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"look what i can do"

Behavioral Issues
  • Today Haiku proved he' s a real B!
    He was in the living room and he went completely …crazy!,
    for about 20 minutes, i must have said the word "NO" at least 3.000 times,
    it was as if he didn't know what could be the worst he could try:
    bite holes in the carpet, digging holes in the sofa, finding all the shoes to chew,
    pulling the curtains down, biting the table ...and so on, he tried literally every possible disaster he could think of, just like a small mad hurricane.
    To be honest, it was a joy to watch him soooo alive...
    can't wait till vaccinations are over and start taking him for long walks - and hope they are going to make him tired enough.

  • :D Yes i bet you can't wait to take him a verrrry long walk.

  • Yes, more exercise will help with all this energy.

  • Sounds like one normal basenji puppy..got a love'em. Yes, long walks are great for making sleepy puppies.

  • @anmus:

    Today Haiku proved he' s a real B!
    He was in the living room and he went completely …crazy!,
    for about 20 minutes, i must have said the word "NO" at least 3.000 times,
    it was as if he didn't know what could be the worst he could try:
    bite holes in the carpet, digging holes in the sofa, finding all the shoes to chew,
    pulling the curtains down, biting the table ...and so on, he tried literally every possible disaster he could think of, just like a small mad hurricane.
    To be honest, it was a joy to watch him soooo alive...
    can't wait till vaccinations are over and start taking him for long walks - and hope they are going to make him tired enough.

    Buddy did this many times when I first got him. Couldn't take my eyes off him for a second in the house. And that's in addition to taking him for long walks. He's a little over a year old now and still does it occasionally:D

  • @anmus:

    Today Haiku proved he' s a real B!
    He was in the living room and he went completely …crazy!,
    for about 20 minutes, i must have said the word "NO" at least 3.000 times,
    it was as if he didn't know what could be the worst he could try:
    bite holes in the carpet, digging holes in the sofa, finding all the shoes to chew,
    pulling the curtains down, biting the table ...and so on, he tried literally every possible disaster he could think of, just like a small mad hurricane.
    To be honest, it was a joy to watch him soooo alive...
    can't wait till vaccinations are over and start taking him for long walks - and hope they are going to make him tired enough.

    I know exactly what your goin through man, Cairo does that about four times a week. He goes insane, like a little kid thats mad, throwing a tantrum. He'll be on the back of the couch, back of the recliner, chewin' the recliner and couch, chewin' the table, yankin' everything off the table, draggin' rugs all around the house, pullin' my shirt, my pant leg. All at the same time it seems like, like you said for about 20 minutes, then he'll lay down in a "Basenji position" and go to sleep.

    I walk him for long walks all the time, but he is so energetic its unreal. I hope he will start to grow out of it with age.

  • They are like little kids throwing mad tantrums. Why do little kids throw mad tantrums? They are overtired! When this happens at our house, (and it still does even though our boy is older now) one of us picks him up and holds him in our lap for a few minutes until he rather quickly falls asleep.

    Try it and see…

  • Is there any correlation between these bouts of madness and bowel movements? Just curious - my cats go running around, crazy mad after a deposit - like a bottle rocket going off in their behinds! :)

  • I think it just a form of b madness, where they are so very happy they have us human slaves to tend them, they are doing a running "dance" of joy!
    But, that is just me.

  • Kipawa - I literally burst out laughing at your response. Sounds like your cats have a lot of personality!

    I can't wait to have a little B ripping around the house… guess I'm a masochist, but it does sound like a lot of fun.

  • @Mango:

    I can't wait to have a little B ripping around the house… guess I'm a masochist, but it does sound like a lot of fun.

    Yes, exactly Mango. I too await the day where the Basenji 500 takes place in my home. It should be fun - we have hardwood floors! :D

