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Grooming-chewing?

Behavioral Issues
  • ZenGrrrlZ

    My female, Zhara, likes to "chew" on Ziggy. She runs up to him and begin chewing, or nibbling, on his neck. These are very tiny, very fast movements and she's never biting or, from what I can tell, hurting him at all. He just sits calmly, basically ignoring her. She generally then licks his face a few times.

    I'm wondering if this is some type of grooming behavior … has anyone else seen this type of gentle "grooming-chewing" in their Basenji?

    Lori

    The Z-Pack: Zen and Ziggy

    In memory of Zoe and Zhara Baroo

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  • MayaM

    Maya does this all the time, to herself, the other dogs AND me! It doesnt seem to hurt her or the other dogs but she has pinched my skin a couple of times when she did it to me.. Naughty girl!

    My cats groom like this also though, i wonder if thats one of the reasons for the basenjis reputation of being cat like :)

    Jess

    http://www.silverbriar.co.uk

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  • T

    Amina is our most persistent 'nibbler.' We joked that she would have hairless puppies if she continually nibbled them the way she does all the other dogs. None of them seem to mind it; I agree, I think it's grooming.

    Terry

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  • renaultf1R

    I call it flea-ing - All of mine do it to each other.

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  • tanzaT

    @renaultf1:

    I call it flea-ing - All of mine do it to each other.

    LOL, we call it "de" flea-ing!! Franie does it to C-Me all the time and C-Me really likes it… she will stop what she is doing, even when chewing a really good bully stick!

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

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  • MacPackM

    We call it 'flea-biting' and grooming. Some do it, others don't, no one seems to mind it. I would call it natural and affectionate!

    Anne in Tampa

    Chipley, Missy & Lucky

    Topper, Nicky & Eddie in the clouds

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  • S

    My girl Wheat does that to me when we are just getting settled down to bed.
    I think its a bit of love they do with their mouths…very gentle.

    Sharron Hurlbut

    BRAT, basenji rescue

    Evergreen basenji club

    Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue

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  • DebraDownSouthD

    Cara flea bites me a lot but omg, poor Leora, it's almost nonstop when she is home. One day she made her get under the covers, then said in a sad voice "now she's flea biting my thigh." LOL

    Debra

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  • M

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    My red & white grew out of chewing up stuff when he was about 4. He had mastered unzipping the couch cushions and destuffing them! It was his duty to destuff any couch with a zipper! My female will be 8 next month and she (I'm afraid) will never grow out of destuffing/chewing! Small hole in a comforter, no problem, let's make it bigger and destuff it so the room looks like snow! Toilet paper, hanging on the toilet paper dispenser? Never in my house! It only lasts 2 minutes and then it is set on a path of distruction…down the hall....in the living room.....in the bathroom.....on the bed..... Unfortunately, she is teaching the toilet paper destruction to my almost 3 year old rescue. But he doesn't shred, he litteraly eats anything he is destroying. We have had to be extra dilligent to keep chew dangers out of his way. He is tiny for a male (20 lbs) and we don't want him to ingest something and not be able to pass it. I echo everyone else's statements. It's like baby-proofing your house, except it's basenji-proofing! And when you catch the chewing something they aren't supposed to have, scold them and give them one of their own toys. These are intellegent dogs, they get it....after a while!
  • KitKatK

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    BlueBellB
    I am finding out quickly that if things are too quiet I better go find Bella. Most of the time she is asleep but there are those times that my tennis shoes or sandals are now becoming just chew toys. Upsetting but funny too. Kind of like my 2 year old grandson's antics.
  • RedVelvetLynxR

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    @Shaye's: Shaye has never chewed on stuff she shouldn't until the last week or so - she's almost 6 months though, and lots of her behavior has gotten worse - if we go into the bathroom she starts chewing at the door jambs - she has also discovered carpet is a good toy - and if we are not paying attention to her, she purposely starts doing something she knows she shouldn't - my friend b owners tell me it's her "teen phase," pushing all the limits - hope she grows out of that soon…..maybe that's what your dog is up to - Exactly. Trinity was so good about not chewing on things she isn't supposed to until a few months ago - I thought I must have been blessed with the best behaved chewer ever! Ah-haha! It started with the base board corners & has moved to carpet threads. I would like to believe she doesn't realize what she's chewing on, but this isn't so. When I catch her in the act, there are no no toys around her, unless she's carried one over for a decoy. Otherwise, she sniffs around until she finds a spot. As soon as she stops & starts digging her nose in the threads, I know the chewing is not far behind, so at least I have an opportunity to nip it in the bud. I happen to think the chewing has also become an attention-getting mechanism. She wants to play ALLLLL of the time - it gets ridiculous! :eek:
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    RedVelvetLynxR
    Ha-ha! Denver will perch himself on the top of the couch above where my husband is sitting & try to chew-clean his eybrows in between licking his face off! :p
  • Tayda_LennyT

    Chewing on each other - playing or fighting?

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    I know this is an old thread, but it seems to be what we are experiencing…so rather than start a new one, I thought building on an old one would be best. We adopted a brother/sister pair of 5 month old Bs. They do well with other dogs, rarely nip at other dogs (unless they are overly excited and the other dog is a little too friendly - nothing serious so far), but my goodness do they roughhouse with each other. They will start the B-500 while taking them for a walk, and wrestle and tackle, nibble, grab each other by the throat, ear, leg, etc. Sometimes there's noise, sometimes not, lots of legs flying everywhere as they wrestle each other to the ground. By what I've read so far using the search feature, this seems pretty normal B behavior. But occasionally we fear someone's going to call the police and tell them we have a dog fighting ring going! Luckily for us it's only with each other that they wrestle. Other dogs don't interest them except to prove they can run faster. So the $64,000 question is...should we try to train this out of them, or do we just need to learn to live with it - as long as they keep it to themselves and don't involve other dogs. Many thanks!