debradownsouth..
-i had a cockapoo "DOG" not a bird. a cockapoo is a dog that is a mix of cockerspaniel and poodle. maybe you are thinking of a "kakapo"
which is a large flightless bird also known as an "owl parrot". Never owned a bird.
- When I said (You couldn't yell or scream or raise your voice at him) I was just saying that he responded to reason and calm discussion and not loud commands, but I never yelled or screamed at Harry.. But sometimes he would go into like a trance and would sit and stare at a spot on the wall or just into space for minutes and no amount of calling his name would phase him. I was not yelling at him because he was doing something bad, I was yelling at him because he was in a trance and was just trying to get his attention. ( such as you would yell at someone if they were standing in the road and were about to get hit by a car)I have never screamed or yelled at Harry. My experience with dogs has always been that they do not respond well to screaming (as neither do humans) and I just talk with him in a calm voice. Please try not to take my comments out of context.
-also, I am not taking "bad" behaviors in Harry and calling them autistic. I was taking strange behaviors and saying he exhibits the characteristics of an autistic person.
Here is from Mayo Clinic: (now they are talking about humans, but it is amazing that when I look at these traits, Harry exhibits so many:
What is Autism?
According to the Mayo Clinic, the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in people is based on two key criteria:
- Impairments in social communication and social interaction. For example:
-Fails to respond to his or her name or appears not to hear you at times
(i mentioned Harry does this)
-Resists cuddling and holding and seems to prefer playing alone — retreats into his or her own world
(Harry still after 4 years resists cuddling)
-Has poor eye contact and lacks facial expression
(Harry gets scared if you look him in the eyes and will run away)
-Doesn't speak or has delayed speech, or may lose previous ability to say words or sentences
(Harry did no make a sound (bark)for almost a year)
-Can't start a conversation or keep one going, or may only start a conversation to make requests or label items
(n/a)
-Speaks with an abnormal tone or rhythm — may use a singsong voice or robot-like speech
(Harry doesn't bark like most dogs. When he does it is one bark at a time)
-May repeat words or phrases verbatim, but doesn't understand how to use them
(n/a)
-Doesn't appear to understand simple questions or directions
(It took Harry years to understand basic commands that I have taught every other dog in days!)
-Doesn't express emotions or feelings and appears unaware of others' feelings
(that is Harry)
-Doesn't point at or bring objects to share interest
(n/a)
-Inappropriately approaches a social interaction by being passive, aggressive, or disruptive
(He is aggressive to any person or dog he sees except us)
-Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, such as:
Performs repetitive movements, such as rocking, spinning, or hand-flapping, or may perform activities that could cause harm, such as head-banging
(beleive it or not....only getting hairballs from cleaning himself all over)
-Develops specific routines or rituals and becomes disturbed at the slightest change
(Harry has a routine for everyhing and gets upset if his routines are disturbed)
-Moves constantly
Harry never stops moving. He is either sleeping or moving. He can't seem to sit in one spot for more than a few moments before he gets up and walks around and then sits back down somewhere else and then....it goes on
-May be uncooperative or resistant to change
(This is an understatement as you cannot make any changes, in his food, his enviroment anything. It scares the you know what out of him. Even slight changes he can sense and will become upset)
-Has problems with coordination or has odd movement patterns, such as clumsiness or walking on toes, and has odd, stiff, or exaggerated body language
(gotta say no to this)
-May be fascinated by details of an object, such as the spinning wheels of a toy car, but doesn't understand the "big picture" of the subject
(Harry is both fascinated and scared of "everything")
-May be unusually sensitive to light, sound, and touch, and yet oblivious to pain
(Harry is extremely sensitive to touch. You can see his muscles jumping under his skin when you touch him. Even if you are petting him for awhile, it is almost as if every touch is a surprise and tickle to him.)
-Does not engage in imitative or make-believe play
(Harry is the only dog I have had that does not like to play)
-May become fixated on an object or activity with abnormal intensity or focus
(Harry gets fixated on things that I have no idea what they are...and he will just stare at something, sometimes for 3 to 5 minutes)
-May have odd food preferences, such as eating only a few foods, or eating only foods with a certain texture
(As I said earlier, Harry eats only specific things. Duck Jerky, vanilla nutritional drink, iced tea, peanut butter. He will occasionally take a bite of something we are eating but becomes disinterested almost immediately.)
I know some of you reading this last part will think I am a bad parent but let me tell you it has taken us 4 years to get him to eats this. Our last dog who passed away at home after 15 years from heart failure had his food made by us. We would cook a beef roast and add all kinds of vegetables and fruits and vitamins. Cody CocaCola Boy (our cockapoo) loved his food. It was labor intensive but we knew what was in his food because we made it and he loved it. We tried this with Harry and Harry would not look twice at any food we made for him. Believe you me I wish Harry would eat food that is better for him, but he will not.
Harry exhibits almost every characteristic. That is why I say he acts autistic. Am saying nothing bad about autistic persons or dogs.
It is nice to give helpful opinions, but really not the place to try to force your opinions on everyone else or be rude because someone does things differently than you would do them.
This forum seems like it should be a friendly exchange of ideas and suggestions for owners on how to better care for their basenjis and for just passing on little stories and such.
But anyway, This is the last post i will make as this has turned nasty and all I was doing was just trying to let people who had similar dogs know what I had done to make life easier for both Harry and us. I wasn't trying to create a row between frequent posters, so I apologize for that.
Thank you everyone who made nice comments and gave me helpful feeding tips. I will look into all of the suggestions.
Truly,
Harold
ps: i am sorry...there is also a cockaToo that is the white parrot with long plumatge