Adolescent howl and behavior changes

[eeeefarm]

Agree that it's likely seasonal, but beyond that it is never a good idea to poison your command words. If you call him, he needs to come, not get into the habit of ignoring you. I would suggest having an alternate word to use when coming isn't imperative, especially when it's the girls he is attracted to, but beware of letting him roam too far, and check what the requirements are in your area regarding chasing wildlife, as you have indicated he is inclined to do. Where I live dogs can be shot for chasing deer or farm animals. In practice it doesn't happen often, but it is one of the potential hazards of letting your dog off leash, particularly if he is out of your sight.

[tanza]

@zande - For sure Zande, my first male would cry/whine the entire month of October.... up to and including when he passed at 17 1/2. He was neutered at age 4 when we were done showing him. Made no difference....

[sanjibasenji]

@eeeefarm
I'm glad you agree, "Don't call him if you are not willing to enforce it."
He's definitely out of range when he takes off. I let him chase until out of sight and range. He comes back, but it takes a couple minutes for him to find me. Thanks for your input.

[sanjibasenji]

@kembe said in Adolescent howl and behavior changes:

@sanjibasenji
I could not view your video link - says “this video is private”.

Oops. Sorry. Try now.

[sanjibasenji]

@zande
That is very helpful to know. It explains a lot. Thanks.

[sanjibasenji]

@tanza said in Adolescent howl and behavior changes:

@sanjibasenji - As Zande said, it is Basenji rutting season.... they know when breeding season is regardless if the is a bitch in season... and that also goes for neutered males... they know period.

Thanks for verifying. Again, that helps to explain his behavior.

[sanjibasenji]

@eeeefarm said in Adolescent howl and behavior changes:

beware of letting him roam too far, and check what the requirements are in your area regarding chasing wildlife

OK, good advice. But how far is too far, other than what's legal or not? On state (public) land in Michigan, I don't think there are any restrictions on movement. I've never heard of restrictions, but I'll check into that.

[sanjibasenji]

@tanza said in Adolescent howl and behavior changes:

my first male would cry/whine the entire month of October.... up to and including when he passed at 17 1/2. He was neutered at age 4 when we were done showing him. Made no difference....

This adds some useful detail to what's been said. I hope it's only October. He wants to get out constantly to find females. Curiously, he hasn't tried mounting, just fallatio!

Related to that, I think, it seems that he licks urine spots on grass.

[tanza]

@sanjibasenji - That is normal, licking urine spots... to check if in season... and each boy is different, mine just related that October was the time.

[eeeefarm]

@sanjibasenji said in Adolescent howl and behavior changes:

On state (public) land in Michigan, I don't think there are any restrictions on movement.

You might want to check that for accuracy. My understanding of the law in Michigan is that the dog must be under the control of the owner, i.e. on leash or obedient to your commands, and I'm not sure how that would be interpreted if the dog is out of your sight. Again, unlikely you will run into a problem, unless your dog gets himself into trouble while ranging away from you, but I believe running deer is illegal and how do you know what he is up to if you can't see him? Just be cautious and you should be fine. Maybe hang a bell or something on him so you know where he is....

[Zande]

@sanjibasenji said in Adolescent howl and behavior changes:

I hope it's only October. He wants to get out constantly to find females. Curiously, he hasn't tried mounting, just fallatio!

You need to live with two boys to really appreciate the rutting season. Kito keeps mounting Mku at home when they are not out in the woods chasing females !

October is certainly the worst month but it can start mid to late September and go on to mid November. I always reckon on two months.

Calling them back when it is not necessary is, to my way of thinking, like crying 'wolf' - and as for having a different call when there is no need for them to return to you. . . that would confuse the heck out of me, let alone the dogs. Just let them be unless instant recall is needed and then use just the tried and trusted call, whistle or shout.

[eeeefarm]

@zande said in Adolescent howl and behavior changes:

Calling them back when it is not necessary is, to my way of thinking, like crying 'wolf' - and as for having a different call when there is no need for them to return to you. . . that would confuse the heck out of me, let alone the dogs. Just let them be unless instant recall is needed and then use just the tried and trusted call, whistle or shout.

