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While My Basenji Gently Wails…

Behavioral Issues
  • @noodle:

    Elsa, his mother, has now come into season. This could be a whole different story as she is a complete tart!

    Ha, ha, ha…:D:D:D

  • I thought that was funny too. :D

    There are lots of good reasons to keep a dog intact. I just choose to alter my animals because I don't show and have no intention of breeding. (no patience for puppies)
    It's all personal preference, even if I am a proponent of altering if the animal he or she will be a pet rather than show/breed dog.

  • So as not to get into the whole spay/neuter since there are strong opinions especially from across the "pond" to our here in the USA and the reason that we recommend spay/neuter…. lets' just leave it as personal decision and what is best for each person's situation.

    And IMO, unless you can separate him from the bitch(s) in season by "miles" gggg.... just moving the crate to a different part of the house is going to make it worse... My OJ was a total basket case if he was not at least crated next to the girls.. and I do mean Basket case. And a word of warning, the last week is the worst.. as the boys know when they have "missed" the prime "time".....

  • @tanza:

    So as not to get into the whole spay/neuter since there are strong opinions especially from across the "pond" to our here in the USA and the reason that we recommend spay/neuter…. lets' just leave it as personal decision and what is best for each person's situation.

    And IMO, unless you can separate him from the bitch(s) in season by "miles" gggg.... just moving the crate to a different part of the house is going to make it worse... My OJ was a total basket case if he was not at least crated next to the girls.. and I do mean Basket case. And a word of warning, the last week is the worst.. as the boys know when they have "missed" the prime "time".....

    +1 on the first paragraph. In my case, the situation is workable for all of us involved. The only thing I would add is that it takes a commitment to make it work, as well as some decent organization ;).

    Brando definitely does more howling if Ruby & Liyah are outside and he is inside…almost like he is calling to them. And when he goes out after Liyah is back inside, his love of the yard is like nothing I've ever seen. I think a wild animal could easily run 2 ft in front of him and he'd never notice as his nose is glued to the ground.

    I've been warned about the last week :eek::eek: - I can only imagine. Luckily I'll be away with Liyah at a dog show - my brother will get all the enjoyment. :D:D:D

  • Mine were allowed limited access to each other and for all but 4/5 nights at the peak of her season slept in the kitchen together (Rocco was crated). I could tell that Dora really missed her 'partner in crime' but they have been making up for it since and have been knocking seven bells out of each other.
    It's such a relief when you can run them altogether again. :)

  • Well then… while you are gone, he should somewhat settle down....

  • Noodle, unfortunately in my house I can't let them be together at all during this time. Both Brando and Liyah are Fanconi Carriers - so for safety sake, they're apart for 30 days. They are crated in the same room(s) (when they are in their crates), but Ruby is in a crate in between Aaliyah and Brando. Aaliyah is in a vari-kennel and Brando & Ruby are in wire crates.

    It will be a huge relief to have them all back together again. Brando was separated from the girls while his leg was broken. Back together with them for 2 weeks. And now separated from Aaliyah for the last 13 days. I let he and Ruby play together but am watchful of them because he's quite smitten with her at the moment (any port in a storm :D). Like I said in my original post, Ruby has been flirting with him but unfortunately it will have to be an unrequited love - I don't entirely trust that Ruby isn't leading him on. :rolleyes:

    See Ruby had the opportunity in the past (not with Brando), but when it came right down to it, she refused - so her one litter was AI (worked out better in the long run). I guess you could say she is a little bit of a tease. :D

  • @tanza:

    Well then… while you are gone, he should somewhat settle down....

    Pat, the standing joke in my house is that he would prefer my brother over Aaliyah anyway :D:D:D:D, so maybe not!

  • @renaultf1:

    Pat, the standing joke in my house is that he would prefer my brother over Aaliyah anyway :D:D:D:D!

    LOL… I totally understand that one!!!

  • Naughty Ruby :D Poor Brando

  • If Liyah is out of the picture during her last week, it'll subside for Brando. He'll just cry because you and Liyah are not there. Part of his pack gone, you know.

    Good luck at the show!:)

  • Question: do fixed male dogs still go thru " issues" during Season, or just intact dogs? my hansel (5 yrs.) who was fixed over a year ago is acting a little more aggressive than normal. to every one and every thing and just started the beginning of the month… Jonny has been more out going and frisky (fixed to but since a very early age) he is 2 now. thanks

  • I haven't noticed any issues with AJ. He's been neutered for almost 5 years. Maybe he forgot what that thing was for. He knows when there's a bitch in season around, but doesn't get excited about it. Kind of like "ho-hum…go bother someone else, will ya?"
    He did have one litter with the lead bitch he lived with at the time, so he did have his jollies once in his life. Let himself out of his crate to get to her. (And lost the tips of his canine teeth in the process) I understand they were pretty pups, but after the second attempted go-round, he was snipped. Previous owner didn't want more AJ's running around.

  • @jonny:

    Question: do fixed male dogs still go thru " issues" during Season, or just intact dogs? my hansel (5 yrs.) who was fixed over a year ago is acting a little more aggressive than normal. to every one and every thing and just started the beginning of the month… Jonny has been more out going and frisky (fixed to but since a very early age) he is 2 now. thanks

    My OJ was neutered at 4yrs, he was never used for breeding… he for sure knew when breeding season was... regardless if he was in-tact or after he was neutered...

