Skip to content

New Girl in Town

Behavioral Issues
  • My basenji mix (photograph on my profile) comes from a home that seemed to spoil her tremendously.

    1. Roxy only has interest in eating if it's people food. I would like to transition her to high-end kibble. I have been able to get her to eat dehydrated lamb and potatoes. But, honestly, I will not be able to afford this on a regular basis. Any suggestions?

    2. Roxy jumps on people. I know (or have read in various dog training manuals) this is her trying to be the alpha, and I am not okay with it. How do I break her of the habit? I have had all of my other basenjis and basenji mixes from puppyhood, so I am a bit overwhelmed by the thought of breaking a 2 year old dog of bad behaviors.

  • @ouidah:

    2. Roxy jumps on people. I know this is her trying to be the alpha, and I am not okay with it. How do I break her of the habit? I have had all of my other basenjis and basenji mixes from puppyhood, so I am a bit overwhelmed by the thought of breaking a 2 year old dog of bad behaviors.

    This is not her trying to be alpha, it is a lack of impulse control and a long reinforcement history for doing it.

    I recommend doing some It's Yer Choice to start gaining some impulse control, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipT5k1gaXhc

    Also, see what she knows, sit, down, etc and start asking for an incompatible behavior in the situations that she is jumping up on people.

    Dr. Sophia Yin has some great video in her library for these sort of situations. Check out Say Please By Sitting, http://drsophiayin.com/resources/videos/

  • @ouidah:

    My basenji mix (photograph on my profile) comes from a home that seemed to spoil her tremendously.

    1. Roxy only has interest in eating if it's people food. I would like to transition her to high-end kibble. I have been able to get her to eat dehydrated lamb and potatoes. But, honestly, I will not be able to afford this on a regular basis. Any suggestions?

    2. Roxy jumps on people. I know this is her trying to be the alpha, and I am not okay with it. How do I break her of the habit? I have had all of my other basenjis and basenji mixes from puppyhood, so I am a bit overwhelmed by the thought of breaking a 2 year old dog of bad behaviors.

    About food, only give her the food you want her to eat… all dogs will eat when they are hungry, they will not starve themselves (of course making sure that they are in good health first). Put the food down for her... give her 15 minutes to eat, if she doesn't eat or finish it, pick it up till it is the next scheduled time to eat.

    About jumping.... does she know sit and/or down? Before you pet her or let people into the house, put her is a sit stay or down stay. No one acknowledges her until she is in a sit/down stay and remains calm. And jumping on people is not always a way of being alpha...

Suggested Topics

  • Good Afternoon....new to the forum.

    Behavioral Issues
    9
    0 Votes
    9 Posts
    11k Views
    DebraDownSouthD
    I have stood out in the rain with Cara for over an hour, her screaming, crying, holding up one foot after another... over and over. And no, she ever, ever pottied. Which is why I found the concrete back porch acceptable.
  • Few issues with our new addition to the family….

    Behavioral Issues
    9
    0 Votes
    9 Posts
    3k Views
    B
    @Basenji420: We just recently got our new bundle of joy Nala… 8 weeks old. Shes such a sweet heart.... Loves to snuggle up to you and keep warm....plays around and is so much fun. We are having a few i say minor problems. First off... She keeps pooping everywhere in the house. When we take her out to eliminate she only goes to pee. She seems to only poop in the house in the corners of rooms. She pooped outside this morning and we gave her praise and a treat. The breeder had a "kitty litter" type thing in the corner which is why she still thinks she should pee in corners i believe. She keeps nipping at us even though she is a puppy. She takes it too far. We have been consistant with when she does nip or try to bite us we yell out like if it hurt tell her no and even stop playing at that moment and ignore her for a while... She stops for a min but then is back at it again or just keeps doing it right after. She hates the leash...we got her a collar nothing special and we just even tried to put it around her neck and she just keeps scratcing at it...... She always pulls away and resist to even getting use to it. We tried giving her treats and sniffing it to get use to it but to no avail. Any help would be great as we do not want to have to deal with issues that can be corrected to get worse in the future. Thanks, MM Ok well yes we spoke to the breeder and she gave some tips about it. THey didnt use a collar on her before we got her She is also doing much better with going outside and letting us know. GUess it just takes time. I guess i just thought she needed to be walked. She has so much energy sometimes after a good nap but we are not walking her as of yet. I did not use a kitty litter cause i did not want her to get use to this. Why use a kitty litter if we dont plan on using it. THe nipping is still happening but i guess we cant really do much we just stuff a toy in her mouth and tell her chew so she knows to chew/nip on her toys. Anyone have any tips on crate training their basenji.. She absoulutely hates the crate in the day..unless she is super tired and will nap on us then we will take her and put her in the crate.. She HATES being away from us and being along. Has no issues sleeping in the crate at night too. Goes in with ease.
  • My new girl in my boy only home…more advice

    Behavioral Issues
    7
    0 Votes
    7 Posts
    3k Views
    Anubis's MommyA
    I hope so too! Ive also started some training sessions together. Like having them both Sit (they will sit next to each other with no issues). I use a Clicker. Ill have them SIT and they both sit…ill click and they both get treats (a SMALL piece of hot dog). Kind of to teach them that being near each other can be rewarding. So far its worked. They can be inside the house toether with no conflict either. One will be on the couch near me the other in the recliner. The only tension is if one comes over to sniff the other. But neither snap anymore cuz when one growls the other heeds the warning and backs away. I love having another B around...they are like Potato chips...you cant have just one lol
  • Worried - new aggressive behaviour

    Behavioral Issues
    9
    0 Votes
    9 Posts
    3k Views
    agilebasenjiA
    Cats are almost always hypERthyroid; dogs are almost always hypOthyroid. And there is a long list of hypothyroidism, (no idea about hyper, i don't have a cat) and dogs will often just have a few symptoms, not all. just google. Personally, I'd look for a behaviorist and get the Control Unleashed book. It talks about how to create a new history for experiences. It also talks about threshholds which you really need to understand in dealing with a dog like this.
  • Tough Girl

    Behavioral Issues
    3
    0 Votes
    3 Posts
    1k Views
    S
    Yep, girls rule…usually!
  • Our Basenji and our new pup…

    Behavioral Issues
    7
    0 Votes
    7 Posts
    3k Views
    S
    Kate i have a 2 year old Vizsla ans a ! year old Basenji when i 1st got my B she was very in charge. But now they can not be apart! My male V is very understanding V in a whole are very easy going laid back dogs . My in laws and husban is from hungary and say that V will take a back seat to almost any other dog so i feel that you will not have a problem later on. Just like w/ other V's give him 100 kisses a day and they will be happy Shannon