In need of a little assistance

[eeeefarm]

Oh, I think clicker training is perfect for this dog! You can make your first project taking food from your hand. Click/treat by tossing the treat at first, reward a closer approach, work with him until he touches your hand, then until he takes the treat from your hand.

Once you get that, work on something else, like sit, down, "place", etc. There is a lot of information on clicker training on line, but if you are stuck for how to begin, just ask. Lots of clicker trainers on here. I would work with him in the house in a room with no distractions, and I would work without giving him any direction or modelling. Just look for something you can reward, and use successive approximation until you get the behaviour consistently, then name it.

[Enigmatic]

Any solutions to having him staying out of certain areas of the house? I know Basenji's are known to run so having him not leave his yard will be a challenge. Anyone have invinsafence?

[Moth]

@Enigmatic:

Wow, thanks for all the input. I myself am in Eau Claire area. He started out nipping my little brothers and now whenever I show dominance he bites me.

I am curious…how do you show dominance?

Dominance theory in dogs has largely fallen out of favor... positive reinforcement works much better

[Enigmatic]

He knows the meaning of no and he gets angry like a child whenever i say no. Would it be possible for him to think I was his mate?
I dont hit him if thats what you're implying, i do agree that positive reinforcement is the best.

[Moth]

@Enigmatic:

He knows the meaning of no and he gets angry like a child whenever i say no. Would it be possible for him to think I was his mate?
I dont hit him if thats what you're implying, i do agree that positive reinforcement is the best.

No, I was not thinking that you hit him…I am sorry if I came across that way. It is merely that people have very different ideas on how to be dominant when it comes to dogs.

Watson is not a fan of being told no either...

They are actually quite aware that we are not dogs or pack members so to speak.

There are good books about behavior and training out there and also videos if you need something more visual. Look into stuff by people like Ian Dunbar, Jean Donaldson, Patricia McConnell just to give you a place to start.

If my guy gets nippy everything stops...I walk away and ignore him, if possible I will even leave the room on him. His bad behavior makes something good go away (in this case my attention).

[Enigmatic]

Its not a problem. I think he actually gets jealous of my fiancee(haha) I've read some books but i'm just scared i'm going to do it wrong. I owned two pit mixes before him and just the breeds are so different.
If I Ignore him when he gets nippy he does it harder and more and I cannot have this since there is children in the house.

[Moth]

They do get jealous and want attention

Yeah, basenjis are pretty different from many other breeds. Their intelligence and independence can make them a challenge. They do bond very strongly to their people despite some of them being more aloof.

Can you redirect him when he nips? Does it happen in the context of play usually with the kids? Also when he nips at you is he grabbing at clothing to pull on to try and solicit attention or is he going for you?

If he is pulling and nipping at clothes I would keep my hands and arms out of the way and use body blocks to move him, hip bumping him if he jumps and tell him no…then if he gives up and offers a acceptable behavior like a sit reward and praise.

[Enigmatic]

they're quite intelligent dogs though. I love him and he is my baby If he wans attention he ignores everyone else and comes straight for me.

As far as the kids go theyre 8 and 11, he will just walk up to them and nip ankles, hands or certain sweatpants that the youngest wears. He also chews on everything but i've read they get bored easily even though he has a billion toys around the house.

If he wants my attention he stares at me and puts his paw on me.

He listens to my fiancee and one of my little brothers when we say'get out of the kitchen' but when i say it he just stares at me like,"Yeah, ok mom,n whatever"

P.S as we speak he is hiding under the blanket from the previous storms and snoring away next to me.

[Moth]

When he does that I would separate him from the kids by body blocking him away and tell him no or give a no reward marker (that is what we do here…it is sort of an errrrr noise) to tell him this is not acceptable and reward if he breaks off the behavior and moves away. This may take a time, my guy tends to be very persistent. I rarely use my hands to move him away in situations like that because it may turn things into a game and also dogs tend to use their bodies to make others move.

Same if you want him out of the kitchen and he ignores the verbal command use your body to make him move out

Yeah...my dogs are snoozing away here too...I think we need to head off to bed

I am serious though. If you worry about not getting the info just from reading training books try some videos. Here is a link to Kikopup on youtube she has some very nice training videos up

[Enigmatic]

Thank you, you're a life saver. Can I drive to you and you just train both Diesel and I? Haha. Bed is calling my name and i'm not even 21 yet. (I will be in July)

Also, please excuse my poor typing skills. I've somehow managed to break most of my nails off so the tips are sensitive and its quite interesting to type

[Moth]

That is a long way to drive for training sessions But a meet up of some of us WI might be fun.

No worries…I have had some epic spelling/typing mistakes.

Saw your pictures of Diesel...he is a pretty little brindle boy!

[Enigmatic]

Yeah, he's a pretty boy. I just love his white markings.
Say… when Wattson gets tired does his tail go limp? I'm not sure if its just my boy or a breed trait.

[Moth]

Yeah, they uncurl their tail when they are tired, relaxed, or not feeling well…so yes it is a breed trait

[Enigmatic]

I'm a little worried about having a child and him being so hyper and possibly hurting the child. Granted I may not be popping out a kid for a year or two but meh. Do you have kids?

[Moth]

No…we have no wee ones here. But I believe there are a few members on the forum that can help out with basenji and child advice

[Enigmatic]

Thank you again I will get right on that…after I get a few hours of sleep in. I appreciate all the help. Feel free to give me a message anytime

[agilebasenji]

Here's a great way to start playing with clicker training:
http://www.clickertraining.com/node/167

You can even get the kids into doing this. It's fun; treat it as a game.

[dcmclcm4]

How old is he?

Jennifer

[Patty]

You've got plenty of time to get him trained before having children. If you look for posts by Buana, especially the earlier ones - she has some great advice and lots of pictures showing how Basenjis and children can be raised. We have followed through from the pre-birth of her son to the present day (she now has 3 Basenjis).

There are plenty of us here who've had experience of Basenjis and babies together with every success.

Any way don't worry about that, if I were you I'd concentrate on the clicker training as a prelim to anything else and as agilebasenji suggests get the children to participate but only under strict supervision. It would seem that he's had bad experiences with the hand.

[Enigmatic]

He just turned a year in May. I'm going to find a nice clicker this upcoming weekend and start on that. I will def. search for those posts.