Looks like you said that difference in your second post, so we are on the same page.
Hunting!!
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Anyone use their "B's" to hunt?….flush small game, etc?
I'm a Falconer, and use the kids to flush game (mostly Rabbits) for my hunting hawk...They LOVE IT!!! -
I am not a hunter, neither is my husband (fisherman), but I have often thought Hollie needed someone to take her hunting. She is obsessed with the squirrels and rabbits. Would love to do lure coursing with her!
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I used to take mine to a large field and they'd chase jackrabbits for hours. Killed a number of them just by sneaking up on em and then move in quick. Not something I let them do much as I'm not into just letting my dogs kill game. My first basenji, a tri color named Nipper used to be pretty wild, killed a large woodpecker, a phesant and large rats. She even hit me with a rat once swinging it around. It flew out of her month and hit me in the leg. That dog was tough!!
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I would think you would need to use them almost like they are used in Africa because they are so prone to chase and CATCH nearly any small game that doesn't climb trees quickly.
Jenny will sort of "point" (nose down, frozen) when she smells a rabbit and even flush one without chasing it occasionally, but that is because she doesn't SEE it! My lab-mix, Betty, might see it and chase half-heartedly if I don't say "leave it", but even then, Jenny will so obsess on smelling where she thinks the rabbit is, that she will totally miss everything.
Sometimes when I have Jenny on a 30 foot long line and Betty free roaming in the tallgrass near our place, Betty will focus in on something and Jenny will immediately rush in to investigate. Betty will also watch and react to Jenny (when she's not watching me, hoping I have a Frisbee to toss).
Jenny has 80-90% recall (defined as coming on the first call) when we are at the dog park and I have wondered how I could use their "teamwork" in the field. -
BillyK that's pretty good for Jenny. I get about 50-60% depending on what's got their attention.
When you use the 30ft lead (which I am very much in agreement with using a lead for Jenny) what do you connect the lead to…collar?? (if so what type martingale, bucklet) or harness??
Just curious because I use a 25 ft lead when we go out walking on trails & such. We don't hunt though
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There is a b owner here in No. California that hunts and tracks with both his Basenjis…
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I use her martingale (No Slip brand I think) or harness - depends on what we were doing previously. The harness is used in conjunction with biking. Her recall around the yard is better if Betty is there - otherwise, she remembers every place that she has scared up a rabbit, and MUST check to see if the rabbit is foolish enough to be there again. After that, listens some but is always shooting to the end of the rope so quickly that I rarely get to call her with a loose leash and around our house/yard she doesn't get to be off leash, and therefor she is always aware of being tied to me.
If only there was a large open grassland/very lightly wooded area that I could let her run through wearing a big bell, I would follow the noise to whatever she catches or corners like one of the African styles of hunting…. -
Aaaaah…wouldn't that be great...wishful thining I guess. I'm of the kind that is terrified to let mine off leash
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My Hollie has zero recall when she spies a squirrel. She is CONSTANTLY on duty, searching the yard for them. I am grateful she has yet to catch one (that's my fault - I yell to warn the squirrels or else Hollie is on leash). Her instinct to hunt is like something I have never experienced. I am glad to hear other basenji owners have the same problem.
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The "b's" prey drive is pretty strong. If you can find a way to indulge it, they are happy dogs!!! I'm convinced it stimulates their little brains like nothing else, and is good for them if you can do it safely. Sometimes I'll take mine to a big office park on a Sunday morning, and let them run around flushing rabbits. Good thing is,the rabbits tend to stay around "their" building. They find their hole, and that's where your "b's "are with their nose in the hole.:D
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Basenjishunt,
I take mine to a very large office complex too next to SF Bay. The parking lots are empty and the jack rabbits sometimes run around. They have their holes in the little islands between lots. They get away there. -
Are these office complex fully fenced in??…I'm thinking maybe I can scout one out in my area..there's gotta be one somewhere
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Look for an office park away from big roads. The roads in, and around the park should be almost deserted on a sunday morning. Any critters are not going to break out into the open towards a distant road. They will stay around the buildings where the cover is. This is the beauty of it, The dogs run around the buildings chasing scent, or actual critters until their little tounges are dragging on the ground, and they are convinced they are great hunters!!!:D
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LOL…I did find one of those parks as a matter of fact this past weekend. We had to go return a cable box & it was in one of these places...altho we would have to go pretty far in to stay clear of the outside roads...I wasn't the only one returning stuff to the cable company
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When I was first letting them off leash, I would bring along some small pieces of cooked chicken. Give them a little piece to let them know you have it. Then let them off for a couple of minutes, call them, and give them a treat. Pretty soon they have one eye on you all the time. If you even move to your pocket, they'll come running. Another one I used was whenever they look back at you from a distance, call them and praised them. Looking back at you from time to time is a good thing, and should be praised….just my 2 cents:D
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My first B, Bell (Sundance Liberty Bell) was with my dad in his orchard one day and actually chased down a deer (I wasn't there, but I recall my dad saying it was a smaller mule deer). She jumped up and caught it by the throat and hung on until she was thrown off. Repeated this a couple of times, until she overpowered the deer. I have seen some pictures of artifacts from ancient Egypt, and this is exactly what was depicted.
Years later my second B, Jenga, went pheasant hunting with me. I was with my Brother in law at a pheasant ranch and we first hunted our field with his german shorthair. After we were done, I went back to my car and brought Jenga to the field. This was the first time I had here in a field with pheasants. She casted the field on command like a pro and flushed several pheasants that the official "bird-dog" had missed. And she had no problem with me shooting over her!
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I don't hunt, nor does my husband, but I wish we had someone to take Hollie squirrel hunting. She is obsessed with those furry gray things and hunting would help tire her out!!
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Take your "B" to cemetery…they always have squirrels, and are usually a nice place to walk a dog anyway.....:)
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She is obsessed with those furry gray things and hunting would help tire her out!!
You have to be carefull with squirrels. Our dog catches them but does not know how to kill, so he plays with them but gets bit up really bad by the squirrel.
