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In need of a little assistance

Basenji Training
  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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 :D

    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 :)

  • 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

  • :D 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!

  • 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.

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

  • 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?

  • 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 :)

  • 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

  • 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.

  • How old is he?

    Jennifer

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Oakley has been a difficult pup, mainly my own fault because I over spoiled and under disciplined. I will say, clicker training has been a hit from day one, it really is successful with difficult and independent minded ones….and a side note- I bought a clicker but ended up usin it maybe ten times....I just use a "clut" sound, ony because it was difficult to ALWAYS have a clicker around when he did something good. For example, if I was in the kitchen cooking and I told him "down" when he jumped up at the stove..I'd be able to just make the clicker sound and he knew that was why I wanted from him. It's been the best thing for him and I...

  • I find using a clicker is often misunderstood or misinterpreted. You only need the device when you are training or trying to capture behaviour. Once the behaviour you want is put on cue, you don't require the clicker (unless you are training something new). Of course, you can dispense with a clicker and train perfectly well using a marker word instead. It is just that the clicker is a consistent sound with no inflection to cause confusion. But once the dog understands the command and the action associated with it, all you need do is invoke it and when he (hopefully) complies, reward with praise, treat, or whatever. No click is required, as he knows what you asked him to do and what you are rewarding. But do progress to intermittent rewarding, which is more effective (once the behaviour is set) than rewarding every time! (those casinos know what they are doing…....intermittent rewards are addictive!)

  • Agh, Diesel has now taken on biting(hard) at all times. I can be sitting down doing nothing and he just runs up and clamps down. He's even doing it to our guests now. Heeeelp.

  • @Enigmatic:

    Agh, Diesel has now taken on biting(hard) at all times. I can be sitting down doing nothing and he just runs up and clamps down. He's even doing it to our guests now. Heeeelp.

    I would think at this point you need a behaviorist, nothing here is going to help… only someone that can see in person what is going on....

  • Ok, we do not know how others feel about this but we came across this during some of our research. One post suggested that if you have a dog that is biting to use a mint flavored breath spray, and spray it in their mouth and tell them no.

    It would be interesting to see what the opinions are in this forum of using a Mint flavored breath spray as way to teach a dog not to bite.

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  • Need right advice on …

    Basenji Training
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    MacPackM
    Agree with the sit/stay away from the door. We used to toss treats back into the house as we opened the door. Once they know the "escape game" you really have to work to make staying more fun than escaping. And no matter what, once you catch him, love on him. Never let him coming to you, or you coming to him, be a negative thing. We have a fenced area around our front door, not terribly attractive, but safe. YOu might put an x-pen arrangement that you have to step over to get in and out, around the door, once he sees that he can't bolt, the sit/stay and treat toss will be more interesting. Good luck! Where in Fla are you located? We are in the Tampa area and have a very nice basenji meet up every week.
  • Just a little vent…

    Basenji Training
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    thunderbird8588T
    Great to hear things have improved with Paco's toileting. We find that Malaika goes more when on the extending lead. Think she likes a bit of privacy.
  • Well needed exerise

    Basenji Training
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    renaultf1R
    @ComicDom1: MacPack, thanks for the info on the walky dog. I watched both movies where they are riding the bike and the dog is attached. While I would like to try something like this with my Basenji, I am somewhat nervous because I fear either my Basenji or I will get hurt if the dog just stops dead in his tracks, sees prey and decides to try to bolt and take off after it, or sees something else he wants and either bolts forward or sideways. Do you have any personal experience using this Walky-Dog attachment? Thanks, Jason I haven't used this attachment, but still run Ruby on the bike. The reason you won't lose your balance with the Walky Dog is because it is attached to the seatpost - your center of gravity. Put it on the handle bar stem and that would be a different story. The other key thing is with the Walky Dog (and the way I run Ruby) is that they can't get to the wheels of the bike. Honestly when I run Ruby, I don't feel like she is even attached to the bike - there is no pulling. The one thing I found when running Ruby is that even if there is prey that she might be interested in, she is moving forward and in a manner that doesn't allow freedom to go in another direction. I've encountered rabbits, squirrels, deer and cats and never had her try to chase off to the side. If they are in front of her, she will pick up speed, so I try to match her speed. She's looked at them, then looked at me and all I've said is "keep going or forget it" and there has never been a problem. Mostly she is looking ahead and having a blast running. We run a steady pace on the flats of about 14 - 16mph (11mph up hill - great for her, but it nearly kills me :eek:)…I'm sure she could go faster, but we go about 4 - 6 miles so I don't want to completely wipe her out. You want to tire out a basenji - a bike is a great tool!
  • Need HELP!

    Basenji Training
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    JannekeJ
    @lvoss: My basenjis learn new things very quickly but they also get bored more quickly. In classes that ask for you to repeat over and over again to make sure the dog "gets it", basenjis start to goof off. All of mine get to a point where their behavior and attitude clearly say, "What is wrong with you, didn't you get this the first 5 times I did it?" This is so true! Tillo starts to talk when it takes too long for me to get the fact that he already understands the command.. so there's no need to practice anymore :D
  • I need help having two problems

    Basenji Training
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    C
    IMHO, please be careful with the alpha roll over, I used to do that when I first started dog training many years ago, I eventually had an aggression problem with the dog, got bit pretty good. I guessed it was my fault and never rolled one since. I never used pacifiers with my son, so no dog troubles there, but his blanky got stolen often. gg It sure cannot hurt to put the litterbox there and see what happens, its easy, fairly clean, and better than cleaning the rug often. You could also try using a scatter rug over the other rug, see if that helps any! I have one spot where one of the dogs, having gotten too excited, peed, they still go there if excited. I love my dogs, oh well its only in the hall. ggg Good luck, hope you find a solution! Carole
  • Need some advice…

    Basenji Training
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    QuercusQ
    <> He may not find a kong with PB all that important. I am sure there is something out there, that he would find rewarding enough to go into the kitchen when he KNOWS he is going in for the day. Try a raw marrow bone...like a knuckle or femur that you can get from a butcher. Try not feeding him at all, until he goes into the kitchen in the morning...if he wants to eat, he has to go into the kitchen. Other than that, it sounds like you are handling it very well. He may have to wear a lead to get him into the kitchen, then you can remove it. I imagine he was allowed to pretty much do whatever he wanted in his last home...so he is confused with the new restrictions, and boundaries you have put in place (ones that he should have had from the beginning). It is hard when a dog has to start from square one, especially when they have learned that using their mouth can get them what they want. Good for you for hanging in there. He will eventually learn that he has to cooperate. I would definitely use his food for reward for good behavior. Doesn't mean you have to withhold his food if he doesn't cooperate...but you can use his food to help him realize what you want him to do.