Thanks for the advice. It's definitely helped!

@eeeefarm said in Wet weather exercise:

@elbrant said in Wet weather exercise:

I wish I could take the credit for Doodle. But she was trained and taught before I brought her home.

If she is still reliable you can take credit for that. So many times a well trained animal goes to a new home and within months the good manners and training evaporates. Seen it many, many times with horses, not quite so often with dogs but they don't tend to change hands so often.

Unfortunately people often reinforce bad behaviour without being aware of what they are doing, and then complain because the "stupid" animal has developed bad habits!

I concur. If it isn't maintained, then behaviors erode.

Aw, welcome to womanhood Safi! We swear it's not so bad all the time LOL

@creambasenji said in New Puppy Advice:

She's 9 months and 8.5 pounds. Doesn't seem she will be getting any bigger

This must be a typo. 9 months or 9 weeks?

At any rate, I'd love to see a picture of a cream Basenji, toy or not.

@zande - You bet! We must be showing our ages! Or Been There/Done That! Very few times we disagree, but when we do we respect the others point of view!

I know too many puppies and dogs injured or killed due to collars left on unattended. Not worth the risk.

@jhewell What more is there to say ? You have put it brilliantly !

A friend who has Persian Blues, I think they are called, and Basenjis operates on a two tier level. The cats are fed on the kitchen work-surface and enter and leave the house via the kitchen window onto a garden table. Once outside they are more than able to take care of themselves.

Indoors the cats have perches and climbing frames the dogs don't manage to fathom. All is perfectly harmonious.

No cat dares come into my garden. They haven't for years, through endless and changing packs of Basenjis. Occasionally one will come down the drive and sit in the sun by the cars but they never try to come over any gate into Basenji home turf.

You are going to have endless 'fun' ! Good luck -

Like much internet advice I find short answers incomplete - and mine was. I really want to ad that making a crate/xpen/gated puppy area should never be seen as "punishment". These partitioned puppy areas should be conditioned to be safe places for a puppy/dog. Mine, thankfully, tolerates and even likes her xpens probably because it's where she eats, receives treats, sleeps, chews and even plays. This took about a week or so. Now she voluntarily goes into her xpens (in my case) on her own and when she's put there involuntarily she might whine for a minute before settling down with a chew and/or going to sleep.

@jkent I have certainly never even heard that advice and would not have taken it if I had. It depends on the conditions underfoot, the breed, the size of the puppy (some breeds have very large ones !), off leash or regimented walking, stopping to admire the view / watch the puppy socialise with dogs he/she meets.

SO many things to take into consideration. I wouldn't pay much attention to generic advice from the KC. Our breed is 'different' !

@seattlebasenji said in Potty Training Difficulty - 12-15 mo old Basenji:

*** Any ideas about how I can effectively potty train him? ***

You mention that you take your dog to the same area when you take him out to 'toilet', I suppose thinking that he'll associate that spot as his bathroom(?). But I think you would be more successful if you took your dog out for long walks.

Your dog needs exercise anyway, and movement begets movement (if you know what I mean). Besides, walking is a very social activity for dogs. They walk in packs and when you walk with your dog, you become part of their pack. Some people like two half hour walks each day. Personally, I try to get one really long walk in every day (weather permitting), typically 3 miles or 90 minutes. Sometimes shorter, sometimes longer. (I got bored walking the same route. Now we go different places (local dog parks, woods, and such) and explore new routes. Mix it up a little.

The walk provides time for the two of you to bond. It's an opportunity for you to reinforce training, provide encouragement (and praise). And it allows your dog to eliminate (or toilet), naturally, without pressure.

Thank you. Yes, our breeder is litter box training. Our first Basenji was a mix (Basenji and Retriever), but she had a lot of Basenji ways. She was already housebroken when we got her, so we didn’t have to worry about that task. We will definitely continue the litter box training until he is old enough to be outside and it is warmer.

Hi there. I was about to post this question and did a search for this topic. It's been a while now! I am curious how running with a Basenji turned out? We are considering a Basenji and my husband wants it to be a running partner.

Hi everyone!

New Basenji owner here from Melbourne, Australia.

I know this topic is a couple of months old but I thought I'd just add my experience for anyone else needing help with puppy biting.

