Hi ! i just registered on this forum because im looking for some help with my lovely dog.
Im gonna start by telling you that english isnt my first language, so im sorry for the mistakes.
Shes almost 2 years old and she comes from a great dog familly, she had a good mom and dad.
Im the owner of the dog since 9 months.
The previous owner couldnt live with a dog that has so much energie so he sold her.
Problem is , she was in a cage all night long and all day long with the previous owner because she tend to break things when you let her free in the house and he didnt want to sleep with her.
The only moment she was out of the cage was from 17h00 to 21h00.
She was playing with the owner's kids. (YOUNG)
He didnt have time to let her out of the house so he sold her…
So i got the dog and i love dogs, so i love her just like a daughter.
In the first weeks, she was free in the house.
She sleeps with me in the night and she seems to be happy about that.
I go for a walk every morning with her for 20 minutes then i go for work for 4 hours (shes free in the house) then i come back for a meal, i play with her and go back to work for another 4 hours. We go for a walk together for 30 minute then.
Problem is, EVERYSINGLE day when i got back from work at 12:00 and 17:00, the dog had done a #1 and a #2 (if you know what i mean (piss and poop) on the floor.
And she knows she did something wrong, because when i get back from work im not able to catch her because she runs away from me, she just looks at me and runs away as soon as i move.
And that happens even if she did her #1 and #2 in the moring and at 12h00.
So, some people told me she was stressed out by the big house and she had too much space when i was working so she needed a smaller area to play when i wasnt home (she has loads of toys too)
So i deceided to try to let her in the bathroom when i was working.
She had water and food and her toys and her blanket and bed.
The first day, she totally destroyed the wooden door with her ''claws'' and she also managed to remove a door trim and totally destroyed it as well with her teeth.
Also, it didnt work, she did her #1 and #2 on the floor.
I replaced the door and trim and tried again the next day.
She totally destroyed the door again.
I also tryed something that we call ''pipipad'' in quebec wich is a pad where the dog can pee, she just destroyed that pad as well.
I cleaned the #1 and #2 with the ''pipipad'' with the dog looking to show her what its made for but as soon as i put a new one on the ground she destroys it because she thinks its a toy.
So i didnt want to do it but i got a cage.
So we do the same routine but shes in a cage now when i work (its a big cage inside the house, shes got water and food and her toys and bed and a blanket)
I dont like to put her in her cage, but now she stays clean untli i get back from home and i get her out and she does her #1 and #2.
if you have any recommendation to help me get her clean and stop her from destroying my doors id be happy to let her free in my house.
She also destroys any thing that she can reach ( wireless headset, tv remotes, etc) id love to have help with that as well. (shes got loads of toys that she loves)
If im not in the house, i cant let her free for 5 minutes because when i come back, something is going to be destroyed or ive got a #2 on the floor.
And she KNOWS that she did something bad because she stares at me and when i move she runs away so im not able to grab her.
When she does something bad, i tell her : No! thats a bad dog ! And i repeat.
But i never hit her in anyway, maybe im too smooth ?
The most problematic thing is that if i go away for 5 minutes for wathever the reason, she likes to pee on my bed (wich is also her bed, i dont get it). Now thats anoying because i have to clean the entire bed everytime. I dont understand why she does that on her own bed when she can do it on the floor (and she does it even if she went outside 15 minutes ago to pee)
She also likes to pee in places where i cant see when i dont give her attention for a couple of minutes, like behing the tv and things like that. But she doesnt need to pee because whe went 15 minutes ago for exemple.
And when she does something like that, she acts like she wants to run away from me because shes scared that im going to hit her maybe? (but i never do, previous owner maybe ?) She stares at me and run away when i move, now that anoying too because its a big house and shes faster then me and if she doesnt want me to grab her, well its impossible for me to grab her. Even if i call her by her name or watever, she runs away.
NOW I dont mind cleaning after my dog, but id like her to stop peeing on the bed, and i would like her to stop runing away when i tell her to stop.
Im also unable to let her free outside because she runs away. ( i tryed several times and she runs away if there is no dogs around, if a dog is around she will stay with the dog, if shes alone she will run away, and she runs fast, thats hard for me to catch her)
So i have a 50 foot leash that i use when shes on my propriety outside the house.
Id love to train her to stay with me without a leash, is it possible ?
