Newish owner needs advice

[Jillianj]

the reason we dont let him on the coach was because he was developing territorial aggression and actually he was asleep once on the couch and my husband bent down to nuzzle him and the dog bit his face (it was hard/deep cut)

[lvoss]

Remember the saying "Let sleeping dogs lie", it is a good idea to make sure the dog is awake before touching him because some dogs when startled will snap and bite. If he is asleep on the couch a good idea is to call him off the couch. If he doesn't respond to his name then use a leash to help get him off, do not use his collar or just shove him off. Once he is off the couch reward him for getting off, you want to make being off the couch a good thing. Then if you want you can invite him to join you on the couch. Since it sounds like he wakes poorly teaching Go to Mat and reinforcing the Mat as a good place to be is also a good idea so he has a place that he can sleep undisturbed.

[Patty]

I agree with the previous posters but you might also like to leave a very short light lead (or even a piece of cord) (we call it a 'tag') attached to his collar all the time until the problem is resolved. Use that to take him off the couch if you don't want him there. Saves putting the leash on if he's feeling 'nippy' he might resent that.

The 'alpha' theory is indeed debatable.

[Jillianj]

Well we decided no couch so I will try the rewarding when off the couch, we have been saying "good boy" and giving a belly rub when when he gets off the couch. but we have been using his collar to get him off the couch if he doesn't repond to the "down" command. Why not use the collar? or push him off the couch? I thought that would be establishing that it was our couch? thanks for the ideas

[Jillianj]

any more ideas for the pulling on the leash when going for a walk?

[tanza]

@Jillianj:

any more ideas for the pulling on the leash when going for a walk?

Again, have you talked to the breeder? And how about an Obedience class?

[Jillianj]

Breeder hasn't really given much advice yet, waiting on email response. did some alpha training with a trainer trained by Bill Patterson and is thinking of doing treat training end of the summer if the current training does not work.

[curlytails]

By treat training, do you mean clicker training?

Here is a list of positive training technique-friendly trainers that has been passed onto me in the past. If you can't find someone in your area, you may be able to get references from the closest trainer listed…?

http://www.trulydogfriendly.com/blog/?page_id=4

Patricia McConnell, Jean Donaldson, and Pat Miller are also some other names/authors you may want to explore if you want to read up on some other perspectives on training. While I'm fairly happy with my dogs' behavior at this point, I'm going through some of this literature myself this summer, hoping to learn why more and more folks are rejecting the 'dominance' and 'alpha' theories of training.

[lvoss]

You don't want to use the collar for a couple of reasons. One reason is that many dogs react poorly to having their collar grabbed. The other reason is that you want to do everything you can to build positive associations with collar grabs because if your boy every gets loose that is what someone trying to get him off the street is probably going to reach for so you want him to be happy that someone is reaching for the collar not thinking something negative is coming next.

You want the reward for getting off the couch to be something really spectacular since it has to compete with how rewarding being on the couch and with his people is. For most dogs praise and a belly rub is high enough value reward to compete with losing couch priviledges. A piece of duck jerky or even a stuffed Kong that he can enjoy in his crate or on his mat would really help to cement the idea that really good things happen when I am not on the couch.

[MacPack]

He sounds like a normal young male, starting to be territorial. Is he intact, or neutered? Sometimes that makes a difference. And I agree that the whole "alpha" and dominance theories are rather outdated. We just work at having happy dogs, and they seem to sort things out pretty well on their own. All the furniture belongs to all of us, no need to claim any of it!
As for rain, get a big umbrella and go out with him, keep him under the umbrella if he will, and then reward well for going to the bathroom, get him back in and dry him off and make a game of it. He won't necessarily like it but you will have a clean dry house.

Basenjis (in my experience) are much easier if you just let them think it's their idea and then they will do what you want! Much more fun to outsmart your basenji than to try and 'out-alpha' him, that is a long and unrewarding relationship for everyone, IMHO.

