Working with Oakley..progress is slow but had promising results during our "boarder stay"…he instantly remember the dog who we had as a 8-12 week puppy...he had moments of snarkiness which are very typical for him, coming too Close when he's sleeping, after he's played for awhile..as far as the food goes it was better than expected. He seemed ok to eat in the kitchen with her as long as he ate first...the only troublesome moments were in anticipation of the meal as I was fixing their bowls, he would go after her and snark and bite but not viciously..it was stern, don't get me wrong but he seemed not to take it to the next level which he would have done with a dog he didn't know. The bigger issue was when "I" was eating..my food sparked definite territorialsm, he would get aggressive but still with a stop filter..he wouldn't allow her near me and she knew to backoff and stay alway. I did end up crating him during my meals when he got too stimulated. Overall, I was surprised to see he didn't viciously try to hurt her but he definitely displayed inappropriate behaviors (for what I'd want to see in the future). I'm pleased it was better than expected and have a better direction in training
Aggression
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My boy Tobias is very wierd when we move him while he is sleeping, he growls at us and it sounds really vicious but once he is moved he wants to lick the skin of my face as to say "IM SORRY MAMA", I dont know if your Abby will bite , best to tell the children to respect her space, it also works when you talk to them before tring to move them, this always works now with Tobias, I guess it changes his frame of mind.
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please be aware that females in particular growl to talk….that snarfy sound.
i have had a food aggressive dog, only towards those she wanted to dominate...the other basenji and my cats....she never growled at me because i was always the alpha female when they would get out of hand.
i talked to a trainer about it and it is a dominance issue. he suggested feeding her separate in a kennel so she felt safe. she would still growl if a cat got close to her food, but I didnt have to worry.
maybe you could feed her in the kennel when you eat.
try a spray bottle when she growls and say no and see if that works.....
good luck.....
i found that the growling while sleeping and growling in general is a lot easier to understand when you are around other basenji owners in your community and they share similar behaviors...then it isnt so scary....
if you are feeling uneasy and the basenji makes you feel uncomfortable in any way....try training classes without treats....that will help you communicate with your basenji...
most stuff can be worked out with enough effort....and understanding. good luck!
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Abby is participating in what is called "resource guarding" Your first step should be to set her up so that she can't practice the behavior….so put her in her crate before you eat.
Limit and supervise the interactions that she and your stepkids have. If she is uncomfortable around them, which she very well may be..have them take turns feeding her treats. A lot of Basenjis that weren't raised around kids are very wary of them, and will try to warn them off by giving them a low growl...if it is ignored, or harshly corrected, many will bite.
When she is sleeping condition her to quietly calling her name and when she gets up, give her a treat. It won't take long before she hops up as soon as you call her name, to get the treat.
Good luck
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My Basenji also growled when woken up or moved from her warm spot. Didn't have a food problem though.
I've once seen her wake herself up from a doggie nightmare, she even snapped in the air a few times before she awoke.
The only way we could persuade her to move without the fuss was with something she liked even more than her warm spot like a treat or the heater.
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These are all really good tip thank you guys so much.
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My Sahara likes to eat cat poo, can anyone tell me how to get her to stay out of my cat's litter box. I have 2 cats that live in the garage during the winter and so the litter box is out there as well. My washer and dryer is there also, so when I wash Sahara of course follows me out there. I do try to get her to stay inside, but sometimes she scoots by me, she is such an escape artist. She likes to chase my cats, bother them until they jump on top of the chest freezer. Well, then she goes over to the litter box, I caught her in the process, it was so gross, help!!!!!!! No sweet kisses for me for awhile!!!!!! haha!!!!
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Every dog I've owned has had a thing for the cat poo…so nasty!!!
We wound up having to get a covered litter box and turn it toward the wall, leaving just enough space for the cats to get in and out.
At least it took the dogs longer to get to and we can could catch them in time!
Since Jazzy moved in we've moved the litter boxes to part of the house where she cannot go. The poor cats were being daily tormented and it just didn't seem fair. -
We built a platform for the cat boxes, that was high enough, and small enough, the dogs weren't that wild about trying jump up there.
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yeah, its like chocolate or something fantastic for dogs. my one basenji was obsessed with the box.
i have the automatic litterbox and it still didnt fix the problem. I eventually just added a baby gate for that room and it became the get away room for the cats when they didnt want to be chased….
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I too have an automatic litter box but we built a platform almost like a cabinate and the poo goes down into a garbage can with a bag in it and abby or missy can not get into the poo.
