@chilingoober:
I am getting this response in other forums also. It is certain dogs in the breed that do this. Some are easier to train than others. One said he trained his dog not to climb the fence, and I am waiting for a reply as to how he did that. Does anyone here know how to train them not to climb a fence? One said that hers didn't respond well to corrections, but more treat training. My Dobe just likes to please, and will work for treats, except when we play ball, and then its down to business. The beagle looks at you like, so, what's in it for me. You show him the treat, and he's the brightest student in class. So these are the extremes I'm living with. Where in between does the basenji fit??
The basenji is closer to beagle if not a bit more challenging. My obedience instructor said if she had to try to explain a basenji the best way she could think of was to put them in contrast to her whippet. Her whippet is also a sighthound and has a good prey drive but her whippet needs a maid and knows it, he needs some one to open the door, to feed him, to put his coat on him when he is cold. In contrast, a basenji knows there is no maid and even if there was one, isn't sitting around waiting for them to do what needs to be done. Basenjis are intelligent and persistent. They are not going to wait for someone else to solve their problems and often times people are not really pleased with their solutions.
So basenjis do very well with positive reinforcement training because there is a clear benefit to them in doing it. Basenjis can be reinforced to respect boundaries but if the thing on the other side is more rewarding they will probably go for it. Basenjis like being with their people, they enjoy having a "job" in the family even if the job is couch warmer supreme.
Some examples of what living with a basenji can be like. I had to buy a new refrigerator to keep my male from opening the fridge and helping himself to beef and lamb roasts. He would not open the fridge any other time but would sneak off and help himself everytime we had a roast in the fridge. The first time we didn't catch him until he ingested all 2 pounds of roast. He can also open all of our cabinets and drawers so we had to install child safety locks but he learned how to open some of those so we have to be careful what brand we install. Nicky is also quite capable of jumping up on the counter but does not only because as a youngster he accidently jumped into a cake which resulted in an immediate bath and one other time he jumped into a large bowl that soaking in the sink. He now practices look before you leap but if he can see up there then he will be up there.
My girl Rio will happily be contained by a simple baby gate in the house while I am home but if I leave she will be over it in a heartbeat to be with the other dogs and she has always done this. She also easily leaps out of her x-pen, one person at a lure trial described it as watching me catch popcorn when I opened the lid because she would leap into my arms each time.
