@basenjicurious
It’s great that you’re doing your homework on the basenji. I think the reason you read all these “horror stories” is because they are not your typical dog. They are a beautiful and highly intelligent breed with a very strong prey drive. My Kembe is my first basenji but I was familiar with the breed because my brothers were basenji owners. I got her when she was 1years old - she was returned to the breeder by the previous owners. Kembe has never been destructive, she has free reign of our house, and I can leave her at home alone. It’s extremely important to exercise them regularly - especially exercise and stimulate their minds, and establish a routine (I can set my watch to my dog). They are definitely trainable - it scares me to see how smart she is and also well behaved. Basenjis are extremely lovable and hilariously funny. If I have a treat that my dog especially likes - she will do her whole “repertoire of tricks” without me even asking her. She dances to let me know it’s time to eat and will sit right next to me and hit me with her paw when she wants to go for her walk.
I think our basenji chose us - when we went to the breeders home to look at her - She jumped up next to my husband on the couch and curled up! I was sold on her! I really hope you find a basenji that right for you!
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My basenji bites
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Bite inhibition is something that pups should learn from being with the rest of the litter. She needs to understand that when she bites play time is over. Say "Ooooooowwwwwww!" really loud, get up and walk away.
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I would go for your arm too.. if you did that to me…gggg... What you are doing is just encouraging her to bite more, as that is what would happen in the litter with her siblings.. Remember that is how the siblings play, with their mouth.... As MauiGirl said, you have to "yell" at the top of your voice and stop all play... and play time is over. There are other good threads on here about puppy biting and teaching them... however, remember that it will not stop overnight.
Try this thread, even a link on how to teach "soft" bite.....
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Tanza, thanks for the earlier thread on this issue. Questions ~~ How do you stop playing when she is just running and attacking you. I've heard you should not crate them for punishment. But if i put her in time out she just takes off.. Bear with me this is my first puppy.
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Tanza, thanks for the earlier thread on this issue. Questions ~~ How do you stop playing when she is just running and attacking you. I've heard you should not crate them for punishment. But if i put her in time out she just takes off.. Bear with me this is my first puppy.
You have to yell each time she "attacks" you… and very loud, and keep it up till she stops.. the second she stops, praise her... Try to redirect her biting with commands, like sit, stay... and lots of treats... when she does a command
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Victoria Stilwell recommends a loud and stacatto sound in one of her episodes of "its me or the dog". I have used that before and found it to work pretty well. So like instead of long drawn out Ooooowwwww like I said you could try "Ah! Ah! Ah!" You could see which is more effective.
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As a time out for my B I tie him to a firm piece of furniture (like a heavy couch or table) and ignore him until he calms down. I have to use a chain leash b/c he can chew through a fabric leash in only a few minutes.
After trying several techniques to break him of biting, I found the "yelling like it hurts" technique worked the best.
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Yell and ignore.
Walk away from the pup.
Repeat until it works.
Takes time, but it does work. -
…Takes time, but it does work.
IMO, this is hardest thing for people to understand: It takes time. And one person's idea of "time" can be way different than another person's.
In the past, way before I got a B, if my dog didn't learn something within a couple of training sessions, I gave up. Now I know. It takes time. In fact, it takes as much time as it takes.
I'm always thinking to myself, "eventually"! -
At what age did you bring Noel home? This can really effect how long it takes to teach bite inhibition. The earlier they are separated from their littermates the longer it can take for them to understand bite inhibition because they didn't get the message from their siblings that biting hurts.
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At what age did you bring Noel home? This can really effect how long it takes to teach bite inhibition. The earlier they are separated from their littermates the longer it can take for them to understand bite inhibition because they didn't get the message from their siblings that biting hurts.
Exactly… which is why breeders recommend that pups go home at 10+ wks... and at 12 wks is ideal.
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imo - time-out does not apply to dogs - there is no reasoning behind it. Walking away is also not an option - they need to know who is in control. I found that a loud NO, or snapping your fingers loudly immediately followed by a poke in the front shoulder or rear hip works best. Solved the same problem in under 3 minutes
G
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Actually, time out does apply to dogs and is part of dog language. One way that dogs communicate that they do not want to interact with each other is by doing a Look Away or by turning their body away from the other dog. If you turn your head away and turn your shoulder away from your dog you are sending it a message that you don't want to interact.
When I do agility and obedience with my dogs I have to be very careful to keep my shoulder open to the dog I am working with so I don't accidently convey the wrong message to them.
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Exactly… which is why breeders recommend that pups go home at 10+ wks... and at 12 wks is ideal.
Had not heard the 12 weeks as ideal before. Is there any detriment to a pup leaving it with its siblings longer than 12 weeks - say 13 or 14 weeks?
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Had not heard the 12 weeks as ideal before. Is there any detriment to a pup leaving it with its siblings longer than 12 weeks - say 13 or 14 weeks?
If the pups are kept together 24/7, never spending a minute away from each other, past about 10-12 weeks then they are prone to develop separation anxiety.
If the pups are given a lot of individual socialization and time is spent working with each pup as an individual, then it doesn't matter how long pups are reared up together.
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Thank you all for responding and giving such great recommendations. I brought Noel home at 6 week. (May have been to soon). Yesterday on another thread I read how someone takes a squirt bottle of water and does a quick spray when she bites and then says no. I tried that on noel and it worked perfect. I just have to grab that bottle and she goes and lays down. She hasn't bitten me once today. I know it will take more than one evening to train her not to bite but I will be patient.
Again, thanks everyone. I am so glad I found this site. It is wonderfu.
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6 weeks is not only too young for a puppy to leave its siblings and mother, it is in many states illegal to sell an animal at that age.
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I agree, 6 wks is way to young for a pup to have left their littermates… And I thought in all states it was 8wks that you could sell/place a pup? I know for flying them them must be at least 8wks (within the US)
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There are a few states where the 8 week rule only applies to "pet dealers" so it is a grey area as far as private sales but these states are very few compared to the number where it is outright illegal to sell an animal under 8 weeks.
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I brought Noel home at 6 week.
When puppies play with each other, they learn that if they bite another puppy too hard they hurt it. The puppy learns to control the amount of pressure it uses on another puppy, and on humans, this way. It is called bite inhibition. Noel was taken away from her siblings and dam before she learned bite inhibition and this is why she is so rough with you.
FWIW, when I did Basenji rescue work, virtually every biter I dealt with was removed from it's dam and siblings prior to 8 weeks of age.
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Yesterday on another thread I read how someone takes a squirt bottle of water and does a quick spray when she bites and then says no. I tried that on noel and it worked perfect. I just have to grab that bottle and she goes and lays down. She hasn't bitten me once today. I know it will take more than one evening to train her not to bite but I will be patient.
The problem with this method is that Noel will not learn to soften her bite so if she ever does bite it will probably be with full force and result in serious injury. Though it takes longer to train, it is much better especially with young children in the house to use the method described in the link given in the other thread.
