No. He interacts with me, just not confidently. He will come to me, sit for me, take treats, go on walks. He just does not act like a normal dog around me, he is always hesitant and watches me out of the corner of his eye. When I am not here he will run around with my gf and act semi-normal, however not as normal as you would expect a dog to act. I just have a feeling he is a one person dog and there is no help for him. He was put on anxiety medication for a little while but that did not help at all, we took him off of it once we saw he was declining. My only thought is to get his thyroid checked and go from there. I am hoping Andrea has some insight for me, she knows Sid personally and hopefully can update me on his full story and even get me into contact with his former owner.
I have to say that your story reminds me of my experience when we got Ella about a year and a half ago. The biggest difference is that Ella was only 6 months old and your Sid is 7 years old. If you click on my past posts you will see one called "gender preferences" where I described a lot of the same problems. I did the majority of the feeding and walking, but Ella treated me completely different than my wife. Ella was definitely fearful of me for several months and it really can tear you apart.
All I can say is that it took about 6 months but Ella eventually began to slowly become more comfortable with me and I am now her second favorite person in the world (behind my wife, of course). She definitely used to cower away from me anytime I approached. And this went on for months.
Here are a few random suggestions that I think helped us. Hand feeding meals. I spent about a month or so feeding Ella most of her meals from my hands. She had to trust me enough to come up to my hands to get her food and eventually associated it with good things. If Sid has any REALLY favorite treats they should be reserved just for you to give him and nobody else. Obedience commands. I think this is the thing that really gave me a connection to Ella. If Sid knows any commands work with him a few times day with treats to run him through his tricks. If not, work on teaching him a few basics–it is a great way to bond. One of the first things I would try to teach is the command "look" to get him to give you his attention. You can't do anything with a dog without his attention. Ella used to look anywhere but at me. "Look" taught her that giving me her attention was a good thing.
At the time I was going through this I would say that I could deal with it as long as I knew that eventually everything would work out OK. It was the uncertainly that was killing me. They say it takes a lot to earn a Basenji's trust but that once you do earn it you have it for life. Basenji's are smart. Eventually, Sid is going to learn it is best for him to trust you. Good Luck.
Hi,
I have a rescue B. Not the same situation (mine was abused) but he was very man shy. It took him about a year to warm up to my fiance (although we didnt live together, he was still over frequently). Now, Squiggy acts like a normal dog around him.
Give it time, you will be glad you did.
Also, schedule some alone time with him- and "special" treats (high value ones) that only you give him.
It will be alright 
Squiggy was 2 or 3 when I got him (time flys when you are having fun) He is now 7.
Ooh, more.
Squiggy was a pacer too. He is fine now around most people but still goes back to circling when there are too many new people.
Can your GF give you an hour or so a day with just you and him in the home? might help speed things up.
Also, Squiggy likes me best but he will "dump" me in a heart beat if Jason (the fiance) will keep petting him.
Actually we are lesbians, so I do not think it is a gender issue. It might have to do with dominance, however my girlfriend is the one who does the disciplining. We both give him his treats, however I usually give him his favorite chew toys. He listens to only sit, he was a show dog so surely he must know other commands but I have yet to figure them out. I am hoping that once I speak with Andrea she can steer me in the right direction. She knows his previous owner. Thank you so much for all of your suggestions, I am going to try the alone time thing with him and even try feeding him a meal a day and see where that gets me.
There have been some great suggestions here. Hopefully Christy and I can get on the right track with Sid. He has always been kind of reserved, un-trusting guy….and he has been through a fairly significant shake up in his life in the last 2 years. I hope to be able to put her in touch with some resources that can help, and offer some behavioral consultations too.
You're both wonderful for wanting to do so much for your basenji. I think time and patience (and the given suggestions) will get him to trust you, though I think domesticated animals sometimes just have a favourite. Our ****atoos have hated my husband since day one. They even like my husband's care workers better. Now that he is in a wheelchair, it is worse. Out of our 3 cats, the two smarter ones prefer me. The dumb one likes my husband. Oh gee, that sounds a bit cruel.
I've had the experience of one Baenji who we adopted from Kennels at the age of 6 who was the same as your boy. He was fine with me but very wary of the rest of the family. They did as much as possible with him including walking, grooming, each taking turns to feed him by hand at his mealtime. It took us a whole year for him to be happy and attached to us all. I would agree that patience is the key.
Actually we are lesbians, so I do not think it is a gender issue. It might have to do with dominance, however my girlfriend is the one who does the disciplining. We both give him his treats, however I usually give him his favorite chew toys. He listens to only sit, he was a show dog so surely he must know other commands but I have yet to figure them out. I am hoping that once I speak with Andrea she can steer me in the right direction. She knows his previous owner. Thank you so much for all of your suggestions, I am going to try the alone time thing with him and even try feeding him a meal a day and see where that gets me.
