I have put kibble in a empty clean 16oz. soda bottle. Leave the cap off and your furbaby will try to get the kibble out, Sahara loves to play with these, and they are cheap.
i have the large one, but the other breed in the house is a belgian malinois and i think it was really our first malinois's toy. i know the one i have can hold over a cup of kibble in it. that would be a bit much for a basenji, so you may want to get the medium size. i don't think the basenji can carry mine off (malinois can), but she can sure get the kibble out!
my personal 2 cents, is that he is not being walked enough. I second everyone else's ideas for toys - but my mind jumped to the walking. That's not even an hour outside, I know my little girl, if she doesn't get a solid 3 hours of walk time (if not more) through out the day, she is a nightmare. Now, all Basenjis are different, and all owners have different ways to burn off that extra energy (although much of us can contribute that to a second B, hehe) but I know for Lycia, 90% of the time she has too much energy or is just being obnoxious is when she needs a walk. Do you have a dog park close by where he can really RUN? Can he work out with you? Do you have a friend who has a dog that you could trade walk times with - so he had a buddy to burn off "all that extra fun" he has pent up? Ppl are normally very open to having their dog have a playbuddy, it's mutually beneficial - you could even do a advert of Craigslist for one if you didn't have a doggie friend.
Anyway - good luck!
I agree totally with schouiffy 15min x 2-3 isn´t enough he has hardly time to pee and poop not to mention excercise.The mental training is excellent but he need´s minimum 1,5 hours excercise a day he needs a proper walk in a leash were you train your leadership but he also needs to play with other dog´s to keep him well socialized.One´s or twice a week take him on busrides maybe visit a train station get him used to elevators and escalators if he isn´t already.And just let him confront with new things and new humans/dog´s.
Mine if they don´t get their daily excercise especially when they were younger you could see the glint in their eye´s as if they were planning what next to do as mischeaf:D
definitely agree with myran - longer walks. If you can manage it, bike with your b. You both can go faster, he tires faster and if you are pressed for time this will be a great substitute for a 15 min walk.
The toilet paper tube (or paper towel) stuffed with kibble or treats is really effective at keeping my boy busy. He enjoys it too because he is actually allowed to destroy something. He knows he can have the tube to destroy but sometimes, he runs off with it and destroys it behind the couch.
Work on obedience and also anything you can think of to make him think. Mental exercise will tire him as well.
You can also get a cheap tupperware container with a screw on lid. Cut a small hole in the top and fill it with treats or kibble. I call this a rollie and Beegin loves it. Guaranteed 30 mins of tossing the rollie in the air and pushing it around and no getting into mischief. When the rollie gets too chewed up, buy another for very little money.
I have a similar problem with my boy Diesel. He just turned 1 Dec 1st. I take him for long walks and he runs like a maniac. No matter what toys he has he still chews everything else no matter what I do to distract him-he gets bored really quickly. The Kong works for a couple of minutes as well as stuffed animals, bones and chew toys but then he is off looking for more trouble with "human" things. More trouble than that though-I'm hoping he will calm as he gets a little older-he doesn't sleep. He goes and goes and then just drops and sleeps for an hour or so. If I get up in the night to go to the bathroom-say 2am-he's up and that's it. The biggest problem that I have with him and have never had with any other basenji (for more than 20 years of having them) is he bites and is very aggressive. He bites me-not in play and even if he knows my friends he will suddenly lunge at them for no reason with teeth bared. He has tested negative for diseases that might be giving him pain and nothing I do seems to stop it. I'm afraid I may need to put him down as he cannot be biting my friends or children when they come. I feel it is related to his sleep troubles but have no idea where else to go to look for help. My vet is great but at a loss too. Any help is grately appreciated.
It sounds like you need more than a trainer (mentioned in your other post)…you need to seek a behaviorist to find out what is causing him to act aggressively. It may be fear based (nervous of strangers) or guarding based (I don't want this person here) or if he would rather just be left alone and your guests aren't respecting that...there are different ways you would go about changing the behavior, based on what the root of the problem is.
I would advise definitely NO physical punishment for this dog...it sounds like he may be quite confused and making his own rules. Definitely check into some behavioral training assistance.
Did you talk to his breeder about his behavior?
I agree that you need a behaviorist… and here is a link for you to read....see how much of this is what you are seeing in your boy... and yes, have you talked to your breeder?
http://www.tanzabasenjis.net/Some_Suggestions_for_Raising_a_Well.doc
We have a Buster Cube. Katie loves it!! If you have hardwood floors, be prepared for a noisy activity!!
The nipping (when Kate was little) was stopped with a spray bottle and a firm NO along with the water squirt. Soon all we needed was the verbal cue.
Exercise (not easy in our winters, 10 below 0 this morning and a sheet of ice over everything here) and extra play time in the winter are a must. We invent borderline devious hide-and-seek games. Favorite toys hidden under a stack of newspapers, treats behind couches, small box filled with crumpled newspaper and a treat at the bottom, the best is a toy that you can turn on and off the sound so you can hide it, turn it on, and wait until your B finds, treat, then play again.
I agree training and some increase activity would be good but please also test his Thyroid. This would NOT be a disease that would cause him pain so I presume the full panel was not done. The basic one that vets do does not get to the basenji thyroid issue - you need a full panel and it should be sent to Jean Dodds in CA or U of MI. Both are familiar with the unique thyroid levels of basenjis. Average for a regular dog is too low for a basenji.
So check with your breeder and ask for some history on thyroid testing and get your dog tested.
IF you go to my home page on the links there is a link to Jean Dodds site.
thanks for all the answers…here is some more info. I didn't get him from a breeder so I haven't got that route to ask. He was at 12 weeks loving and gentle and responded well to the no bites. However he got more aggressive as he got older. I live in a duplex and even when my neighbor knocks on the door I pick him up and cuddle him. They don't come in the house or approach him in any way but his hackles go up and he growls. With my friends he has been shy but comes around and then the aggression-baring his teeth-comes out of no where for no reason-he lunges at them on the couch while we are talking or if they are talking and petting him he turned on one friend and lunged at her face. He had the full thryoid panel because I my last boy Buddy had thyroid so my vet is very thorough. It was negative. The behaviors come out of no where. If we are on the couch watching t.v he could be cuddling with me or chewing his bone and suddenly he leaps on me with his mouth open and he really means to bite. If I do the no bite he just bites when I let go of his snout. I have never hit him and always try to cuddle him and praise him or give him treats. he actually likes water-he tries to get in the shower with me and loves to walk in the rain so the spray bottle has no effect!!! When he is sweet he is so sweet and loving and loves to cuddle but the last few days I've actually been frightened of him and I don't like that feeling and I am not having anyone in the house for fear he hurts them.
So, you got him from a pet shop?
That could be part of the problem, if true.
I think you really need to contact an animal behaviorist. Your dog may be giving you signals that you are just missing. You may want to get a DVD on canine body language like The Language of Dogs. Some of the signals that dogs give are missed by humans because the are subtle and not what are traditionally thought of warning signs. I would be looking for a behavior consult better understand what is happening and what steps are needed to make it better.
No I didn't he was from a private owner-her daughter had the parents and they had puppies-then her son-in-law was transferred and the woman I bought him from sold the puppies. There was him. a brother and a sister. The mom had an aunt that was an adult.
It true that many dogs give signals humans miss.
Its amazing when I go over to see someone about their bad basenji, how I
watch them much closer than the family does.
I think it just comes from most folks not knowing what to see.
Hopefully, someone can come over and help you.
It would so be worth the $$
