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puppy exhibiting behaviors that are questionable

Behavioral Issues
  • A

    He is doing three things that worry me: he is biting things he shouldnt, he is crying quite loudly in the crate, and he doesn't listen to me all the time

    at night, for example, he will bite at the sheets and twist them and sometimes brings them up momentarily before bringing them down. I try to stop him by saying ''no'' but he usually goes ahead and bites me or the sheets. sometimes i',m able to make him bite a specific toy. someimes it works. But I'm wondering if its okay to let him bite since he is only around 8 months old. I try to direct his energy to the toy but he doesn't show interest most of the time. I'm wondering what I should do since I dont want him to chew up the sheets when he is older.

    He also crys quite louldy when I put him in the crate. I take him out to do his business but he still crys at night. He always shakes his crate as he crys as wll. Just to let you know, he tends to shake and move his crate slightly during this period. I was wondering what I should do since I dont want him to think he is being punished. I want him to grow up knowing that he needs to go into the crate sometimes.

    Also, when I call him he tends to ignore me usually. I also am able to beckon towards me when I make a noise and say ''good boy'' which is usually followed by ''good boy''.It seems as though he is following me sometimes when I call him but I want him to do it a majrity of the time. Should I expect him to ignore me sometimes since he is a basenji or should I expect him to come to me when called. I can feed him a treat when called to strengthen the 'call'.

    Garcia, Allan

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  • DebraDownSouthD

    Having an 8 mo old biting is a bad idea. Have you talked to his breeder?

    Mary's page has easy to understand and follow training. Also more exercise. If you put a TIRED basenji into a crate, you'll have less issues. Also provide entertainment.. such as a kong, frozen with a smear of cream cheese or peanut butter so they stay occupied getting it out.
    When he tears at sheets or bite, move him promptly and consistently and say a command such as "no bite" or "No chew", in stern voice, the totally ignore.

    http://www.clickerlessons.com/index.htm

    Please post pictures soon. We love sharing pics.

    Debra

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  • A

    sorry, he is 8 weeks old. so it makes me think its normal to a certain extent. but I think I should be teaching him to release his energy on toys instead of furniture and what not.

    Thanks for answering. When I take good pic, I'll post it.

    Garcia, Allan

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  • DebraDownSouthD

    I thought, wow did I read that wrong. Glad YOU put months not weeks, instead of me being senile!

    At 8 weeks, they are going to use their mouths. :) It's a matter of training. At that age, you can gently wrap your fingers around the muzzle and say NO BITE and then ignore. Puppies crave attention and he WILL get it sooner rather than later that a bite means he loses attention.

    Debra

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  • tanzaT

    They don't learn this in weeks.... takes months and that goes for any puppy, not just Basenjis

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

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  • M

    Is he biting at the sheets like a chew toy or is he trying to get under the sheets? My girl will pick the sheets up in her mouth and flip them up in the air to scoot under them. She will do this over and over again unpolished has the sheets exactly the way she likes it. It took her a while to "train" herself how to do it.
    Margie

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  • A

    @margiem Yea, he bites his blanket. probably because he is still a puppy. He doesn't do it to cover himself.

    Garcia, Allan

    0

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    strange behavior

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  • P

    Two Questions: Entire males and Dog Parks? / Rough puppy play, how to calm him down?

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    In the US most all dog parks do not allow intact males or females
  • sabaS

    Weird Behavior ???

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    @DebraDownSouth: Fran, there are times when I might mean to be condescending, but I assure you that it won't be "a little" or usually any question. That you could take my comment above as condescending… I can only suggest you may simply want to block my posts because it is entirely unlikely I will write 100 words to say what I said in under 20 because SOMEONE might see my observation as insulting. Now if I had said it condescending, such as: How could you THINK it could be that? Don't you think any dog living with females would already have reacted? How silly! The person threw out the idea of periods, which sometimes could be it .. and btw, pregnancy hormones set some dogs off… but it hit me he had lived with them too long for that to be probably. It wasn't an insult to the OP, just a response. People contradict my ideas daily on here, doesn't make them condescending or insulting. THEN, I could see it. I simply tossed out a quick response addressing that logically it probably wasn't that. If you read that as condescending instead of my own view, I am sorry. One helpful rule for forums is that you look at any post and see if there is another TONE than the one you ascribed. If there is, take the other. Like your post. I COULD think you are a jerk, not at all "friendly," addressing this here and hijacking the thread instead of sending me a private message. Instead, because I see you post a lot and like you :), I took it exactly at face value... you simply are expressing your view and trying to be helpful. So please remove any tones you might ascribe to the answer. The tone in my head is simply factual, that I am not responsible for your taking that as condescending and probably won't be able to stop you seeing other posts that way. Now if I actually say something you cannot take any way than as an insult, feel free to let me know. But the above... sorry, Fran, it was simply a logical observation. LOL, and in fact, let me now be "condescending" to my post. (I am joking while making a point.) SOMEONE (but it will be me, since it just hit me where I could easily be wrong...) could have responded to my post and said: Yeah, but dds, you are wrong because maybe she has an infection or urinary tract infection also with a period, that might do it. See? Debra, not a problem. Thank you.
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    N
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