Skip to content

Anyone have advice for a male basenji afraid of kids? Brigs is 8 years old and will try try to bite

Behavioral Issues
  • Help my nephew ( 5 years old) is visit next week from out of town and my 8 year old basenji is afraid of kids.. Briggs basenji will go up to kids and growl and try to snap ..Cant crate..confine him , he trys to break out and will hurt himself doing so..

    Any ideas will be appreciated..My 10 year old female basenji is fine wth kids

  • Obviously, keep the dog away from the kid! If you can't crate him, is there a fenced backyard where you can put him some of the time? Otherwise, you could tether him to yourself and keep him away from the child that way. Or perhaps there is a kennel or doggie daycare where you could park him for a few days? You can't really afford a bite, so it is up to you to keep both your dog and nephew safe. There are possible longer term solutions, but IMO there isn't really enough time to work on it when the visit is so soon.....

  • Wow, I'm afraid that's pretty overwhelming to deal with and like eeeefarm said, no way on earth to do it in a week. However, you do need to begin working on it soon and plan on a very long time to turn this around. Because this dog has shown he will grown and try to bite, your risk of him actually biting, and your legal liability are huge.

    If you can buy or borrow a secure crate (they aren't cheap) that he can't get out of or hurt himself in, do so. If you can't, do what eeefarm suggested, and make darn sure that leash and collar are totally secure.

    Once your nephew has left, please get a trainer to start working with your family and this dog on both children and crating. They are very important and it can be overcome.

Suggested Topics

  • Newborn/Kids with My Basenji

    Behavioral Issues
    4
    1 Votes
    4 Posts
    9k Views
    eeeefarmE
    It would be useful to know more about this dog. Has resource guarding been an issue in the past? Has he bitten either you or your wife before? (a real bite, not playful nipping). Or anyone else? A dog that isn't used to children may be fearful of their loudness or quick movements. Perhaps you could do some socialization work with him, e.g. hanging around places where young kids congregate to accustom him to their noise and activity. Obviously not allowing any interaction as you are unsure of his behaviour. Dogs react differently to newborns. In my experience bitches are more likely than dogs to be tolerant, but it is very much the individual dog's reaction that counts. People have been blindsided when their supposedly tolerant and gentle dog turns out to be hostile to a young child. Bottom line, no dog should be left unsupervised around young kids, so in any event you would have to monitor his behaviour carefully once your baby arrives. On a personal note, of the five Basenjis I have owned, two bitches were entirely reliable with kids, the other was tolerant as long as they respected her space. One of the males adored children and was curious about them, the other curious but uncertain and would react to fast movements. I did not trust him and controlled any interaction closely. IMO, he would have bitten had he felt threatened. And kids, especially babies, tend to grab and pinch, ears, tails, whatever. Caution is always the safest route.
  • 0 Votes
    14 Posts
    6k Views
    auryA
    @zande thanks I will send you all the info 😊
  • 0 Votes
    10 Posts
    8k 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.
  • Update on dog bite from a year ago :)

    Behavioral Issues
    9
    0 Votes
    9 Posts
    7k Views
    BuanaB
    @eeeefarm: I agree all children should be taught to be gentle with animals. And teaching your dog that being grabbed means food is a great idea, but the problem is it may not transfer to other people. I can grab my guy rather roughly pretty much anywhere, and he won't react…...except to play......but if someone else did it, there would be a different result. Even the most tolerant dog may "lose it" if a child manages to cause severe pain. Kids can be (unintentionally or otherwise) cruel. And lie about what they did afterward. Which is why supervision is so important. How to teach them to be gentle? A relative of mine says, "Get a cat. That'll learn 'em!" :) I think I know how we teached our son to be so gentle!!! Because of the last words you are saying! get a cat… You know, our oldest cat Spaiky is a einzelganger, a lonely boy that can only be handeled by me... He learned that to Ryan with a few hits with his paw when he wanted to pet him (he likes kids around him so he never uses his nails with them) Ryan never scared but he just knows, he only can speak to Spaiky to tell him he likes him.... hahaha Now I know! Thanks! :D
  • Do Basenjis behave better as they grow old?

    Behavioral Issues
    39
    0 Votes
    39 Posts
    19k Views
    A
    we don't have a problem with the trash, but we no curtians left as Chaos thinks they are her personal chew toys.
  • 4mth Tri puts 1 year old in its place

    Behavioral Issues
    9
    0 Votes
    9 Posts
    4k Views
    tanzaT
    Years ago when all my kids were young… the girls would be under the covers and OJ's favorite thing was to walk on the top and paw the "lumps" to see what got a reaction.... it was pretty funny to here that typical Basenji noise from out of no place.... covered at they were.....