Skip to content

Escalating aggression towards my 3yo son

Behavioral Issues
  • @rocky1 said in Escalating aggression towards my 3yo son:

    Please, people TRAIN YOU CHILDREN !!!

    Yes, key to the whole problem. Young children need to be supervised around animals, and they need to learn respect. Cats are actually a good teacher! Usually they are less tolerant than dogs, but also less lethal and will teach the child to leave them alone without serious injury.

  • I definitely agree with the post about big family walks and keeping a safety space - call it Leroy's room even - like a crate with an open end or a dog bed behind the coach, under an end table whatever might work best for him and your house set up. When Leroy's in his "room", instruct your boy that he must be left alone. This gives Leroy a safe space and then he can better control when he wants to interact and when he doesn't.

    I also might add that sharing in a skill you start teaching at your son's age. Much like you start teaching them to ask to play with a toy that another kid is playing with, you can get him vocalizing and asking to say hi to Leroy. You could start doing this as well. As you approach Leroy, you could say, "Hi Leroy can I pet you? Or can I say hi?" Etc. Then decide what is the behavior Leroy does that signals he says yes. Maybe it's when he stands up or only if he approaches you.
    And teach your son to start doing the same. Leroy probably sleeps harder than he used to and his startle response is getting mixed up with your son's presence. If you can get your son to give Leroy more time - from the asking the question and waiting for a specific response - that may help prevent the lashing out that Leroy is doing even when your son isn't interacting with him.

  • I think this dog needs a home without children. While Basenjis aren't necessarily great with all children, they are usually great with children from "their" family. For whatever reason this isn't the case. Consequently this is definitely not a good situation for either the dog or your son. To protect both of them it would be best to find another home.

  • I agree with others that it’s important for the Basenji to interact with a child on its own terms. You could maybe try having your child feed your Basenji (obviously supervised), if he doesn’t already do so. For example, your son could pour the Basenji’s food into the bowl, or give him his favorite treat from time to time. Simply have him present the food, then walk away and give the Basenji space to eat. Good luck- I am sure this is a stressful situation for your family!

  • @rocky1 said in Escalating aggression towards my 3yo son:

    Please, people TRAIN YOU CHILDREN !!!

    Sometimes it is a forlorn hope that people will realise 9 cases out of 10, it is the kids' fault when something goes wrong. People should be made to realise, by their breeder, that Basenjis love children but on their own terms.

    I agree with @donc - best to rehome this little Basenji before he gets a reputation for viciousness and is pts.

  • @JBuckee if you do consult with a behaviourist, it can be helpful to try and find one with experience in working with primitive breeds.

  • I just returned today from a visit with my grandchildren. They have two mixed breed dogs that tolerate an amazing amount of bumping and surprise hugs during rest time or whatever. I marveled as I said out loud multiple times that my Piper would never tolerate this random activity all around her.
    I agree that this dog is acting like a Basenji and my very strong advice for your family and your dog is to re-home the dog before something worse happens.
    All children and dogs are different and some things can be trained away, but in my estimation this is happening too often and the dog is not going to be easy to retrain for another family if he is not removed soon. And your son deserves to be safe and not injured for trying to show love.

  • @jkent said in Escalating aggression towards my 3yo son:

    @JBuckee if you do consult with a behaviourist, it can be helpful to try and find one with experience in working with primitive breeds.

    Better yet, it MUST be someone with experience of Basenjis. Personally, I have but little faith in trainers or behaviourists as far as Basenjis are concerned.

  • Years ago I had a family come to 'meet basenjis.' They had a 5 yr old son, and one that was 3. The 5 yr old was fine with the whole experience. The 3 yr old ran around like 3 yr olds will. My poor Ibis - I was sitting on the couch and she was behind me, peeking around to see what that 'thing was.' It looked like a human, only small, but it acted like a puppy? !???!!!!
    She did exactly what a dog with her temperament would do - observe from afar! I have no doubt that if I had let things get to that point, she would have nipped the boy - not a good experience for either!

    These folks decided, with a bit of educatioin, that their home was not quite ready for a basenji

  • @jbuckee how are things now?

Suggested Topics

  • 0 Votes
    16 Posts
    4k Views
    elbrantE
    @rgk9ruler said in Puppy Painful Biting Nonstop: xylitol, a sugar substitute, is deadly to dogs Thank you for the reminder! I don't do "sugar free" products (which would be obvious if you met me), but I often forget to mention this. Very important warning. Thank you!
  • 0 Votes
    18 Posts
    5k Views
    D
    @2baroos “Know it alls like you have ruined these forums. Your opinion is not the only one. I for one am done with people like you who think you are the expert on everything. Those poles must be uncomfortable” Absolutely correct. She thinks it is “her” forum. It is not.
  • Trying our patience..

    Behavioral Issues
    18
    0 Votes
    18 Posts
    6k Views
    ZandeZ
    Take him out last thing at night so he can make himself comfy ? I have to take mine out - wimps - they won't go if I don't accompany them. Yes, its freezing and yes its dark. But Keeper's close-up vision is going going gone and he hates excursions into the night without Mom and although I'd much rather stay indoors, if I want to avoid being awoken, middle of the night there is no option. Frankly its a small price to pay for the comfort of two old Basenjis.
  • Showing aggression towards the husband?!?!?!

    Behavioral Issues
    15
    0 Votes
    15 Posts
    7k Views
    P
    lvoss, thank you very much for that link. It was very informative and lots of good advice. I got carried away and read and watched other of her training hints. What a super site!
  • Older Basenji aggressive towards 1.5 yo

    Behavioral Issues
    11
    0 Votes
    11 Posts
    3k Views
    DebraDownSouthD
    LOL have your mom listen to Arwen on youtube. The noises, thank goodness, do not match the actions.
  • Male Basenji aggressive behavior towards owners

    Behavioral Issues
    10
    0 Votes
    10 Posts
    3k Views
    jessi76J
    @sharronhurlbut: Crating a dog when your at work and then when you sleep is way too much. I am not saying this is the case…but imo, if your home, have the dog with you. I agree… mostly. a dog should be with it's family but, young pups who do not yet know the rules of the house, should be crated IMO, mostly for their own safety. You can't very well supervise a pup when you're sleeping. however, I do think there is a middle ground to it... I crated my dog at night until he was about 7mths old, and 100% reliable in the house (no accidents). I always kept the crate right next to the bed though. with the exception of night hours, our dog was never crated for longer than 4 hrs at a time. our goal was always to achieve no need for the crate.. which we reached when he was around 2 yrs old. I think a crate is a wonderful TOOL, but it's just that, a tool, not a way of life. We still have one of our crates set up, and occasionally our dog will choose to use it, but the door is never shut.