Keoki can be VERY BAD about being touched/disturbed/move while resting.
I solved that problem for myself by simply petting him a lot while he was resting! I am careful to place one hand on his neck in such a way that it guards my other hand, and I pet him and talk to him. He used to growl something awful, but I'd just tell him, "no" in a firm but soothing tone and keep petting him until he stopped. I did this multiple times a day.
Now,I can pet him any time. He makes some noise if I move him, but I am always careful with my hand placement and I move him anyway.
DH, on the other hand, doesn't bother taking time to work on things with him, and Keoki still growls when Dh pets him while he is resting, and growls openly at Dh if Keoki is sleeping on Dh's lap and tried to move him.
Dh is better about talking to him and continuing to pet, and Keoki is getting better with him also, but it's taking a lot longer.
I never let guests touch him when he is sleeping, unless I am right there to correct him - usually, if I am nearby he doesn't fuss at them but I am not willing to take any chances. It's a problem we still work on.
Keoki is 2 this month.
Partial quote from Vanessa… "On another note though....not too long ago he was asleep on the couch and my Aunt tried to move him. He about bit her. Has anyone else experienced that???? He tends to make deep moaning sounds if you wake him and try to move him. You don't see teeth but it sure sounds bad.".....
Not to make light of the situation, but I laughed my 'a' off at this part of your post. My Ty, when tired, lays down, is covered up, and is determined he is not to be disturbed until HE'S READY!! When trying to move him, the warning grumbling starts in the throat, then progresses to the chest. Then you get the lip curl followed by the viper like strike toward the nearest hand. After the first or second 'strike' I actually put my hand in the way of his perceived aggressive behavior. HE WAS FAKING IT!!!! It was all smoke and mirrors for him.
He NEVER intended to bite, he was just trying to be a big fat bully.
He still grumbles when we move him while sleeping, but he's just stating his displeasure now. We live with it.
<whew>I thought I was the only B owner that had a "nasty attitude". Man oah man. It is hard when you tell other non-basenji owners the little querks our B's have without people automatically assuming your dog is "bad" or needs "doggie boot camp".
We have a friend who tells us all the time that our dogs need training and that we are lazy for not taking them. Over and over again we tell them that you can't "train" a Basenji….they train you. LOL
Its a B thing....only we understand. hehehehehehehe</whew>
In the BRAT questionair, the question "Wakes up badly?" says it all to those of us that know what it means, haha.
It is simple to wake them up and ask them to get off the couch or bed, not just try and shove them off. Some people train them to be better about it by keeping a leash on them and waking them, telling them 'off' and using the leash to gently get them to move and then rewarding. But many are always cranky before their coffee!
Anne in Tampa
To be perfectly honest, I don't wake up very well either. I'm known to snark…..
And if woken up.....whew, watch out.
I find that talking to them, having treats when you try to "wake" them or move them works wonders.
When sleeping, call the dogs name, have a treat, put it close to the nose and call the name again.
Repeat.
Then, do it in a random pattern.
They "do get it" that when they are sleeping and you call them, good things happen.
Hope this helps.
Manning wakes up in a nasty mood if he finds toes in his face. Unfortunately at night he likes to curl up under the covers near your feet. I've had a couple of bites to my heels when I disturbed him during the night but nothing that did more than sting. Although there is nothing like waking up to the sensation of an angry basenji sinking his teeth into your ankles!:D
When I first got Ruby, if you touched her while she was resting you would get an unfriendly grumble. However, if she was on the couch or on my bed, she was promptly moved to the floor. She learned that if she wanted to stay in the comfortable spot, she better be nice or else she'd lose the privilege.
Additionally, I did what Jazzy's Mom did just to prove to her that she wasn't running the show…because I knew that she could be a crank, I would pet her any time she was lying down because I wanted her to not react to being touched while sleeping. Now she is great. Although, once in a while she will let out a big sigh if she is being "bothered" by me.
I will say, that I tell anyone in the house to talk to the dogs before walking up to them if they are sleeping...just so they won't be startled. Once their eyes open, and even if they close them again, they are fine to be touched by anyone in the house.
Dallas wakes up snarky too. Sometimes, if not in a deep sleep, he just kind of grumbles a little when moved. However, if he is in a deep sleep and you try to get him up, he will just all out growl. He's never made it a point to bite but still, I don't appreciate the growling.
I have worked with him & now will call his name several times to try & get him up on his own before going to move him. If he is being particularly stubborn & awake but not wanting to move, out comes a treat & up he goes! Haha. Although I do not give him the treat until he comes up to me & sits down after waking up.
The reason I don't work with treats and the sleeping/resting dogs issue is because I want them to be completely touchable/moveable from a dead sleep - PERIOD.
I don't want to risk someone bumping them by accident and having an ankle or hand bitten. They just have to, IMO, permit touch at any time. It's a safety thing for us, our kids, visitors, caretakers, etc. They have to accept that humans can touch them any time and any where. I don't mind a little low rumble complaint, but no loud growling or nipping is permitted.
Frankly, Dh is the most difficult person in the family to train on this, but he's coming around.