I am an idiot :o Sorry to assume.
Good luck with everything- Sid will come around.–I never thought mine would, and he did
No, it is okay. I guess I should have clarified to begin with. He has come a long way since we first got him so one can only hope he continues to progress. I look forward to keeping everyone updated! I love reading everyone's stories and opinions, these forums are the best things available for dog owners.
No, it is okay. I guess I should have clarified to begin with.
Ms. Christy: I didn't clarify either and was mistaken for a man for a few months because I drive a truck, never posted a photo of myself and was kind of ambiguous about it. It never bothered me either…I actually found it a bit amusing. 
I wish I had some advice for you regarding the aloof Basenji. My gramma had B's all during my growing up. Some would play, others were just grouchy. It sounds like you have one of the experts on the case. Perhaps she will have a few ideas and solutions.
Cheers...
You may want to look around for a fun type of postive class. Around here I'd suggest a friend's Relationship Building class or a Control Unleashed class. Even an agility class might be helpful in building confidence, but for that I might suggest your partner taking him for the first round of classes and you taking him through the same class a second time. She handles him for the scary/hard stuff, you get to ask him to do the fun stuff. Just thinking out loud, but I think the Relationship class would be a great find for you and him.
The classes sound like a great idea! We are very hesitant to spend a lot of money on him because we are fearful that it will not help because he is soo socially awkward. However I guess if he is around other dogs that are doing the same thing he is he may feel pressured to compete. I will talk to her about it and see where it gets us. As far as the classes go, I feel it would be all her who participates with him. Although he is not the most normal dog around me, he does love me in a way she has never been able to experience..anything is a good idea at this point.
The classes sound like a great idea! We are very hesitant to spend a lot of money on him because we are fearful that it will not help because he is soo socially awkward. However I guess if he is around other dogs that are doing the same thing he is he may feel pressured to compete. I will talk to her about it and see where it gets us. As far as the classes go, I feel it would be all her who participates with him. Although he is not the most normal dog around me, he does love me in a way she has never been able to experience..anything is a good idea at this point.
With two Championships under his belt, I would think it would just take a little time and reassurance for him to be used to other dogs and a class sounds like a good idea.
Good luck with Sid.
How do you know he has two Championships under his belt? Sid's trip to Oregon made him famous apparently!
He isn't famous… it is that you are in Ohio and many of Vickie's dogs were placed after the accident...not many dogs named Sid [and I knew she had a Sirius boy named Sid].
Was in the same position last year when my mom was in an accident that rendered her a quadriplegic.
A dog that has lived their life, and a good life, in one home then being transplanted can take TIME to adjust. This is a major life change.. totally new people, totally new situation.
If he were from a different home, I'd say he was abused… but I know that isn't the case. Time time and more time.. and probably some more time and assistance will be needed.
We never thought it was abused, just thought he had been through a lot. We heard of Vicki's accident shortly after we adopted him and thought he wasn't fostered out because of his social anxiety. We definitely will not give up and hope that once we bring new puppy in he will adapt even better. He gets along great with other dogs, anxious at first but then adapts very well and plays soo gracefully. I look forward to working with him along with the great advice this forum has provided. Thanks to everyone
http://www.rugosabasenjis.com/ Here is the fun site we found of him. We were astonished to find out he is actually a Can Ch. Hard to believe, but we are proud of him.
He isn't famous… it is that you are in Ohio and many of Vickie's dogs were placed after the accident...not many dogs named Sid [and I knew she had a Sirius boy named Sid].
Was in the same position last year when my mom was in an accident that rendered her a quadriplegic.A dog that has lived their life, and a good life, in one home then being transplanted can take TIME to adjust. This is a major life change.. totally new people, totally new situation.
If he were from a different home, I'd say he was abused… but I know that isn't the case. Time time and more time.. and probably some more time and assistance will be needed.
Kathy i hope you don't think i'm being nosy but is this the same Vickie that was on the forum who rescued lots of Dogs ?
Kathy i hope you don't think i'm being nosy but is this the same Vickie that was on the forum who rescued lots of Dogs ?
Not Kathy, but it is not the same Vickie. Kathy is speaking about Rugosa Basenjis, Vickie Perrine, she has been on the forum from time to time, but totally different the the Vickie that rescued dogs.
And I agree (as I have met Sid in person)…. it takes time.... to adjust when "plucked" from the only house you know, a great home for Basenjis at that (and these dogs are smart, so I am sure that Sid knew something was wrong at home after the accident happened).... and then placed...
Not Kathy, but it is not the same Vickie. Kathy is speaking about Rugosa Basenjis, Vickie Perrine, she has been on the forum from time to time, but totally different the the Vickie that rescued dogs.
Thanks for the info Pat.
