After a long wait, Oba has finally arrived! She is a 10 month old German Sheperd mix we adopted last week. She is such a sweetheart, and we are totally in love with her already. She loves to cuddle and insists on sleeping in my bed and even trying to push me off the pillow! She has tons of energy and will play all day long. She seems to have settled in very well and is already at home here. We are so happy to finally have her, there are just a couple issues we need to deal with.
She was dropped off a week ago, and for the most part things are going good. When Baroo first saw her he tried to attack her, so I was worried at first. They went for a walk together and he was being a bully, but then we turned them loose in the backyard, and they instantly started chasing each other and running all over. They had a blast and we were all shocked at how well they got along right away. They played all day and wore each other out. It was great! There was one little fight later that day when I gave them both a chew treat. I put Oba in her crate and left Baroo inside. Even though she was in her crate he got very upset because he wanted them both. They calmed down and weren't showing any interest in the treat, so I let Oba out, and then Baroo attacked her and stole her treat. They stopped after I sprayed them both, but we keep having the same issue with the food dishes. He thinks they are both his and won't let her eat out of them unless he wants to. He goes back and forth between dishes even though they are in different areas, and he doesnt seem to care if she eats out of "his" dish, as long as he doesnt want to. Should I let him continue to do this, or make them have seperate dishes and only eat from those?
There are a couple other problems that we are dealing with- I have realized she is more sheperd than basenji, except she has the bad basenji behavior! The main problem was that she barked. A lot. It was very loud, and for no reason. She would even bark at birds or some times nothing at all. That had to stop, so we got her a citronella anti-bark collar, and that has done wonders! She barks 1 time, and that is it. She hates the citronella and there is no more barking!
Other than that, she chews. She is still only 10 months old, so she is still a puppy and I will excuse it most of the time, but she is really bad about it. She can't be trusted out of sight. She makes Baroo look like an angel! We have gotten her more toys and chews, and that helps some, but it is still an issue we have to watch out for.
For the most part Baroo likes her. I can tell he gets very irritated with her though. She wants to play constantly. She doesn't give up until he is really pissed and on the verge of a fight. He comes running to me to hide or keep her away from him. He likes to play, but he loves his naps and relaxation time too. I don't think Oba knows what that is. She is always looking for something to do and plays with her toys or things that she shouldn't all day long. I am hoping she will settle down as she gets more used to things, and as she matures. Its just kinda hard to look at her as a puppy because she is so big, but she is. She weighs about 50 pounds, and she uses it to bully Baroo. I hear him yelping all the time when they play. How can I get her to settle down and leave him alone more? The poor dog needs a break!
We are still stuck on the name issue. We wanted to change it to Sheba, but have since decided against it, and can't come up with anything else we like. It is driving me crazy. The problem for me is that she looks like an Oba, and thats all I see when I look at her, but I hate the name and want to change it, so hopefully soon she will have a new name. Any suggestions? I don't want to confuse her for too much longer.
Sorry this is such a long post, I have been saving it all for a week since I have been too busy watching her to post sooner! Here are a couple pics. They aren't great, but it is hard to catch them holding still!
Her tail curls at the end. It looks like a question mark when it is all the way up. There is no denying those are basenji ears though!
A rare moment when they aren't running
Tug-o-war!
I have to add- the sofa in the background was trashed before, but it is now in pieces. We got a new one and put in the the patio and she was shredding it in no time. Its a good thing it was trash anyway!
Well I can't be of much help but for the food thing I think putting her in her crate to eat all her food is a MUST. Even with only one dog I put him in his crate to eat so he knows that that is his spot to eat, sleep, etc. I think if you put her in the crate during meals it will keep him away from her meal & eventually he will be adapted to her eating her food in one spot & he eating his in another.
As for chewing, Dallas is a HUGE chewer so I have bought a bunch of compressed rawhides _to keep him entertained vs. chewing on the sofa, coffee table or carpet. Also, have you seen the galileo bone by nylabone? Maybe get her one of those since they are huge & great to chew!
Also, for her always wanting to play, it isn't necessarily a bad thing to put her in her crate for an hour or so every once in a while with a special treat [kong filled with frozeny goodness?] so that allows her some quiet time in her bedroom & gives Baroo a chance to relax. This was Baroo's home first & you don't want him to enter an agitated state because he never gets alone time. I know Bs are very independent so I would imagine giving each of them time away from each other is probably vital to keep their relationship positive.
