My Basenji is 1 year and 2 months old, I got him when he was 3 months of age.
When he reached 9 months of age, he started to exhibit really bad separation anxiety, to the point that I am now no longer able to leave the house without having somebody stay with him or without taking him to my mother's house ( which is temporary because she will eventually be moving to a rental apartment and no pets are allowed).
Apart from all of this he exhibits a number of behavioural issues:
- He is potty trained but he sometimes urinates here and there, especially if I don't allow him to follow me to a room in the house.
- He developed aggression towards other male dogs, which is a huge problem for me as I am unable to keep him at doggy day care while I'm at work.
- His play is very rough - other dogs get irritated by him sometimes and he also play bites which can be painful on both humans and other animals.
- He doesn't take no for an answer and keeps challenging me when I try to correct his behaviour.
- On one occasion I had a few friends over and one friend got too close to him and he bit her in the nose- she needed to get stitches and now has a permanent scar.
Ive tried crate training but he just freaks out when he's left in the crate even for 5 minutes (I feed him in it).
If I try to leave the house he will howl like crazy and destroy the place. I live in a block of apartments so the howling is a big problem, so simply crating him has not proven to be a solution for me.
I've reached a point where I only go out of the house to work and to go to school. I completely gave up on social events, unless I can bring my dog with me (which can sometimes be annoying as he tends to be very demanding and does't sit quietly).
I just feel like he's disrupted my life in so many ways. I can't go out, and when I'm home I'm constantly anxious and on edge that he's going to be up to no good.
I walk him for 30-45mins in the morning and in the evening. Occasionally we run too. I used to take him off leash to dog parks but now I had to eliminate that because he can be dangerous around other male dogs.
I'm currently undergoing pack leadership training. It has been rather frustrating as he is constantly challenging me.
I'm so unhappy with the situation at present and I don't know if there is much more I can do, I feel like I'm about to break down. I had no idea it will be THIS challenging and I feel like he's completely taken over my life and took away my freedom - to do basic things like buy groceries, work, etc...
Do you guys have any tips?
Is there something I'm missing??