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Biting

Behavioral Issues
  • E

    Hello, I have a 6 year old female basenji. She has been a little aggressive lately. It all stems around when I am correcting other behaviors.

    Like last night, she was taking food from the baby and I called her off. Normally I tap her on the behind to get her moving. When I went to tap her behind she spun around and bit me. She has never actually bitten before, she use to be very mouthy but I worked with her on basic "tricks" like sit, down, roll over, ect and she stopped being as mouthy. I am pretty sure it is a dominance issue, but I am not sure how to correct this.

    I had her working with a professional at one point, but it didn't do much good for either of us.

    Do you have any good suggestions?

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  • B

    Do you know the breeder of her?

    If so talk with her.

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  • Q

    I agree that is probably the Very Best Thing, but if you don't…do you have a Word for treat time? I would say whatever you use to stop her doing stuff you don't want, immediately followed by the treat word, and reward her...in Butu's case this goes "Butu, leave - treat". I'm not quite sure who's training who, here ;-)

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  • A

    since this is a new behavior, i'd take her in for a full vet check up. Especially her thyroid.

    You also need to find a positive reinforcement trainer. Here's a nice place to start.

    http://apdt.com/petowners/ts/

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  • E

    How did you react when she bit you? Better to avoid the confrontation, but if one occurs it's important that the dog not feel she has succeeded in having it her way by biting. I concur on the vet check, particularly with a six year old and particularly if the aggressiveness is a new thing. If it has been a gradual escalation, i.e. if she has always snarked a bit when corrected, perhaps she was in a testy mood and decided to take it to the next level, but at her age that would surprise me. Apart from thyroid, it is possible she has an "ouch" somewhere.

    "In order to get along with a Basenji, you have to be at least half as smart as the dog!"

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  • K

    Some good advice here already. I started to work with Bach remedies a while ago and know of many other that do, and the results are great. You might want to see someone with experience to get the right one(s). Also: www.anaflora.com (new flower remedies from the USA)

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  • T

    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

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

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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.
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    I am not gonna sugar coat this.... If you are that worried with him around new people or strangers use a soft muzzles, especially when near small children. A cloth muzzle protects you both. It’s seems to settle them down and they are unable to bite. It’s not meant to be used often, the less the better. They can drink, they can open their mouth some, but they cannot bite. I am sure that over time your B will relax with you in your home and around visitors....always fore warn strangers visiting, it might be startling to them but it is better than them getting a bite. I am at the point I use it almost never.....If we go out with my B we use it, when visiting the vet, we use it, when very young children are around we use it"........if we are walking where there is a possibility he will get a startle...I use it. I am sure there will be somebody on here that will disagree, but I do what I have to do to protect me, my dog and people around me Take this as a positive thing so that both of you can be comfortable in all situations.
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    Saving money sometimes isn't the best route… a full thyroid panel gives massively more information. But a low dose won't hurt, and as Pat said, if it doesn't help, you wean off easily and done.
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    @JoeyQ: Yikes, have we done something really wrong??? Joey has not been aggresive at all. When we play with him he will "bite" our arms, but not hard. If we say "ow" or "no biting" he stops immediately. Should we not encourage this behavior? or is it ok to do when we are playing which has been the only time that Joey uses his mouth? We do the same thing. Alani will put her mouth around our arms but never bite down enough to even leave an indentation. However, sometimes she will grab a toy to play fetch and if I don't respond or tell her I don't want to play she will lay the toy across my arm and act like she's chewing on her toy but feel for where my skin is and start pinching it. I know she's doing it on purpose and she thinks she's so sneaky…but I know.