SO TO RESUME: 1) My dog cant stay alone without destroying all my stuff
2) My dog cant stay alone without doing her #1 and #2 on the floor or bed
3) My dog runs away from me when she does something wrong
4) I have to keep her in a cage when im not home because of the previous stated problems
5) Im unable to let her free without a leash outside.
No problems with the sleeping, she sleeps with me every night and loves to stay under the blankets where the heat is.
It happened one or two times where she did her #1 on the bed in the morning when i was sleeping, but it was actually my fault i guess because it was a day off work and i didnt get her out as early in the morning as usual.
If you can help me with any of these problem id be very happy.
I still love her VERY MUCH. Shes called Lady, and im never going to let her go watever the issue she has.
Im going to live with her problems and try to make her easier to live with.
But id love to have some help with these issues i talked about.
Thank you very much for the time it takes to answer this long post.
Ill be very gratefull.
She wants your attention and this is her way of getting it. Basenjis are extremely intelligent. You have to praise and reward her greatly when she goes to bathroom outside so that she will WANT to go there instead of in the house. She doesn't go to the bathroom in the crate because Basenjis are very clean dogs and don't like to sit beside their own droppings.
RE: Running free without a leash. Forget it. You have a Basenji. If you continue to do this she will eventually get hit by a car. I never leave my dog free without a leash except in a fenced in area. Period. Basenjis are hunters. Of course others will dispute this, but I know my own dog.
She runs away when she does something wrong because she's not stupid. She knows you disapprove but she is craving your attention and she's getting it!
My dog takes things off the table to get my attention then jumps up onto the couch and looks at me as if to say….LOOK AT ME! I think this is inherent in most Basenjis eventhough we give her plenty of attention they need to be included in your family and treated as such. You just have to reach an acceptable medium between both of you. Basenjis work for treats and I would start there, plus get a professional trainer to help you.
Thanks for your answer.
you obviously know what you are talking about.
Its been a bit over 1 month since this post.
Now, Lady will ask for the door when she wants to go pee or poo.
But, sometimes when i go outside for a few minutes without her, she will do it on the floor even if she went outside like 1 hour ago.
It looks like she does it because shes scared that i wont come back or something, i dont know shes my first dog.
But when i come back, as you said she's intelligent and she knows she did something wrong, she runs away and i cant catch her.
She doesnt destroy my stuf nearly as much, but she will still destroy smaller objects like computer mouse, headsets, gloves, shoes, etc.
She usually destroys smaller object that she can grab and go away with them now instead of doors and stuff like that… Thats an improvement :p
But its still sad to see that your dog just destroyed your 100$ headset-_-
I have to make sure that she cant reach anything when i leave her alone even for 2 minutes.
I gave up on the idea to go for walks without leachs because it looks impossible to me. We still go walking everyday but with a leach.
I know that she kinda like to do wrong things because she gets my attention, but what should i do when this happens, like if i see that she got one of my glove and shes eating it. I generally run after her until i catch her and take the glove away from her but i dont really do anything to say her its wrong appart from saying her : NO! BAD DOG..
I quote '' My dog takes things off the table to get my attention then jumps up onto the couch and looks at me as if to say....LOOK AT ME! I think this is inherent in most Basenjis eventhough we give her plenty of attention they need to be included in your family and treated as such. You just have to reach an acceptable medium between both of you. Basenjis work for treats and I would start there, plus get a professional trainer to help you. ''
My dog does exactly that. But i give her a lot of attention.
When i want to look at my emails or something she will come and put her hands on my arm and shes like : Hey ! Lets play! But we were playing 1 minute ago !
And if i say : NO! She will grab something like my computer mouse and run away with it and shes like : Try to catch me now you slow human !
Treats work, im able to do things easier with her with treats.
I should really contact a trainer i think.
So she's not as ''bad'' as she was, but she still have some small issues. (in my opinion shes not bad at all but my girlfriend had lots of dogs before and she says Lady doesnt behave right and she says that Basenji are different from the dogs she had because they dont behave the same way and shes not able to train Lady)
The worst thing right now is
that she pee and poo on the floor when i leave her alone for a few minutes even if she did pee and poo outside 1 hour ago.
that when i try to eat at the table or work on my computer she puts her hand on my arm and she tries to play with me even if we played a few minutes ago or even if we went for a walk a few minutes ago.
that she wont leave me alone when i eat even if i dont give her table food. She can smell the food and she wants some and she wont go away until i stop eating. She puts her hands on my arm when i eat and she wont go away watever i do.
