Sanji, at 3-months

[Zande]

@sanjibasenji Entirely my own ! I have always trained all my Basenjis to run free. I am lucky in that here in the South of England we have various parts of Friston Forest which have good car-parking and which offer immense areas where dogs can be safe from traffic. Once away from the carpark you seldom meet anyone but that is not to say there are no distractions.

Deer, rabbits, some squirrels but nothing like as many as in a recently drained swampy woodland nearer home which we haven't been able to go to for months. The car-park was totally unsafe and the path inundated thanks to a blocked culvert. That has been drained and the carpark repaired so I tried it this morning cos it is 3 miles from home instead of 8 -

And there are other walkers with dogs - Mku can scent them miles off but not too many except on weekends. . .

[sanjibasenji]

@zande
I'm a fan of letting a dog run free too. Sounds like a lovely area for that.

[tanza]

@sanjibasenji - Well done! I always tell people NOT to chase, if they do the Basenji thinks it is a game.... turn and walk away because if you notice they will check to see were you are. Of course this would be in a location that there is not traffic.... and if they catch a critter, they will take off for the fun of the chase.

[Zande]

@sanjibasenji He should be ok by now and anyway they very seldom soil the area where they sleep. I would doubt he would. What I did with Kito was take him down when he.got restless and pop him into the garden. When he was 8 weeks, that meant 3 times, sometimes 4 a night. But he very soon went for longer so only once a night.

One night I didn't wake up and as he didnt either I gave up worrying and just took him down to collect the papers. By 12 weeks he was going through the night

[DonC]

Since you asked: Yes he will settle down! First you can't wait for it. Then you miss it. But he'll likely stay a booger. Some things don't change (I'm looking at socks and underwear that used to be in the laundry basket spread out over the living room floor). The puppy gnawing will also disappear, unless you play that way.

Agree with @tanza that you do not want to chase. You are not going to catch them and they think it's a game. If you can see them and make contact, if YOU run or move in the other direction they will very likely chase you down to win the game.

If he's running free consider a cell based collar. We have one for one of our dogs but don't use it because they are never off leash or not in an enclosed area. But I have tested the collar and it definitely works. Also gives you their mileage. LOL

[elbrant]

@donc said in Sanji, at 3-months:

If he's running free consider a cell based collar.

Do you mean a GPS collar?

[DonC]

@elbrant said in Sanji, at 3-months:

Do you mean a GPS collar?

Yes. Something like this: Fi series 2 GPS tracker

This is actually the only one I know of but there may be more.

[JENGOSMonkey]

@donc I love that. I'm going to look into it more. Interested to know if any reoccurring cost. I may get two. Thanks for posting that! You get a 👊😁👍

[Zande]

@donc and @JENGOSMonkey I looked it up on US Amazon and then on UK Amazon Prime. Next day delivery (free) - and only £30 - so less than $50. Not sure if you can buy from UK cos postage would go up, but a third of the price for identical object ?

Someone is making a profit. Or - and I'm guessing - the collar is made here and the long delivery time suggests it would be mailed from here.

Maybe I should go in to business ?

[sanjibasenji]

There's a cheaper GPS collar now on Amazon with good ratings. Might get it. Sport Dog is well known for quality collars of all sorts. It's owned by PetSafe which makes cheaper versions of some of the collars, like electric fence collars, bark collars, etc. (Not wading into the debate on the use of those, ha!)

Tractive LTE GPS Dog Tracker - Location & Activity Tracker for Dogs with Unlimited Range (Newest Model), White (TRNJAWH)

[JENGOSMonkey]

@sanjibasenji The Tractive is interesting. @DonC's definitely costs more; both the entry price and the subscription cost. But, I like how small, light weight, and low profile it is. And, according to Fi's website they claim their battery life while in "Lost Dog Mode" is 2 days vs Tractive's 6.5 hours. I'm still working on recall with both of mine. They're getting better, but I'm still not comfortable turning them loose outside of a fenced area. Far too much traffic where I live. It also amazes me how many county, state, and national parks prohibit dogs on trails whether on-leash or off. We've found a few, but not many.

[elbrant]

@jengosmonkey said in Sanji, at 3-months:

many county, state, and national parks prohibit dogs

Do a Google Maps search of your area and see if there are any forest areas. Sometimes there are large parcels that remain natural, unused areas for future developments and such. Just an idea. Most of our local State Parks allow dogs on leads. Most of the dog owners that go allow their dogs to run free and carry the leash. Yes, I'm publicly admitting that I use "discretion" for "some" rules.

[sanjibasenji]

I agree entirely. I firmly believe in "no leash" walks, runs, bike rides, but only in woods and parks far from traffic (unless one has a very reliably trained dog, which very few do, and even then, maybe not). Nothing satisfies a dog like a free roam to smell everything. Teach the dog at an early age to follow; they will by instinct anyway. When I was around ten, we had dogs and didn't do this or any training whatsoever. They stayed in a fenced in yard almost all the time. They became the kind of dog that bolts when it gets the chance and will run away. But a dog that gets lots of practice following, and gets leash heel training too, and recall training, won't do that. They'll follow when they see you're moving away. And if one trains enough, they'll come when you call them.

[JENGOSMonkey]

Mine get two long walks a day. We work on recall on long leads daily. They get one long walk if we go to the dog park where they can run free. It's a huge fenced park. I work on recall there as well. One thing I've noticed though is that at the dog park if they somehow share Basenji brain at the same time... game over. They bolt and ears close up. Logan is good at responding to a clicker, a command to come, and a whistle... until he gets Basenji brain. And, that only seems to happen when the two of them run together. It's fun to watch. A challenge to regain attention though. I'll find the right place and time at some point. We're just not there yet.

[sanjibasenji]

@jengosmonkey I'm thinking that it's gonna take time, like a year or two from the time one starts training...