Unfortunately we have the same problem with our boy (9) and girl (10). Off leash they play well - 95% of the time. The other 5% can be a disaster especially with small frightened dogs. My guys have gone after such animals and even bitten them - once drawing a small amount of blood. This behaviour seems quite instinctive and regrettably I have not been able to curb it. I do hope your pleasant little fellow doesn’t go this far. But we are talking about a very primitive breed.
What is the dog whisper method for a nipping and biting B
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gbroxon,
You are right on….disciplinary actions, negative reinforcement need not be acute...they can be repetitive over time and work. Pack dynamics are pretty complex, and making yourself the "Alpha" is not the end all. A recent Univ. of Minn. study on Wolves suggests even the Alpha in a Wolf pack is not the Alpha all the time...... -
One realization I've come upon with my B (even though I've had dogs for most of my life) is consistency and patience. It might not work the first time, the second time, the third time, the fourth time, etc., etc., but with patience and consistency, it WILL work eventually.
A BIG DITTO on that!!!
Especially if you're like ME and work where you don't have many hours to spend working with your dog each day then it will take EVEN LONGER for your dog to learn. I can only work with my dogs once a day & since I can't over work them (otherwise they start to loose focus) it turns out to 10 maybe 15 minutes a day which is only about an hour a week…talk about a slow pace. It pays to be patient
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Our puppy is almost 5 months old and he sometimes nips. Of course he doesn't realize that he is doing this because he thinks we are playing. I stop what I am doing and if he tries to bite again I make a sound like it hurts me and he then will stop and lick me.
I have tried putting my hand over his mouth (cupping it) but have found that it only creates more play. Instinctively our B thinks any form of discipline I try is a form of play.
Just stop and stare. That usually works.
The Dog Wisperer is a wonderful tool for other types of dogs IMO. Basenji's are a unique breed that require special attention. I've found that you MUST make your Basenji realize that you are the pack leader.
Good Luck and keep us posted! -
A good way to establish dominance is to make the NILIF method a part of your life. See:
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A good way to establish dominance is to make the NILIF method a part of your life. See:
Hahaha!
My parents taught me that as a child. Ha! -
I do think that the ignoring will eventually help with nipping, the only problem is that until they get it, it soes hurt. My B has slowed down a little on the nipping though not completly and now I use his crate sometimes. No I don't put him inside as punishmen but I tell him no bite or crate and I show him the crate. Similar to a child and their room. Since he has slowed down a bit on the nipping I haven't bought the baby gate but that's still an idea as a time out because our B dosen't hate anything more than being kept from us.
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Dogs are really aware of body language. When you ignore your dog for biting try to remember to turn your shoulder away. A turn away is a distance increasing signal to a dog, you are telling it that you do not want to interact with it anymore. My own dogs use this in communicating with each other. It does sometimes take a little while for the wound up puppy to take the hint but it does seem to be effective with time.
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Good point, Ivoss. Have you read the "Calming Signals" book by Turid Rugaas? Very interesting read about dog/human body language.
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I have not had a chance to read "Calming Signals" by Turid Ruugas but I have watched "The Language of Dogs" DVD by Sarah Kalnajs. A very good video with lots of footage of dog body language.
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what i meant by beat him is to defeat him at his little games, and as you know thats all they are to a B.
The biting thing is a problem. he is was born dec. 2 2005, so 2 1/2 years old. we got him when he was 15 weeks old from a pet store, and i know "NOW" that that was a bad choice, but when we saw him my wife and i fell in love with him, we did spend time researching the breed and have been totaly prepared for the B experience. there have been the rough moments, but we've been able to defeat him. (not beat him, never)…...when he bites is either when he's playing with "ME", and for the most part it's "me" playing or when "we" (my wife and i, no children at this time) are leaving the house. now i admit i play hard with him on my knees wrestling ect. he just gets so fired up that he goes into a B frenzy and he bites "hard" and then he will start attacking me in play but violently and viciously (sp) my reaction is either the water bottle, which has been an excellent deterent for most everything else, except the baby gates and designing my house so nothing is withing his reach. which has become laxed, meaning i'm more and more comfortable with leaving him alone or leaving things where he can get them. or. if the bottle is not withing reach i stop playing and tell him to stop biting. problem is, sometimes, it may be just fetch with his ball, he gets so fired up he just starts attacking me. (are there doggy downers, LOL). ya know i will say this. if you are going to say that i have to stop playing with him, i will say, i will deal with the biting, that is half the way that i tire him out. what do you think of the crabtree oil and putting it on the hand that feeds him (so to speak, i have read about that method recently, but have not tried it yet.
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IMO, If you keep playing with him that way, you are really asking for trouble… one of these days he just might bite the wrong person.... You might be able to deal with the biting issues, but others will not.... and if that happens it will be your B-Boy that pays the price.... I love to rough house with mine.. and it can be done without getting so out of hand that your B becomes out of control.....
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Well, that is your choice...but I hope you don't get angry with the dog when he tries to initiate play the way you have taught him to play. It isn't a consistant message, and it isn't really fair...but if you feel it is the way you like to play with, and exercise your dog, that is your perogative.
You could meet somewhere in between...rough play with him, and as soon as he hurts you, game over, absolutely no further interaction at ALL...no spraying, no talking, no yelling...nothing. If you are consistant he will get the message. Then ignore him when he tries to get your attention by nipping. -
I know that Dash loves to be chased so to tire him out when it crappy outside I chase him around the house. We rough house as well but as soon as his play turned to aggression and biting it stops.
When Dash was smaller he used to nip at my son when he would run off. At first we laughed and thought it was cute but then it occured to me that if it became more of an issue with Greggy or his friends it could be be a problem.
I wanted to add that although it may not be an issue for you now, if you do plan to have kids in the future-the next 16 years or so that your B may live, this could become a problem. In light of that, I think it would be best to do as the others have suggested. Play and roughhouse until the play changes to aggession and then simply stop. Play time is over. Pick it up in a little bit when he calms down.
Honestly, IMO you are creating the problem. Putting a band aid on it by what you are suggesting will not stop the problem. It seems like you don't really want to change your behavior at all. Many of the people who have replied to you have years of experience with this breed and also owners with similar situations. You should at least attempt to do what is suggested for both you and the dogs sake. I think Ceasar Millan would also agree with everything that is said.
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Turn your back…yeah right my B keeps going either for my ankle, behind and if I'm on the couch and take him down, he comes around the end and pulles my hair from behind. Aghhh the challenges of being a B parent. I'm looking for that one great advise that will miraculously cure my B' nipping.
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I've even debated spraying apple bitter on myself during play to see how that works
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@Vanessa626:
I've even debated spraying apple bitter on myself during play to see how that works
Me too. :o
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@Vanessa626:
I've even debated spraying apple bitter on myself during play to see how that works
I thought I suggested that a few threads ago? That was the only thing that worked with Querk.
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Often times at the beginning they will continue to nip a little after you turn your back and disengage. It takes a little time for it to sink in to that wound up puppy brain, "Hey, you aren't pay attention to me anymore." That is the hard part, ignoring them until that kicks in. Over time they start making that connection quicker and then start to figure out what is triggering your disengaging from play.
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I thought I suggested that a few threads ago? That was the only thing that worked with Querk.
I thought that was a joke about spraying it on ourselves but will try this weekend. Yeah our B is getting better since we stop playing with him when he nipps. Moving slowly but surely:D