Also, a small issue is that sometimes she vomits for some reasons.
She eats very expensive food that i buy at a local pet shop for 80$ for a small bag.
She vomits about 1 time every 2 or 3 weeks.
My girlfriend says its not a big deal and dogs vomit sometimes.
im not so sure so Im gonna talk about it to my Vet on Lady's next visit.
The issue is that she sleeps in my bed.
This will usually happen in the morning, she wakes up and vomits ON the bed...
I consider my dog very intelligent, but i dont understand why she vomits on her own bed when she can easily jump off and vomit elsewhere.
Thats very anoying.
Sorry for my terrible english, it isnt my first language.
Any idea is welcome.
Thanks.
When they vomit… they can not relate that it should be other then in the spot they are in... and if she is doing this in the morning and it is mostly just bile, it is what we call "EMPTY TUMMY".... so to cure this, give her a couple of cookies before bed time... and that should settle her tummy till it is time for morning feeding... They don't understand that they can move to vomit... it just happens... nothing they can relate to.
Oh and by the way… dogs have no idea it is not their's to chew... and anything that has a scent like glasses (ear pieces) so a headset have your scent on it... that is pretty typical. So if in their area to get to they will.... so the take away to that is the IT IS YOUR FAULT, because you left it in their area... If you don't want something touched by your Basenji, put it away from them... period.
My Franie will Paw at me when I am on the computer... I pet once and then tell her... NO... and ignore her... she has gotten the idea... Main thing is to be consistant....
Im sorry because it looks like my questions are very basic for you and i almost look like a fool, but Lady is my first dog and Basenji's are not easy to deal with , especially as a first dog.
I appreciate your answer but i need more informations if you please.
The vomit thing surprises me because she does eat before she goes to bed because i work from 16 to midnight every day so when i come back from work, she wakes up and wants to eat.
My girlfriend feeds her aroud 17:00 with a small portion and she also eats a small portion at midnight
She also eat when i wake up in the morning. So she eats 3 times a day with small portions.
She also eat some dog cookies that my girlfriend likes to cook and some that i buy at the pet shop.
You are right that she probably dont even think about moving when she has to vomit, but in my mind shes intelligent enough to realize that she shouldnt do that on the bed. I have to remember shes a dog, not a human.
I understand that i have to say no when she puts her hands on my arm at the table or at the computer, but what you have to undertand is that I say no, then i move her away, and she comes back and does the same thing . She can do it dozens of times until i start playing with her or give her my attention. (it hurts because she's holding to my arm with her ''claws'' and she doesnt want to let go at all.
When she finally goes away (it does happen sometimes) she jumps on the couch and starts digging into it like if it was dirt.
Then I say : LADY ! NO!
She takes a look at me, then starts digging again.
Then i get up , she stops digging, looks at me, and when i start moving in her direction she runs away and im not able to catch her.
I guess for her its pretty fun and its a good game, but its not a really good behaviour.
And when i eat at the table sometimes and i ask her to go away, she does and goes on the couch and doesnt do a single noise.
Thats because she's starting to bite the cushions of the couch and she gets rid of the filling of the cushions. After the cushions are empty, she lays down into the filling and sleeps… (she does that in 5 or 10 minutes)
So when i eat, she puts her hands on my arm, i say NO and move her away.
She does that for a couple of times until shes tired of it.
Then she goes away and destroy my couch, so i have to get up to see whats shes doing all the time.
When she sees that im comming to see her, if she did empty the cushions she runs away because she knows its bad.
If she didnt do anything bad, she looks at me and follow me back at the table and she starts over AHAHAH
Kinda anoying, but I love her anyway.
She sounds like a dog with separation anxiety. Urinating and defecating with even a short absence is typical for this problem. I agree with tanza about the vomiting. Not unusual and I have had several Basenjis that will occasionally vomit bile in the morning when their stomach is empty. Doing it in the bed is, to me, unusual. Mine have generally jumped onto the floor, (although not always) but I am also very sensitive to the retching that precedes vomiting, and I usually grab the dog and take it into the bathroom or somewhere that is easy to clean up.
