Basenji in France

[Christiane]

Hello everyone,
Glad to have found this forum! I am writing from France where very few dogs of this breed exist.
I adopted a Basenji last year from a dog and cats home. She had been abandonned twice because of misbehaviour. She cannot be left alone but when in human company she is adorable and very loving.
A problem when I have to go to work of course but she seems happy left in the car when she doesn't start chewing the safety belts! Any advice???

sorry, I wrote basenki instead of basenji!!!!!!!! (later today, mistake has been corrected, thanks)
Her name is Anuby and I will post photos soon

[KiroGurl]

My basenji did the same thing in the car and safty belts are VERYe xpensive to replace.
They get very scared in the car thats why they chew like that. I tried putting her in the crate ion the car, but she got out since it was a cheap fold up crate….

my advice, dont leave her in the car.... if you want her to be in a crate, get a big strng plastic one that doesnt fold up, metal ones are sometimes scary.

welcome france!!! wow

[Christiane]

Yes, seat belts are expensive, tried to leave her in a metal crate, managed to half destroy it by bending the door! What strength when she is not happy.
Will try a strong plastic crate as not many people want to look after a dog that can also bite her way through a door in a house. However, a lot of patience is required and I must say, she is getting better…and gets on really well with my two cats and friends'dogs. Can't ask for perfection quand même!
Once thing really frightens me is her wish to run after cars as if they were rabbits or some other little animals (won't run after big ones though!). Others do that do?

[Janneke]

@Christiane:

Once thing really frightens me is her wish to run after cars as if they were rabbits or some other little animals (won't run after big ones though!). Others do that do?

Yes, mine does… that's why he is always on leash when there is traffic in a radius of 10 km..

And: Welcome to the forum! Please post some pics!

[mauigirl]

Yes, basenjis are not at all street smart. Cars are not something they had to worry about for thousands of years in Africa. They cannot be trusted off leash ever. As you will probably hear from other people, the best thing you can do about the crate issue is make sure it's a happy place. Feed her in the crate, make it soft and snuggly in there (as cheaply as possible in case she destroys it) and always treat her for going in.

[Christiane]

Thank you all for replying, I must admit the crate I am using is not that comfortable, will improve on that one. Learning a lot from the forum, it is great as in France there is very little information, even my vet had never seen one before.
They do make us work those dogs! Had an small italian greyhound before Anuby and she was a real handful: an electric wire I would say. My basenji sleeps a lot and seems to have the wrong image of her own size, she thinks she is a tiny light dog when she jumps on my knees! Never makes a sound, a silent dog, cuddly and loving that breaks a lot of things: a real challenge! Will post pictures soon.

[agilebasenji]

Oh yes, I happen to know for a fact the most expensive part of a 1973 Beetle is the seat belts.

Congrats on your new pup! Can't wait to see pics of her.

[seko]

Hello from France!
I know it took a long time to one of my boys to accept to be left alone without screaming or destroying anything, and in the car he stays quite in his crate now (ok is bedding is little pieces of vet bed, can't make them any smaller) and he prefers the plastic ones.

If you are interested here is a link to the french basenji forum: http://forum.unbasenji.info/index.php

[Christiane]

OK, I'll have a look, merci, à bientôt

[dash]

I don't think I would leave them in the car at all.

[Christiane]

@dash:

I don't think I would leave them in the car at all.

You are right of course but sometimes I have no choice, I even take her with me when I am working and people accept her willingly. During the summer they don't always like hearing her crunching treats in a corner of the room or licking their toes, but I am lucky, they stay cool about it! Everybody knows Anuby.
She only stays in the car when the weather allows her to be comfortable in it, don't worry. I am looking however for a really big crate for the house, one in which she cannot hurt herself as it's too hard to take her with me everywhere. I know she can stay alone for 5 or 10 minutes at a time but more than that, like others, she may go completely wild and throw plants about, pull curtains down, chew cables, etc, etc. But I still keep an eye on her when I am with her as (and it is getting better) if I don't see her for 5 or ten minutes, the chances are that she has found a pair of shoes to chew! Still, I got her when she was 2 years old, so training is a bit difficult now and I don't know what she went through before!

[lvoss]

It is never to late to start training a dog. I volunteer at my county animal shelter training the dogs that are available for adoption. I have seen positive reinforcement training, such as clicker training, work with dogs of all ages and background. It is very effective and there are many great resources available.

One such resource is a free 7 day course on clicker training available on the web, http://www.canisclickertraining.com/newsletter/

As for leaving her alone, there are many things you can do to provide mental stimulation for a dog when you are gone to help channel their energy. Kongs are great for this. The are a rubber toy that can be stuffed with food that the dog then has to work to get out. I like to a mixture of canned pumpkin, dry food, and some wet food, stuffed and then frozen in the Kong. It takes my dogs at least an hour, sometimes even longer to get all of the food out of the Kong.

[Christiane]

Thank you Yvoss for your encouragement, I will check the site for clicker training. I have never heard of Kongs, they sound exactly like the kind of things I need. It is early in France at the time of writing this message and I am going to a shop to get a connexion cable for my camera / computer as I seem to have lost it. Hopefully, will post a photo of my little devil who unfortunately was sterilised by a vet when she was in the dog and cats home. She is cute but tends to get fat quickly!
By the way, you all seem to use the term "crate", do you mean "cage" or is it different?

[Natalplum]

Welcome! I'm so glad you found this forum. I love it! I hope you find your niche with your girl. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions here. There are so many wonderful and experienced Basenji owners that will go above and beyond to help. Best of Luck!

[wizard]

Welcome to the forum!
When I first acquired EL D he came with a destructive background and absolutely destroyed crates. Since I work all day, I was a little apprehensive. However, I managed to arrange some vacation time and over the course of a week I would leave him in the kitchen for a few hours and then longer times and then gradually opened other rooms to him. By the end of the week I was back at work and he had the run of the house and no problems whatsever.
I think it's great that you can take yours to work (one nice advantage of their not being very vocal).

[BasenjiByTheBay]

I love that there's a french basenji forum! Definitely going to be my favorite place to practice my French now.

[Schouiffy]

Coucou Christiane!! Welcome, welcome to the forum! J'adore voir plus des francophones sur le forum. Vive le Franglais. Vous êtes où en France? Lycia, ma petite loulou et moi habite en Suisse proche de Lausanne/Genéve..
I would read up on crate training for your little monstre, although not all Basenjis take to it. :0/

on est impatiente de voir les photos!!!

-Lauren

P.S. Le forum du Basenji de Séko est tellement super aussi!
P.S.S. "crate" = la caisse pour chiens

[Christiane]

Thank you all for your comments, went away for a few days on a beach a few hours away from home, and took photos;will have to learn to put them on the forum now. By tomorrow, some of mon petit monstre sera sur le forum. She loved the beach and spent hours playing and looking at the sea. What energy!! I was exhausted but she kept going and then fall asleep suddenly, not wanting to leave the soft sand bed. A real pleasure to have so much space and time to play!