Wild Child!

[Madley]

I have the craziest Basenji puppy there is! She is extremely smart and passed dog school with flying colors, but never calms down and doesn't listen to anything you tell her. This week she has chased a mother duck and ducklings twice and nearly got hit by a car. She insists on biting my Chi min pins neck and pulling her places and to make it even better she eats my couches. We have had her since she was 8 weeks old and she was potty trained after a week and crate trained after 2 weeks. She gets a lot of dog park play time…sometimes other owners don't want their dogs to play with her because she bites necks. She isn't aggressive...just way to playful. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[sharronhurlbut]

Ok, how old is your basenji?
Have you done any basic obedience with her? If not, then please do, it will help you two bond, she will learn your the boss and it will help tire her out.
If she is running loose and could have been hit by car, then, she needs to be kept on a leash when she is out walking with you.
How often do you exercise her?
A 10 min walk will not do it.
You need to walk this basenji a LOT…
Hope some of this helps you.

[tanza]

Have you talked to your (her) breeder? What does your breeder say?

[soulmate]

To me it sounds, as if she is kind of bored. Have her search for goodies, do you know the dog-training-games from Nina Otteson? Could you start Clicker-Training her? If she comes home tired, she won't eat couches or tear others around.

If you say, she is still a puppy, she might have to learn things about communication with other dogs, a dog shool might help you a lot, where the dogs meet and learn together…

My Panda also loves to neck-bite, but only playfull and she will not give this up. It is her way to play but never aggressive.

Regards,
Esther

[Schouiffy]

I second the bored statements, well I second everyones statements, so this could be redundant - but as most B owners will say "a tired Basenji is a good Basenji" … How much time exactly is she being walking/dog parked etc?? My B can't not have less than 4 hours of serious running/outside play time a day or she starts looking for trouble These are active dogs who are prone to be destructive and "disobedient" when they have too much energy or their minds are not being put to work... Obedience classes might really help here - and it will add to your bonding experience. The more connected she feels with you, the more willing she will be to comply with your requests. If this is your first B keep in mind they are not like other dogs, and you might have to interact differently (and have different expectations) with her than with your other dog. Your breeder should have good insight as well..

vive le forum, I think the above breeders hit it right on the head.