Behavioral Issues

@JazzysMom: Let me ask you this, Pat {and all}….. I've always fed my dogs separately, esp. since Keoki came into the picture because he will scarf his food and run to see if he can get what the others have. I don't crate them, but they are fed in separate rooms which puts them about ten feet away from one another. Keoki has learned NOT to hover over the other dogs, but he does kind of watch and wait for either of them to finish and then he runs over to lick their bowls. I don't have a problem with that, as they all run from bowl to bowl at the end of the meals, licking whatever {icky} they can find there. It's funny because they all get the same food. Lately, in the mornings only, Jazz won't eat UNTIL Keoki finishes and and then she will growl and ruuuuun for her bowl. So, the last few days I have put her bowl near his {as an experiment}-- w/in maybe 2 feet -- and she will immediately eat while he does. He eats faster, and it's almost as if she slows down when she knows he's finished. She picks up one piece of food at a time to carefully chew it, with the occasional quiet growl to remind him that it is hers. What is up with that? Honestly…sounds like a fight in the making to me. Eating faster is the first level of resource (in this case food) guarding. She may be eating slower for any number of reasons...the first one I thought of was a calming signal to him? I doubt she is trying to tease him...but she may be trying to make a point...mine, calm down, mine, calm down... These kind of things tend to escalate, so IMO, I wouldn't even experiment with it. Why not feed them separately, like with doors in between? It has got to be less stressful for the dogs if they don't have to worry if the other dog is going to bully them for their food...or on the other hand, if they can bully the other dog.

I admire you care with this basenji. I agree, some treats from the child, and slow,gentle movements from her when she is around the dog, will probably work, but it might take some time. Do let us know how it goes.

This whole story is so sad and so sweet. This thread really needs a new, more respectful and descriptive title. Even though I understand the desperate frustration in why it was named this at the start. {{{hugs}}} to you, Rocky's forever mom.

I would love to see Dallas chasing a rabbit but in area I just cannot nor will not trust him. Our area is too busy & he could easily be hit by a car. Maybe one day when we go back up to MD he'll be able to run around in the local park my mom lives near & takes our dogs to…maybe. Haha.

Well, I can say I've never had a dog do that to me, wow, it is kinda funny though LOL

Basenji 500! Love it!!!

Could be either…but since it is specifically in an area where a new animal has arrived, and not any other places..probably territory.

I think my girl can find food where ever she is. I taught her the command "drop it" which she does, but I also know I have to watch her when we are walking because she will try to get it eatten before I can tell her to drop it. She can be pretty quick.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will look around for a different food and hope that helps.

I use one similar to what wizard posted, I love it and it works great. Tiggy is great in the car, and the most he does when he decides to wander is stand with front feet on the middle console, he does know "get in the back" and stays there most of the time. The only time he comes all the way up (even when we stop and/or get out) is when invited/told he can. Well I take that back, for some reason when we pull into the garage Tiggy always tries (and has succeeded) to sit in my husbands lap while he parks; it is the only time he has ever does this. But I really use the seat belt almost all the time, because even though he's good about staying in the back, he doesn't lay down right away and will look out the windows or out the back which means he puts his front feet up. With that if I were to have to make a quick stop he'd most likely end up in the front or hurting himself more because he's not secured as well. For Reggie, I usually only use his if we are going to be on the highway. Maybe I should use it more, but Reggie gets in and lays down right away, if he does sit up to look out he's leaned back against the seat and sitting, he very rarely stands up.

We did go to the dog park on tuesday and Lenny did seem particularly wound up that day. Maybe there was a female around that was in heat. I suppose they shouldn't have been at the dog park if that was the case, but who knows. I know there was at least one other intact male there at the same time we were there. Surprisingly, they did not mess with each other. Poor little Tayda - always has to watch her back! Literally! ha ha.

Magnum eats grass all the time, usually with no vomiting afterwards. However, if he goes at it like a lawn mower, I know he's trying to make himself toss. (I can just imagine him thinking, "Wish I had me a finger.") :eek:

Years ago when all my kids were young… the girls would be under the covers and OJ's favorite thing was to walk on the top and paw the "lumps" to see what got a reaction.... it was pretty funny to here that typical Basenji noise from out of no place.... covered at they were.....

It's scary with a toddler in the house. Even though Willie has gotten soooo much better, when I recently had little children in the house for a short visit, I kept him on a leash. You just can't watch them 100 percent of the time. Here's hoping the best for Buster.

I had to put screws through my gate to keep Tuck from pushing it out of the door frame it was in. The gate is designed with rubber 'feet' (that push agains the door frame) but the door makes up part of the framing across the top (it doesn't have a permanant crossbar because it's a walk-through gate). If you tighten it too much, it binds the door and gets all out of whack. When tightened as much as it allows, Tucker could eventually ram it enough times to knock a corner loose. So, yeah, I screwed the damn thing to the wall… :) It's a 36" high gate, which he can jump pretty easily, but he's not a jumper, so it works for me.

Seems like Tuck was just having a couple bad days with all of the small changes that seem so insignificant to the humans… I guess me coming back from vacation, having someone other than his walker walk him for a week and then changing back to the regular walker the next had him in a tizzy. He's not peeing anymore. I also strip tested him for several days during a week and the indicator never changed color, so I'm guessing I can rule out Fanconi for now, which would, of course, be the most extreme reaction from an overprotective parent. :)

These articles were very helpful. I had never looked at it like that, but it makes sense. I will have to try it.

@Ninabeana26: That's a basenji for ya right? :p Yup, for "unpredictable" dogs, they sure are "predictable". :D Still think he's a big turd.;) And honestly, if Jazz would just scoot over….......:rolleyes:

Torchsong- I think you're on the right path. And kudos to you for being committed to making this work. I would suggest one idea. I'd have a "go to place" type command. A bed or mat that your dog will go to and lay down. Make that place a wonderful place for your pup. Pup goes to mat, treats rain down on her. Lots of praise. Slowly increase the duration and distraction while pup is on the mat. Have a command "Where's you place" or "magic mat". This will give your dog something to do while your wife comes over the gate. And if pup is on the magic mat relaxing, it's hard to go into defense mode (as long as the mat is far enough away from the gate).

You're right! My wife and I have animals since childhood and since we are maried, almost 25 years. We are really animal-lovers and we can't stand it when folks take animals, just for their own satisfaction. We once bought a abused Parrot for a lot of money, only to give this bird a better place. I am delighted to her that someone of this forum understands what we are trying to say. And the last thing we want, is that people think that you can establish a good relationship with your Basenji through yelling, hitting etc. That kind of constantly fysicaly and mentaly abusing isn't right for no animal! ;) @Quercus: <<we see="" correcting="" as="" the="" last="" posibility="" but="" we="" believe="" that="" sometimes="" it="" is="" necessary.="">> I don't think you will find anybody here that disagrees with that…at least not that has spoken up about training issues. Corrections definitely have a place...but some folks' form of correction ends up doing more damage than help. Yelling, spanking, etc don't have much meaning to a dog. I think corrections in the form of voice are particularly effective during puppyhood when puppies are learning all about what is acceptable. I think physical corrections with an adult dog who is showing aggression in any form is a mistake.</we>