Again, I don't know too much about changing dogs behavior but I hope I may have helped even a tiny bit 
Good luck! Oh & for names…how about Lucy? For some reason she looks like a Lucy to me. Haha_
I think Nina makes some great points!
I would only add that BOTH dogs should be fed in their crates doors closed until they are done eating. It's not fair for one dog to be out & it causes more stress for both of them. One can't eat in peace & the other is too worried about food he may be missing out on :eek: I would come up with a routine for eating…there HAS to be rules. They can't get excited at meal time. They need to wait sitting patiently in their crates otherwise NO FOOD. It takes practice but it's so worth it in the long run...and it avoids lots of food fights.
IMO (& I'm no expert) but it sounds like Oba (btw-I love her name!) needs more exercise. Pups usually have a lot of energy but they also tire out at some point. It sounds like she has a lot of energy to burn so perhaps 2 good long walks a day would work for her AND for poor Baroo 
And you could also work on obedience commands...this tires them out a lot too! Sit & stay & wait & come here...all of this works their brains & burns energy.
It sounds like most of the issues are adjustment issues. But YOU are in charge & it's up to you to set up the house rules to keep order. Routine is key for dogs! They thrive on it Try to set up a schedule for walks, feeding, play time, rest time, etc. And make sure there is a set of rules for each activity (reward both dogs for good behavior) & stick to them & everything should fall into place.
Good luck!
Both dogs need to be in their crates with the doors closed when feeding them or even giving treats. You need to set them up for success and not for failure.
She is cute, and I would say 99% shepard mix… many breeds have pricked ears, so I really don't see Basenji in her.
Very sweet! Oba looks tired out!
Quick question? Is that a choke chain on Baroo? Please if it is, remove it other then when he is on lead. It is very dangerous to have a choke collar on a dog when off lead.
Are martingale's dangerous when left on off lead?
Quick question? Is that a choke chain on Baroo? Please if it is, remove it other then when he is on lead. It is very dangerous to have a choke collar on a dog when off lead.
Are martingale's dangerous when left on off lead?
Yes IMO, as they work like a choke collar…. and there is no way they can back out of them if they were to get caught on something. Personally I never leave collars on when I am at home... just for that reason, I am always worried that they could get hung up on something and then there is Mickii that will chew them off the others...
All constricting collars (ie trainer collars) should NOT be left on when the dog is off lead or unattended. A number of dogs have been known to get caught in these collars and choke themselves. Most dogs if caught by the collar, or harness, will try to run or pull away and generally end up choking themselves.
seeee i disagree with the feeding seperately/in a crate thing.. rocky and mia share bowls.. and they eat out of each others with no problem. Rocky did it before we got mia when we had the other dogs.. I guess its different with different dogs and people. we free feed too, occasionally we'll take the bowls but not all the time. idk thats just how it always was when both my boyfriend and i had dogs before. just my point of view.
I don't use a crate for Baroo because he was locked up in one for up to 12 hours a day before I rescued him, so he is traumatized by the crate and won't go in one, but I am fine with that because he really doesn't need it and can be trusted without one. I hate the idea of putting her in one and leaving him out, but thats just how it is. Baroo has calmed down a little more with the bowl issue. He really doesn't care now as long as he can choose which one he wants to eat from. They switch a lot, and it seems to be fine.
I do put Oba in her crate to settle down sometimes, and that works for the most part, but sometimes she settles down in there and comes out ready to play again and baroo still isn't in the mood.
She is getting better by the day. She still chews a lot, but I guess that is to be expected. I was a little upset when she chewed a hole in my blanket though. I am trying to keep her busy with treats. She really seems to like the healthy edibles nylabones.
She has peed in the house a couple times even though she is housebroken, but I am guessing that is just an adjustment issue. She hasn't done it in a few days though. Hopefully she won't again.
We need to get her into obedience class, because she doesn't even know come, but it is hard to find a decent one where we live. Hopefully we will soon.
seeee i disagree with the feeding seperately/in a crate thing.. rocky and mia share bowls.. and they eat out of each others with no problem.
Yes and she would be able to do this IF Baroo wasn't eating Oba's food but the problem is Oba's food is being eaten by Baroo. Thus, in order to eliminate this, crating them would allow them both to eat their own food, both get enough, & cause less chance of food aggression between the two dogs.
