When you are dealing with something that an animal is afraid of, the best approach is to find his "comfort" distance from the thing that scares him. A busy street makes this a bit more difficult, as you have to find a way to give him that "distance". If you have a car, maybe transporting him to a less busy area might make a good start. Perhaps a side street, where he is comfortably away from busy traffic. You could then walk toward the busy street, pausing as soon as you see some sign of anxiety, and retracing your steps just little until he is in his "comfort zone" again. Gradually…...with the use of bribery and rewards......ask him to approach closer to the scary stuff. Liberally reward him for being there, then retreat. The idea is to not force, let him decide when he is ready. If he feels he can retreat at any time, he will have more confidence. This approach may take awhile, but is less likely to create a permanent aversion. (it works well with spooky horses).
Funny Noises!!
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Hi There,
Well, my Maya is definately a talker
She's not loud, but does love to talk to me when she's out. We've had a few yodels, it only seems to be when she's out playing with the other dogs so i guess its when she's excited?? But she also makes THE cutest noise with me. Its when she's having a cuddle 
Last night we were watching a movie in bed (as ya do) and she was snuggled up next to me and just kept looking up at me and making a purring sort of noise. It was just adorable. A really low, quiet noise Is this a normal basenji thing? Is it classed as a yodel or just another random noise??
Anyone know what it means? She tends to only do it when she's sleepy and snuggled up having a cuddle so it is almost like a cat purr Anyway, whatever it is, she's soooo cute!
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For a basenji, yeah it's pretty normal. Yours might be a little more vocal than average, but they are known for their unique sounds. I can't help you with the meaning. My dog makes some noise but it seems pretty random to me. He'll sometimes yawn silent and sometimes let out the cutest little yawn noise.
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Squiggy does a funny yawn-y noise too! I love it, it is about as vocal as he gets.
Once in awhile he lets out a big rooo, but other than that he is pretty silent- except for the yawns.:) -
Both Tayda and Lenny yawn loudly and I love it! So cute! Its a great alarm clock for me. They get up, stretch and yawn… unfortunately they seem to do it about 10 minutes before my alarm everyday so i always feel a little jipped(sp?) from sleeping.
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Yes, the noises you mentioned are normal and both my b kids seem to make ones similar to what you describe. Additionally, my boy Brando will sigh, every few minutes or so, in happiness if he is sitting in your lap and you are petting him…totally cracks me up!
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IMO, it's all normal (whatever that means) for a Basenji! My B doesn't yodel very often - only when she's really happy or excited. She does however, make tons of other noises. She kind of purrs and groans and also does this cooing thing when she's nervous. I say to her, "Are you a dog or a pigeon?"
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Kona gives my husband a big baroo every night when he comes home. I think it is his favorite part of the day. She also sighs (we assume out of contentment) when she is snuggled up with us on the couch or in bed. We love it.
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Sounds like the yawning noise is fairly common between Basenjis. I know my B does that and it's as vocal as he gets. He does it a lot in the morning when it's time to get up. Like another owner mentioned, an alarm clock.
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My only vocal B is Kiya. She Yodels, Grrrs, Waaahhhsss, and eeerrrrr'ss. One really funny noise she makes is this growl. Its hard to describe. She wags her tail and dances right in front of me but she growls. Its odd. At first I thought she was upset but now I know its her " I'm happy to see you mom" Grrrrrrrrrrrr sound.
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Tosca definitely "purrs" when I pet her…I guess that's part of the reason they say basenjis are like cats
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Funny enough after coming home today, my boy let out this strange "growl/howl" when I was setting his food down for dinner. 2nd time he's ever done this. Hehe.
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Maya, our boy Tyler makes that purring noise with his 'real mom', my daughter. It's very low and quiet. As a matter of fact I didn't believe her for the longest time. It was recently when she was home from school, and we were having a mom/daughter talk, snuggled together with the dogs, and I placed a hand on Ty and felt the rumble.
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Dallas is usually pretty quite. He definitely does the yawn thing though. I think it's so cute! Haha.
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Vanessa, my Cleo does that happy growl noise too. It took me a time or two to figure out what was going on. lol She usually does it when I'm getting their dinner ready. I can get her to do it almost every day now at meal time.
Her daughter Roxie has randomly done it once or twice when very excited, but I don't think I've ever heard it out of Mojo. He however is my most vocal overall, by far! -
Bella is mostly quiet unless we ask her to "talk." Then she can howl, yodel, umph, and do the growl/howl thing. Funny thing is she sometimes sounds like she is saying "Nooooo!!!!!"
On her own (without being told to talk): When she gets nervous (car rides) she will do the yawn/oww thing… She also grumbles and/or growls to tell us when she is mad.
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Our little girl, Nami, is very vocal. She has a special greeting for us whenever we come home. And if we reach into the treat jar but don't give her the treat in a timely manner, we hear about that too… she scolds us for being too slow. Nami will also "talk" to the other dogs at the bark-park when they won't play with her.
Our boy, Radar, is just the opposite. We refer to him as "The strong, silent type." He doesn't say much, but when he does, it is very loud! He usually sounds off when he and his sister are wrestling, then Nami breaks away to hide under the dining room table. He'll stand in the middle of the room and let loose with a resounding "bah-rooooooo."
