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Questions on training

Basenji Training
  • tanzaT

    Not sure that I would describe as "prey drive"…?? and agree with lvoss... positive reinforcement and training alternative behaviors work best with Basenjis... and most all breeds really...

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

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  • jkhandjlsJ

    I just want to thank everyone for all their help - we had no idea what our 'puppy' was - we adopted from a resuce & her story was very tragic - it's taken us a long time to accept her craziness. I wish I had contacted all of you wonderful people before. Just knowing that our little girl is 'normal' is such a relief! THANK YOU - we continue to work with her with new found understanding!!

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  • lvossL

    The more you reinforce watch me or attention the more you will see that Sophie offers it. I reinforce name response and attention heavily with my dogs and it does make a difference but it takes time to build up to distractions and the more distracting the more time.

    Do you use a clicker in your training? If so I would start clicking when she looks at the interesting thing and have really yummy treats so she looks at you to get that treat. Then you can start building the behavior of "find the real interesting thing and then look at me to let me know you found it and I will give you a really good treat." Also, finding the right treat for working with distractions is also important. You want something really yummy that they don't get very often so it is very high value.

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  • jkhandjlsJ

    Hello again - we've tried a 'clicker' but I'm not very good at it - by the time I get the darn thing clicked I've lost the moment. But we never used it as you suggested - I'll try that this week & we're building on the crate. Our trainer emphasizes that we need to go very slow with her - she will go in the crate & 'wait' but we have the door off & I always sit on a chair so she can see me. But we're feeding her in the crate & working on it every day. And yes for the 'high value' treat - I cooked chicken this afternoon. Really, it's just recently that we've fallen 'in love' with her - we had so many months with the wrong trainer - wrong theory whatever & when i started reading about Basenjis so many things made sense. We've 'wasted' some time but we've all learned a lot & I don't think she'll have to spend time on a psychiatrist's couch. I love the photo of your two dogs & notice how they cross their legs - so does Sophie. Thanks for all your ideas!~

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  • agilebasenjiA

    @lvoss:

    Do you use a clicker in your training? If so I would start clicking when she looks at the interesting thing and have really yummy treats so she looks at you to get that treat. Then you can start building the behavior of "find the real interesting thing and then look at me to let me know you found it and I will give you a really good treat." Also, finding the right treat for working with distractions is also important. You want something really yummy that they don't get very often so it is very high value.

    What lvoss described is called the "Look At That" game and it is talked about (among other things) in a book called Control Unleashed. A great little book and had lots of good info in it, but it is geared more towards agility/performance dogs. (That doesn't mean it wouldn't help you though.)

    Definately positive reinforcement is the way to go with your pup! (It's more fun anyway)

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  • jkhandjlsJ

    THANK YOU - I have no idea why I didn't think of this sooner (the Internet) - we have had a very unpleasant time - we have never resorted to horrible human behavior (& as she is a rescue we assume she's seen that) - but I have had LOTS of sleepless nights & really questioned whether I should actually leave her long enough to go to the grocery store!! SHE IS SOOOOO MUCH BETTER & we work with a good group (3 trainers & 9-10 students) every week & have additional private sessions scheduled. I hate to sound so goofy but it's taken us 6 months to LOVE this girl (we did take good care of her but . . .) in the past month we've all fallen IN LOVE (Spring???)
    THANKS BASENJI FORUM

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  • dashD

    Dash is a lunger as well. The Gentle Leader works well. I have much more control over him .

    Jennifer

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  • jkhandjlsJ

    Hi - thanks for the suggestion - we're not walking her at all now (per the dog trainer) - will start again in June. We've used the Gentle Leader but will now try the prong collar - not an easy decision!!! Our 'Basenji' is only part B & part Lab - weighs 50 pounds & she is so prey-driven I almost lost her a couple months ago. (I am not a tiny person!! and I know how nuts she is - it was very scarey) So we're working with the trainer & maybe we'll be able to go back to the Gentle Leader as she gets a better idea of who's in charge??!!

