What I find interesting about this thread is that I have never made a conscious effort to teach a dog its name. Including when I changed the name of the first male I rescued at just under two years old. I didn't like the name he came with, so I started calling him something else. In no time at all, he began responding to it. With pups, I just addressed them by their name and within a short time they recognized and responded to it. I can't say a time frame, but it wasn't long and I don't recall ever being concerned about it. (I have also changed the names of horses, as well as raising some from foals. I know they all knew their names, as when I addressed them by name in a group, the appropriate animal would pay attention)
I need to add, I never did teach pups with treats. Didn't seem to make any difference to the learning curve. Older dogs I have taught specific behaviours with food rewards…....I should say older Basenjis. My Border Collie and cross bred Shepherd/Husky and Shetland Sheepdog would all work well for praise!
What have you tried?
I have yet to meet a dog that will pass up liverwurst or tripe (I get the tripe in cans). A trainer friend of mine recently told me about salmon paste she found at Ikea. I requested she pick some up for me next time she goes. (i have so far passed the experience of Ikea.) Sardines?
Oh I'm talking about his actual meals. Treats he likes.
Butu loves Orijen treats (the kibble, not so much…) I wish I could get away with Kibble as a treat...Butu gives me a very clear "That's not a treat - that's Food" look....
CrazySenji… he is an only dog, right?... makes it more difficult to get good eating habits... I have found, especially with males.... be consistent... it is much easier with competition and I feed in crates, but next to each other... and if one didn't eat, the other got to gulp the food... LOL... didn't take but one or two times for them to figure out if they didn't eat it, someone else would... same works with just taking the food away if they don't eat/finish...
As always they will not starve themselves.... if hungry they will eat... can take a male a few years to figure it out especially during Basenji Rut season (when it is typically breeding season, as they know regardless if you have a female and/or your male is in tact or not)... But I know your boy is in tact, right? Will he eat sweet potatoes?.... I cook mine in the steamer... they come out great... good addition to the kibble
I don't want to hijack this thread buuuut…
He is not an only dog and he is intact. My sister's golden and my 2 cats live with him. He will eat a LITTLE better when he thinks my cat is going to get it but mostly he will walk away and let the cat have his fill. He likes a food for a day or two then he's over it. He has gone 2 days on just a couple mouth fulls and only seems to eat enough to stay alive. I highly doubt he will like sweet potatoes. His favorite food is chicken and he will sit there and pick each pieces out of his kibble if I mix it. Tonight I even squeezed some of the juice from the chicken on his kibble and if a dog could laugh that's what he would have been doing!
Right now he is getting over an illness and has to be on food with very low fat so he's skin and bones. As soon as he's better it's back to trying to get him to eat. He is not my first basenji and I never had this issue with any dog I've ever owned! I'm working with Tad on this but I am very open for any tips!
Pat..no fights break out or aggression with feeding next to each other or taking from others bowls?!!? Oakleys been funny since DAY 1 (10wks) about food,mainly high value items such as bully sticks, kongs filled with wet food, people food (even when not his)..but I couldn't guarantee he would be ok with other people around his bowl.. The presence of other dogs when food is around whether to be given to him or me eating would be something sure to set him off..I've worked with him since a pup but even when he goes through bouts of being better I still know it'll ALWAYS be a situation where I must set him up for success and just avoid it. Having him be difficult about it always wows me to hear about dogs not caring much about this stuff
Becky, have you tried Science Diet A/D to get Elliot back to eating? Spencer would sometimes eat that when he wouldn't take anything else– even chicken and rice. It was like a miracle food, for a few days at least, until he got tired of it. Sometimes, I'd try to sneak in a little chicken or kibble, but he would usually pick out the kibble.
He haaaates A/D lol. Right now it's too high in fat anyway.
Chealsie, they are in crates next to each other… when eating or if high value raw bones....
I don't want to hijack this thread buuuut…
He is not an only dog and he is intact. My sister's golden and my 2 cats live with him. He will eat a LITTLE better when he thinks my cat is going to get it but mostly he will walk away and let the cat have his fill. He likes a food for a day or two then he's over it. He has gone 2 days on just a couple mouth fulls and only seems to eat enough to stay alive. I highly doubt he will like sweet potatoes. His favorite food is chicken and he will sit there and pick each pieces out of his kibble if I mix it. Tonight I even squeezed some of the juice from the chicken on his kibble and if a dog could laugh that's what he would have been doing!
Right now he is getting over an illness and has to be on food with very low fat so he's skin and bones. As soon as he's better it's back to trying to get him to eat. He is not my first basenji and I never had this issue with any dog I've ever owned! I'm working with Tad on this but I am very open for any tips!
My OJ was just like that… and was skin and bones till at age 4, all of a sudden (like a light switch was turned on) he starting eating everything! It was a real challenge to show him, good thing he finished on his second birthday...
^That's my problem..
I had no idea he was underweight until I took him to a show and saw the other dogs. He did gain some weight when I got him to eat well for about a month and even got his first major last weekend but now with this sickness.. we probably can't go to Louisville and I was REALLY looking forward to it. :(. I know I need to wait until he is eating better but it's hard! I'm selfish I guess :/.
He did eat last night and a little this morning. I am trying free feed for a bit to see how that goes.
Loki's picky eating comes and goes, even after Kaia got here. He has had no problem letting her finish his dinner when he didn't feel like eating. I've added yogurt and/or pumpkin to his kibble and that has helped him finish his dinner. They are oddballs in that they will sit and wait for the other to finish, then switch bowls to make sure every last bit has been cleaned up. They also frequently trade bully sticks with one another, but higher value stuff like meaty bones are a no-no to come near. Last month I started them both on Nupro and he actually gets excited at meal times! That has never, ever been the case prior to adding that in. I haven't had to utter the dreaded "finish your dinner" in weeks 
