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Female or male?

Behavioral Issues

11/11

20 Jan 2010, 19:35

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    Hi Dawn, my names Colleen and i'm from Melbourne! I'm really interested to hear peoples thoughts on this as my 6 almost 7 month old male basenji who isnt desex as yet is displaying quite a lot of seemingly random aggression toward my other dog who he lives with. Food is the main trigger, but more and more i think it's his testosterone really kicking in, i think hes trying to test out my other dog too see how much he can get away with and how much he can boss him around. Its making life a bit edgy for myself and my dog who cops the outbursts! I'm a vet nurse and it is well know that desexing a male will definitely drop hormone levels significantly and therefore any hormonal aggression along with it. It usually calms them and dog/territorial related aggression can be helped by neutering. I think that if you really want to keep Cougar the best way to go is to desex him. If it becomes unbearable, then its not going to harm anyone by getting him desexed. And to be honest i think the breeder should think twice about breeding from a basenji who has bitten people… but basenjis will be basenjis. No doubt desexing will help, but no doubt the aggression wont be 'cured'... i think then you need to do your bit by training him in conjunction. Best of luck, sounds like we both need it!
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    My last 2 also did that. Used to scare the bejesus out of visitors at my house because it sounded so viscous but never an injury. Usually a squirrel on the porch would do it then they'd both rocket out the back dog door to see it went that way.
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    Thank you so much for your help! I was talking to my husband about Buster. He and I are working on some of the things that you all have suggested (i.e. not letting him on the bed, making him sit before doing anything). What is nice is that prior to this event, I always talked to Buster before doing anything, so we aren't changing everything in his routine.
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    My concern with this situation is that the issues these two are having is something that should have come about during a trial period. Were they introduced on neutral ground? Were they in the same space for HOURS before you decided to adopt the lab? I think that maybe the decision to adopt the lab wasn't thought through as completely as it could have been and it's unfair that as a result Lady will have to go through another major life change. If you're going to add another animal to the household, and this is as big a life change for Lady as it is for you, I think you owed it to her to make sure this other dog could be her friend and integrate into the pack. Maybe your assumption was that all dogs do (should?) get along, no questions asked. Not all humans get along, that is for sure, so why do we expect this of dogs? I agree with other comments that in no way should Lady be labeled aggresive for how she interacts with Raven. Also Lady's growling when you pick up her possibly suggests that she sees herself as leader of the pack. Basenjis need a very strong alpha human to keep things in order. If she sees herself as ruler of the household she's dealing with an intruder who became part of the family without any of her input and certainly not her approval.
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    @khanis: BABY GATES for what purpose?? My boys would simply laugh at me if I thought that they could possibly keep them from a bitch in season!! One boy we had (thankfully not in my own house) was a total escape artist and I'd put him in a vari-kennel inside of a wire crate that was clped all around it closed! I found putting the boys in the escape-proof dog run outdoors works peachy…. girls can be indoors in crates... this will be the first year in a while I will have had to deal with bitches in season that actually live in my house... so it shall be fun I am sure :) Well if nothing else you will remember why you had only same sex before! …ggg
  • Males behaving badly

    Behavioral Issues 9 Oct 2006, 14:24
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    Getting Smitty neutered should help some. Remember now is the crankiest time of year for basenjis…everyone is in reproduce mode! I agree with separating them at feeding time. At least until you everyone gets used to each other and sorts out their place in the pack. To some extent, I think it is important to let Smitty and Ramsey work it out...but not to the point of drawing blood. Ramsey probably feels threatened by a new guy in the picture. I wouldn't be quick to reprimand one or the other for growling either. It is hard to know exactly what is going on during an interaction, and you wouldn't want to reprimand at the wrong time...kwim? If you step in and reprimand right as Smitty was about to submit, you could keep delaying (or escalating) the situation. If you think things are about to get out of control, separate and crate them both for a few minutes. Often that is enough for them to forget what they were angry about. I also do 'cooperative feeds' with mine when I am having an issue. Both dogs have to sit politely and I take turns feeding out treats to the offenders. But, beware...they need to be trained to do this first before you would want to try it with two animals that might fight over treats. It helps if you have another person to train and treat each dog when you first start. Another technique that sometimes works is to simply get up, and step in between the dogs before things get out of hand. Usually, a stern 'knock it off' will help, if you can deliver it BEFORE they actually start fighting. Good luck, I hope everything settles down soon.