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"look what i can do"

Behavioral Issues
  • anmusA

    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.

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  • thunderbird8588T

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

    Shelley

    Basenji Malaika

    Basenji Malaika
    Basenji Kwame

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  • S

    Yes, more exercise will help with all this energy.

    Sharron Hurlbut

    BRAT, basenji rescue

    Evergreen basenji club

    Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue

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  • BasenjimammaB

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

    Petra and Pippin

    with Otis in my heart…

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  • nobarkusN

    @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

    Buddy, Paolo and Dan

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  • BlacChevB

    @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.

    "Why do you have that gun?"

    "Don't worry about that thing, I won't protect you with it."

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  • E

    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…

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  • KipawaK

    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! :)

    Fran Harder, BAB

    With Barney in my heart

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  • S

    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.

    Sharron Hurlbut

    BRAT, basenji rescue

    Evergreen basenji club

    Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue

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  • M

    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.

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  • KipawaK

    @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

    Fran Harder, BAB

    With Barney in my heart

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  • P

    Couple of "Issues" with my Basenji

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    P
    I completely forgot about this topic, but I figure I would reply (after a 4 month hiatus) with updates. Thank you all for your responses. Marvel no longer bites (what a relief!). It stopped around the time that all of his adult teeth were falling out, so I assume it was related to the discomfort of his baby teeth. He will play bite every now and then, but nothing drastic. Marvel no longer wakes up absurdly early now that he's 6 months old, as someone pointed out. He typically gets up when we do except for the rare occasion here and there. Marvel has been marvelous and his behavior only gets better. The only "issue" we deal with now is his separation anxiety when we leave him in a crate. I'll probably make a separate topic on this. And he seems to be strangely attached/dominant to my girlfriends underwear when he manages to get a hold of it... Thanks! Peter
  • TimesthemythT

    Need some creative thinkers for confinement "anxiety" issue

    Behavioral Issues
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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.
  • AndrewA

    Introducing a dog with "issues" to basenjis

    Behavioral Issues
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    AndrewA
    Sorry I haven't responded to this post sooner; I got busy & forgot about it. I don't check the forum nearly as often as I should. To answer above questions: My girls have both been around bulldogs before. Oddly enough, a guy I dated about a year ago had one, and although not outwardly aggressive or anything, they didn't seem to love her. She was attention starved though (first among reasons why a relationship did no develop with this guy…), and was very overwhelming, barreling around chasing them. They just tried to avoid her mostly. At dog shows and stuff, they don't seem to be weirded out by bulldogs. Otto does better with dogs than people, and he prefers small dogs/puppies to people. My girls seem to love everything except some other female basenjis. Otto is neutered, Lola is spayed, and Callie is not as she is currently being shown. Because the times we can visit one another are few & far between & having one on ones would require introducing them on Otto's turf, I don't think its feasible to introduce mine to Otto one at a time before the move. All three are crated when humans are not around, so leaving them out together unconfined is not an issue. My dogs are intense in that often when they meet a new dog, they will "rush" the dog, sniffing, etc. On leash, I don't allow this behavior with strange dogs, but at dog parks, etc, they sometimes can be overwhelming to more submissive or nervous dogs. My dogs are constantly meeting and playing with new dogs and are very well dog socialized. Otto is less so, but, again, tends not to have a lot of issues with smaller dogs. The meds have made a definite improvement in Otto's mood, but he still bites occasionally when he's overstimulated. The most recent occurrence was during a visit with my boyfriend's dad. His dad unwrapped a present that was in brown paper bag material. Otto was interested & started playing tug of war with dad. Otto got a little too excited, and when dad tried to calmly end the game, he got bit. Thanks for all the tips. Hopefully, everything will go just peachy, but we're trying to be as prepared as possible, with any little advantage possible. And Andrea, we will likely be in Richfield.
  • V

    Opposable "thumbs" (dewclaws)?

    Behavioral Issues
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    K
    Basenjis just have front ones, which most show breeders have removed from their litters. They can be nasty if they catch on something and rip. I do know German Shepherds sometimes have rear dews. Not sure about most other breeds. lol Again they are removed as newborns (the rears).
  • D

    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
  • bellabasenjiB

    What about male dog fights over females in heat…do they try 2 attack "privates"?

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    bellabasenjiB
    @Quercus: …I can't imagine a dog in a real fight taking the chance of turning his back on the attacker. Though, I am used to seeing girl, girl fights...where neither girl is willing to surrender...it could be that a dog who really doesn't want to fight will try to protect his head and neck by offering other 'parts'...it would definitely indicate that the other dog wasn't reading his signs correctly...either by the dog offering surrender, or running away...it isn't really appropriate for the attacking dog to continue attacking... This is probably what may have happened. I don't think anyone actually saw the fight… So it's hard to tell, but my friend now thinks it is a part of male dominance fighting! I told them I would ask on here and see if it is common or not...