Help with biting

Behavioral Issues
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  • C

    Hello everyone! My first time here. I have a Basenji that is not very friendly with anyone except my husband and I. Anyone comes we have to shut him up, cause he would bite. Is this natural? He is 7 years old and can anyone tell me how to control him when someone is around? Would love to hear your response.

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  • sekoS

    2 threads on this site speaking of bitting problems:

    http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?t=258
    http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?t=238

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  • QuercusQ

    @concessionlady:

    Hello everyone! My first time here. I have a Basenji that is not very friendly with anyone except my husband and I. Anyone comes we have to shut him up, cause he would bite. Is this natural? He is 7 years old and can anyone tell me how to control him when someone is around? Would love to hear your response.

    You might have his thyroid checked. Sometimes, unexplainable aggression can be caused by a failing thyroid gland. You need to have a full panel run, regardless of what your vet might tell you.

    Good luck :)

    Andrea Walters

    Quercus Basenjis

    NW Ohio

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  • DebraDownSouthD

    If this dog has always been that way, the likelihood of changing him and him being trustworthy may be more than it's worth. I don't see a problem with putting him up with people are over if it fits your lifestyle. if it doesn't, then there are things to do to help retrain. if it is a NEW problem, then I would worry seriously about health issues, such as andrea suggested (thyroid aggression).

    Debra

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  • D

    Hello I'm New , My Daisy Is A Biter. If You Touch Her Sometimes. She Seems Really Sensitive All The Time. She Can Be Fully Awake And Loving Than It Switches. She Has Gottin Us Good A Couple Times. I Don't Know Why She Can Turn Like That She Is A Spoiled Pooch. Do You Have Any Ideas What I Could Do.

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  • yodabasenjiY

    biting..again

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    @yodabasenji said in biting..again: Hey guys! Sorry about disappearing but I decided to quit the internet research, stop panicking and analyzing every aspect of my puppy. I focused on getting to know him better and creating a connection while applying the methods you suggested above. I needed to figure out how much exercise and other activity he needs, how to calm him down and he really needed to get used to touching and handling, so slooowly things got better. He still bites, but much much less (I don't need to walk in boots at home anymore!) and the biting is mostly connected to playing and sometimes him not getting what he wants but we're working on that. Thanks again for all the advice, it really helped. And as you said multiple times, it takes time, patience and consistency and it will get better. Glad to hear it. I'm happy to hear that you're working on relationship building. This makes things so much easier in general; teaching, living with, etc.
  • C

    Desperate for help with my biting basenji

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    M
    Hi - a few thoughts in case they are helpful, although ours doesn't bite. For biting: Figure out the reasons for biting first. if it is around toys/possessiveness - we gave him the toy on his bed and let him be there gnawing on his own. Then walked close by (not too close) and threw him something yummier in his view (eg a small piece of sausage that he can eat quickly) and walk away. Do this at random (though not too often) and have different people in your family do it. Soon she will associate your coming close to her and her favorite toy as something good. Progressively get closer (ie throw the sausage from closer), and then squat down, then touch on head briefly, then hand sausage to her, then move hand towards toy but don't touch it. By this time she will anticipate your coming to her when she has a toy as "yay, something more tasty coming my way". Evenutally, you should pick up the toy/bone hand her the sausage then hand back the toy/bone. Pretty soon she'll let you pick up her toy/bone without biting or thinking you are going to take it away. The key is to progress slowly in terms of distance etc, and mix up the treats (sausage, cheese, chicken). -if she does bite someone, then immediately isolate her in a basenji-proof room where she cant destroy things. And when letting her out, ask her to sit and be calm for a few seconds first so that she's not hysterical and she learns to watch and listen to you. There may be something else that one does for biting, so maybe others or a trainer would have good ideas. For pulling on walks, 2 things worked for us: A gentle leader - suggested by our trainer. This means she can't control her head (if they pull forward their head moves to the side like a horses halter) and so she won't be able to forge ahead. It will give your arm/shoulder immediate relief while you work on the rest. In the yard and on walks start rewarding with small treats every time she looks back at you/checks on you. At first she'll do it by chance, or if she is checking to see what you are doing, and sometimes it's a side glance. As soon as she does it - give big verbal praise and get her to come to you and give her a treat and lots of pets. She will begin to do this more often. initially treat every time she looks at you, and once she is good at it, then randomly. On walks you'll find her looking back and coming back to you more often, and as a corollary less pulling, which is a relief. We usually keep the leash in one hand and a handful of small, soft treats in the other - so you don't run out and have to keep going into your pocket to get treats. So, she'll come and nose your hand and you can pet some times, treat sometimes, etc. The one thing is to progress slowly, praise the right behavior and don't get impatient (count to 10, stop training or go do something else for a bit till you feel ready to try again). When doing the praise really have an excited voice and go overboard even! Our basenji really loves being praised. It takes more time perhaps than other methods, but it's long lasting because they see these behaviors as rewarding so you don't have to get into a battle of wills. And once they get the idea, they'll improve rapidly, even over one walk. Good luck!
  • E

    Biting

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    tanzaT
    Full Vet check up is needed before anything… especially a FULL THYROID PANEL... I agree with contacting her breeder and also finding a positive reinforcement trainer as suggested
  • M

    Basenji-tank is aggresssively biting children, Please help!!

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    Have you had the vet look at your boy yet?
  • P

    Help….What do I do...

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    QuercusQ
    I agree with Debra…dogs who feel it is okay to growl and snap at their owners to get their way should not be sleeping in the bed. Paulajean, you can work this out...just get some good advice from a good trainer...she is not a bad dog, you just need a way to communicate to her that you are the leader :) Check out Patricia McConnell's book "How to Be the Leader of the Pack (and have your dog love you for it)" you can google it and find it at several different vendors.
  • BeckisB

    Biting all the time

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    tanzaT
    @Gooby: An old school technique my grenpeppy taught me way back when is to wait for your dog to mouth your hand and then grab his lower jaw. If you use your thumb to apply a light pressure on his tounge he soon learns that biting people's hand is a very unpleasant thing. to speed it up try putting bitter apple spray on your hands That is an old school technique, and I never found it to work much.. and you have to be really quick to catch them each and every time…