We have never free fed any of our dogs growing up because they would just lick the bowl clean. I think if your dog won't eat all of the food the second you put it down, great, but I just don't think that is very common. At least not as common as the dog eating every last bit [even if they aren't really hungry]. I mean, these are Basenjis afterall & at least with mine, he's a porker :p
She is getting better by the day. She still chews a lot, but I guess that is to be expected. I was a little upset when she chewed a hole in my blanket though. I am trying to keep her busy with treats. She really seems to like the healthy edibles nylabones.
Glad to hear things are continuing to improve. I would say they could both be uncrated while eating as long as they are both eating food, and enough of it. If Baroo picks his bowl & then leaves the other one alone, I think you should be fine
As for the chewing, again have you tried giving her the durable nylabones? The flexible ones are definitely too weak for a strong chewer [like a B or a shepard] but the durable ones are pretty great.
If she is chewing on something you don't want her to simply remove the object she is chewing & replace it with something she can chew [again durable nylabones/compressed rawhide/bully sticks/etc] & then say "good girl" or whatever your good behavior language is. This way she will understand "okay I can chew on this". I also have been using the word "NOT YOURS" if Dallas starts chewing something he isn't supposed to & then switch it with something while saying "This is yours. good boy!" Once he starts to chew that instead of the other item, I reward him with a little piece of a treat.
He has [knock on wood] completely stopped chewing on our coffee table knobs, which were his personal favorite when we got him. A small step in the right direction but certainly makes me feel like it's working Plus, he is getting to the point where when I just say "NOT YOURS" he will walk away from the item he was chewing. It's similar to the leave it command but just designed for chewing vs. everything else the leave it command covers.
Haha well mia does eat rockys food. They both eat out of each others bowls. They each get a cup and a half of food in each bowl every morning and there's usually food left over at night.
I guess I have dieting dogs hahaha
And in response to the food aggression issue… I don't see how keeping them apart will make them not have foos aggression because they aren't being exposed to each other with food. What happens if you drop something while your making dinner and both go after it... ? Of course both will want it and I'd like to see someone catch a B with stolen goods! Lol just my opinion. Actually kind of a question I suppose. Anyone willing to tell me I'm wrong I'd love to know if I'm thinking crazy lol
I should have said aggression is Baroo continues to eat all her food & she gets sick of it :p I know some food aggression can actually stem from being fed in crate though, something I have worried about with always feeding Dallas in crate. I make sure to hand feed him sometimes so I can hopefully avoid this later…
Gotcha. Lol
I know with rocky and mia I sat between them for a few days because when we first got her we fed her twice a day and took food away when she was done. They can both eat and drink out of one bowl at the same time without getting mad. I know I watched them both for awhile before I decided to leave the food out. And food does get taken away at night but they are free to eat when they want during the day.
seeee i disagree with the feeding seperately/in a crate thing.. rocky and mia share bowls.. and they eat out of each others with no problem. Rocky did it before we got mia when we had the other dogs.. I guess its different with different dogs and people. we free feed too, occasionally we'll take the bowls but not all the time. idk thats just how it always was when both my boyfriend and i had dogs before. just my point of view.
Your right, different things for different people. However the way you feed you never know who is eating what and how much and with free feeding if one is not eating, especially if they are sick, you would never know until it was obvious from losing weight.
I should have said aggression is Baroo continues to eat all her food & she gets sick of it :p I know some food aggression can actually stem from being fed in crate though, something I have worried about with always feeding Dallas in crate. I make sure to hand feed him sometimes so I can hopefully avoid this later…
I have never had or ever seen food aggression coming from eating in a crate. Mine have eaten in their crates always… I can take their food anytime I want... however, that said... I would not expect them to share their meals with the other Basenjis in the house.
Hm…maybe it was just my particular dog growing up. She is a Austrailian Wolfhound & Austrailian Shepard Mix adopted from the Humane Society. We always fed her in her crate & if you even walked NEAR the crate while she was eating she would growl like crazy & leer at you. Kind of scary. We tried working on hand feeding her so as to change the behavior but even now she will still occasionally growl while eating if anyone goes near her. We tried feeding her outside of her crate too but then she almost attacked our other dog Marty.