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    TimesthemythT
    Ha, I know, forum posts are like a novel sometimes - except sometimes you don't always find out what happens at the end. There are lots of posts here where I'm like "well, what happened?!" The long and short of it: we have a "success story". He's always been kind of a strange dog, never doing things by the books. For his anxiety…...nothing I did really helped him. I originally put him on Prozac as a last resort, but overtime he just improved on his own; I know it's not due to the medication, because he's been off of it for awhile. He still hates confinement but he's learned that once he's in...he's not getting out. SO he basically goes through cycles where he'll whine for about a minute or two every so often (30 minutes to 2 hours) or so then goes back to sleep, until I get home. It gets better and better each time. One of our biggest issues I think was him being able to escape, and that fear was feeding off itself. In the beginning he would pull out all the stunts to try and escape, some of them working of course. Once I made it so he could not escape, the major destruction and psychological issues died down. I ended up putting wood pieces around the crate (as suggested above) and that helped immensely to fortify the area. He still does cry, and rip things up while I'm away...sure. But, as long as he isn't endangering himself, getting too worked up, or making a huge racket? It works. After we got that solved. I moved onto trying to get him to be ok in a crate - which has been successful. He goes into it fine, lays down and doesn't cry a whole lot, or try to escape. I think his 'anxiety' is not unusual, or inappropriate. Just a natural fear that dogs have of being alone, confined, and in a new space. I also didn't go over 30 minutes when I was teaching him as a puppy....big mistake. Things that have helped: Music, not having the light on, making the pen one giant bed (instead of allowing an area where he could stand), leaving random tissues around in the pen, not letting him out of the pen directly after coming home, giving a single cookie before leaving and returning if quiet, having the area be inescapable obviously, and brushing his teeth if he comes out of the pen right away. Things that didn't really help: thunder shirt (was working until he ripped it up), medication, mirror outside of the pen, leaving delicious food or toys inside the pen, DAP diffuser, etc.
  • Can you keep them from pulling?

    Behavioral Issues
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    ComicDom1C
    @dmcarty: For those that are a bit more interested in the Gentle Leader - it was designed by a long time trainer in MN Ruth Foster with a vet from the University of MN. Here is the story for some background that might interest you. http://www.inventionatplay.org/inventors_fos.html Thanks for posting the link Diane. Even though we use Martingale collars we have always been concerned that there could be damage to the dogs trachea if they pulled hard enough or decided to lunge. We can see the Gentle Leader assisting our Basenji to teach himself without causing him undue stress or the possibility of him harming himself as he learns. Jason and Miranda
  • Can this girl TRI any harder?

    Behavioral Issues
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    QuercusQ
    @Vanessa: Update So last night I decided to try another tactic. The ever famous squirt bottle. Just the pure sight of it stops both our B's and it worked! I only had to use it 3 times and she got the clue. It was great. :) At 7am when it was time to get up I let her know it was ok to sit on the bed and cuddle with us for a few minutes. We have always allowed Chance to do that in the mornings as a reward for sleeping on his bed the whole night. Kiya was really pleased when I told her it was ok to join us (for a few minutes only) before it was time to get up. I just have to sleep with the squirt bottle now. Fun Fun! Glad to hear that that worked for you. Be sure to find a way to wean her off the presence of the squirt bottle, or you really will have to sleep with it forever!! I just want to point out, that it sounds kind of confusing from Kiya's point of view, that Chance is allowed up on the bed in the morning and she may not be. Keep in mind that dogs CANNOT understand consequences that don't immediately follow a behavior. So, if she is not allowed on the bed because she didn't stay on her bed all night, there is NO way she can put all that together. Keep it really simple for her…good behavior equals reward immediately...if you are going to use consequences they have to happen immediately. Good luck, and good sleep :)
  • Help with having "doggie friends" visit

    Behavioral Issues
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    TuckerVAT
    Feed them separately and then remove all food. Food aggression is quite normal in dogs. My GF has an Old English Sheepdog and she is very food aggressive and eats like a pig. She'll eat Tuckers food if he's not guarding it constantly. I have a gate on my kitchen and I feed Tucker in the kitchen, gated, and feed Maggie (the OES dog) on the balcony. After they eat, we recombine them. There are still a few 'toy issues', but Tucker just gets up high and eats his rawhide where Maggie can't reach him. Proper management typically can resolve most problems. Her dog is allergic to pretty much everything. The meds makes her dog constatly thirsty and Maggie will drink until the bowl is empty (if allowed to do so) and then puke everywhere. (It's actually kinda funny…) We keep the water gated in the kitchen and only allow her short visits to the water. Either that, or we put her on the balcony with all the water she wants and let her drink and puke to her hearts content. ;) Yes, it's kinda weird, but what can you do?
  • Lenny "likes" other dogs!

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    Tayda_LennyT
    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!
  • "Conquering"

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    N
    I think you're Mom's on the right track. By adopting a 'submissive' pose, you're making the dog anxious. She thinks she's expected to do something, but she's not sure what. She would prefer it if you would act like a grownup, so she won't have to! What is inoccuous or meaningless to us can be very significant in 'dog culture.' Basenjis are all about the pack and have a lot of ancient customs we don't always understand. It's part of their intrigue and charm.