Behavioral Issues

@Vanessa626: Chance will lick until his tongue sticks to you :) He will just lay there with his dry tongue stuck to you. Hahahahaha! that is too funny, Mia does the same, I thought she was just a little lazy to actually lick lol!!!

lol Luv, yes Mia does the same, now when we pull out the water bottle, she scrams as fast as she can, and just stares at it on the counter lol…such funny little personalities they have. Always entertaining

@Duke: Oh couldn't agree with you more! I was amazed at how calm, sweet and socialized they are. I wanted to pet them so bad, but didn't want to upset them - you know how most B's are with strangers. They acted like I was "no big deal" standing and talking - I asked if I could pet one of them. Kelli said sure! I got to pet all 3 she had with her and back at her booth there were 2 others, equally calm as cucumbers. Kelli really has wonderful dogs . . . and so do both of you. Tyson also has those same qualities as very calm, sweet, and very cuddly. I love his temperament. Each one of our b's have their own personality. One that thinks she is the boss, one that doesn't want to be bothered, and than lovable Tyson. Also I did not intend my comments about Tyson being lean to be a criticism of Kelli. She did tell me she tends to keep her basenji's on the leaner side.

Our puppy park is a major sniffing festival…for ALL the dogs! Last time out, She-Ra sniffed one dog who pretty much didn't want to be sniffed...thank God Basenjis are fast! That dog must have chased her all over the place before finally giving up! And in true Basenji form once the dog gave up the chase, where did She-Ra go? Right back to the dog...hoo boy! :)

She-Ra's no fan of the rain, that's for sure. We use pee-pads and these past few days we've gone through quite a few (had a pretty rainy spell), but if we go out with her she's usually okay.

Thank you so much Andrea and Sharron! And Sharron, I didnt think you were trying to dis me,,,,,,:). I guess we just had it so good with our first two b's that Wrigley has thrown us for a loop. We just want the best for our new boy. It is really sad to see him so scared – when someone new comes in he immediately gets really gassy and anxious (I know people think Im lying when I blame the smell on the dog,,,,lol). Anyway, thanks for all the tips. We will do what we need to to get Wrigs settled in and confident.

I would agree that the females seem more serious some times and less teasing for play. IMO I don't think you can say all males are the same and clueless, I just don't see it with ours. Willy is a clown and Jasper is as serious as they come. Max is the brightest dog I've ever had, very clever and hardly clueless.

Thought I should post an update here. The "BIG problems with Jack" thread brings to mind a posting here. About a week after I left messages, the Behaviorist called me back. They also do animal rescue, so they may have been pretty busy. Anyway - I spoke to Carolyn for about 20 minutes on the phone. She said she'd be happy to come over for a $95 visit, or I could take some instruction on the phone for free. Basically, she told me to do what Andrea initially advised. Put Duke on a thin, almost ribbon thin 10 foot lead with no hand loop. He is to have this lead on in the house at all times. That way when someone is coming or going from the house, the lead will be easy for us to step on and reel him in,so it's short enough for him to sit, and cannot lunge forward. We are to stay calm and quiet while asking Duke to "sit" or "down". She said with consistency, this will blow the wind out of his sails. But it will take quite some time because he has done the wrong behavior for a long time. We're still working on it. But, I think he's getting used to being stopped short with the comings and goings here.

Sahara never gets grumpy when she has to move or I move her myself. When she was a puppy I always tried to get her use to being moved, and I just couldn't keep my hands off of her when she was sleeping. Just like a sweet little baby, I just had to sweet talk her and rub her, she looked so sweet and lovable. I still have a had time leaving her alone, hubby too when she is sleeping. She is great, when she is sleeping in my lap and I have to get up, I just say, "Sahara, Mommy has to get up". She immediately gets up and moves and goes to lay down in her bed or in the guest room where it is usually nice and dark (no lights on). I read on here when she was a puppy to get her use to being moved when she was sleeping and I thank this forum for that. I took the advice and Sahara is all the good for that. She still growls and puts my wrist in her mouth when I get in my car, she hates to see me leave. I am still working on this behavior, hope the water bottle stops it for good.:D

Just before I leave for work, EL D goes crazy until he gets his kong toy with treats then he just sleeps until I get home. Then a walk and then he search the yard for squirrels and rabbits, unless he's hungry – he'll prance around the house carrying his food dish or sometimes throwing it. Sometimes he'll watch TV in the evenings or just tear up his toys. Every now and then he'll do the Basenji500 - though mostly it's when he needs to go potty.