Got to agree to disagree on this one. We live in very different places, and perhaps in the U.K. there are less hazards to be wary of, but I don't like my dog out of my sight or hearing and I don't think it's safe. A "different call" to me would be a "reminder" word that they are ranging further than you like, not hard to teach or apply.

Asking a dog to stay relatively close is not unreasonable and is something that is done with bird dogs all the time. They need to cover the field within reasonable distance or they are useless. Major Braun explains this quite nicely in his article in training Basenjis for the field. "If he takes off out of gun range give the hand and whistle commands for come, and when he returns , praise him and send him off again with the verbal command "go on". It won't take him long to learn you want him to course back and forth in front of you, and the limit of the distance he may go."

We may no longer use our dogs for actual work, but I don't think it's too much to ask that they learn how we desire them to behave. Some Basenjis keep close without being told, but others need reminders. A dog that takes off after game may travel a long way before abandoning the hunt, and the end result may be a lost dog or worse. I've had the experience of losing an animal in the woods, and it isn't pleasant! (that was a horse, not a dog, and it was hours before we found her, and days before we found her companion. You would think it would be easy to find a large animal, but no. Glad I wasn't hunting for a small dog!)

[sanjibasenji]

@eeeefarm said in Adolescent howl and behavior changes:

Maybe hang a bell or something on him so you know where he is....

Thanks. In fact, I do have bell on the collar that I use, in addition to the e-collar, when I take him mountain biking with me. It helps. I checked the DNR site and the rules pertain to training dogs for hunting.

https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79134_82777-230850--,00.html

The PDF file is useful. You're right that dogs can't be used for hunting deer. But I also think you are right that I won't have any issues, since I'm not training him, nor hunting, but nevertheless, I should not let him go too far our out of sight since I don't know what he's doing. I guess I'll have to reign that in.

Thanks for your insights and comments.

[sanjibasenji]

@eeeefarm said in Adolescent howl and behavior changes:

Calling them back when it is not necessary is, to my way of thinking, like crying 'wolf' - and as for having a different call when there is no need for them to return to you. . . that would confuse the heck out of me, let alone the dogs. Just let them be unless instant recall is needed and then use just the tried and trusted call, whistle or shout.

Got to agree to disagree on this one. We live in very different places, and perhaps in the U.K. there are less hazards to be wary of, but I don't like my dog out of my sight or hearing and I don't think it's safe. A "different call" to me would be a "reminder" word that they are ranging further than you like, not hard to teach or apply.

Asking a dog to stay relatively close is not unreasonable and is something that is done with bird dogs all the time. They need to cover the field within reasonable distance or they are useless. Major Bruan explains this quite nicely in his article in training Basenjis for the field. "If he takes off out of gun range give the hand and whistle commands for come, and when he returns , praise him and send him off again with the verbal command "go on". It won't take him long to learn you want him to course back and forth in front of you, and the limit of the distance he may go."

I think both of you are right and both accord with my experience. I did not know or plan this in advance, but I have ended up using several related commands for different situations, and he knows them well now.

Whistle
When I want him in my vicinity, not at my feet, and he's free to roam nearby.

Use a lot when mountain biking, and sometimes when in our nearby dog park (a fairly large wooded area)

If I can't see him, I call his name or whistle, and he invariably returns. But as noted, it's taken longer for him to return because I've let him go further without reigning him in. I've whistled and called for up to 3-4 minutes. I don't like that, so I'm glad to be encouraged to keep him in eyesight. (Learning the ropes folks!)

This way
When he's close but I'm going a different direction and I want him to follow me.

Use when mountain biking mostly, sometimes when walking wooded area.

Come
When I want him at my feet no matter what he's doing, but I use it when I can see him.

If he doesn't respond to come, I apply the e-collar. That works invariably, but I may have to crank it up if he's distracted by other dogs.

Use it mostly when in the dog park, or other park.

