• About the sounds: Mirtillo isn't making a lot of it either. We have heard one yodel-bark in two weeks. And of course some whining in his crate. But he is silent when he plays etc.

    Mirtillo also plays rough with other dogs. They mostly correct him, but when there are other puppies involved, we are the ones that correct him.

    And the begging/stealing… we keep an eye on him and when he is trying to steal anything, we spray him with water. Then he runs to his place and we tell him he is a good boy and give him a toy to play with. It's working pretty well.


  • Fiji is very, very quiet most of the time. She does make a few little noises when she's yawning, and my husband tells me she talks a bit when I leave the house. But I almost never hear her make a sound - it's almost eerie. (But handy for city life and a dog that spends days in an office.)


  • Welcome….here is a helpful link on the site for posting pictures. http://basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?t=259
    My Jack and Basenji both get to stay in their kennels while I eat. After I am done they get their food. It actualy is a good time for them to wind down as they know they will be rewarded for staying quietly in their rooms. I hope to see some good pics soon. But I know how hard it can be to keep a B still long enough to get a good shot. Luckily my Jack has taught me well how to deal with the active dogs already. 🙂


  • @fountainhead:

    i just took deoji to the vet for his second set of shots…one more and then i can take him to obedience classes and also see if there was anything for lure coursing around here

    You should be able to start a puppy kindergarten class now that he has had two shots. Puppy kindergarten is a great because it will provide socialization and interaction with other puppies and help you to recognize appropriate play.

    @fountainhead:

    well the only troubles i'm having with him now are he plays too rough with with my aunts dog…i'm wondering if it's just a matter of his sharp puppy teeth or if it's cause the way he plays is so different from normal dogs...more feral.....have any of you had this problem?

    In what way is he playing too rough? Puppies of all breeds play rough until they learn from the adult dogs what level of play is appropriate.

    @fountainhead:

    also…what can i do about him begging for (or should i say stealing) food?....i've just been sticking him in his crate when we eat but i was hoping there was some way to train him on it. we tried puting a leash on him and making him stay in a corner but all he did was flip out...

    Having him go to his crate and enjoy quiet time while you eat or do other household chores is good training. If you do not want a crate you can use a mat but you will still need to work on making the place somewhere he wants to be. When you eat your dinner are you giving him his? How about stuffing a Kong with his dinner and using a little peanut butter to seal the end so it takes him a little longer to eat all his dinner so he is occupied while you eat. You can use the stuffed Kong on a mat but it will take time to build a good stay.

    When he "flipped out", what did he do?

    @fountainhead:

    oh yeah…my puppy still hasn't made a sound...are any of yours completely silent ?

    When he "flipped out" there was no noise at all? I would say if he has made no sounds at all, no whining, crying, no vocalization at all that would be out of the ordinary. If you mean he does not yodel, some never do. My 10 year has yodeled twice in his entire life and both times I think he was startled to find he could make that noise.


  • Welcome! It is very likely that our pups are brothers. Our pup was born on 11/29/07…so if that is your pup's b-day then they are definately brothers 🙂 I hope you are having a great time with your new fur-baby. 🙂 We can't wait to pick ours up!


  • Welcome to the forum!


  • well, he has made a couple howls when he didn't feel like being in his cage…and we did hear what sounded like a little kid scream today when he yawned...no yodels though......he's like a ninja

    and about him playing with my aunts dog...no, he doesn't ever put him in his place when he's to rough...the dogs a real push over and i did think that if he would just show him that he's annoyed then deoji would stop

    well i think i'll just stick to putting him in the crate when we eat....last night he came from nowhere and stole my dads chicken while he was eating it...he is a hunter...it really was very smooth and swift how he leaped up and took it, i had to give him credit even though my dad was mad 🙂
    we're teaching him to sit, lay and stay but when anything is going on he's to distacted and if there's people food around, forget it...

    chelbell- our pups aren't brothers...mine was born on dec 1st

    thanks for all the advice....i'm going to do the peanut butter kong thing tomorrow, he'll love that


  • How do you know that he is being too rough in his play? What behavior is he showing that you consider "too rough" for your aunt's dog?


  • My little girl isn't Yodeling yet either. But as I remember from when my parents had Bs they really dont get that vocal until about 4 months(of course some never really do). All puppies are tough headed about when enough is enough. Hopefully with more time together your aunts dog will explain the bondaries of polite play. That can be one of the best things about having an adult dog around for the puppy to play with.


  • I had one puppy who yodeled before it even opened its eyes. My most recent litter who come from vocal family on both sides yodeled frequently since they became mobile. They still are all quite the talkers. In my first litter the two boys were big talkers from very young, one girl began to talk at about 8 weeks and is now a big time talker with her mom and sister, they all chorus together. The one boy stopped talking almost completely and the other girl has always been relatively quiet.


  • I find it interesting that the deaf basenji girl in EBC rescue does "talk" to her foster mom.
    Glad to see her lack of hearing doesn't keep her from expressing herself.
    I hope she gets her forever home soon.


  • @fountainhead:

    well the only troubles i'm having with him now are he plays too rough with with my aunts dog…i'm wondering if it's just a matter of his sharp puppy teeth or if it's cause the way he plays is so different from normal dogs...more feral.....have any of you had this problem?

    also...what can i do about him begging for (or should i say stealing) food?....i've just been sticking him in his crate when we eat but i was hoping there was some way to train him on it. we tried puting a leash on him and making him stay in a corner but all he did was flip out...

    thanks for the help

    oh yeah...my puppy still hasn't made a sound...are any of yours completely silent ?

    I have noticed that Basenjis do play rough. Keoki {1 yr} gets VERY rough with Jazzy {3 yrs} to the point where she will cry out. At that point I pull him off and tell him to "be easy" or "that's enough". I hold him by the face, looking into his eyes until he calms down a bit and then let him go. He is learning – usually now I can just tell him to "be easy" and he will ease up..... a bit.

    Our Basenjis don't steal food from our plates if we are sitting there, and they don't typically beg if we are at the table. If we are having a snack on the couch they will -- Jazz will just put her head on our laps and stare. Keoki's manners are not as good, but he is close. As for stealing unguarded food...yeah, that'll happen. :rolleyes: To stop the begging we taught "Leave it", which to them means "leave it alone, whatever it is, it is not yours." They both ignore us once they are told "leave it" because they know they're not getting any.

    Jazzy is completely silent --except when she is angry at the other dogs, then she can make all sorts of interesting noises, and she is LOUD.
    Keoki has yodeled once or twice, but that's about it. He doesn't growl near as often nor as loudly as Jazzy.

    😞 I so wanted noisy Basenjis.


  • None of our B's yodel. Our B/W that came with my husband into our marriage never made a sound he passed away a few years ago and we got two pups who are now 3 and 4 The 4yr old never has made a sound since coming to be with us.Only twice has a yodel slipped out and that was when he was hungry and food wasn't getting there fast enough. Our tri 3 yr old we heard yodel as a pup with her litter mates but since coming to live with us she has also only yodeled a few times Maybe because he is so silent she is too?? My daughters dogs yodel all the time and I love it, I so wanted to have singing dogs too

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