My wife and I had been having mouthing/biting trouble with our (now) 12-week old pup for the last week.

The behavior has improved almost instantly by following the advice in this video.

She's still pretty mouthy but it doesn't escalate the way it did before when we'd try and stop her from doing it/yelping/saying '"NO". I think everything we were doing was just turning it into the funnest game ever for her!

https://youtu.be/bd1Q56Mfp4M

Many, many years ago, I sold puppies to families. I always met them ahead of time, before the pups were born were born, and had a little 'class' in which we went over the beginnings of what to do, and not do, with the puppy.`
I remember one family came again, after the pups were born, but not old enough to leave Mom. They had a little boy (just him, no siblings) who did not come the first time (it was for them to approve me, and me to approve them). He was about 6, very smart and well behaved, and went out to the dog room. That was the year I had some oops litters, all born within a week of each other, and he was so excited to just get buried with puppies! I think they were about 6 wks old. I took photos of the whole experience that day, and made a special PRIVATE page of "Ethan's day with the Puppies"
We went over my 'getting a basenji puppy' class and he was so attentive. I never got a call from them about any problems - I'm not surprised, he wanted that puppy so much.

She is very pretty.

@elbrant
On the flip side of this conversation can the breeders or owners recommend or suggest what they think Is a reasonable distance in walking an older basenji. My B turned 14 this past January. She always loved her walks - in her prime we’d do 4-5 miles a day. This past summer I noticed I had to walk her early in the morning or early evening due to the heat.This past fall we were doing about 2-3 miles per day and she was always eager to walk. Once winter hit, it was very sporadic and limited - depended on the weather. It was the first winter that she would refuse to go for a walk if there was snow out it was too cold. Once weather got better, we started walking again but have only been doing about 1 mile per day. There are many days she stops dead outside the door wanting to go back in if it’s too cold (I always dress her w/ a sweater or jacket if it’s cool). She enjoys her walks and doesn’t have any physical restrictions except for her age. Otherwise, I feel she is still spry, active, alert, and maintains a reasonable weight. I forget that she’s old except for the fact that she has a white face.

@brindledogs
Nimbus is a beautiful baby! So sweet!Congratulations 🐾🐕❤️

Crate for sleeping at night should always be in the bedroom with their people. Should be close to the bed. I use wire crates and typically have more than one Basenji so the crates are all next to each other, but still in the room we sleep in. If an only Basenji should be next to your bed that that your pup knows where you are and you can dangle your fingers in the crate to assure them you are there. And cover the crate to make it more den like. Agree with a "crate buddy" stuffed big toy... and this crate buddy should only be used in the crate at night. I have never had any of my Basenjis sleep in any other room other then the one I sleep in. I also agree that in a car any dog should be confined in a crate, period.

@basenji_life

The vet can manipulate to see if something severe is wrong, but hips xrays need to wait til 6 mos (OFA) or (I think.. too tired to look) 4 mos.. oh heck I have to look..
"The PennHIP method can be reliably performed on a dog as young as 16 weeks old."

All excellent advice, not much I can add. I have a 9 week old Samoyed here and I'm pretty much kangaroo momming him. Right now he's even sleeping with me. Fortunately I have my daughter and her father helping out so I get some breaks, and my daughter does most of it when she's home 2 days a week. Samoyed are extremely people needy, but honestly I am the one who can't bear him being on his own too much this early. Even with doctor appointments, he has a crate in the living room so Larry can take him out to play/potty and snuggle (since I'm usually gone 5 to 6 hrs some days).

Easy adjustment.. put in crate, happy voice "i'll be back" and leave. Go out the door and leave alone at least 15 mins. Keep extending it over several days until you are up to a couple of hours. By that point, they do get you will come back. Just no drama, no soothing poor baby stuff... nonchalant. Happy leaving, happy return. Make sure safe toys, chews in crate.

If you can arrange it so her work and your's don't quite overlap so he's no alone more than 4 hrs, that would be idea. If not... swap out coming home for lunch break?

Good luck.. and please post pictures 🙂 Also, where did you get him? A lot of the basenjis here are related. (My basenji now is a rescue so not related.) It's nice to see the connections though!