You are very right to be concerned. We lost a beagle 3 weeks ago and only just discovered over the weekend that it was a bufo frog. (after reading an article on Friday about them) I found and destroyed one in my backyard.
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Pepper bit my girlfriend
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AJs Human, any ideas short of putting some lead in her ear would be most gratefully accepted.
My advice would be no furniture at all for a while. She has to understand her place in the household is the dog. You and your girlfriend are the pack leaders and that has to be made clear to Pepper. In your case, ignore Pepper altogether, feed Mister first while Pepper has to wait for her food, then feed her and if possible, place your girlfriend in a position of power over Pepper. Do this with feeding, as suggested above, walks, affection….everything. Pepper has to earn everything for a while. When out for a walk, make Pepper walk behind your girlfriend. Anything to place her properly in the family unit.
As I said above, my methods are a little more severe than is usually accepted.
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I agree with alote of people here. If my dog were to react that way he would not be allowed on the couch or bed for a while days/a week perhaps. Its a privilage not a right after all. It might help if your girlfriend trains pepper some new commands that way she can see her as a leader in your house.
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Yup, definitely agree-you growl/snap at me, off you get and stay off until you have earned the right. It's really respect for the placement in the household. Pepper figures she is above your girlfriend. So, off she gets and definitely if she continues I would move further along to out of the bedroom completely. That is YOUR place, not Pepper's.
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You must keep in mind that a dog does not miss a bite or fail to break skin by accident. She didn't break skin because she didn't want to break skin. It is a lower level bite, but a bite nonetheless. First place yourself as head of the household, then place your girlfriend as number two. Pepper will be resistant to this at first, but once she sees she does not rate as high as your girlfriend, she should settle in.
One way your girlfriend can help make this happen is to "take possession" of something Pepper has. A spot on the floor, a toy, whatever. She does this by calmly and without saying a word, just step in slowly on the place/item until Pepper gets the idea and moves or gives it up. Edge in and wait. Do not look Pepper straight in the face: that's a direct challenge. Just move in and take whatever it is you want. Once Pepper realizes she has to move for the girlfriend, she will start to get the idea.
I wouldn't start this exercise with space around you just yet. If your girlfriend wants to sit down, I would suggest you move Pepper rather than make your girlfriend do it. Start with places and things that your girlfriend can "claim" without using her hands. Eventually, Pepper will see her as a leader rather than a rival bitch. (No offense meant at all to your girlfriend.)
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One thing that I was told very early on by several long time basenji breeders and owners is never get into a battle of will with a basenji. Even if you win the battle, you will have lost a part of the relationship you can't get back.
I would recommend going the relationship building route. Have your girlfriend feed Pepper and be responsible for "life rewards" like her walks and going out. You want Pepper to feel like good things come when your girlfriend is around. When Pepper is sitting on the couch or bed, have you girlfriend call her off the furniture and reward her for doing so. Then you girlfriend also gets the opportunity to invite her back on the furniture after she has found her spot. These strategies make the basenji feel like it is getting what it wants and makes your girlfriend being aroudn a good thing and something look forward to.
I keep jars of treats in various rooms of my house so I can easily reward the dogs for behaviors I want to see more of.
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One thing that I was told very early on by several long time basenji breeders and owners is never get into a battle of will with a basenji. Even if you win the battle, you will have lost a part of the relationship you can't get back.
I would recommend going the relationship building route. Have your girlfriend feed Pepper and be responsible for "life rewards" like her walks and going out. You want Pepper to feel like good things come when your girlfriend is around. When Pepper is sitting on the couch or bed, have you girlfriend call her off the furniture and reward her for doing so. Then you girlfriend also gets the opportunity to invite her back on the furniture after she has found her spot. These strategies make the basenji feel like it is getting what it wants and makes your girlfriend being aroudn a good thing and something look forward to.
I keep jars of treats in various rooms of my house so I can easily reward the dogs for behaviors I want to see more of.
I agree here with lvoss for sure… in a battle of "wills" humans can win but lose respect however, in a battle that is physical... humans will lose 99.9% of the time. It is never good to challange in a physical battle. This is one of the reasons that the old "roll and pin" is not recommended by behaviorist any longer and has not for years.
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Thanks everyone. Some very good suggestions. No offense taken AJs Human. LOL
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Did someone suggest roll and pin?