Your other problems are issues with "manners" and the solution is to teach her what is acceptable and what is not. A firm "no" when she tries to chew something unacceptable, and replace it with a chew toy. Do this consistently and she should start to understand what is "legal" to chew. She won't necessarily comply when you aren't home, but she should when you are.
I understand that i have to say no when she puts her hands on my arm at the table or at the computer, but what you have to undertand is that I say no, then i move her away, and she comes back and does the same thing . She can do it dozens of times until i start playing with her or give her my attention. (it hurts because she's holding to my arm with her ''claws'' and she doesnt want to let go at all.
You are rewarding her persistence when you give in and start playing with her! You have to be firm and not reward her bad behaviour. Tell her "no" and don't give in. When she is not bothering you (even for a minute}, that is the time to say "good girl" and go play with her. It will take patience and consistency, but she should learn that good behaviour gets her what she wants, and bad behaviour does not.
Again, vigilance and consistency will work. Teaching a pup good house manners takes time and patience. Good luck with her. You love her, so that should help you find the patience to teach her what she needs to know.
It's wonderful you took in a dog that her previous owner could't keep.
From my perspective:
there are specialised therapists working with remedies, maybe in your area as well.As Tanza said, the nature of the breed is that they do pick things up and can destroy things left sitting around….even as adults. So you just have to be careful what you leave sitting and if it is valuable, put it out of her reach. My B has also vomited on the bed, and like eee said, I try and get her off it when she starts heaving, but sometimes I'm not quick enough. Don't expect that they are smart enough not to vomit in a bed. Some humans can't make it to the bathroom either, so I wouldn't expect my dog to.
Regarding digging in the couch: My dog does that occasionally as well. I just put a cover over my couch so she wouldn't ruin the material. That's a Basenji for you. I'm sure I could probably train her not to do it eventually, but I find it easier just to cover my couch., and she doesn't do it too often anymore. As others have said, I think she has picked up bad traits from her previous owner who was obviously stupid and not a dog lover. If you are persistent you will continue to make slow improvement. Always substitute a rawhide or some type of toy if you take something away from her, otherwise she will get mad. And, if you kick her out of your space on a chair, be nice about it and give her some treat or compensation. Basenjis are special. They're only on this earth for 10-15 years so enjoy both the good and the bad. They are wonderful animals.
Just want to add a few thoughts. It does absolutely no good to scold a dog if you do not actually SEE them doing something. They don't "know they did wrong"… they know when you see poop/pee/torn up stuff you scold. That isn't the same thing.
Crating is good. Don't feel guilty about it if not being used excessively (which it does not sound like in your situation).
Definitely more exercise. But ignore demands to stop the bad behavior. DO plan and have much more hard play time. A tired dog is a good dog.
My dog has bile, even with 2 meal and 2 treats between morn/night meal and one before bed. I also have to give her an medicine to reduce acid reduction ((such as
Generic ...... brand names
Famotidine Pepcid AC; Calmicid; Fluxid; Mylanta AR
Nizatidine Axid; Axid AR
Ranitidine Zantac; Tritec; Wal-Zan
Cimetidine Tagamet
I mostly use famotidine or ranitidine). Some does just produce a lot of bile and they need both meds and regular food to help control it.
Please do not think that your Basenji would "know" to get off their sleeping spot to barf… it will NOT happen
Please do not think that your Basenji would "know" to get off their sleeping spot to barf… it will NOT happen
True. Zest!, my basenji, will go to the bathroom and barf in the corner. (If the door is closed, she'll barf by the door.) But, my other two dogs, not so much. And they always look surprised. Sometimes, like with human children, things just happen without much warning.
Ladybasenji,
welcome to the forums and you're at a great place for lots of information. We all had to start somewhere with basenji-ownership, so don't feel bad about asking novice questions. And, I think, you've been given some great advice.
One thing I noticed on your first post was that you said she knows when she's done wrong. Well, maybe, but maybe not. She knows you're upset and she will naturally run to avoid the confrontation, but she may really not know she did wrong. Dogs don't think and understand things like humans. So please, take a deep breath and reflect that maybe she really didn't know better.