When I first got Ruby, if you touched her while she was resting you would get an unfriendly grumble. However, if she was on the couch or on my bed, she was promptly moved to the floor. She learned that if she wanted to stay in the comfortable spot, she better be nice or else she'd lose the privilege.
Additionally, I did what Jazzy's Mom did just to prove to her that she wasn't running the show…because I knew that she could be a crank, I would pet her any time she was lying down because I wanted her to not react to being touched while sleeping. Now she is great. Although, once in a while she will let out a big sigh if she is being "bothered" by me.
I will say, that I tell anyone in the house to talk to the dogs before walking up to them if they are sleeping...just so they won't be startled. Once their eyes open, and even if they close them again, they are fine to be touched by anyone in the house.
Very well put…. that is exactly what I do, growl and you lost your priviledge to sleep in bed or the couch... you get the floor....
I agree totally with Jazzy NO treats it?s my house and I sit lie ,stand where ever I feel like and you have to claim your space in a dog?s world.Also it is of utmost importance that you can take food or bone whenever you feel like cause one day it might be something dangerous that could hurt or kill them and at that moment you must be able to remove it from them.I?m lucky i?ve never had any issues with my two not with food or bones or anything they find I make a special noice that I taught them as puppies which means "drop it this instant" and they do.When I go to bed Myran can already be there but he immediately knows that he has to stand up and wait til I positioned myself then he may return they?ve been taught to be lifted even fast asleep without a grumble.
I don?t want to sound selfrighteous but I think it?s important we teach new basenji owners that the "school of wellbehaving "starts the instant your basenji arrives to your house.
My first basenji would shoot off the couch if touched when he was sleeping (never seen a dog move so fast) but never growled or nipped. My second basenji didn't like being touched and would definitely get snarky. When he slept in the bed with me and that happened I'd dump him out of the bed. He eventually learned to cut it down to just a little growl. My current basenji doesn't care one bit if touched or picked up - thank goodness. I agree with JazzysMom - wouldn't want a visitor to get nailed accidentally just because they sat too close.
Somehow both Tayda and Lenny are very tolerant of being moved touched/petted/moved around while sleeping. They'll get snarky with each other if one is sleeping and the other comes over to lay down on the same pillow, but they never get snarky with me.
Actually it's funny, right now, since it's cold out, they are always competing for who gets to sit in front of the heating vent. Even though there are multiple vents in the house and they all have pillows in front of them, they always want to sit where the other one is. If tayda is laying in front of a vent, Lenny will go over and play bow with her until she leaves the vent to either fight with him or play with him and he will jump onto the pillow and lay down. Then, Tayda will play bow to coax him out. repeat. repeat. repeat.
i must be very lucky!!! kiro wakes like an adorable angel… seriously... i move her all the time and handle her often. she stretchs and gets a little smile....
but ive been waking her up since i first got her ..... i always give her good morning kisses and love and wake her just like i would any other family member....
we are all morning people.we all wake very nicely together....so maybe its learned behavior... or just a emotion that is noted by them....from you 
maybe if you wake them nicely with words first and gentle gentle touches they will enjoy it rather then get mad.....
If he gets snarky in bed I do simply push him off the bed. It's more when he is lying in certain spots sleeping & I call him to come to bed but he doesn't want to move that I bring out a treat. I rarely use treats though because more often than not, he will get up when I keep calling him & petting him.
Actually it's funny, right now, since it's cold out, they are always competing for who gets to sit in front of the heating vent. Even though there are multiple vents in the house and they all have pillows in front of them, they always want to sit where the other one is. If tayda is laying in front of a vent, Lenny will go over and play bow with her until she leaves the vent to either fight with him or play with him and he will jump onto the pillow and lay down. Then, Tayda will play bow to coax him out. repeat. repeat. repeat.
Sounds like my house. They have a huge dog bed in front of the woodstove. Ruby will share with Brando, but god forbid he touches her when he goes to lie down. Once she has allowed him on the bed, he will act like he is going to go to sleep, and right as soon as Ruby closes her eyes, he will start slowly poking her with his paw and her noises start to grow with each progressive poke. Eventually, it will be an all out snarkfest, and the more snarky she gets, the more he tries to entice her to play…it is pretty funny to watch, because obviously her noises mean nothing to him...it is like he is laughing at her. However, if Brando is the first one on the dog bed, Ruby will plunk herself down and put her head right on him, and he never makes a sound.
thats so sute..i wish i had two B's
yup, my dog does that too. He likes to sleep on the couch (even though i shouldnt let him! lol) and if someone stands behind the couch over the couch he starts to growl. Usually if i sit next to him on the couch he will let me but will usuallly get pissed off, give one growl and then jump off the couch….and then somtimes he doesnt care at all when i sit next to him.
Ohh….that would not fly in our house. Indy has only ever biten out of anger 2x once for dh and once for me. I do not generally do this but I gave him a good swat on the nose for that and then did exactly what you are doing. I call it "remedial" dog training. The next step is to reach into his mouth and take food out. This can be particularly important. Earlier this year Indy got some wire mesh and almost choked, I was able to reach in a get it before he did any dammage.
