@yodabasenji said in biting..again:
@scagnetti
"all crazy" means those times when he starts biting everyone and everything and is not responding to anyting.
I was observing him this weekend and the biting starts from the moment he wakes up in the morning (or anytime during the day) and we put a hand inside the crate. Then he goes potty and the biting intensifies.
He settles and starts behaving nicely only around meals (so I guess he now understands what a "good" behaviour is) and as soon as he eats, he starts biting again.
The biting gets most ferocious, if we want him to do something he doesn't want to. For example, I knew he was tired after a walk today, because at the end he did a lot of breaks and didn't want to walk anymore. But when we got home, he didn't want to come inside and I pulled him in and then he bit me pretty hard quite a few times.
We go on walks 3 times per day and they last for around 1h. And usually we make him look for things (ball, food, us), try some recall or some trick so that the walks are interactive and there is a lot of running.
We also got a sniffing mat and he got frustrated because he couldn't find the food right away and he bit off part of the mat.
At least the handling drills seem to be going ok (I hope).
Just one more question, if we put him in the crate to calm down without toys and he starts screaming, what should we do?
Thanks again!
Thank you for the clarification; I can now give you a more specific answer.
To begin, I wouldn't put a hand in the crate (right now). He obviously has a problem with space, (this isn't unusual for Basenjis) so it's best to avoid provoking him to react, and we do this by respecting his space.
Eventually he should learn that he has no choice in the matter, sometimes he's going to get touched when he doesn't want to, but teaching that to a sensitive dog this young isn't really fair and it's probably not going to work because sensitive puppies tend to be incredibly stubborn and sometimes fearful. So work on the concept of obligation later, after he learns to be okay with being handled in general.
Also, eventually he's going to be more naturally comfortable with you touching him, because you'll have had a history of touching him. Keep doing handling drills and the behavior will start getting better with time.
As for the example you gave, this is the kind of fight that I want to avoid ever happening. I try not to put myself in those kinds of situations. What I would've done is lure the puppy in the house with food. If I had no food on me, I would've picked the puppy up. This is the kind of scenario where you can begin to see it start if you're watching him. If you start to notice his signs and body language you can avoid this kind of thing, but this comes with experience of raising puppies.
When it comes to walks, I use it as enrichment for the dog, i.e. novel experiences (new smells, noises, sights, textures, etc.). I try to keep walking separate from training because I don't want to confuse him. Walks are just walks.
I insist that he not pull me but other than that, there aren't really any rules with this activity, he's free to go where he wants (as long as it's safe) and smell whatever. This is an activity that's distinct from training, play, food work, and anything where there's any kind of obligation or attention on me. I just let him explore and I go where he wants (as long as he doesn't pull).
It's also worth it to note here that I don't use walking as physical exercise, I use play for physical exercise. Walks (with tons of sniffing) are good for mental exercise though, and that's another benefit of keeping walks as just walks.
Right now, he's too young to use play as exercise, and he doesn't know how to play yet, you'll have to teach him. In the meantime, I would physically exercise him by taking a long lead and going to an empty field and play some chase with food, working on engagement, attention, eye contact, and relationship building. And I would use walks as enrichment and mental exercise (as long as he isn't pulling).
As for the snuffle mat, I would hold back on that for a few months, until you curb the biting and after you work on impulse control.
For the crate query: I wouldn't use the crate in that manner. I would only put him in the crate when he's calm, like after a long walk, or exercise session. Some people use their crate for timeout, some people have success with that, that's why I initially proffered that as an option, but I personally wouldn't do it because it doesn't work into my specific training program. If you do, then you have to distinguish between timeout (an aversive) and social isolation and sleep, and that can be difficult for some. Also, you have to worry about things like screaming, spinning, etc. If he screams after being put in, I would ignore it. This is a pain though, and personally, if I were in your situation, I wouldn't use the crate as timeout. It's more effective, in my opinion, to exhaust the dog, and then put him in the crate so that he doesn't have the energy to scream and be anxious.
All the best.
