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Barking and lunging towards people during walks, help!

Basenji Training
  • Hello!
    We adopted a Basenji Shepherd mix 3 days ago and she is calm and wonderful in every way, except when we are outside she barks, lunges and even growls at literally every person we see. She never barks or lunges inside or with me and my son. She does not calm down outside, even with people we know! She is clearly protective of me and my son, but this is not a safe behavior. Advise please!

  • Doesn't really matter the breed, a dog who is "protective" is a bad thing (unless trained to be)... it means they see you as their possession. Ideally you want your dog to look to you to protect it.

    I usually have good search skills.. there are some good articles on retraining this behavior. I can't find them, though this article below applies to humans as well as dogs.

    First I would suggest a trainer.

    However, you can work on this. Take the dog and a friend (if your son is old enough, not if a child) to an area with people. Enlist the people to stay back, not look at you or the dog, toss a tiny treat to him. Keep this up day after day, several times each trip, until seeing people no longer puts him in attack mode.
    Next, have them come a little closer, toss the treat and say "Hi" without looking at you. Same process.
    Next, have them stay at safe distance, face you and toss treat then go on.
    Next, have them look at the dog and say "good dog", toss treat and go on.
    Next, have them stand and talk to you, tossing a small treat when they arrive and as they leave.

    For many dogs, this process can help stop the reactive behavior.

    Other than in those very controlled, you dog needs a muzzle in public. Do not risk him hurting someone or being put down.

    https://positively.com/dog-behavior/aggression/leash-aggression/

  • CARE is another good resource for desensitizing a reactive dog such as this: http://careforreactivedogs.com. Good luck!

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  • 0 Votes
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    R
    First, thank you for the honest evaluation of your situation. Basenjis are dogs that consider who they live wit, to be part of their pack - family. They only chew or destroy things when they are bored, or mad at you. (Yes, I know people will disagree, but I have had basenjis for 25 years and have witnessed this activity. This included one dog jumping on the table, with me sitting 3 feet away, and peeing in a circle, as if saying, "There, take that!”) A young basenji, under say, 8 years, will do this when left alone for so long. (Yes, I know people will disagree, but I have had basenjis for 25 years and have witnessed this activity. This included one dog jumping on the table, with me sitting 3 feet away, and peeing in a circle, as if saying, "There, take that!) You write that you live with 3 roommates. You do not mention if this will change, so I will assume it will not. Personally, I think it is very unkind (to them AND the dog) of you to bring a basenji into this living arrangement. Unless ALL the roommates understand, and agree, to sharing their lives with a dog that will require so much of their time. The tiniest thing left on the floor could be destroyed, and could even harm the dog. Bathroom doors left open? A basenji might not be able to find anything as much fun, grab the toilet paper, and run. Fun, fun, fun!!! For the dog. You are researching enough to show that you are checking really well to see if a basenji will fit into your life. In my opinion, not just yet. Maybe later when your life has settled a bit. Oh, just remembered you mentioning you studying, the dog doing its thing. It might happen, but if the dog thinks your attention should be on him/her, you may not like that something. Best of luck in your studies, and with where ever your life leads you!
  • Do you have walking on leash tips?

    Basenji Training
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    DebraDownSouthD
    I have worked with feral dogs in rescue who had never been on a leash, adults. Teaching loose leash walking isn't hard, but you need to back it with the "leave it" command. Mary's site is so simply it will make you feel faint. And it works. No pop and jerk, just good positive training. The lessons are on the left, other issues on the right. http://www.clickerlessons.com/index.htm I certainly would go through most the training, then get into an obedience class, but make sure by positive trainers .. go watch a couple of sessions first.
  • Help

