Well isn't she a sassy little thing? Thanks so much for the information. I had not heard of this one at all. I will Google it to get more info and find where to purchase!
Deb
Gender preference
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bcraig, thanks for the post. I've enjoyed reading the informative Q & A here.
My dogs also have different relationships with my husband and myself (I've mentioned it in another thread–I think--so I won't go into it here). That said I also have to state that those are fickle relationships and they seem to change on a whim.
One week, I'm the favored 'parent' getting all the cuddles, wags, rooo's and good behavior and the DH gets the poor behavior. On any given day I can become the disciplinarian trying to reconstruct pack order and the DH gets all the cuddles, wags, and roo's.
tar9091....(PPOV).... yes it's true, I sometimes treat my dogs as my children (that's not a bad thing IMHO) but I have never treated my child "like a dog". The phraseology of that statement ("like a dog") clearly comes from people that treat their 4-legged family members in a harsh or abusive manner.
That said, my dogs are food motivated, and have been trained in a reward only system using the most effective positive reinforcement method I had at hand–FOOD--. Had my child been food motivated, I might have also used favorite foods or snacks with her to modify behaviors. Luckily, that was not the case. Instead I, like many, withheld technology...TV, cell phone, computer access, etc to change undesirable behaviors. Not a total cut off of resources, just positive reinforcement for positive behaviors.
I hate to mix apples with oranges (kids/dogs..food/technology), but that's what I came away with from your post so I felt I needed to respond.
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Even if you get a trainer, in the end the dog has to respond to you not the trainer. So it is in your best interest, to work with your dog, at least 15 mins twice a day to get him/her to respond to you.
I agree in my opinion, the best trainer is one that teaches you how to train your dog, and doesn't train it for you. That's especially important with the extremely smart Basenji.
bcraig, you are doing lots of things right. It's often difficult when you bring home a dog with an "issue." She is obviously making process. When you get frustrated just look back at how far you've already come. Don't lose perspective.
My B isn't very food motivated either, except for his favorite treat (Nutro Natural Choice Treats, the stick ones). Once we found his favorite treat (which took a few months) I was able to teach him several tricks. We had several hurdles to get over ourselves, such as discovering his allergy to food dyes and milk, and his refusal to lay on hard floors. We have all hard floors, so it was very frustrating not being able to get him to lay down. I used all of the training tricks I knew of… finally... I started training on the living room rug instead of the kitchen floor, and ta-da, he started laying down on command! Morale of the story... persistence and experimentation pays off. I swear, to make progress with Basenjis you have to be as versatile
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I agree in my opinion, the best trainer is one that teaches you how to train your dog, and doesn't train it for you. That's especially important with the extremely smart Basenji.
bcraig, you are doing lots of things right. It's often difficult when you bring home a dog with an "issue." She is obviously making process. When you get frustrated just look back at how far you've already come. Don't lose perspective.
My B isn't very food motivated either, except for his favorite treat (Nutro Natural Choice Treats, the stick ones). Once we found his favorite treat (which took a few months) I was able to teach him several tricks. We had several hurdles to get over ourselves, such as discovering his allergy to food dyes and milk, and his refusal to lay on hard floors. We have all hard floors, so it was very frustrating not being able to get him to lay down. I used all of the training tricks I knew of… finally... I started training on the living room rug instead of the kitchen floor, and ta-da, he started laying down on command! Morale of the story... persistence and experimentation pays off. I swear, to make progress with Basenjis you have to be as versatile
Good post Mucky. Yep if you own a Basenji or for that matter any other kind of dog it pays to be versatile. Every dog has their likes and dislikes. My Basenji does not like cold floors either. I demonstrated that when we took Roo to a friends house a couple of weeks ago in Indiana and when he normally would sit and lay down, he did not want to completely cooperate. Instead of getting frustrated and confused, I took a moment to move him off the cold kitchen floor to the warm carpet in front of their fireplace, and Presto, he would sit and lay down without a problem. I think it always pays to think outside the box.
