I had a minor heart attack today.
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My husband has declared that he will never chase a basenji again, because his having a heart attack won't help anything. Fortunately ours don't run more than a house or two then are back running right into the house, to "Good dog, welcome home" greetings. (even though I have to bite my tongue).
I am so very glad this story has a happy ending for Lucy!
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Wow, what a complete jolt of adrenaline, isn't it? I'm glad everyone is okay! I've never had to chase either of my basenjis for a great distance, but both have ran loose for less than a minute & I know what sheer panic you must have felt. I used to walk Trinity with a retractable leash. She liked to dart back & forth while on her leash in our back yard (no fence yet) & would always pull just as hard as she could. The very last time she wore (and ever will wear) one, I was on the porch & she was in our yard. She decided to jet in a direction which was going to slam my arm around the porch's pole. I was bracing myself for the impact, when all of a sudden, all pull was poof gone. I watched in shock as my girl ran around all crazy - I don't even know if she really realized she was loose - she had pulled her collar from out of the leash's clasp. Luckily, all she wants to do is play - I started to chase her down the side of our house toward the street. She did a 180 & whizzed right past me toward the back of the house - I gave chase after her & quickly realized I was not going to catch her. So, I ran to the house to get treats, not even thinking she would follow me, but just as soon as I opened the patio door to go inside, she ran right past me & did a B500 around the inside because she beat me through the door. So, I found out, by accident, that running the other way can work. Just this past weekend, I had both Bs in our yard, on leash (no, no fence yet). I noticed Trinity was smackin' her lips on something & knew it was rabbit poop - yuck! I was busy ramming my fingers in her mouth to get it out & looked on the ground to see the loop handle of Denver's leash on the grass. As soon as I saw it, he started to trot towards the road. I was still holding on to the other dog & darted after him because his leash was dragging 6 ft behind him & he wasn't moving that fast. He started to gallop & I lost my shoes running after him. There I was, running in my bare feet, yelling 'TREATS! TREATS!' while all I could do was watch him scamper along. He got to my husband's jeep, turned to look at me & patiently waited for Mom to come bring the treats! So, I guess try to find what your B responds to & lure them that way. At least it wasn't your fault!
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I'm so glad it turned out well! I totally understand that heart-stopping terror that goes through you when they escape. I've been told not to hold and cuddle after I catch Cody when he escapes, but I just can't help myself, I'm so happy and relieved that he's ok.
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Exactly right…. do not chase.... run the other way.... 9 times out of 10 they will wind up chasing you... of course you have to get their attention to chase you...... but by not chasing them directly.. you are changing the "game"....
And kudos to all for "biting back the need to scream"... ggg and praising them for coming back....
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A good training game to play in the yard or house is hide and go seek. It makes them look for you. Give treats and praise when they find you. I first starting doing this with my first Basenji in the 70's. I'd even do it at the beach and hide behind a sand dune and she would go crazy trying to find me.
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So glad you caught her and she is safe. Other people just dont get it (not letting the Basenji out) I guess most are used to normal Dogs. We had a visitor once who came in the gate and watched Benji walk past her up the drive. Thats when i nearly had heart attack too. He Kept escaping when i first got him and ended up under a car, fortunately he survived. Years later when i moved if he got out rather than running he went straight next door to sniff and mark the territory. This gave me time to catch him. He was however very growly when i picked him up and would sometimes go for me when i put him down, such a delight, lol.
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While I've used both the walk in the opposite direction and the fall on the ground method and they've worked successfully to get my b's to come to me, I somehow think if I were on a busy street in Brooklyn and my b's got away from me, I'd have less chance of success of it working because of the overstimulation of the city environment.
One thing that I've done is trained with cheese - as only an occasional really high value treat for my 3. A couple of times when they've been let out (by me or by my brother), I've walked in the opposite direction yelling "hey, who wants some cheese." The times I've done that, I've walked into the house, leaving the door ajar, gone to the fridge and turned around and the missing b was in the kitchen waiting for their cheese. My brother even tried it at night one time (although he was telling me he was panicking thinking Liyah was gone for good), walked away yelling, "Liyah, cheese" (in a happy voice) and she pushed the door in after him to get her cheese. Behold the power of cheese! :)
Whether that method would work if they were chasing an animal remains to be seen…
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One thing that I've done is trained with cheese - as only an occasional really high value treat for my 3. A couple of times when they've been let out (by me or by my brother), I've walked in the opposite direction yelling "hey, who wants some cheese." The times I've done that, I've walked into the house, leaving the door ajar, gone to the fridge and turned around and the missing b was in the kitchen waiting for their cheese. My brother even tried it at night one time (although he was telling me he was panicking thinking Liyah was gone for good), walked away yelling, "Liyah, cheese" (in a happy voice) and she pushed the door in after him to get her cheese. Behold the power of cheese! :)
OMGosh, had to LOL at this because this is how I got Katie back the last time she was let out (by someone one not even allowed in my yard:mad:)….running down the block until I saw her yelling "CHEESE!! KATIE, CHEESE!!", while wielding a huge block of aged cheddar ready to throw at any passing car if she chose to run across the street in front of an unprepared driver. I was armed and dangerous:D.
