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Puppy teething/biting

Basenji Training
  • @eeeefarm said in Puppy teething/biting:

    I've never had a lot of problems with biting, with either pups or older dogs. I just don't allow them to do it. "No" and disengage, bear hug (physically restrain) if necessary to make them stop, rinse, repeat. Just like their mother would do when they get out of hand. ...

    Not the behavior that I observed at all. But then again... Basenji. They never read the manual. :grinning_squinting_face:

  • @jengosmonkey - And as we all know it takes time to teach "no bite" with puppies... this is what they do... with their Mom and Litter mates... takes "way" more than one or two times before they get the idea.. my opinion, live with it... and do what you can..as I said below BUT do not to have it happen with one or two corrections... think of human children and touching things they should not... tell them NO.. and how many times do you do this? It doesn't happen overnight

  • @jengosmonkey said in Puppy teething/biting:

    Not the behavior that I observed at all. But then again... Basenji. They never read the manual

    I've seen it, at my breeder's place, but more when I got Tamu, and Lady pretty much adopted her as her own pup. She would disciple her when she got out of line. Pinned her down and snarled in her face if she got too rough. No harm to the pup, but the message was clear. I don't snarl, but I do say "no" firmly and restrain if they don't quit.

    Agree with Tanza that it certainly takes more than one or two corrections, but I have found the "bear hug" is effective if it's consistent. It also helps to get the message across while they are young that if you physically restrain them the key to freedom is not to struggle. It doesn't hurt them and teaches them to accept being picked up and held and to settle down when that happens. Makes things far easier when you need them to be quiet for things like nail clipping or any medical procedure at the vet.

    I can certainly see that this wouldn't be an effective tool when you have multiple pups "attacking" from many directions! :-)

  • @jengosmonkey said in Puppy teething/biting:

    Basenji. They never read the manual

    Nope ! And they are full of surprises. You can never predict what they will do next - Kito's latest fad is the fruit bowl on the kitchen table. He likes pears, apples, bananas, Kiwis, avocado pears etc. Oranges have, so far, escaped him. I have to put the bowl somewhere safe and make a fruit salad of the damaged items and a guacamole of the avocados.

    Having said that, at least I have never had a puppy nipping. No biting is made clear at a very early age and is a solid no-no.

  • @eeeefarm - IT IS VERY, VERY effective to have an adult dog in the home when you bring home a puppy. They will teach that pup more then we humans can.... however that said there is a lot of noise, yelping, snarling, going on.... scares off many humans as they think the pup is being hurt. Rarely that would be the case.

  • Oh, I am very aware that Lady helped immensely with Tamu. Of course, I didn't have help when I brought Lady home. Fortunately she learned the rules of the house very quickly. I find horses are similar. Orphan foals can be real terrors because they don't have Mom to show them the ropes and people are often not very good at it. However, if you have a herd they will teach the foal respect, generally without being too tough on it.

  • @tanza That goes with bred-in-house litters too ! As soon as the pups' eyes opened and they could more or less race around - mostly backwards - without falling over, we would open the huge cage which contained the whelping box beside the Aga and let them out.

    The adults, who also all lived in the kitchen, taught them life skills. The length of time they were out playing with the rest of the pack extended as they grew. One uncle in particular would take them in hand and teach them how to be good, well rounded Basenjis. And when we were lucky enough to have a summer litter - which was quite often - they would play out in the garden.

  • @zande - For sure Zande... and taking pups from the pack too early is really not good either. Basenjis need to stay with the pack till at least 10 to 12wks. that is when they learn basic manners....

  • @tanza Ours always went at 9 weeks, following the first shot. Given enthusiastic teachers among the adult pack, we found it was ok and gave the pups time to grow into their new homes.

    But I do agree, pups brought up in other than a kitchen environment where a great deal is going on - i.e. in a kennel or a back room, should stay with Mom and the aunts and uncles for as long as reasonable.

  • @zande - I have place pups at 9wks, but typically to prior Basenji owners, they know the "ropes"... also I do eyes at 9wks, so 10 works better for me in placing pups and yes...(LOL) mine are raised in the home, no kennel.... and the breeders that I know that use kennel runs, still have their pups in the house for house time and "education".....

