Sahara has not been in her crate since we got the underground fencing, she is Ok left in the den, kitchen where her bed is and water is left. My husband works night shift and I get home at 5:00 so it is pretty convienent. I took her out of the crate at about 6 mos. when we got the doggie door put in the kitchen. There were a few chewed up things in the beginning, but not anymore as a general rule. If she gets anything it is from surfing the kitchen counters, or my table top furniture. Just today she got my son's expensive sunglasses and ran out the doggie door b/c we were chasing her to get them. He was furious, but I said, "You left them were she could get them, it's not her fault". "You know she chews plastic, so don't you dare hit her or anything", he was so very mad. Sure, I get mad when she gets my prescription glasses, but IT IS NOT HER FAULT, I left them available to the keen eyes of a chew crazy basenji.
My success story!
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So, last September/October I posted a thread asking everyone if its a good idea to get a Basenji if i already had a pet bird. Many who replied told me it was a horrible idea that this breed has very wild instincts and that my bird would not stand a chance. Well I am here to tell everyone it is possible to train your basenji not to touch birds…and here is my proof.
By the way,I do know all basenjis are different but this is MY success story
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Yay! Always awesome to see a well-trained basenji. I don't recall, but did you get your basenji as a puppy and socialize him with the bird? Or did you get an older basenji that had already been socialized? People make excuses as to why they have overweight, or badly trained dogs, a breed has certain instincts but a dog's personality will determine how well they do with small animals. My one basenji has a super soft mouth - something a basenji isn't supposed to have. He can pick up small voles without harming them.
Oh, and if you run up against anyone who is making you feel unwelcome on here…...there is a way to block them so you never have to see their posts. It comes in handy for one individual in particular.
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I got him when he was only 5 months old, and i began socializing him with the bird from the moment I got him. He was extremely curious about her for awhile, but knew never to touch her! I read several books saying how smart this breed is, and they are 1000 percent accurate! My basenji is like a little person, with a great memory of where everything is!!!!! And I agree with you, people always make excuses and they don't realize you have to take time training them and to challenge their intelligence because they get bored once they solve!
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Most dogs can be trained "against instinct". Easiest when they are small, or course, but not impossible later. When I had my second girl, I lived in Northern Ontario and also tamed chipmunks. They would come and sit on my hand for peanuts. Lady was curious, of course, but left them alone as that was what I wanted. When I had the farm the dogs had to learn to tolerate the barn cats…....but cats that were not ours were an entirely different story!
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I absolutely love this breed!!! Cairo is my idea of perfection in a dog, and I am so glad I had faith and did my research!!! Only thing now is to train him not to eat bunny droppings, hahaha!!!
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Yeah, good luck with them not eating anything stinky…..lol
This might not work for your dog......but I've found that with both of mine.....the secret to keeping them away from something you don't want them to get into is just to let them go at it.
My dog used to get into the litter box and I'd make a big stink about it, squirt them with water, treats for not going into litter box......didn't do much to make them stay out of it.
So, after reading some advice I found on this forum, I decided to try an experiment and not bother to get mad at him for getting into it.....sure, found cat poop on the stairs for awhile....but eventually he stopped getting into it altogether. Ever since I've used this technique on both dogs; getting into my socks? I buy them a ton of thrift store socks, let them go nuts. Bags? I give them safeway bags. Kleenex, unripping pillows, etc.
For me it's worked in my favor. I may have dogs that are exceptions to the rules but I've found that the less I tell them to get away from something, the less likely they are to get into said object. If there is a weakness they will target that weakness until it is thoroughly destroyed. Lol.
I could see that going seriously wrong with the wrong dog though......but, in my mind, I would rather them get their fill now then get into something dangerous or expensive later when I'm not looking. Of course this won't work with everything. Certainly wouldn't try this with anything that could potentially kill them....and always supervised.
Anyways, Rabbit poop can't be too dangerous right? Better rabbit poop than horse poop......But if it really bothers you... A leave it command.......or possibly pick up some rabbit dung and spray it with bitter spray....let him see the rabbit poop and see if he garners a negative experience from it to the point where he won't bother with them?
I've never done it, but, I have heard of people having a lot of success tying shoes around a dogs neck and leaving them there (if they chew on shoes and don't respond to reprimand) so maybe you could tie little rabbit turds onto his collar? [I'm seriously kidding about that last one. No rabbit poop collars.]
That's all I've got, lol.
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Most dogs will eat poop. Cat turds are a favourite for many. My niece's GSD adores goose poop. I think the easiest option is to just keep the dog away from it if possible. (most cat/dog owners I know keep the kitty litter where the dog can't reach it). If rabbits come into your yard, this becomes a bit more difficult! "Leave it" is a useful command, but no point in using it if you can't enforce it in some way. That only teaches the dog to ignore you!
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Wonderful! Great going.
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Very cool, nice job! That bird wouldn't stand a chance in my house lol….
What does your B do when you are outside and you come across a bird?
