step on to open tops) over. Anyone want a Basenji?

@tanza: Rather then responding to spam, send a note to the admins of the group LOL you firing my OWN advice back to me? I know, I know… fail.

djaan, how about removing your spam link… then people might think your posts are serious.

Great article. And I love the quote from another article : As a Dog World magazine article put it several years ago: "Modern basenjis are living antiquities that will make your home their jungle, your furniture their monkey bars, and every walk a safari."

I agree with JayCee. I had to know his limits with my male and not put him in a position where he would fail. As yes, some dog owners dont understand the basenji play, but some do. I have met a great bunch of folks at the park who have taken some time with their dogs to help mine out. Very much appreciated. No matter what kind of dog you have, there will always be that one person at the park the park who has a problem. I avoid those folks. I also want the park to be safe for all. If someone brings their children in, I remove my dogs immediately since i dont know how they are with children. Always be respectful of other owners and dogs at the park. Anyway, i want my basenjis to be able to play with any kind of dog and not just basenjis. Success so far.

I think I would mention it to the vet too…if you have a reg check up coming up soon do it then, if not, you might make a special trip..or at least contact the vet. Make sure you let him/her know this is a change for this dog. Because a vet that is not familiar with Basenjis will probably be like 'yeah, so your dog is panting when it is hot...that is what they do'..... That being said...some basenjis definitely pant more, and more regularly than other basenjis. Heat tolerance seems to be inhertited to some extent. One of my girls comes from a line of dogs that wilt easily in heat...and she has passed that on to her son. They don't get ill, or anything, they just pant easily, and will choose to lie in the shade, instead of the hot brick patio like the others.

@sharronhurlbut: With rescue dogs, we make walking them together a big deal..several times a day. Letting them sniff the "leavings" of the other, and just getting them out together and moving. It might help. Sharron, thanks. Yes we do walk them together as well as seperately. They do seem to get on well but i don't think they have sorted out who is the dominant one. I can't say at this point either. When play fighting he certainly makes lots of noise, whilst she is silent. He looks to be in charge sometimes, however if she silently draws her lips back and stares at him he backs off or lets her clean in his mouth/ eyes etc. If Kwame wants to sleep, she is a terrible torment and pokes and prods him, he gets very whipped up and goes for her but it's like water of a Ducks back.

@DebraDownSouth: LOL, I always remember a gal posting her dog humped his "stuffie" (toy). She said, I know it's domination, but how much domination does a stuffed toy need? We were rolling. She did understand it isn't JUST domination, but the comment was pretty funny. Hahaha… love that! :) Sometimes the way we word things on here borders on insanity! :)

@Kananga: I agree on the last post about playing vs. walking. I can take my Basenji on a walk for a solid hour and he won't be very tired. Encourage a few B-500s and play a few games with my B and he'll be napping in no time. I think the short bursts of high intensity exercises become more effective at wearing these guys out. Just my opinion though. I totally agree. In the course of Kipawa's day, we go to an off-leash dog park so he can run like crazy. For the evening walk, we do controlled leash walking. He is definitely more tired after the off leash play time where he runs like a bat out of hell!

I don't think you should be put off just because of problems with your previous Basenji. He could, as others have said, have had a physical problem. Get your new Basenji from a reputable breeder and then make sure that you socialise him/her well and make sure that he/she encounters as many different environments as possible. Good socialisation is the key to many issues. You will, having had problems have been made more aware. There is much advice on this forum on dealing with various issues. If your breeder is conscientious and experienced he/she will be available at all times with good advice and will be able to guide you through any problemsd that may arise. Much of the behaviour Jess mentions is due to the owners and not their Basenjis. There have been temperament issues in the past but mainly due to lack of intimate knowledge of the breed. It is rarely (apart from physical problems) due to the actual dog (although there have been instances). In the early days people had had little experience and treated them as 'just a dog' which Basenjis are most definitely not! I'm sure Shelley will agree that her earlier experiences with a 'difficult' Basenji have helped no end in the way she has brought up her present two. I would also caution Shelley when she is told that dogs in the pedigree of her first Basenji were of doubtful temperaments. The first question I'd ask is whether the person who told her this was actually the breeder of the dogs mentioned.

I sent UPCO a message about the strength of the bully pad because Kipawa is a real chewer! Here is their response and my message below that: It probably will not last. On Wed, May 11, 2011 at 4:12 PM,

I would start off with a vet visit, blood work and urinalysis to rule out any physical problems.

Impulse control is a great thing to work on at home to set some of those boundaries Sharron mentioned and begin to manage their crazy behavior at that age (which isn't ending any time soon even when you neuter him). It's an important thing for a puppy to learn how to think through when they get highly aroused. If you aren't already, you can start with simple things like requiring him to sit (or whatever else you like such as watch, down, stand) before he gets his food bowl, treats, gets to go outside, gets to play with a toy, chase a lure whip, etc. As an example, my dogs, like many basenjis, like to chase a lure whip, so usually what I do is run around a bit with it and then stop, stand still and hold the lure. Then I wait for my dog to sit, and then I very excitedly start running around again and then stop after a minute or so. She gets very excited chasing the lure but is now able to stop and sit very quickly because she knows if she does it will start moving again.

Oh good! Glad she's fine!

My rottie removed the rockers from my rocking chair, lol. But that is very impressive for sure.

You'd need a huge litter box to keep a male B from missing the box and hitting the wall or floor around the box…unless you are talking about an enclosed one with a single entrance... Do they make them that big? My male is 28lbs and when he cuts loose on the sofa...it's a 4' line buy the time he's done. He likes to get ALL the cushions in one sitting. :)

Have you considered having the pet sitter stay with you for a few days or even a week before you leave, doing what he/she normally would do with the dog or dogs while you are there also? With most dogs, it's just the change in routine that is upsetting. Tucker likes things to have things be the same all the time and even the smallest change can start a spiteful peeing spree, some unusual growling and other things. We used to get a housesitter/petsitter to com stay at our condo when we still lived there and EVERY time when we got home we would find pee somewhere in the house and Tucker would pee in the house for days after, sometime weeks. Tucker did okay at the kennel, but after 3-4 days, he becomes incorigable even to the trained staff there. My stepfather passed several years ago right at the end of my alumni reunion weekend. Wife and I were in Charleston, had spent the weekend there and got the call as we were leaving town and had to divert to Greenville rather than home. We were away for 10 days and around day 6 or 7, Tucker started biting the staff back home at the kennel…

She is probably not picking up on his signals to go out. He knows better than to pee on the floor so he gets up on something elevated and then pees. Or it is possible he has a UTI or some other issue. It may hurt when he pees so he is trying new places to find somewhere it doesn't hurt. (A very common reason for cats who suddenly refuse to use the litter box but it can happen with dogs too.)

another option, is for the human to get off the sofa and walk off. not a great option if you're in the middle of a really suspenceful movie/program and don't have ti-vo. (which is me) i have tried picking growly dog up and placing him or her off the sofa with mixed results. Z and J will bicker often, usually about a spot on the floor that might have, or have had, or might will have, a molecule of food on it. I usually just ignore that b/c nobody ever gets hurt. Sometimes I put Z in the crate for a time out. J will also growl at P, but since she's 3.5 (he's 13) and is twice his size, I figure he's not going to hurt her and she's never growled. But you do have to know your pups and decide what YOU can tolerate.

What great boys all three love the pictures and little Ryan is getting so big and still just as handsome. I know one thing for sure no need to waste the wipes on the face and hands looks like they really do stay clean. Rita Jean