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Chase rabbits

Behavioral Issues
  • BeckisB

    What to do when they like to chase rabbits?
    My girl did it for the first time today. Luckely there were no road in seight and I could cath her after a while.
    I know of course that Basenjis isn´t the easyest dog to train and they like to hunt. But I realy want to let her run at the field.

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  • QuercusQ

    Well… I think they ALL like to chase rabbits. My advice would be, if you couldn't get her back with your voice after a minute or two, she shouldn't be off lead. She may LOVE to run in the field, but IMO, it isn't worth the risk if she isn't trained enough to respond quickly to recall. Buy a long Flexi, so she can still run, but be safe.

    A couple good references for training a recall are:
    "Really Reliable Recall" by Leslie Nelson
    "Control Unleashed" by Leslie McDevitt

    Both are available at dogwise.com

    Hope that helps :)

    Andrea Walters

    Quercus Basenjis

    NW Ohio

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  • BeckisB

    Thank you! I have already a long flexi and I´m going to train her even more. She´s right now in the "I don´t hear you" age. It can be so anoying…

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  • tanzaT

    @Beckis:

    Thank you! I have already a long flexi and I´m going to train her even more. She´s right now in the "I don´t hear you" age. It can be so anoying…

    Hmmm.. the "I don't hear you" stage is pretty much life long… :D especially when there is "game" to chase and catch..... It is not really reasonable, in my opinion, to think that with live game they are chasing they would stop and return to you....

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

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  • dashD

    To help with Dash's recall, I started grabbing a piece of cheese–which he LOVES-- and giving it to him when he came to me. Now if he escapes from the fence he always comes to us since he knows we have an extra special treat. However, I am starting to suspect he is escaping to get a piece of cheese:eek:

    Also, I still don't allow Dash off lead. I still think rabbit would be tastier than cheese to him.

    one warning that is hard to do is never punish them when they come to you. No longer how long it took to get there and how angry you are.

    Good Luck.

    Jennifer

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  • B

    They are hard wired to chase just about anything that runs. That's what they were born to:) do!!!!

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  • MacPackM

    Work on training her to come to your voice, and to a whistle (like a sports whistle), that sound goes much further than your voice. IF you have a SAFE place well away from any cars or other predators, and she is trained to the whistle, she will learn to return to you after a good run and you may be able to let her run free. Mine have chased rabbits in the past and they came back after 5 minutes (which seems like forever) but we were in a very safe place and I knew they would come back to us once they stopped running. Lots of recall training…and know they won't stop and return to you while in the midst of a chase, but will return later, tired and panting.

    Anne in Tampa

    Anne in Tampa

    Chipley, Missy & Lucky

    Topper, Nicky & Eddie in the clouds

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  • wizardW

    My previous beastie got out of the kennel by accident and took off after a rabbit or squirrel (I'm not sure which) – he was hit by a car.
    I would never ever let a basenji off leash anywhere there might be prey except in a fenced area (my current one can chase all the rabbits and chipmunks he wants in my fenced yard).

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  • Ninabeana26N

    I would love to see Dallas chasing a rabbit but in area I just cannot nor will not trust him. Our area is too busy & he could easily be hit by a car. Maybe one day when we go back up to MD he'll be able to run around in the local park my mom lives near & takes our dogs to…maybe. Haha.

    Nina & my baby boy Dallas

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    My previous boy loved to chase cars also but I lived in an apartment complex with lots of "green" space where we could walk without being near the well traveled areas. There was also a 98 acre (I think that's the right amount) wooded area right next to the complex that was great fun (when it wasn't muddy). Very glad I don't live there anymore as those 98 acres are now a mall!! And the balcony that we had would have looked right to it. Can't even imagine all the basenji craziness from all the activity if we still lived there. Current boy really doesn't care too much about cars (thank-you previous owners, whomever you are) but he has still run a path in the back yard from running from side to side trying to watch the joggers/bike riders/even just walkers coming down the street…and they don't even need to have a dog with them, although its worse if they do. But he also chases all the squirrels that come to my hickory tree, the bunnies that (I think) live under one of my pines, the neighbor dog, etc.,etc. I'm not sure it can be completely stopped, its their nature, but it can be curtailed. Some good advise here. Good Luck!