Rough play with a toddler

[lovemybaroo]

Anyone have experience with your B being rough with a toddler? Oba is still a puppy and wants to play like one, but she is about 50 pounds, and she runs straight at you without slowing down, and has sent my son flying several times now. Just tonight she knocked him into the corner of a door frame and now he has this nasty bruise on his face. She just has no regard when it comes to other peoples space. Is this something I can teach her not to do? My son knows to try to stay out of the way and he even does the duck and cover maneuver, but its not working too well. I try to watch them all closey, but there is only so much I can do. When the 2 dogs start running you better look out, and my poor son just doesnt have a chance. She just tramples him. With Baroo its not so bad because he is only 25 pounds, but Oba is twice his size, and solid. She is also bitting him, but only because she is trying to play, but also because she wants to chew on his shoes, or snatches a toy from his hand. She just runs up and puts his foot or leg in her mouth and bites down and usually pulls too. She doesn't mean to hurt him, but I guess she just doesnt know better, and I dont know the best way to go about training her not to do this. She hasn't seriously injured him yet, but I know it is only a matter of time. Anyone have any suggestions? I don't know what to do about this issue, but I can't have her hurting him, intentional or not.

[WBL]

OBEDIENCE TRAINING!!

Since Oba is a bigger dog, a rescue and in the teenage mindset, you really need to get her into obedience training. Also they need to be able to go and release their energy is there anywhere large and fenced in that you can take them, I don't mean a dog park (I say this because it's not a safe place for toddlers).

Next when she starts to get to riled up but them into a place to calm down, be it a crate or you use the tethering method and tether them BOTH. Since you have to you have to do the same for one that you do for the other. If you put Oba in the crate to calm down, then Baroo needs to go in a crate to calm down.

Set your foot down and don't allow them to run in the house. Teach her to respect your space and your sons space, I go back to obedience training. I'm not trying to sound harsh or say you're doing anything wrong, but understand please you ask for advice and the internet doesn't lead to making it easy to "put it nicely". And I don't see basenji in Oba, many dogs that have characteristics that are similar to basenji's, and ALL dogs as pups are naughty. I see GSD/lab mix and maybe some husky. But no basenji, you mentioned in another post that she had basenji ears, IMO it's not they are WAY to big to be basenji, but I do see them as GSD ears.

[lovemybaroo]

Thanks for the advice. I am trying to get her into training, but there are VERY limited classes in my small town and we dont have a dog park or anything similar that I could take her to. We have a good sized backyard, and she runs a lot there, but not enough to wear her out. I play with her as much as possible, but she does have a lot of energy. I put her in her crate to calm down, but I don't use a crate with Baroo because it traumatizes him after being kept in it for long hours before I rescued him. I don't like having to do it for her and not with him, but it just isnt an option to do it differently. Baroo isnt really a problem. He calms down easily, it Oba that doesnt know when to stop. I will just have to start insisting that they cant run in the house. I have been putting them outside when they start, but they still are going to do it regardless.
I know she doesnt look very basenji-like, but I know for a fact that she is. The original owners saw the parents and confirmed that she is part basenji. She just looks and acts a lot more sheperd.

[lvoss]

Oba's behavior is very typical of a young dog who has had little or no training. Most of the young dogs at our local shelter are there for precisely this behavior. WBL gave great advice, there are three main things you must do if you are going to have a dog that you can live with.

1. You must find a training class and start building up a repretoire of behaviors that you can use to help manage the situations in your daily routine.

2. You must find ways to use up Oba's energy. This includes physical exercise and mental exercise. Practicing the skills you learn in training class can be a great way to help your dog use up some energy by thinking.

3. You create a quiet spot for your dogs and use it in conjuction with enrichment items like a Kong to give your dogs some down time without having them be bored.

If you know how to teach a down, I would start with that behavior and reward it frequently. Practice calling Oba to you and having her do a down for a treat, build toward her dropping into a down when she approaches people so she is less likely to knock over you toddler. This is going to take an immense amount of self control which is very difficult for a young immature dog.

[tanza]

And remember, Baroo is not there to entertain Oba.. or the other way around… I think that you really believed that getting a second dog would solve all the problems with Baroo and instead it has backfired and you have two untrained dogs in the home. I think that if you go back to the post you wrote when you said that you were going to adopt Oba, many of us didn't think it was a good idea at that time.... we recommended OB training for Baroo.. and you should have realized that getting another untrained young that you really needed to find a training class and should have worked on that before bring Oba into your home. Now you have to work twice as hard to teach both dogs, beside spending time with your toddler.

[WBL]

I remembered on thing while I was out and about today. There is a training method that I HIGHLY suggest you start using (for both dogs), it's called NILIF (nothing in life is free). It is an extremely beneficial training method, that I started with my boxer and when Tiggy came along, he just feel into the groove, so to speak. I say this because I can't count how many horror stories about bad basenji behavior that I have read. With implementing this behavior with my boxer it was easy to work with Tiggy.

Boxers and basenji's both are extremely stubborn and take the meaning of bullheaded to a whole new level. Even though they are both completely different breeds, the things that most think are solely a basenji trait, my boxer has done the same. THe reason I say this is because I do know where you are coming from in the aspect of one 20lbs dog and one 67lbs dog, and both have almost the same mannerisms and personalities are very similar.

Okay, got on a rambling moment there. Now to explain the NILIF. It's just that simple, NOTHING IN LIFE IS FREE, simple explanation, they want a treat, they must sit or lay down. Same goes for feeding, go out the door to the yard, getting ready for walks, getting in the car, basically EVERYTHING they must work for.

PLEASE read this thread that I posted about it (I'm going to ask Admin to make it a sticky) it will explain it completely and has great links to explain it also
http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?t=2055

[tanza]

And here is another link on the same type of training
http://www.tanzabasenjis.net/welladjusted.html

[WBL]

@tanza:

And here is another link on the same type of training
http://www.tanzabasenjis.net/welladjusted.html

Great link Pat, I read the whole thing, very informative

[tanza]

@WBL:

Great link Pat, I read the whole thing, very informative

It was from a person out our way and her experience with her first Basenji…
I have always found it useful... and has lots of the same things you posted... and just confirms these are the correct training methods. Positive reinforcement...

[lovemybaroo]

These articles were very helpful. I had never looked at it like that, but it makes sense. I will have to try it.