Benny bit the neighbor!

Behavioral Issues

  • http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ian_dunbar_on_dog_friendly_dog_training.html

    Watch. This will be the best 15 minutes of your day. I promise. I think I've watched it 3 or 4 times.

    (And all of the talks I've seen on this site are wonderful, but this on is about dogs. Jane Goodall is also amamzing, as always.)


  • Do let us know what the vet says.
    I agree that long walks are a way to start.
    Working for everything, food, love, rides in the car, is another good way to go.
    Again, getting him into a basic gentle obedience class, one on one with the treacher, wouldn't be something I would rule out. It can help you to read your dog and help him learn to trust you, but it does take come time and work.
    That "trainer" you saw, is a fool and should not be allowed to work with animals.
    I can only imagine the damage that person has done to dogs and humans alike.

    We sure do want to help you turn this around.



  • @agilebasenji:

    http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ian_dunbar_on_dog_friendly_dog_training.html

    Watch. This will be the best 15 minutes of your day. I promise. I think I've watched it 3 or 4 times.

    (And all of the talks I've seen on this site are wonderful, but this on is about dogs. Jane Goodall is also amamzing, as always.)

    Fantastic video…thanks for sharing that link!


  • Wonderful video, thanks for sharing!


  • To continue with that trainer, someone in your family is going to seriously get hurt… winding up with this dog being PTS for biting, this is no way to train.... IMO


  • The key is to establish a good trusting connection/relationship with Benny. In my 33 years with Basenjis using force/dominance did not work period!! I stopped it immediately and used more positive ways to work with the dog. Have some fun outdoor adventures with him and play games with him. When you're in the yard throw something he'll chase after then go hide. Wear him out! Socialize little by little. Try to remain calm when you're around Benny as he will pick up on any negative energy. Reward good behavior always. Getting bit ten times with a pool of blood on the floor means that person is fired!


  • @lvoss:

    In what way is he behaving like he is trying to be "dominant"?

    Humping, the way he walks on the leash, he's not scared of anything… If I yell at him, he gets more rowdy often.


  • @nobarkus:

    The key is to establish a good trusting connection/relationship with Benny. In my 33 years with Basenjis using force/dominance did not work period!! I stopped it immediately and used more positive ways to work with the dog. Have some fun outdoor adventures with him and play games with him. When you're in the yard throw something he'll chase after then go hide. Wear him out! Socialize little by little. Try to remain calm when you're around Benny as he will pick up on any negative energy. Reward good behavior always. Getting bit ten times with a pool of blood on the floor means that person is fired!

    Oh yeah, he's not coming back into my home. Benny tried to bite my mom today (who is like his mom). He lays with her every night when she's in her chair and spends as much, if not more time with him than my fiance and I. Benny was laying in the chair that she just got out of, when she came back, she tried to move him and he growled and snapped at her. My dad yelled at him and he put his ears back and then jumped on her when she sat in the chair (to lay on her lap).

    Biting strangers is one thing, biting my mom is a whole nother beast. Benny really needs help :( .


  • Sounds like a case for the Dog Whisperer. Have you seen him?
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cffj0vOBWsc&feature=channel


  • @Benny:

    Benny was laying in the chair that she just got out of, when she came back, she tried to move him and he growled and snapped at her.

    Considering what happened with the trainer, it is not surprising that Benny does not want humans to touch him. It is going to take some relationship building and trust building to help mend what happened with the trainer.

    As for humping, many dogs hump not because of dominance but as a form of stress relief or because they are over stimulated.


  • I adopted a red/wht in 1994 at the age of 2. Oh man was he defensive and growley. If he was laying on the couch and you approached him he would growl at you like he was going to bite. I didn't yell at him "NO"! I just slowly worked my way at him little by little each time I approached until over time he trusted me. The first day I took him to dog trainning class he wanted to fight every dog around us. It took some time to calm him down.
    Also please get his thyroid checked. A lot of time there's something wrong physically that can cause bad behavior. Maybe take him to a holistic vet. Don't give up.


  • He just growled at my girlfriend… who is his mommy. She went to pick him up off of the couch (to see if he would growl at her). I will get his thyroid tested... what types of treatments are available if he doe shave a thyroid problem?


  • @Benny:

    He just growled at my girlfriend… who is his mommy. She went to pick him up off of the couch (to see if he would growl at her). I will get his thyroid tested... what types of treatments are available if he doe shave a thyroid problem?

