Skip to content
Basenji Forums
  1. Home
  2. Behavioral Issues
  3. New Girl in Town

New Girl in Town

Behavioral Issues
  • O

    My basenji mix (photograph on my profile) comes from a home that seemed to spoil her tremendously.

    1. Roxy only has interest in eating if it's people food. I would like to transition her to high-end kibble. I have been able to get her to eat dehydrated lamb and potatoes. But, honestly, I will not be able to afford this on a regular basis. Any suggestions?

    2. Roxy jumps on people. I know (or have read in various dog training manuals) this is her trying to be the alpha, and I am not okay with it. How do I break her of the habit? I have had all of my other basenjis and basenji mixes from puppyhood, so I am a bit overwhelmed by the thought of breaking a 2 year old dog of bad behaviors.

    0
  • lvossL

    @ouidah:

    2. Roxy jumps on people. I know this is her trying to be the alpha, and I am not okay with it. How do I break her of the habit? I have had all of my other basenjis and basenji mixes from puppyhood, so I am a bit overwhelmed by the thought of breaking a 2 year old dog of bad behaviors.

    This is not her trying to be alpha, it is a lack of impulse control and a long reinforcement history for doing it.

    I recommend doing some It's Yer Choice to start gaining some impulse control, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipT5k1gaXhc

    Also, see what she knows, sit, down, etc and start asking for an incompatible behavior in the situations that she is jumping up on people.

    Dr. Sophia Yin has some great video in her library for these sort of situations. Check out Say Please By Sitting, http://drsophiayin.com/resources/videos/

    0
  • tanzaT

    @ouidah:

    My basenji mix (photograph on my profile) comes from a home that seemed to spoil her tremendously.

    1. Roxy only has interest in eating if it's people food. I would like to transition her to high-end kibble. I have been able to get her to eat dehydrated lamb and potatoes. But, honestly, I will not be able to afford this on a regular basis. Any suggestions?

    2. Roxy jumps on people. I know this is her trying to be the alpha, and I am not okay with it. How do I break her of the habit? I have had all of my other basenjis and basenji mixes from puppyhood, so I am a bit overwhelmed by the thought of breaking a 2 year old dog of bad behaviors.

    About food, only give her the food you want her to eat… all dogs will eat when they are hungry, they will not starve themselves (of course making sure that they are in good health first). Put the food down for her... give her 15 minutes to eat, if she doesn't eat or finish it, pick it up till it is the next scheduled time to eat.

    About jumping.... does she know sit and/or down? Before you pet her or let people into the house, put her is a sit stay or down stay. No one acknowledges her until she is in a sit/down stay and remains calm. And jumping on people is not always a way of being alpha...

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

    0

Suggested Topics

  • J

    New (adult) basenji biting

    Behavioral Issues
    13
    0 Votes
    13 Posts
    3k Views
    Sandy HovisS
    I am not gonna sugar coat this.... If you are that worried with him around new people or strangers use a soft muzzles, especially when near small children. A cloth muzzle protects you both. It’s seems to settle them down and they are unable to bite. It’s not meant to be used often, the less the better. They can drink, they can open their mouth some, but they cannot bite. I am sure that over time your B will relax with you in your home and around visitors....always fore warn strangers visiting, it might be startling to them but it is better than them getting a bite. I am at the point I use it almost never.....If we go out with my B we use it, when visiting the vet, we use it, when very young children are around we use it"........if we are walking where there is a possibility he will get a startle...I use it. I am sure there will be somebody on here that will disagree, but I do what I have to do to protect me, my dog and people around me Take this as a positive thing so that both of you can be comfortable in all situations.
  • dogeloverD

    New dog aggression after neutering

    Behavioral Issues
    12
    0 Votes
    12 Posts
    11k Views
    DebraDownSouthD
    There are studies from 15 years ago about spaying at the wrong time during a cycle and ending up with a permanently aggressive female. But even with regular spay/neuters a great deal of hormonal change can cause many dogs to react. It is biological but still important to stay on top of behaviors so they don't become common. As for the fight...spayed, not spayed, neutered or not, it is not uncommon for dogs who have always been fine to have one fight and never get along again. There are some worrisome new research about reactive and fearful behaviors with neutered dogs. If anyone is interested, glad to share the links (too tired to fetch them tonight. Back to my normal backing up posts with links so that anyone wanting to read more can.)
  • Muro PadsM

    Planing on a new member to the pack

    Behavioral Issues
    2
    0 Votes
    2 Posts
    7k Views
    tanzaT
    @Muro-Pads Rule of thumb, best to do opposites... not always a hard/fast rule, but 90% of the time. As they say "it works till it doesn't"
  • M

    Violent lil girl!

    Behavioral Issues
    25
    0 Votes
    25 Posts
    14k Views
    M
    Waffles is doing really well! @Patty M, she started Baroo-ing! I was so startled at first it scared me! Now she does it in the morning when one of us wakes up, and she realized we are up for good to play with her and feed her, she lets out a loud baroo, almost like a puppy-rooster. Crate training is going much better- she rarely cries (at least that we know of) she does try and hide in the morning when when she senses we are going to leave for work. she eventually succumbs to the deliciousness of cream cheese , but its definitely an ordeal! We're just taking it one day at a time. She is evening sleeping through the night about 25% of the time. There is nothing so glorious as 6 hours of sleep!!
  • O

    New Girl in Town – Part 2

    Behavioral Issues
    8
    0 Votes
    8 Posts
    4k Views
    listemeL
    That's definitely progress, I agree. If Agatha is hopping up, I predict one of these nights she'll stay. You could rig it a little and turn down the heat to encourage it, haha. You know, it really sounds like you're dealing with their conflicting needs in a very balanced way. They both are needy at this point. I'm glad you are looking out for them both :) P.S. I love the detective names for the cats.
  • Brodie79B

    Help adapting to new home

    Behavioral Issues
    18
    0 Votes
    18 Posts
    7k Views
    S
    Not sure, it could be so many things that a human can not see or smell. But, my terrier would do a low growl every time we drove by our old vet. We changed vets and he stopped but he still knew even 10 years later that he hated that vet. Not sure what happened to him that he hated them so much but he was neutered there!