When you are dealing with something that an animal is afraid of, the best approach is to find his "comfort" distance from the thing that scares him. A busy street makes this a bit more difficult, as you have to find a way to give him that "distance". If you have a car, maybe transporting him to a less busy area might make a good start. Perhaps a side street, where he is comfortably away from busy traffic. You could then walk toward the busy street, pausing as soon as you see some sign of anxiety, and retracing your steps just little until he is in his "comfort zone" again. Gradually…...with the use of bribery and rewards......ask him to approach closer to the scary stuff. Liberally reward him for being there, then retreat. The idea is to not force, let him decide when he is ready. If he feels he can retreat at any time, he will have more confidence. This approach may take awhile, but is less likely to create a permanent aversion. (it works well with spooky horses).
Obedience/socializing
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I am looking into classes for my almost 5 month old B and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions…
One of my boyfriend's co-workers praised petsmart classes but I am hesitant because Basenjis are so different(complicated) compared to other puppies. I am living in the Pittsburgh area and looking for advice. Kona isn't by any means bad, he is quite calm compared to stories I have read (except for the occasional basenji 500 - I call it "the running of the dog" hahaha)....anyway, I'm getting off topic.
I just want Kona to work on being around other dogs, barking seems to startle him a little and I would like for him to obey basic commands...I taught him "sit" and "paw" very easily (they are SO smart)
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Nothing wrong with taking Basenji to puppy class with other puppies. I just enrolled Daisy, 4 mos old. I took Duke to Obedience there last fall. You'll just have to be prepared that your dog will be the class clown. I found that Pet Smart here in MI uses the positive training technique - perfect for Basenji training. We have a great instructor there.
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You can search for a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers here:
http://www.apdt.com/po/ts/default.aspx
Most the trainers in this organization are committed to positive, gentle methods of training. I searched Pittsburgh, and there are quite a few options. PetSmart does have some good trainers. They have a pretty comprehensive course written by some great names in training and behavior, but how each teacher/trainer adheres to the manual varies some. With any trainer, you should see if you can observe a course first, and see if you like the trainer and the methods.
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Wow Quercus…that is sooo helpful! Thank you so much for searching that for me!!! I appreciate it so much....if you ever fly into Pittsburgh....you have a place to stay