@Capt_Jack_our_Basenji: THANK!!! And OH YES time does fly…i dont want him to get bigger.... My first baby is 20. That's TWENTY YEARS OLD!!! How the blazes did THAT happen? LOL. My last baby will be 9 –NINE!!!!! -- in a couple of weeks. Yikes! I know people always say, "enjoy them while they're young; they grow up before you know it", which is true, but there's no way to really appreciate that fact until it's too late! You are so busy with the day to day, you just don't notice that suddenly your infant is packing to move out! But there is so much fun to come! By this time next year, he'll be walking!! and beginning to talk!!! THAT is so much fun! You DO want those fun days to come also. But I know these infancy days are so special -- so snuggly and warm. {and tiring! ;) } I understand there's a part of you that would love it to last forever.

Best wishes to your brother - will keep you all in prayers.

thanks to all your suggestions. this is the second day/night now and she has peed outside. She has started to go towards the door when she needs to go to do a pee, so i've let her out..stayed with her until she does (which has been very quick, it used to take 5 or so minutes but now only 5 seconds..which is great!! She gets alot of praise when she does and she is quickly allowed back inside. Fingers crossed it stays that way!! Yes all bedroom & toilet doors shut..i learnt not to let her out of our sight as she is very sneaky??? One more question which i find odd..why is there a need for her to clean up after herself after peeing on the floor or her bed??

@luvsmy2bs: Hopefully though if anything bad happened to him while he was on his own he did have a good family before that that loved him the way that he should be loved. And he certainly has a good family now that loves him the way he should be loved. :) It does sound like it's probably just going to take some time. Zoey would run from me the first couple of days after I brought Tyler and Zoey home. But with her, it only took a very short time before she realized I wasn't going to do anything bad to her. And she's a little cuddle bug now.

yeah, it really was… especially with all the drama i have going on with my current living situation it is a relief that something is going right. My boyfriend has been having a heck of a time finding a place to rent that will allow my dogs and me to visit on the weekends. So we finally found a place that would allow it, and then we had to visit to make sure the dogs got along. i was so relieved that not only was Lenny polite, he was playing! yay. anyway, i'm moving out of my apt at the end of November... thankfully my company is going to move me again so I don't have to do it myself! Good thing i haven't really unpacked yet!

Here are some links to the SENSE-ible Harness and the Easy Walk Harness. http://www.softouchconcepts.com/products/sense_ible_harness.html http://www.premier.com/pages.cfm?id=74

Oh, and BTW…not a stupid question at all...I think everybody who has an intact male has contemplated that question :)

Another thought on the poop thing…the 100% guaranteed way to get Ruby to poop is to give her exercise. Also, Ruby only goes once a day (in the morning) unless something really excites her (like deer running across the road in front of her or a dog chasing her when we do an evening walk). We have a routine in the morning...first thing after I get up, I take her out...say "Potty Ru", she runs off the step and starts to sniff, I say "potty" a couple more times and she goes. (oh and while she's going, I say "good potty" a few times and follow up with a treat once finished). We have a daylight basement that extends off the porch so there is an overhang that she goes under and will potty no matter how hard it is pouring (takes longer in the rain or when it is windy because of all the noise). After the potty, then I run her on the bike or walk her (walks happen in light to moderate rain) - usually 1 - 2 miles. If I walk her, she sometimes poops on the walk (usually in one spot by a duck pond which is just about the halfway point of the walk). If I run her on the bike, as soon as we are back to the yard, we go in her dog pen, I say "poop Ru" and she starts doing the crazy run/circle thing and poops (again, I say "good poop" while she's going and give a treat to her when finished). I bet if you walked her first and then tried to get her to poop, you might have more success as she will have checked for messages from other dogs :D on her walk and gotten all the new scents from those.

@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