My 6 month old puppy sometimes runs full speed out of the house when the door blows open or I make a mistake coming in the door. He is not scared of cars and I am afraid he will get killed one of these days. I want to train him to be fearful of cars. HELP!
I don't know much about training a dog to be afraid of cars…but I would think if you ever want them to get into a car at some point, it would be best if they were not afraid of it.
I am going to rely on "come" to help keep my little one away from cars. She has yet to get away from me but I have been working on the "Treats" command for her to come and at 5 months old, she will come for treats about 95% of the time.
Puppy school is helping us both a great deal and it's fun too.
My 2 cents.
Brenda
Cars are the #1 killer of Basenjis.. and you will never get them to "fear" them.. it just doesn't happen. I don't think you can "train" to be afraid of cars. You need to spend time training your pup… and really more then that you need to not leave doors open or let them blow open.... (I am not sure that I understand "door" blowing open unless it was never shut to begin with).... Open doors is one of the things a Basenji owner fears most!
My 6 month old puppy sometimes runs full speed out of the house when the door blows open or I make a mistake coming in the door. He is not scared of cars and I am afraid he will get killed one of these days. I want to train him to be fearful of cars. HELP!
Please click on and read these two threads:
http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?t=899
http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?t=982
Surprise! How many people (myself included) who have Basenjis don't know that much about the behaviors and quirks. Once I read all about Basenjis, I made the changes necessary to keep them escape proof. I love my dogs so much and pledge my responsibility to do everything I can to keep them safe, healthy and avoid vet bills.
You could start by training them to wait at the door. Or you could do what we did, and make the entry door a basenji free zone, with the use of half doors 
You could start by training them to wait at the door. Or you could do what we did, and make the entry door a basenji free zone, with the use of half doors
Exactly… Basenjis = Doors and Gates... 
And most important being careful
The very basic command is SIT. Training your dog takes 3 P's-Patience, Practice, and Persistence. If your dog can sit by your side on the first command every time then move forward from that. I have seen more dogs killed because they don't know basic commands. Sit means sit-it may save your dog's life.
We trained one shepherd dog (luckily). He escaped out a car window was running towards the street after another dog, the owner yelled out "down" in a panic and because the dog was well trained he immediately went into the down position.
We've taught our B's to wait & sit before we walk out of the house.
That is what our puppy trainer had us do with Jazzy. I actually took it a step further and tried to teach her to sit on a rug a few feet away from the door when the door was opened. THAT only works sometimes because the rest of the family wouldn't get on board with it.
I still don't trust the open door. I'm not willing to trust that there won't be something that triggers a dash out the door – be it a squirrel on the porch, a loose dog, cat, loud noise, etc.
I guess I feel like there may be times when instinct overcomes training, so I never have 100% trust in the behavior of any trained animal and will always use extra precautions.
I have half an X-pen connected to the wall in front of my door. Then there are eye hooks on one side that I can clip those hooks on. The X-pen must be locked when I open the door to let anyone in. Then the door is closed behind them before the X-pen is opened and they can come further into the house and vice versa when anyone leaves.
Most of us have two doors, contraptions and facilities to allow us to have multiple B's. ALL of my dogs are trained to come in and sit on a towel/rug by the door (gives me a chance to clean their feet on muddy/snowy days) and they all know the basic sit command. If I see their too excited I put their leash and collar on and make them sit and wait, while I open the door, leave it open for a few minutes and then I will release them.
So, this morning, I tried to take some advice from this thread and start to train Zuri to let me go out the door first. Well….I had the screen door closed with my back to the door asking her to sit and it worked for a second...then she went for the door (excited about going for a walk)...she was on a leash so I pulled her back in front of me again and tried again..... this time, I had no control over her...she was going for the door....when I turned to call her back, I noticed a BIG puppy dog on my front step with tail wagging (no wonder she wasn't interested in me) I of course gave up trying to get her to sit and let me go out first. I waited to see if someone was going to come for this big puppy....no one did. I knew I couldn't take Zuri for her walk with this dog loose because it would surely follow us around and if it ran off and got hit...not good. So I decided to take Zuri out to meet the dog...checked it's tag and it had the address...just a few doors down from me. Turns out the gate had blown open and the pup got out, happy owners and Zuri and I went for our walk.
I will have to try training her to sit and wait another time....but I definitely like the idea and see the benefits of it but today was not my day.
Brenda
Definitely not your day!! Ha! You've now turned to mud like the rest of us! Glad to know the pup was returned safely. I have a lock on my gate b/c of that reason-you never know when it's going to blow open or someone's going to open it and leave it open, intentionally or unintentionally. Also glad Zuri has made a friend. Just keep trying with the training every chance you get. 40- 50 times a day to teach the sit is not uncommon and very good. Try teaching Zuri to sit with Treats, Praises (again you turn to mud when nothing is gained in return for a job well done), and favorite toys-games.
She sits on command and has for at least a few weeks….but when it comes to heading out for her walk....that's where she lights up! Anyway, I will keep trying and trying.
Thanks for the advice
Brenda
