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Hi from PA! Need Advice on personality shift during owner pregnancy

Behavioral Issues
  • M

    Hi All -

    Our Basenji turned three this December and has been our whole world! Basenji's have always been our favorite breed. Zi (our pup) has always been very friendly with people and dogs, he is a lover - we used to be worried that he was too much of a lover and would go off with any random person who came to show him love.

    We are expecting our first child this April and as I am starting to show more, our pup has become more and more aggressive (growling and snapping) with everyone. With strangers mostly, or friends of ours he doesn't see consistently, but he has even been snappy and growly with my husband on occasion - never with me, he is always very calm, and cuddly with me and my growing belly (it's his favorite nap spot). I am not concerned about him being rough with the baby or with me, and I am comfortable crating him if I need to when friends come to visit or see the baby, but would rather not as he is such a major part of our family. I am concerned about his major personality shift with strangers we encounter on our daily walks and who come to our house. Our routine hasn't changed any over the past few weeks to trigger anything except for my physical appearance.

    We do have a vet appointment to make sure there are no physical ailments we are missing, and have an appointment to meet with a private trainer, but since this is such a unique breed I have a hard time trusting trainers who don't have specific Basenji experience (not a huge Basenji population in my area).

    Any thoughts or suggestions? Has anyone had a similar experience with this? Thanks to all!

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  • D

    First, congratulations on the new baby.

    Second, a contributing issue is simply that your dog has now hit maturity. Sometimes behaviors come out that weren't evident before. Is he neutered? If not, it may help some even at this age.

    Finally, your dog may very well be responding to pregnancy hormones and into protection mode. It isn't uncommon, but needs addressing, as you know. Some of the Nothing In Life is Free programs (K9Deb is excellent: http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm ) can help reset his mentality that it is NOT his job to make decisions about who can visit, your husband's movements, etc. It would be very helpful if you can have him doing all the feeding, most of the petting/grooming/letting in and out when he is home.

    Work on the leave it command, and look at me. Practice a LOT at home, then use them when visitors come or you go out if he even thinks about acting up. Mary Woodward's training lessons are so easy to follow it will make you feel faint. http://www.clickerlessons.com/index.htm

    I am sure others will respond, but the forum was down a bit so they may not notice the new threads as you have to look in other places now.

    Debra

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  • T

    Please make sure that you have a FULL thyroid panel done

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

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  • K

    Agree with Debra: apart from any medical issues, it looks like he is protecting the new life. Cute as it may be, it's not his job. Your husband should step up to the plate and take first position in a clear way. All the best!

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4/4

16 Feb 2016, 16:43

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    D
    Sudden behavior change at this age is almost always medical. I am glad you are now keeping him separated, but honestly you should have the first incident. After the first bite, most courts or judges would rule you knew he was a danger and he could not only have been seized, but you sued for significant damages. You are lucky no one is filing. Thyroid is the primary cause that I am aware of for sudden change. Yes, brain tumors are possible, but more likely thyroid. Some forms of epilepsy also can cause a dog to attack, but typically this is truly out of nowhere-- not like what you describe when a dog is told no about something. Pain can also do it.. sadly cancer had been found in similar situations of sudden growing aggression. The ENCOURAGING part is you had several months without problems... so again, look at the most simple... thyroid. Make sure you get a full panel, not just an in-house partial. In the meantime, understand you didn't cause this, and it may be fixable. If thyroid, it's inexpensive medication. But you won't know until you get tests runs. Hopefully those wanting him put down will feel better knowing you are acting to find out if there is a medical issue.
  • T

    Help, we need advice re training classes please

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    Helena, we still have a long way to go with Kwame but i feel more relaxed about him now. The support from people has helped along with the advice. It was such a relief not to go to classes with him on saturday, i felt like a load had been lifted off my shoulders. I guess i felt we should keep going because Malaika has done so well with them. It took a while to become apparent that the enviroment was wrong for him. Kwame and Malaika do try to avoid having the leaders on and occasionaly on the walk will try to wipe them off on our legs ;) however i feel they are worth persevering with as the effect is so dramatic and our walks are transformed. I am keeping the harness in mind though if neccasary, it's good to know there are options.
  • T

    Advice needed

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    @sharronhurlbut: With rescue dogs, we make walking them together a big deal..several times a day. Letting them sniff the "leavings" of the other, and just getting them out together and moving. It might help. Sharron, thanks. Yes we do walk them together as well as seperately. They do seem to get on well but i don't think they have sorted out who is the dominant one. I can't say at this point either. When play fighting he certainly makes lots of noise, whilst she is silent. He looks to be in charge sometimes, however if she silently draws her lips back and stares at him he backs off or lets her clean in his mouth/ eyes etc. If Kwame wants to sleep, she is a terrible torment and pokes and prods him, he gets very whipped up and goes for her but it's like water of a Ducks back.
  • S

    Personal Grudges?

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    And this is why this forum is so awesome!!!!
  • J

    I failed as a mother and a dog owner…long...positive advice needed :(

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    @Jylly18: Quercus…did you get my email? I hope the address worked...I spoke to both of the trainers, but have no idea what to look for in terms of certification and stuff. I didn't know if I should put the names on here publicly, so I emailed you. Just wondering if you had any input on which to choose, and wondering if you had heard of one of them. Hope you don't mind my email, and thanks in advance for any advice you can give! I emailed you this morning :) Sorry about the delay!
  • S

    Confidence Needed…

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    R
    I did all the right things with Apache when I got him too…took him to outside malls, parks, the beach..had people of all shapes and sizes meet him and was going to handling class after handling class. Everything was going fine. The fourth show we were ever in we got excused from the ring because he became a bucking bronco on the table every time the judge came toward us. The judge tried 3 different times. I was so frazzled by his actions and couldn't get him under control, so we got excused. Later that day he stood fine on the table for some of the breeders. I have no idea what set him off, if it was the judge or the fact that I had had him to the vets the week before the show and they took a skin scrape while he was on the table. To be on the safe side, I never put him on the table at the vet's again...they had to examine him on the floor. Luckily they were more then willing to do that. I wasn't going to take any chances putting him back in the ring anytime soon, especially since I was so nervous. At handling classes and at home we did what you're doing. He would go up on the table and be fed treats. I would put him on the table at home and just treat him for being up there. We gradually had people in class and at home start going over him all the while treating him. On top of all that, I also had/have a problem with noise sensitivity. Some boys threw a huge firecracker right next to the dogs at handling class one day and since then Apache startles at sudden noises. Almost three months passed before I entered him in another show. This one was inside too, something we had never done. I held him out the first day because the noise really had him jumpy, so we just sat there all day getting him used to it. The second day I decided we were going in. I was the only class dog entered, so there would be no points..but that was fine...I needed to see if he would stand still for the judge. I was more nervous then I'd ever been and it will be a show I always remember for the simple fact that he was REALLY good on the table. Every once in a while he would still get a little fussy, either getting up onto or while on the table.....but would settle down quickly and let the judges go over him. Anyways, it took a while, but I finished him.:D So, hang in there!