Skip to content
Basenji Forums
  1. Home
  2. Behavioral Issues
  3. Steralisation of Male Basenji

Steralisation of Male Basenji

Behavioral Issues
  • D

    Would steralisation of male Basenjis change their behaviour in any way. Such as in aggressiveness.

    Several weeks ago our male Basenji bit me as I tried to put him out of our home, I spoke to him sternly and that was that. Today our daughter tried to hold him by his collar to stop him from chasing a car and after struggling he bit her through her ugg boot puncturing her skin, leaving a nasty bruise and then bit her on her arm. Fortunately our daughter is 30 yrs of age so not a child.

    He is also quite aggressive if we take him to doggy parks where they can be let of their leads. He doesn't understand that some dogs just don't want to play or run. Some dogs can handle him but when others emit yelps we then feel embarrassed and take them home.

    Before coming to us the first two years of our Basenjis lives were spent in a breeding kennel. Only our male has been used for breeding.

    We have had our two Basenjis, Cougar (male) and Teketa (female), since mid June and through a lot of patience (and I feel a lot more will be needed) we feel we are coping reasonably well. Teketa has been steralised and since is much better mooded. The problem is that we own Teketa but Cougar was given on condition that we keep him entire so the breeder can use him again so, of course, we would have to discuss this option with the breeder. If she agrees, then we would have no problem purchasing him but if she doesn't then we feel we may have to return him. This we would really prefer not to do. Besides us loving him dearly, he is so close to his sister, Teketa, and we are afraid she might suffer emotionally.

    Any comments / advice would be greatly appreciated

    Dawn

    0
  • CollStarC

    Hi Dawn, my names Colleen and i'm from Melbourne!
    I'm really interested to hear peoples thoughts on this as my 6 almost 7 month old male basenji who isnt desex as yet is displaying quite a lot of seemingly random aggression toward my other dog who he lives with. Food is the main trigger, but more and more i think it's his testosterone really kicking in, i think hes trying to test out my other dog too see how much he can get away with and how much he can boss him around.
    Its making life a bit edgy for myself and my dog who cops the outbursts!

    I'm a vet nurse and it is well know that desexing a male will definitely drop hormone levels significantly and therefore any hormonal aggression along with it. It usually calms them and dog/territorial related aggression can be helped by neutering.
    I think that if you really want to keep Cougar the best way to go is to desex him. If it becomes unbearable, then its not going to harm anyone by getting him desexed. And to be honest i think the breeder should think twice about breeding from a basenji who has bitten people… but basenjis will be basenjis. No doubt desexing will help, but no doubt the aggression wont be 'cured'... i think then you need to do your bit by training him in conjunction.

    Best of luck, sounds like we both need it!
    Colleen

    Colleen and Ben

    0
  • CollStarC

    Hi Dawn, my names Colleen and i'm from Melbourne!
    I'm really interested to hear peoples thoughts on this as my 6 almost 7 month old male basenji who isnt desex as yet is displaying quite a lot of seemingly random aggression toward my other dog who he lives with. Food is the main trigger, but more and more i think it's his testosterone really kicking in, i think hes trying to test out my other dog too see how much he can get away with and how much he can boss him around.
    Its making life a bit edgy for myself and my dog who cops the outbursts!

    I'm a vet nurse and it is well know that desexing a male will definitely drop hormone levels significantly and therefore any hormonal aggression along with it. It usually calms them and dog/territorial related aggression can be helped by neutering.
    I think that if you really want to keep Cougar the best way to go is to desex him. If it becomes unbearable, then its not going to harm anyone by getting him desexed. And to be honest i think the breeder should think twice about breeding from a basenji who has bitten people… but basenjis will be basenjis. No doubt desexing will help, but no doubt the aggression wont be 'cured'... i think then you need to do your bit by training him in conjunction.

    Best of luck, sounds like we both need it!

    Colleen and Ben

    0

Suggested Topics

  • D

    Male basenji puppy attacking other male dogs

    Moved Behavioral Issues
    22
    0 Votes
    22 Posts
    7k Views
    J
    I'm no Basenji expert since I've only had one. And, I don't want to start a dog park argument. I'll just share my experience. Jengo LOVED running free, but he's a Basenji. Can't do that cause... cars. The dog park near our house is HUGE. A big completely enclosed lawn area the size of a football field with towering oak trees. We were OCD about keeping Jengo's vaccinations up to date. He was chipped and wore a collar with contact and rabies tags 24/7. He loved the dog park, but not all the dogs there. He hated any dog of any size that would try to dominate him in any way. He rarely instigated it, but he never tolerated it meaning regardless of size... he wouldn't back down. He also hated if another dog approached him from behind and would snap immediately. My solution was to stay near him and to keep moving. We would walk laps around the perimeter and by about the second or third lap he'd been or had checked out all the other dogs. Then things were good. If I saw that he was getting anxious I'd usually catch it before he reacted and would tell him "Easy". 9 times out 10 that was enough. I'd also make sure that he was aware of dogs in our vicinity so that he wouldn't be surprised if they came from behind. We went to the park for years. He never caught anything that I was aware of. I did pick him up and leave if there was another dog he and/or I weren't comfortable with. And, I also recall walking away before ever entering the park if there was a dog we didn't like already there. I guess my point is that part of protecting your dog and others is knowing and focusing on them without over-reacting at the same time. I don't want to set him off. But, I want to know what he's going to do before he does. You have to read him. All dogs give signals one way or another. Tune in to your dog, not the other people at the park. I liked the other people at the park, but I wasn't there for them. My focus was always on Jengo.
  • auryA

    How to bond with my male basenji pup

    Behavioral Issues
    14
    0 Votes
    14 Posts
    4k Views
    auryA
    @zande thanks I will send you all the info 😊
  • D

    Bringing a 2nd (Male) Basenji into a Female Basenji's home, Any Advice of Thoughts?

    Behavioral Issues
    10
    0 Votes
    10 Posts
    6k Views
    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.
  • S

    Female or male?

    Behavioral Issues
    11
    0 Votes
    11 Posts
    5k Views
    thunderbird8588T
    I think our male must have been the exeption, he certainly did have a clue and manipulated us ruthlessly all his life, but we loved him so much. We are having a female Pup this time so time will tell
  • P

    Male Basenji aggressive behavior towards owners

    Behavioral Issues
    10
    0 Votes
    10 Posts
    4k Views
    jessi76J
    @sharronhurlbut: Crating a dog when your at work and then when you sleep is way too much. I am not saying this is the case…but imo, if your home, have the dog with you. I agree… mostly. a dog should be with it's family but, young pups who do not yet know the rules of the house, should be crated IMO, mostly for their own safety. You can't very well supervise a pup when you're sleeping. however, I do think there is a middle ground to it... I crated my dog at night until he was about 7mths old, and 100% reliable in the house (no accidents). I always kept the crate right next to the bed though. with the exception of night hours, our dog was never crated for longer than 4 hrs at a time. our goal was always to achieve no need for the crate.. which we reached when he was around 2 yrs old. I think a crate is a wonderful TOOL, but it's just that, a tool, not a way of life. We still have one of our crates set up, and occasionally our dog will choose to use it, but the door is never shut.
  • J

    Basenji Watchdog

    Behavioral Issues
    7
    0 Votes
    7 Posts
    4k Views
    MantisM
    it is just socialization….my australian shepard was that way with men with facial hair because my dad and brother were always clean shaven....