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  • agilebasenjiA

    Here's an idea if you don't want to do the prong collar yet:

    http://www.premier.com/View.aspx?page=dogs/products/behavior/easywalk/productdescription

    There are several like this on the market. Notice how the leash attaches at the front of the chest insead of the back. (Check out the FAQ link for more info.) While I haven't used this myself, I know several people (including a lab owner) who use them regularly. However, I'm not sure of the brand name on my friends'.

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  • jkhandjlsJ

    Thank you - I can't tell you how much this website (Basenji Forum) has helped us. We had such a rough 6-7 month beginning with her - we happily hooked up with a great dog school (AKC accredited) & all of their trainers are very positive & helpful. I can actually say that there was a long time period that we didn't even like her - that's all behind us now & we're sooooo in love with her :)
    THANKS for the link

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  • A

    I have a Basenji mix also and it took a long time for me to get used to her ways (I spent many nights wondering if I'd made a mistake getting her). It's especially hard if you don't know what you have…the pound said that I had a Collie mix - not so much. One day at the dog park a guy said that he thought she was a basenji, that was it, after reading about the breed everything started to make sense (just as you said about yours). They are very interesting dogs and it takes a lot of patience to understand their nature but it is worth the time.

    I use the prong collar on her and it is about the only thing that works - at first I thought it was cruel but after looking at it and understanding the concept it isn't really bad. She still pulls sometimes but when I tug it a little she understands. Using positive reinforcement does work - she really didn't respond to "pack leader" concepts....she does what she wants when she wants ...and that's it.

    I am so glad that you've grown to love your girl because not everyone would have stood by her. Rescue dogs are hard enough but if you don't understand them it makes everything worse.... seems like you've gotten to the top of the hill and hopefully it will be smooth sailing from here. Sometimes I think that the "basenji personality" is the reason my girl was in the pound.

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  • jkhandjlsJ

    THANK YOU!! I finally feel there is somebody out there that 'gets it'. Our girl does not respond to any of the 'pack leader' stuff - I'm sure she was dumped because she is just such a stinker. Everytime I hit bottom somebody helps me through the disaster with encouragment (that's why I joined this group.) THANK YOU for your good thougths - things do progress - her private trainer is coming this weekend & we're doing the prong collar. Last night she sat in her crate for almost 45 minutes. No matter what, she's here to stay & she is so darn cute!!!!! That tail is really precious - thank you so much for all your e-support!!

    Joanne & Sophie:) :) :) :)

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  • pacificNWbasenjiP

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    @pacificNWbasenji: Thanks for all of the great suggestions. Quercus: I will try opportunistic clicking/rewarding when he is nesting, hopefully it will help reinforce the desired behavior rather than confuse him. Agilebasenji: Surprisingly enough my guys do not roll on damp towels, very unbasenji like of them. They do insist on grabbing towels, running off with them and promptly killing them by giving them a great shake before stealing the stoled goods from each other. They ignore them during our training sessions because I have taught them 'on your bed' where they will run and place themselves on the area I point at (dog bed, place on couch, towel or blanket laid out) Thanks for the advice. Clay: Matter of fact we just began targeting on Saturday as well, with the nose touch. Dude does have a great high five so I think that paw touch won't be difficult. Tonight I began directing him onto the towel and doing a low five and click/rewarding when he would give the five and his paw would land on the towel. Lvoss: That's what i'll try next as soon as I can get him to exhibit a bit of the behavior. Thanks! Cool. Let us know how it works out.
  • EdwardE

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    lvossL
    Edward, Positive reinforcement methods like clicker training work wonderfully with basenjis. All four of my basenjis are clicker trained. I guess you could even consider Sophie to have started before birth since I was clicker training her mom while she was pregnant with the litter. The purpose of the clicker is to mark the behavior that you want so you could also just use a word like "yes" or "Yay" or "good dog" followed by a treat. I use clicker training to train a variety of behaviors such as sit, down, attention, name response, stay, stand, go to mat, front, point, hand targeting, and the list goes on. I also use it in agility training.