What I am suggesting is not a battle of wills but rather a taking back of territory. There's a difference. When you step into a dog's "space" and refuse to move, it is taking territory. Not a battle of wills. It usually only takes a minute for the dog to get uncomfortable and move. By doing this, you say, "This is mine." rather than, "You are my slave." When the dog gives it up, she is giving rank also. It accomplishes pack order without losing the confidence of your dog. This is how dogs talk to each other as well, yet they do not concede personality or affection.
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My Basenji, "Beamer" did this twice to myself just last week. They truly do not like it when they are awoken unexpectedly! Your girlfriend just needs to know this breed sometimes reacts before it thinks. They truly don't mean this, it just
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@AJs:
Did someone suggest roll and pin?
What I am suggesting is not a battle of wills but rather a taking back of territory. There's a difference. When you step into a dog's "space" and refuse to move, it is taking territory. Not a battle of wills. It usually only takes a minute for the dog to get uncomfortable and move. By doing this, you say, "This is mine." rather than, "You are my slave." When the dog gives it up, she is giving rank also. It accomplishes pack order without losing the confidence of your dog. This is how dogs talk to each other as well, yet they do not concede personality or affection.
That is fine, if the dog has a high bite threshold (meaning won't bite easily)..if the girlfriend tries this, the dog may very well bite her..then what?
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I am the g/f of Pari1art thank you all for your input on Peppers behaviour
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That is fine, if the dog has a high bite threshold (meaning won't bite easily)..if the girlfriend tries this, the dog may very well bite her..then what?[/QUOTe . Thank you We will cross that bridge when and if it happens again
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@AJs:
A spot on the floor, a toy, whatever. She does this by calmly and without saying a word, just step in slowly on the place/item until Pepper gets the idea and moves or gives it up. Edge in and wait.
This does describe a battle of wills. What else do you mean by "gets the idea and moves or gives up"? Some dogs may do that but others will escalate their behavior especially if they have space guarding or resource gaurding tendencies.
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That is fine, if the dog has a high bite threshold (meaning won't bite easily)..if the girlfriend tries this, the dog may very well bite her..then what?
I believe that if you try the "battle" method, you are setting up the dog to fail.. and someone can seriously get hurt.
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See? I told you my methods aren't popular.
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Here's my point of confusion…I agree with idea that if the dog growls, etc. in this type of situation, then the dog should be asked to move and re-earn their privleges . But in some posts, I believe it was stated that the dog should be "moved" which I interpreted as someone physically moving the dog (perhaps that's not what was meant). Doesn't that get into the "battle of wills" terrority if you "physically move them" versus "ask them to move"? Seems like if you physically move them, then even a case where they would not growl at a particular person could change to situation where they might escalate with that person and start growling or worse.
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Nemo, this is what i understand. Basenjis dont like hands on so it's better not to touch them and get them to move verbaly if possible. The most i could get away with , when Benji got into my place was nudge him gently with my body untill i was in the desired space.
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I have said this before in another topic, but never punish a growl (or a bark). The puppy class I went to, the teacher couldn't emphasize this enough. A growl is a form of warning. "Look out, I will bite/attack if this continues." If you punish, you are telling the dog "Don't warn me!".
A dog's warning method is ears pull back/growl/bark/attack. So you then remove the growl, you are removing one of his signs used to inform when feeling threatened/uncomfortable.The teacher then showed us a collection of dog attack videos, and we saw that 99% of them just "without warning" attacked. And you read this a lot in news articles of people saying "He was such a nice dog, but this attack came without warning"….etc etc. This is a classic situation of dogs who have been told not to bark/growl. And the sad part is, it's the dogs that get punished for obeying this behavior and just attacking... Pretty sad really.
The best way to move, is try to lure him with a treat so he moves willingly. And just don't allow the dog back to the sofa/spot you wanted him to move from.
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I have never heard the advice about never punishing a growl but it makes sense.
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I wouldn't move a growling dog with your hands, no.. When Tillo growls I say: "well.. that was your bedtime for today".. and of he goes.. looking guilty..
When I tell Lycia to get off she does all her tricks first.. Sit.. down.. high five..? Hmm.. Ooh.. you want me to get of the bed…...! :rolleyes: 
(then she gets off.. walks around.. and jumps up on the other side.. ggg.. funny girl ;))In Pepper's case I would try to avoid the growling by calling her of the couch/bed before you go and sit on the couch..