    Basenji Training
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    wizardW
    All good suggestions so far for you to try. Here's my suggestions based on my experiences. 1. When mine first came to my home I would arrange a bit of vacation time so that the first day I was with them totally, then the next day I would disappear out the door for 15 minutes and then for longer times, then the third day I disappeared for an hour or more, etc., until I could go to work for half a day then eventually for my full regular work day. This took me about a week to train the dog to be home alone. 2. The second basenji that came into my life had been broken of his crate training by an ignorant owner so I never could get him back into it. Instead I blocked off a corner of the kitchen for him with a bed and toys for him to stay in for the first several days. Gradually I allowed him more wandering room until he was trustworthy enough to have access to the whole house. This took about a month. 3. Be sure to give your dog a variety of toys and especially the kind that you can put kibble or other food in (such as "Kong" toys). Basenjis need mental stimulation or they get bored (=destructive). My current basenji gets frozen raw marrow bones when I go to work and sometimes she'll still be nawing on it when I get home. I also save old bones and fill the hole with kibble and yogurt or pumpkin and then freeze and give this to her sometimes. 4. Someone mentioned rawhide but I've never had luck with that - it's not digestable and has caused problems with my dogs (one time a piece got stuck in the digestive tract and he screamed "bloody murder" with every movement). Never give your dog a treat unsupervised until you know she can handle it or doesn't have an allergic reaction to it. Once you know its safe then okay - but even then I never give the stick type treats to mine unless I'm home to supervise. Hope this helps.
  • Walks not enjoyable

    Basenji Training
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    jonny b.J
    Stinkers. ;)
  • Reluctant to go for walks

    Basenji Training
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    ComicDom1C
    @SNA: Thank you very much for your comments. I probably have been expecting too much of her. I had a think about what had changed for her to be so obstinate, and I realised that I had been going without my kids. Good for me as it's less work, but my four year old, I realised, was excellent at getting her going again when she stopped, simply by walking ahead, and, if needed, calling her name. Taking my four year old son also means taking my 20 month old daughter in the sling, but at least we can do our 20-30 minute walk around the block. Now I just have to think of a way of convincing my once enthusiastic son who now complains of being tired and who doesn't want to go, of coming on the walk every day! LOL at carrying Dallas, I have to do that with Jessie nearly every time at the end too! Does your puppy have a favorite toy? If so put it in your back pocket and then put the leash on your pet and see how that works. Just make sure your pet cannot get it by jumping. In fact you can make a game of it by playing in your home with the toy and the dog for a about 5 mins before you walk. If your dog likes squeekie toys then you can also buy a replacement squeekie and keep it in your pocket. When you are walking and want the dogs attention you can squeek it inside your pocket. We use Martingale Collar's. Our Basenji seems to tolerate this style well. I also have noticed that leash control is very important when walking my Basenji. For that purpose I use a regular type 6 foot lead that I can wrap around my hand when I wish to take more control of my dog. I also have a very short lead ( about 2 feet or maybe less) that I use when I want the dog to concentrate on walking next to me. After my dog gets his business done, we are all about a constant pace walking. My perception is that if we are out for a walk to exercise him that we should concentrate on that aspect. I also have a 20 foot lead that I do use when we go on a leisure type walk. On that type of walk, I usually allow him to sniff and explore but I keep moving. He might run ahead slightly but then he will stop and wait and then do it again. The only time I use a flexie type or retractable leash is when I am going to let him have the room to run in a circle. Of course like any dog, the more rope or leash you give them the more they will take advantage of. My puppy does not walk perfectly, but what he does is pretty tolerable. After he does his business and we get our first 1 1/2 miles in, he settles down and gets the next 1 1/2 mile in quite nicely. Of course we did not start at that distance but we did start with at least a 1 to 1 1/2 miles when he was a little over 8 weeks old. After the walk, we worked on sit, stay, come, and lay down for about 10 to 15 mins. I always treated him with a couple of cheerio's or something similar directly after the walk. Actually he refused to drink any water until he got his cheerios. Hope this helps, Jason
  • Help with socialization

    Basenji Training
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    nomrbddgsN
    I've had to retrain a pug and a chihuahua not to bite me when clipping their nails. The pugs' nails were left to grow and ended up growing into the pads of the foot. The vet wanted to put the dog to sleep to trim the nails. She now lets me trim the nails-with a dremel-without trying to bite. The Chihuahua was put under to trim it's nails before I had it. It took me six weeks to just touch it's feet, but after that we were able to move very quickly and cut it's nails within a few weeks. It does take a lot of time-but it's worth it.