Eh-eh

A danger indicator or "don't go there" indicator.

Use when I want him to stop going in the direction he's going (cars, other dogs, people), or stop doing something he's doing that could harm him, like chewing on an electric cord.

As I mentioned, he seems to understand and respond to these commands consistently. It's really the "come" command (instant recall) that's the hardest. But I think, as has been observed, he's at that age when he's challenging the boundaries and, at that time of the year when he's seeking females.

Learning a lot about this breed. Thanks to everyone for their insights! Really lucky you folks take the time to respond. Grateful.

[Zande]

@eeeefarm If you are meaning Al Braun, I have to laugh - and take a trip down memory lane. Many years ago, Elspett Ford and I were putting together a newsletter for BOBA (one of the UK Breed Clubs). She found some articles in French about training Basenjis, by Al Braun, and asked me to translate them into English for the newsletter. This I did.

Some months, it may even have been years, later, someone else showed him my translations - back into English which, of course they had been written in originally.

He was extremely complimentary !!!!

[eeeefarm]

@Zande , yes, that Al Braun. Glad to have sparked the memory!

@sanjibasenji , something I employed quite a bit with Perry was "wait". If he was proceeding too quickly or in a direction I didn't like, I would use that instead of recalling him. Once I caught up a bit I would say "O.K." so he knew he could continue. I used "wait" a lot in this fashion. It has quite a different meaning than "stay", which means stay right where you are, no moving about, whereas wait just means give me a chance to catch up before you proceed, but you are welcome to sniff around where you are or come back towards me if you wish.

[sanjibasenji]

@eeeefarm
I do something that too! Didn't include in the list of commands... Nice to know I'm not alone in this...
Lots of work training. It can be a struggle.

[Zande]

Main thing is that one does communicate with ones Basenjis and that they hear and obey. If not at once, in their own good time - Basenji style. As I am by no means the only person who takes my dogs out to the woods, they have had to learn different calls.

I normally whistle or call names. My son calls them by name. I don't know what my neighbour, Sue, does. But they come back when she does it !

[sanjibasenji]

@zande
Do you let them roam out of sight? I'm wondering if eventually I can do that once I've firmly established the whistle and "come" commands so that he returns from being out of sight quickly. At this point, he eventually comes, but I see him dawdle or continue chasing this or that squirrel. I'd like to see him respond immediately, and I'm thinking that is a personal training choice.

[Zande]

@sanjibasenji 'Roam' is hardly the word - sprint, race - disappear like magic. Yes. In the wood I follow narrow paths and they follow wherever a scent leads them. I know the direction they have disappeared in but seldom guess correctly from whence they will emerge. They could have done a complete circuit and come up behind me.

The important thing is that my whistle is sharp and piercing and they know it means, Mom wants us back.

If it is raining or desperately muddy (I use a walking pole because I don't want to fall over !) then I may be forced to follow the main trails which are wider and some are even kind of cobble-stones. It is a working forest and there has to be access for huge trucks to bear away the timber - enormous piles of logs by the side of the main routes through.

Weekends, like this morning, the carpark is full by 10 am but once away from it it is possible to avoid meeting anyone. On weekdays, there are quite a few people we have come to know over the years, 8.30 - 9.00 am walkers. Many of them I know the names of the dogs and have no idea what their owners are called ! My boys love to chase with the ones they know will oblige and we can stand and chat while they race around. I only learned on Thursday, after standing while a man with about a dozen Whippets admired my boys, that one is prohibited from walking more than 6 dogs at a time.

Didn't know that when Marvin and I walked those same woods back in 1987 after a hurricane decimated woodland in the South East.

I have been going there for a long, long time - it is entirely safe from traffic, once you are away from the carpark. The wild-life is rabbits, deer, squirrels and birds (Kito would love to fly !) and so yes, the boys know that if Mom sits on a fallen tree or one of the rare benches, they get a treat. 'Biscuit at the Bench' is something they have learned and they foregather and stay close, waiting for me to arrive at these havens !