Being naughty and running off with things. Oh, yes, that's a fun game. Change the game. When she has something (as long as it's not poisonous), go get a tasty treat and offer a trade for the not-for-basenji item. You can also teach her to retrieve things. What I did with Zest! (and she is a retrieving fool! seriously, I've had many dog trainers tell me what a good retriever she is) was tie a string to a nice fuzzy dog toy that made interesting noises. I'd toss the toy, she'd grab it, and I'd reel her in and feed her a nice treat. She was a pretty quick study and, years later, I still reward her retrieves about 85-90% of the time. Keep in mind that behaviors will get better or deteriorate, but they do not remain at the same point.
Having said all that, there are plenty of people more knowledgeable than I and I would encourage you to look for books by Sophia Yin, Patricia McConnell, Karen Pryor or Leslie McDivott. (there are others, but those are at the front of my mind at the moment.)
Also, here's a great exercise you can do with your dog:
http://www.dogdaysnw.com/doc/Protocol_for_Relaxation-_Karen_Overall.pdf
this is great for any dog, not just our "problem" children. I use a down instead of a sit, but either way, it will teach your dog to relax and chill, while you do things like answer the door, eat dinner, or whatever you need.
PS, Your English is lovely. I've always admired people who were good with languages. I have zero aptitude for it.
Awesome answers.
I was hoping for some good information but you guys are wonderfull.
I love each of your answers.
EEEEEFARM - Thanks for your answer
The previous familly was not really good for Lady. The mother was a university student and she had a full time night job at the same time so she didnt have time to take care of the dog.
The father was working all day.
And there were 2 kids, a 4 year old boy and a 6 year old girl.
The dog was in a cage from 7:30 AM to 17:30 PM. And then again from 21:00 PM to 6:30 AM. Thats not good.
The father told me that he had a golden retriever before and he was expecting Lady to have the same behavior (what a dumb person)
But they wanted a special kind of dog and they paid big money for Lady from a very good dog breeder.
The only thing he was doing with the dog was to watch tv with her…..
I asked if he took her for walks sometimes and he told me that the roads were too dangerous for that.... What an excuse, i guess that his beer and tv were more important.
So the only person playing with the dog was the 2 young kids. They were yonger when they got the puppy, they had her for a year and a haft before they sold her.
The only toys she owned when i got her was : An old shoe, an old glove, a towel, and a freakin piece of wood.
I love your idea to swap the thing that she takes and trade it for one of the toys she now own. I bought her loads of toys. The has about 10 different toys that i bought at the pet shop, she plays with them but she prefers the stuff shes used to : shoes, gloves, socks..... So steels these items and loves to run away with them. As somebody said, she probably dont even know its bad because the previous owner didnt teach her anything, i have to keep that in mind.
Also, when she puts her hands on my arm at the table and i move her away (very gently) and i say NO, i understand now that i shouldnt give up because as you said, its rewarding for her to have persistency because i start playing with her or taking care of her.
I quote ''but I am also very sensitive to the retching that precedes vomiting'' I didnt know how to explain that in english but my dog does exactly that. Unfortunatly sometimes im sleeping with she starts the ''retching'' so i wake up to see my dog vomiting on the bed ahahah
I do not blame her at all, because when i feel sick , i dont feel like jumping on the floor either :p But still, when you wake up and you have to go to work, you have to clean up the entire bed, its not very nice :p But this doesnt really bother me, it does bother my girlfriend because none of her previous dogs did that.
I quote '' When she is not bothering you (even for a minute}, that is the time to say "good girl" and go play with her.'' ill definitly try that, thats sounds really good to me , thanks.
kjdonkers - Thanks for your answer.
I quote ""It's wonderful you took in a dog that her previous owner could't keep.''
Sadly its not that they couldnt keep her, its because she wasnt behaving the way they wanted and they gave up on her. Fortunatly they were smart enough to sell the dog at a costly price to make sure that she was going to a good familly. And fortunately they decided to sell her because they knew they were not treating her right.
She doesnt walk enough, understood. She will walk even more, but sadly its winter here in quebec /canada and there is lots of snow. It doesnt seem to bother Lady very much, but im affraid she will get cold (especially her feet). Shes got a tiny jacket to keep her warm but would it be a good idea to get some slippers as well?
I dont know if Basenjis are supposed to like the cold or not. Lady seems to enjoy the snow.
Shes not alone very long, because im with her from midnight to 15:30 and my girlfriend comes back from work at 16:30
I dont know how my girlfriend treats my dog when im not at home though. Because yes, Lady is MY dog. She was supposed to be OUR dog, but when my girlfriend saw that it was an energetic and sometimes miss-behaved dog, she also gave up on Lady.