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    @yaleezaforeva said in More crate/separation anxiety issues. 12.5 week old puppy: @zande its a little harsh to suggest we're treating him like a toy that we're "putting in a cupboard when he's inconvenient for us." as mentioned, we're simply trying to get him comfortable with us being away as we'll eventually have to do so when going to work...during that time, we'll also be ensuring that his time apart isn't for a full 8 hour day, especially as a young puppy, and rather broken into at least two intervals with one of us coming home or a dog walker or a family member. as it stands, he also likes being in his crate overnight right beside our bed (safe space) so that doesn't seem to be an issue whatsoever.. plus we're simply just trying to understand what the best approach is for him to be left alone when we go back to work. we really appreciate your upfrontness and transparency about this...maybe you're suggesting the right approach...we're new at this and so we'll message you to discuss further! again, we appreciate you taking the time to provide advice. If you are home then trying to equal that to when you are gone will not work... IMO... they know when you are at home and when you are gone.... being in his crate at night next to the bed is totally different then in his crate (other for eating) if you are home and moving around. All of mine were/at crate trained... but if we were home, they are with us... I didn't have to crate them during the day as we set up the house with their own dog room... and that room was set up to remove anything important.... BE ADVISED however it if is their dog room and they destroy something, it is on the owner... ours also have access to the backyard via a doggy door, but we have a secure backyard with 12' fences. I will say that with our very first two Basenjis many years ago, they had a crate in the laundry room with a doggy door to outside. At the time we did not have baseboards and found that stripping the wall paper was a great past time.. LOL... and that is the way it was... as we gave them that area... results was to install baseboards... LOL... problem solved
  • Puppy behavior

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    There are many different ways to train loose leash walking. I like training it in a class with distractions and for my baby puppies that is really where they learn what a leash is. I took my boys to class for the first time this week and the only thing we worked on was loose leash. We started just standing in place and click/treat for loose leash. Then we would like a step and when the puppy followed we click/treat again when the leash is loose. The boys were walking pretty good with me and my husband for most of the class. I also like using a long line for loose leash, it really seems to help them understand that being near me is the behavior I want since they have the choice to go quite a distance from me but are only get a click/treat if they are close enough for me to touch them. Make sure you are using really yummy treats in class, it helps you to compete with the distractions. Many people bring kibble or other so-so treats that the dogs are happy working for at home but can't compete with the excitement of class.
  • Puppy nipping?

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    LOL someone posted this yesterday and I have to share. Your pup? [image: attachment_p_153898_0_pickup.jpg]
  • Puppy Kindergarden

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    Way back when, Topper was the 'demo dog' for his puppy and adult classes, he would always do the new things, but get annoyed if the instructor kept asking him to do it again. "Hey Lady, I know what I'm doing, no need to repeat it!" Nicky became the demo dog for agility as she is fearless and loves heights. She did like to make the teeter-totter slam to the floor, and jump off grinning. Basenjis ARE smart and seem to excel at all sorts of classes as long as it's fun for them. Have fun with Kismet!
  • Just wondering/thinking/probably not acting…

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    Shaye's MomS
    An Akita was the first dog we noticed that about. It was only a 10 month old, but it ran right next to Shaye, touching her all the way and looking down at her, and kept turning her to the right - I don't really know whether it was trying to get Shaye back to the place we were sitting or whether it was an aggressive move, but the result was the same. There is a Shepard here in the neighborhood we live in. When the man who walks it passes by us, he has to practically get down and physically hold the dog, because it tries to charge Shaye, ears back, hackles up, barking its head off. I don't know if it's like that with other dogs. At the park, there was a young Shepard who initially started playing with Shaye, but when Shaye went up like she does and came down around the dog's neck area, it lowered to the ground, bared its teeth, growled and scared me to death, I thought I was about to see Shaye get picked up and shaken to death in those jaws. It was not in a playing mood any more. So, I figure better safe than sorry. The man who owns the Akita who was herding Shaye told me Akitas are bred to be guard dogs and are naturally aggressive in initial meetings - so why he had that dog at a public park is beyond me.
  • Puppy Nipping

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    Robin_n_JackR
    @JazzysMom: With Keoki we have to firmly say, "NO" and if he doesn't stop, we hold him under the neck – not tightly, just enough so he can't grab -- and make him sit. Then we look him in the eye and say, "NO! Enough!". That usually does it for him, and he's getting better and better at either not biting and/or listening the first time. He usually does stop the first time w/me, and in fact seldom does bite at me in play, but not as well with Dh and the kids . One of my dd's says it's because he's afraid of me, but that is not the case. He never cringes, he just listens to the Mama! I think he sees the other dogs and the kids listening to me, and the fact that I don't ask or beg him to stop doing things. I TELL him. I am working to get the family to see the difference, and to stop bouncing around while saying, NO. LOL Same for me- that is exactly what I do! When he was younger we tried the yelp, and we tried ignoring him….neither seemed to work very well for us. This seems to work very well, at least in our case.