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Poor dog socialization skills

Behavioral Issues
  • Has anybody dealt with a basenji that simply would not get along with any other dog? Every time he sees another dog he will remain quiet until he's within touching distance and begin to growl. This instigates the other dog who 100% of the time is initially being friendly when approaching him and then instantly turns them into an aggressive dog towards my basenji. It's frustrating that I cannot take him to the dog park when we see other dogs there or let him come over a friends house that has dogs. We've tried professional dog trainers and no success.

    If you have had this issue and found a way to resolve it please do tell. I want to be more social with my basenji but I cannot deal with him attacking every dog he sees.

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    :::Note: I’m not a professional trainer, I have a degree in psychology and im a teacher; a dog is like a 2-4 year old. Every dog is different though, maybe I’ve just gotten lucky, but what I’ve been doing has been working for me; maybe it will for you.::: LOL, not luck... good common sense. We do basic training to get solid responses in controlled environments, which gives a good base for expanding it to other situations. Like eeeefarm, I don't thing animal aggressive dogs need to socialize with strange dogs. I keep them separated. For the unexpected, working at home on basic commands (Leave It!, "look at me" to focus on you and understand the other dog is off limits, solid 100 percent down-stay) can help you avoid your dog getting revved enough to bite. That means you have to stay on top of things, change directions if necessary, and be firm and loud in asking others to not approach with their dog. Training is wonderful bonding, and it exercises their brains. http://www.clickerlessons.com/index.htm
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    It will be a wonderful day in you home when the conehead is gone. Hugs.
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    My son has been afraid of animals his entire life. We didn't know it until we were visiting a friend when he was 1 year old and their cat WALKED across the room. He freaked out. From that point on he was afraid of any live animal, but loved stuffed animals. He is 6 now and we just got an 8 week old Basenji. We talked about it alot, (he has slowly gotten used to our friend's cat, but every time the animal made a sudden move he jolted). He was excited to get the puppy, and we sat with him while he got used to exactly what the puppy would do. It has only been 2 months and my son is so good with our dog that he is not afraid of the dogs across the street who are high strung little fluffy things that always sent him runnning and screaming into the house. When I asked him about it he said he wasn't afraid now because he had one now. We waited to get a dog until both of our kids were older and could handle some responsibility. It was the best decision we made. He is still uncomforable around large dogs and other large animals, but has made remarkable progress. I don't know how your nephew will respond, but as he gets older he may realize that he has some control over the animals and that may help. Good luck!!!
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