Believe me or not, after 1 month of poo and pee on the floors and bed and damaged doors trims and items, she wanted to get RID of Lady.
I said to her : Are you serious that you took this poor dog away from her familly and that you want to get RID of it like if it was a bad car or something ? I said, if you have a baby one day and hes blind of hes not as intelligent, will you get rid of him/her? I said, well from now on , Lady is part of my family, so YOU will walk out of that door before Lady leave, let me tell you that.
She said that if i wanted to keep the dog, i had to pay my part because we had split the 600$ price.
So i took Lady, walked with her to the bank which is about 5 minutes away from my house, took 300$ and went home. Dropped the 300$ on the table and didnt say a word.
Feed her twice a day, got it.
stay CALM when she transgresses, got it. Im always very smooth with her. Im probably very stupid but in my mind, if shes happy im happy, when i take something away from her , i do say NO, but 3 seconds later i'm petting her ...
I do spend lots of time with her, i love to play with her and it might sound wierd but Lady is my best friend. so i dont like stopping her from doing things because i like when shes happy. Its like if a parent want to be the friend of their child , it will never work. Ive got to learn that.
She is indeed very intelligent, i know that because she does things that amazes me. Sometimes she almost look human-like.
For exemple if im petting her and i stop, she will usually sigh to say like : ohhh , why are you going away.. :p
For the vets, i thrust my vet and he loves Lady because Basenji are rare here.
I go for visits to make sure everything is okay regularly. I also trust the owner of one of the big pet shops here who also love Lady because she's special and beautifull. He gives me some good advices on the toys that are good for her and the food also.
dropit - Thanks for your answer.
Im obligated to make sure that she cant grab anything because otherwise she WILL grab anything she can reach.
The cover on the couch is a very good idea and i will try that for SURE.
I quote '' her previous owner who was obviously stupid and not a dog lover. If you are persistent you will continue to make slow improvement''
I agree thanks for your encouragement.
DebraDownSouth - Thanks for your answer.
agilebasenji - Thanks for your answer.
thanks for your encouragement, im happy i got that much usefull answers.
i quote '' she knows when she's done wrong. Well, maybe, but maybe not.'' I agree, sometimes I take for granted that shes intelligent like a human because shes sometimes sooo smart. BUT ive got to understand, perhaps she doesnt have the sense of logic i think she has and i always take for granted that she can use logic... Perhaps the dog is more clever than the owner, oh well, she loves me anyway ahaha :p
I quote '' go get a tasty treat and offer a trade for the not-for-basenji item'' i love that idea, ill try that for sure.
Thanks for the books author , im going to look for them at my local book stores 
I do love to read and i love the PDF you provided, im going to read that tonight.
I quote ''I use a down instead of a sit, but either way, it will teach your dog to relax and chill, while you do things like answer the door, eat dinner, or whatever you need. ''
I love that idea, Lady does sit when i ask her to, (and she looks gorgous when she sits and stares at me , I love her)
So im gonna use that to my adventage and even use some treats to help me.
I quote ''PS, Your English is lovely. I've always admired people who were good with languages''
Thanks a lot, it takes me lots of time to write these posts with my dictionary to make sure that the words are written correctly so that you can barely understand what i mean.
If you go on this webpage, you will see 10 pictures that i took of Lady.
I couldnt figure out how to upload pictures on this website.
I threw in a picture of my girlfriend and her last dog.
This is my website for my mechanic youtube channel, I dont usually put dog pictures on this website so if you look the other stuff its not gonna be dog related.
The only dog realted page is this one :
http://moto7777.wix.com/redneckmechanics#!dog/c1pyb
Let me know what you think because shes one of the most beautifull Basenji ive seen (i only saw pictures of other basenjis)
BUT you will know if shes beautifull or if she looks normal :p
OH! I just thought of something. Are you just putting her food in a dish? If so, I'd encourage you to get some food dispensing toys. You can google "food dispensing toys for dogs" and will get lots of ideas. If nothing else, you can put some food in an empty plastic bottle and let her work to get the food out. This will make her use her brain and hopefully wear her down a little. I have several and rotate between the 3 dogs at my house. This will be really nice on those very cold days when you just can't exercise her very much. we have a few days like that here in Colorado; I can only imagine how cold it gets where you are. Yes, my girl has coats and boots. The coat is fine, but we only use the boots when it's really, really frozen outside.