    They will see what his thyriod levels are from his blood work then if it's low put him on Thyroid pills. They will then check again in a few months. I had 2 on them.
    Please check this link.
    http://www.apubasenjis.com/bhealth.html


  • Also just a note about the red/wht. He was physically sick too. So after handling that he really started to change and became a fun dog. He still occasionally like to challenge a bigger dog but not too bad.


  • How long has Benny been like this? Did it start at a certain point in time? He's obviously feeling threatened by someone or something.


  • Started roughly 4 weeks ago… he started by snapping at a kid and an old man who tried to pet him on a walk. Then it progressed to him biting the neighbor, biting my neice, snapping at my nephew, my friend, and then biting the trainer... now today he snapped at my mom, dad, and my gf.... I approached him and did the same thing shortly after and he didn't snap at me. I didn't think he would, but I wanted to make sure of it.


  • I have noticed his fur got slightly lighter around that same time. We mentioned it to the vet and he said it was normal…


  • How long have you had Benny? How old is he?


  • I really suspect there's a physical problem going on with Benny.

Suggested Topics

  • Bit Stranger

    Behavioral Issues
    10
    0 Votes
    10 Posts
    3k Views
    J
    Thanks everybody for the insight. Still can’t believe our sweet little dog that curls up with us, has it in him to bite somebody. The more I read, the more I believe that this is fear related founded or not. Our vet recommended a behaviorist, so we might go that route. We did already do some formal training, but that was just a Petsmart class. It was more for the benefit of our kids but he was in a unusual social environment and did so well....better than all the dogs In the class. We will keep working on this. Thanks! J
  • Help! My basenji is bitting

    Behavioral Issues
    11
    0 Votes
    11 Posts
    7k Views
    DebraDownSouthD
    @kjdonkers said in Help! My basenji is bitting: @DebraDownSouth No use for further discussion, if everyone outside your sphere of reference is a quack, a nut job, a con artist. Different planets. Stay healthy! Everyone outside of provable or at least probably science, especially when they peddle for money, does fit my definition of quack and cons. But I slept with a bar of soap in desperation with restless leg syndrome. I have tried things that have almost as little scientific basis, but I do so armed with knowing that. My issue is people selling things as science/proven when they aren't. My issue is vulnerable, desperate or uneducated people getting taken in by hustlers. Not a different planet, just the science based and honest part of the same one. Having seen too many people hurt, or their animals hurt, or children hurt, by false science/medicine/therapies... I am sorry that you think belief in scientific proof and honesty about what is or is not proven is wrong. If someone says to me, "I drink vinegar and it helps my arthritis, but there's no research proving it works"... good. I might even try it. But when some quack says "pay me $100 and I'll tell you why your dog bites or where your missing child is or if your husband is cheating on you or whatever"... they deserve to be horsewhipped. I am sorry if I sounded dismissive to you personally. It wasn't my intent. It was reaction to what you wrote. In general, we're on common ground. We don't have to agree on things to stay on the same planet. :)
  • Benny's Behavior

    Behavioral Issues
    12
    0 Votes
    12 Posts
    4k Views
    QuercusQ
    Also, I would recommend "Click to Calm" by Emma Parsons…and just about anything by Patricia McConnell. You can find these books at dogwise dot com You CAN learn to change Benny's behavior yourself, but it would really help to have a behaviorist help you. You wouldn't really have to risk a lot if you learn exactly what techniques you prefer to use, and then interview people about their preferences. After you do some research, it should be pretty easy to tell who is thinking the same way you are, and whether or not they can help. Did you try Northcoast Dogs? their website is that name then dot com
  • Benny's Hyperactivity

    Behavioral Issues
    33
    0 Votes
    33 Posts
    9k Views
    S
    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 $$
  • We just don't like that ONE neighbor kid

    Behavioral Issues
    3
    0 Votes
    3 Posts
    3k Views
    S
    I admire you care with this basenji. I agree, some treats from the child, and slow,gentle movements from her when she is around the dog, will probably work, but it might take some time. Do let us know how it goes.
  • My B bit my kid

    Behavioral Issues
    21
    0 Votes
    21 Posts
    14k Views
    BarklessdogB
    A cold Basenji is a cuddly one! [image: recline.jpg] Winter has it's advantages in cold parts of the world! I find Basenji's are like cats, sometimes they want tons of physical attention and other times. it's DON'T TOUCH ME!!!