Jason
Jason
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bcraig…Speaking of biking, the thread in the link below has a post from "billyk" that gives the method that I use to run my girl, Ruby, using my road bike.
http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?t=1135Works great. I haven't gone since I injured my back, but I've gone about 4 - 6 miles with Ruby running about a 14mph pace. I have no doubt she could go longer than that…much longer, but I'd only do that at a slower pace. I gauge the speed based on if she is pulling ahead or behind and found that for her about 14mph was the right speed...I've been up to 16mph in spurts when she is really ripping. In fact, I've gone up a pretty big hill with her running about 11mph (faster than I would have normally gone...let's put it this way, I'm sure I was over my anaerobic threshold :D). Ruby LOVES the bike...I only run her early in the morning when it is cool, but I know she's tired when we're done :D. I've never tried 2 like Billy did, but this summer I'm going to try it with Brando as well.
Not sure if you road bike or mountain bike, but thought if you hadn't seen that old post you might be interested. There are other threads on here as well if you do a search that talk about biking.
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You can also use a "Walkydog" which is similar to the Springer, and slightly cheaper. They have been fully Basenji tested and have some good results. lol
I would be wary about just using a leash at the seat. I got a nasty concussion as a kid from biking my golden. But then again I had the leash either in hand or on the handlebars. That's how I got to know some of the neighbors. lol I remember waking up at the hospital in the scanning machine. (I think??)
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I would be wary about just using a leash at the seat. I got a nasty concussion as a kid from biking my golden. But then again I had the leash either in hand or on the handlebars. That's how I got to know some of the neighbors. lol I remember waking up at the hospital in the scanning machine. (I think??)
Yeah, the leash in hand definitely doesn't work. I tried it figuring, hey, I am really good on a bike, shouldn't be a problem. WRONG. Definitely didn't work holding the leash as it affects your balance and steering too much and the dog can get near the front wheel and even in front of the wheel. The thing about having the leash on the seatpost that works so well is that is where your center of gravity is…so it doesn't affect balance at all, plus you can have both hand on the handlebars for steering. The other part is that the dog can't get to either wheel and if for some reason you need to get a hold of the dog, the leash is right there.
So Kelli's post is a good point because I think for people that are good on bikes, the method with the seatpost works flawlessly. But if you aren't so sure of yourself on a bike, maybe use the attachments that Kelli suggested and that are mentioned in the other thread.
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Everyone offered wonderful advice in training so I'm not going to add anything there it would just be a broken record LOL But I would like to add about a great harness and also the Walky Dog, bcraig you said her harness rubs her raw, I really suggest using the RuffWear Webmaster Harness these are designed for sport activities and such and have padding and are also made so they can't be slipped, conventional harnesses can be slipped as easy as a regular collar.
I googled Walky Dog and basenji and found this review and it also linked back to the Walky Dog site
http://epettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39295&highlight=walkydogI have a mutt and I use the the walky dog and the ruffwear harness together and they work great I love them. I really love the Ruffwear products and use all of there products from collars, back packs, harnesses, and coats
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Something else I had thought about for those who bike/blade often is a harness made by weight pull harness companies. They are a little wider and padded to help reduce pressure, especially if your dog likes to pull you most of the time. lol
Here are a couple examples:
http://www.weightpullharness.com/WalkingRunningHarnesses.html
http://www.itsmysite.com/cgi-bin/itsmy/go.exe?page=2&domain=1&webdir=cdpits
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I talked to a friend today that rides her horse while walking her dogs (all mixed breed rescues) and she uses old girth covers over the areas that rub on her walking harnesses. This sounded like a good quick fix for a harness you already own, plus the girth covers slip on and off easily and wash well. Easy to cut down to the proper size as well.
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That's a nice idea for a quick fix. I never really thought about adding something like that. On that subject, I bet the halter fleece tubes are probably a perfect size for slipping over a Basenji harness. Also if anyone is able to sew a bit, you could get a yard of fleece from the store and just sew your own slip over tubes.
I am definitely not the crafty type though! lol
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kiroja, I never thought of the halter fleece. That would be a better fit in some cases.
Store bought fleece is a great idea. I'd look for the more expensive, natural fleece or a tight fleece synthetic with a good backing. It'd still be cheaper than the alternatives on the market (and, as said before, easily washable)