  • That is good to know. Kind of explains his snippy behavior. He is not out of control, just grouchy. That is not like him.
    It is also SQUIRREL season… there are hundreds when we walk... ok maybe not hundreds, but there sure are a lot and we have to chase every single one on our 4 mile walk. wow. WE get double mile value out of the walks. lol

  • Ya know, I have often wondered about the fixed males just "knowing" when the season was. My first boy was 1 when I got him and, not having any paperwork for him and only wanting a pet anyway, I had him fixed. Every year, though, around this time, he would just be more antsy than usual, want to be outside more, in general, just be more of turd than normal. I just called it "rutting" season. (It seemed that the deer were more prevalent at the time too.) New guy was 5 when I got him, already fixed, and displays the same kind of behavior. All of this, of course, not being around other basenjis or very many other dogs, for that matter. They just seem to know.

  • I was wondering the same thing. Dash has been neutered since 6 mos and there are no intact females around or Basenji's really for that matter. We noticed he "humps the air" around this time.

  • Unlike other breeds male basenjis go through rut. It does not matter if there are females around or not, when fall hits, the boys' brains turn to mush as they go into rut. My male is much easier now that he is neutered but he still knows the reason for the season.

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  • Basenji behaviors common ??

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    I can only comment on my experiences with Kipawa, my first basenji, who is just shy of 2 years old. @viv58: 1. OBS #1: they were only affectionate on their terms and didnt like to be petted or picked up.Is this more common than not. They wanted to be by you, but hands off for the most part. 2. OBS#2: Off the leash - they are unpredictable and may not come when called. Had some wild roaming experiences at the off-leash beach. Always kept treats -and 95% of the timeit worked.Can you train them to counter this? or is this a stretch ? 3. OBS#3: Not snuggly 4. OBS#4: Only looked me in the eye when I had food- everything was a distraction. 1. Kipawa is just an extremely affectionate dog. His affection for me is special, but he recognizes all family members and care aides who come into the house and enjoys their attention and gives it back. He loves being petted and adores being massaged, but has a preference for it being from someone in his 'pack' (family members and care aides). He will tolerate being picked up by anyone, but prefers it when I do it. He is a little uncomfortable when turned on his back, however, we practice this quite a bit and he's getting better at it, especially if tummy rubs are included. 2. The only areas Kipawa is off leash is in our backyard or dog parks that are fully fenced. For these places, he is predictable, because he is very used to them. He usually comes when called, but if it doesn't work, I carry the squeaker part of a squeaker toy with me, and that most always brings him back. If he needs to come to me based on an emergency situation (say he got onto a street by accident), I have a word/sound that I only use in emergency situations. He is excellent at responding to that. All this said, if he spotted a bunny in the dog park, I don't think the emergency recall would work. Based on his breeders seeing him this summer, they have indicated he has a very high prey drive. 3. Kipawa is super snuggly all the time and is also a 'velcro dog'. We are tightly bonded. He is on my lap when I watch TV, or at least laying against me. He sleeps under the blankets on my side of the bed. 4. He easily looks me in the eye. If I am talking to him, we have full eye contact. He enjoys when we give each other 'soft eyes' - the slow blinking a person/dog might do when fully relaxed or before settling down for a nap. If he is distracted (only happens outside) I use the command 'watch me' to get eye contact. Usually 95% success rate, but that would go down to zero should he see a bunny. I can't answer your other questions. Kipawa will be a solo dog in our home. As for the breeders, his breeders were Therese and Kevin Leimback (FoPaws Basenjis) from Washington state. We researched for a year before selecting them. Their breeding program concentrates a great deal on temperament. Hope this helps.
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    P
    Congratulations on the future new addition. Boy/girl is a good combination. As others have advised let them meet on neutral ground and take them for a long walk together. For every good interaction praise both inordinately. As Curlytails says don't rush it. Keep us posted, please and best wishes to you all.
  • Gentle Play?

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    Glad you liked the class! Not many basenjis do that 5 minute down-stay with owners gone!
  • My foster Basenji is very talky…

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    Just wanted to let you know that we put Harley's crate in our bedroom last night, and she stayed quiet until i got up around 8:00 this morning (it's Saturday, so of course that is much later than usual)! Yay! We'll see if it stays that way, but maybe she really was just lonely. Thanks for the advice guys!
  • My Basenji training

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    WOW!!!..Words to live by!! I commend you for all the effort it sounds like you've put into your dogs. I wish people were more like you…and your mantra should be placed on every B owner's refrigerator door :D :D It's all about knowing your dog & KNOWING their limitations. Respect is key and so is a no tolerance policy. At least that's how it is at our house! :) BTW-I went to a Basenji Fun Match...and A LOT of B's are bitchy snarky little fur balls. Rest assured yours are not the exception. Mine are exactly the same way but we work with them every day on this!
  • Same Sex and Basenji to Basenji aggression.

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    I agree with Catherine, socialization is a must, but it depends on the personality of the individual dog. When we had 4, they all slept on the bed together and ran together and rarely did we have any problems. We added a puppy and things were still going ok, just really crowded. However, one day our youngest girl decided she was all grown up and didn't want to be bossed around anymore by our 'wanna-be' alpha. Neither of them was a true alpha. We managed to defuse the situation, but a month later it happened again. The girls could never be together again. In fact, the tri developed a predjudice against all red girls after that! Both girls were terrific with people and with Basenji males and even with males and females of other breeds. I had 2 intact males, brothers, who stayed together with absolutely no problem for almost 4 years until one went to another home. They even got along during season. Terry