Set him up for success and reward accordingly. Don't disturb a sleeping animal of any sort, some wake up very badly, nothing personal! Walk and praise, and for a young basenji, pulling like a demon is pretty natural and requires a lot of work to improve .(age helps, my oldsters hardly pull at all!)

[khanis]

How old was your boy when you got him?
Had any training been done with him?
And as asked previously, who is the breeder?
Have you called or just emailed them with the issues you are having?
Giving them the benefit of the doubt, they me out of email access _.

I agree with the leash…
but I completely disagree with NOT allowing your dog on the couch.
WHY have a companion that is small and lap size if you can't or won't be cuddling with it?
Petting on the head just isn't the same as cuddling up next to your buddy.

I also agree with Pat on letting sleeping dogs lie.
Heck, when I was a kid and someone tried to wake me, my arms always tended to fly and whatever or whomever was in the way sometimes got the backhand :-)_

[tanza]

@khanis:

but I completely disagree with NOT allowing your dog on the couch.
WHY have a companion that is small and lap size if you can't or won't be cuddling with it?
Petting on the head just isn't the same as cuddling up next to your buddy.

I also agree with Pat on letting sleeping dogs lie.
Heck, when I was a kid and someone tried to wake me, my arms always tended to fly and whatever or whomever was in the way sometimes got the backhand

LOL Kathy, I think I remember that!!!! :eek: now I am really showing my age!

And I agree with you also about the couch…

[sharronhurlbut]

Getting him into a gentle obedience class, as suggested earlier, will help you and your dog learn to "talk" to each other.
It does…...

[Jillianj]

Well, he growls even when you try to move him (NOT SLEEPING) on the couch to sit down or get comfortable. So since he has territorial aggression he isn't allowed on the couch, it's our couch not his. when we want to cuddle we go down on his level on the carpet and he cuddles with us there and doesn't growl when we move him.
He ws 10 weeks when we got him, we have done some training with a professional and i do lots on my own, he is VERY persistant and stubborn.

[Jillianj]

what is gentle obedience class>? We have been trying Alpha training ( someone trained by Bill Paterson) if you just do treat training/clicker training then don't they only listen when you have a treat/clicker? especially since he is sooo stubborn

[lvoss]

In general, it is best when you want a dog to move not to touch him but instead ask him to move by calling him over to you using his name, using hand targeting or a command like go to mat to send him to a different location.

[tanza]

@Jillianj:

what is gentle obedience class>? We have been trying Alpha training ( someone trained by Bill Paterson) if you just do treat training/clicker training then don't they only listen when you have a treat/clicker? especially since he is sooo stubborn

In doing Alpha training, you are creating a relationship built on fear and punishment. And you are setting yourself up for a "no" win battle. And in a battle of wills, trust me, you will lose and someone may get hurt.

Reward based training does not set them up for just behaving when you have a treat, as the reward can be a pet, word praise, and/or treats.

[Jillianj]

In my opinion alpha training is not based on fear and punishment at all but on respect. All it is is using umbilical training and lots of physical exercise for the dog to watch me and follow my directions instead of doing his own thing. there is no punishment or fear involved. But I also believe in using lots of positive reinforcement and love guess I believe in a balanced approach.

[Jillianj]

@lvoss:

In general, it is best when you want a dog to move not to touch him but instead ask him to move by calling him over to you using his name, using hand targeting or a command like go to mat to send him to a different location.

but what if you are in the bed or on the couch and you need to move and they are leaning on you, do you then give the command?

[khanis]

I am really confused here…
you aren't allowing him on the couch...
but you are letting him on the bed?
That is how the last post reads, it is quite confusing.

I also agree that the alpha training [which is not what you are describing] is a set-up for failure… in one way or another... and usually ending in someone getting hurt/bit/etc.

In all my years of having Basenjis... the very best way to get anything out of them, is REWARD BASED TRAINING. It gives them a reason to want to do something for you. Not to do it just because you are the human and they are the dog.
After all, why go fetch the stick that the stupid human threw?? Leave that for the Labs that can't think of a good reason not to get it.
I have never seen Alpha Training that works with a Basenji in the long-term.