I have these toys:
this is the most challenging/difficult
http://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Buddy-Tug-A-Jug-Dispensing-Small/dp/B000KV61FC/ref=sr_1_11?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1417063989&sr=1-11&keywords=food+dispensing+toys
and these are easier, but still fun
http://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Kibble-Nibble-Dispensing-Medium/dp/B001F0RRUA/ref=sr_1_3?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1417063989&sr=1-3&keywords=food+dispensing+toys
this one was hard to clean so I got rid of it
http://www.amazon.com/StarMark-Bob-A-Lot-Interactive-Pet-Large/dp/B001JQLNB4/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1417063989&sr=1-1&keywords=food+dispensing+toys
this one for Zest's treats:
http://www.amazon.com/Starmark-Dispensing-Pickle-Pocket-phthalates/dp/B00E8GGEU2/ref=sr_1_67?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1417064167&sr=1-67&keywords=food+dispensing+toys
this one I have and did not like because the first time Zest used it, she threw it across the room and all the food came out. lightweight and not very durable. It was kind of funny when she did that.
Of course this only works with what we call kibble, which is food that you buy in the store that comes in a bag. (Yes, my basenji is spoiled and has gotten several of these toys for Christmas. Or a just because she's cute present.)
Hopefully that will help use up some of her brain power.
Let me know what you think because shes one of the most beautifull Basenji ive seen (i only saw pictures of other basenjis)
BUT you will know if shes beautifull or if she looks normal :p
Oh she's very pretty. Almost as pretty as my basenjis. 
Thank you very much agilebasenji
Ill definitely try these toys since i think its a good idea and they are quite cheap. Love it.
Unfortunately I dont store Lady's food in the original bag so i dont have the brand of the food, but ill go to the pet shop soon to see whats the brand. Ill take a picture to show you what it is. The pet shop owner told me this was the best food i could get for her. I sure hope so for 80$ a small bag.
Can i see pictures of your basenjis somewhere on this forum ? Lady and I would love to see them.
I plan to visit the dog breeder from where Lady came from in the summer with Lady so she can see her friends.
She doesnt have lots of occasions to see some friends and she didnt see a Basenji since she left the place where she was born.
Do you think its a good idea ? Id love to see her running with her kin .
BTW is there many brindle basenji owners here ? Shes a pure blood but it seems that brindle is more rare ? Is that correct ?
She IS a beauty - we see very few brindles in The Netherlands.
Sad to hear about your friend - how much easier it would be with two loving packleaders in the house…
B's don't like the cold, but with a coat on and in movement they seem to be fine.
See here (home made fleece jackets): https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tFeT9u8vcmmrvbfRRs2RAJgod-aCeA10bexzvAbkWdI?feat=directlink
You can buy great coats on the internet; the feet are usually OK in snow, but take care when it is frozen into sharp edges, and with the salt they spray around against ice, because it has big, sharp crystals. In very cold or dangerous conditions, there are socks: I know of one B over here who has no problem walking in them.
And by the way: I wish my French was as good as your English!
Have fun!
…...its winter here in quebec /canada and there is lots of snow. It doesnt seem to bother Lady very much, but im affraid she will get cold (especially her feet). Shes got a tiny jacket to keep her warm but would it be a good idea to get some slippers as well?
I dont know if Basenjis are supposed to like the cold or not. Lady seems to enjoy the snow.
Basenjis do get cold, and a coat is a good idea. When it's very cold, boots may be needed. My second Basenji (coincidentally also named "Lady") managed in the cold very well. I lived in North Bay, Ontario at the time, and she went with me cross country skiing without any coat or boots, but my current boy feels the cold much more and needs a coat and boots to go any distance once there is snow on the ground.
Basenjis will certainly get to know the house "rules", and what is off limits to them. Whether they will choose to obey the rules is another story! Many Basenjis will grab something they know is "illegal" because they want to get your attention! When they are bored, a good game of "keep away" is worth any penalty there may be for their actions! Try to find ways to reward good behaviour and to avoid rewarding bad behaviour. That may mean confining her when you can't keep an eye on her, or perhaps leaving a leash or long line on her that you can grab so that she can't play that game of running off with something she shouldn't have.
Love the pictures! She is indeed a very beautiful girl.
