It's official - Lana is 100% acclimated into our home. About time - it's been almost two years since we got her. She was 19 month old when we got her from a "breeder" in South California. Back then we did not know anything about basenjis… if we were getting one now, I would not do it. (We definitely lucked out with Lana, and we absolutely love her to death, so I guess it was meant to be.) I don't think she was abused there, but she definitely was underloved... she did not know how to greet people and how to express her love. I understand that being aloof to strangers is common feature of the B breed, but her aloofness was borderline obsessive. She woudn't come to us (it took her 6 weeks to let Shawn pet her for the first time). The woman we got her from said that she never comes over, never wags her tail, never says hi, never wants to be petted, etc. She does all of that just fine now! She comes over and rubs on us, and wags her tail, and talks to us, and cuddles with us, and does everything a "normal" dog is supposed to do, except one - she does not give kisses. In the two years we've had her, she kissed my mom twice, and Shawn maybe four or five times (we keep track of how many kisses she gave out, because it's such a rare thing). She never kisses me, my dad or any other members of our family. She greets people who come to our house, but is still very cautious of strangers, even when we go to dog park, she does not let people pet her. I think she finally learned to really love and be loved and likes being fussed over now. But I wonder if having other two non-B dogs (akita and boxer) had anything to do with turning her into a more "normal" dog. Any thoughts?
I think that because you put the time and "love" into helping her to be socialized made the difference…. not "non" Basenjis.
My Maggii never gave kisses (well maybe 3 in her entire 16+ yrs).... so they are all different in that respect.
Kudos for bring her around!!!!
It can take time, but my B does not gives kisses either. I think it's just a personality thing. He's obsessed when I'm leaving but when I get home he's just laying in the living room waiting for me to come to him. Sometimes he greets me, other times he'll just be waiting for me.
My B was a bit aloof when I got him too. Took some time but he has had quite the transition. He's a lot more curious of new people when I have company over.
That's great that Lana has become more close to you guys. As we all know, an adult dog typically takes more time to get used to a new environment, so I suppose it's not abnormal for a dog of that age to take his/her time to bond fully.
We have had a similar ride with Ella.
We got her at 6 months from a "breeder" that, at best, neglected her during key socialization months. She would shake a shiver most of the time. She would shy away from my wife and especially myself most of the time for the first 6 months! Now at a little over 2 years old, she is a mostly loving companion around us and is much better around strangers. Sometime we even get compliments from strangers on her disposition. She can still be aloof, even around us sometimes. We did not have any other dogs in our pack for her to learn from, but we used obedience training and careful attention to treating the right behavior and mostly ignoring the bad behavior. But I think time and love eventually did their work.
I still don't get a greeting when I come home. But she is happy to have me come in and greet her. Typical B.
I think it's your own patience and love that has made the difference to Lana.
Some of mine kiss and some don't - Spring and her daughter Gbala are the two who do, but Spring does it on command when I say "kiss-kiss". It's very charming! (Seems so to us, anyhow!)
Well done for taking the time with Lana to prove to her that your family was going to be her family. So glad to hear that your efforts have paid off so well.
