Growling Now???!!!


  • Okay…so that is resource guarding. I recommend the book "Mine" by Jean Donaldson. The very first thing you can do is to hand feed him every one of his kibbles. And he will need to do something to get a kibble...sit, down, whatever.

    And the reason why you haven't seen it before is probably because he is starting to be a grown up now...and this is usually when these things start.

    Do you have an I-pod? Because I found an awesome pod cast about dealing with resource guarding.


  • @tanza:

    Please read the following…. if he has started with food, I believe that it will progress to other areas, if it has not already....

    http://www.tanzabasenjis.net/welladjusted.html

    Wow Pat! That is a lot of information. Thank you. Looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me. :o One question though..Should I still continue to pet him while he eats and If he growls take his food away?


  • I don't tink provoking him is a good idea. I think the hand feeding treats is a better idea, not for his dinner. Do training with him make him work for the treats, under YOUR control.

    Be sure to feed him last after everyone else eats.


  • @Vanessa626:

    Wow Pat! That is a lot of information. Thank you. Looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me. :o One question though..Should I still continue to pet him while he eats and If he growls take his food away?

    I would absolutely not do the above. He will most likely bite you. He is telling you that you are way over his threshold of comfort. It is not about you being in charge here…it is about you needing to change his opinion of what is about to happen when someone approaches his food. We don't want to let him practice the behavior of guarding/growling at all..he will only get better at it (and escalate it)

    PLEASE read "Mine!" by Jean Donaldson, or "Culture Clash" has a section on resource guarding, also by Jean Donaldson. You can google "resource guarding" and find lots of info online too.


  • @Barklessdog:

    I don't tink provoking him is a good idea. I think the hand feeding treats is a better idea, not for his dinner. Do training with him make him work for the treats, under YOUR control.

    Be sure to feed him last after everyone else eats.

    The typical first step for changing this behavior is absolutely hand feeding the dog dinner, every kibble…teaching him that all good things come from humans; and that he doesn't control the resources.


  • @Quercus:

    The typical first step for changing this behavior is absolutely hand feeding the dog dinner, every kibble…teaching him that all good things come from humans; and that he doesn't control the resources.

    I agree Andrea… hand feed the entire dinner..
    And he is of that age when the "testing" starts... as you read and this is the same from most people... "I don't know when it started"... and that is because we as humans miss many of the signs....


  • @Quercus:

    I would absolutely not do the above. He will most likely bite you. He is telling you that you are way over his threshold of comfort. It is not about you being in charge here…it is about you needing to change his opinion of what is about to happen when someone approaches his food. We don't want to let him practice the behavior of guarding/growling at all..he will only get better at it (and escalate it)

    PLEASE read "Mine!" by Jean Donaldson, or "Culture Clash" has a section on resource guarding, also by Jean Donaldson. You can google "resource guarding" and find lots of info online too.

    Well put Andrea… and you are correct the whole idea behind this is that you never want him to know that this behavior is getting the reaction he is looking for... or taking it to a level you can't compete..


  • My sweet Sahara is growling here also, when I get up to go to the bathroom. I try to close the door and she gets my shirt in her mouth and growls big time. This happens when I try to get in my car too, I know she is doing it b/c she doesn't want me to leave. My question is what to do about it, the growling is getting more intense. My clothes cost too much to have her put little teeth marks in them, some of my shirts I have had to throw away. What to do, help!!!!!!!


  • @youngandtired:

    My sweet Sahara is growling here also, when I get up to go to the bathroom. I try to close the door and she gets my shirt in her mouth and growls big time. This happens when I try to get in my car too, I know she is doing it b/c she doesn't want me to leave. My question is what to do about it, the growling is getting more intense. My clothes cost too much to have her put little teeth marks in them, some of my shirts I have had to throw away. What to do, help!!!!!!!

    Have you taught her the "leave it" command? Or sit/stay? Those are two things that you can do to prevent this behavior.


  • @youngandtired:

    My sweet Sahara is growling here also, when I get up to go to the bathroom. I try to close the door and she gets my shirt in her mouth and growls big time. This happens when I try to get in my car too, I know she is doing it b/c she doesn't want me to leave. My question is what to do about it, the growling is getting more intense. My clothes cost too much to have her put little teeth marks in them, some of my shirts I have had to throw away. What to do, help!!!!!!!

    It is hard to know without seeing the behavior if she is playing a game with you, or if she is seriously trying to control your behavior. Either way, as Pat said, a leave-it command, or wait command should help.


  • I ditto Andrea's instructions…TOPAZ had the same reaction to high value treats & her food bowl. We nipped this in the bud QUICKLY! First I made sure to mix her dinner with my hands (water & Kibble) so she could have my scent on it & I would then feed her the first few bites out of my hand. Any treat she had to work for it...sit stay or down stay. I would then remove it & put in another treat in its place. This was so she could learn to associate my taking away something...equals getting something better in its place.

    She's better now but we still make them work for food & treats. Whie I prep dinner (I still mix the kibble with my hands) they MUST be in a sit stay position until I'm done (no crowding my feet or me) otherwise I turn around stop & make them sit again. They must also eat in their crates & before I set their bowls down they must sit & stay patiently. No jumping on me...no crowding me while I put the bowl down etc.


  • Vanessa…..
    Any updates on Chance and what's been going on????


  • We have one that will grumble sometimes if you touch her when she's eating, but not all the time, depends on who it is and what she's eating. Funny part is, at times her tail is wagging the whole time she's growling. She's never lashed out or bit anyone over food, just gives a warning when she doesn't want touched or messed with. Sometimes she can do the same when someone messes with her when she's sleeping.


  • Let me guess…umm Cleo?


  • @jys1011:

    Let me guess…umm Cleo?

    Such vision J:D ….....yepper!:D At times, I think it's the only way she communicates.


  • @Basenji_Boy:

    We have one that will grumble sometimes if you touch her when she's eating, but not all the time, depends on who it is and what she's eating. Funny part is, at times her tail is wagging the whole time she's growling. She's never lashed out or bit anyone over food, just gives a warning when she doesn't want touched or messed with. Sometimes she can do the same when someone messes with her when she's sleeping.

    yeah…I love that message...it's like 'I dont want to bite you...but I will if I must'...all said with a sweet smile, and wagging tail....

    can you tell I have seen that too? ;)


  • @Quercus:

    yeah…I love that message...it's like 'I dont want to bite you...but I will if I must'...all said with a sweet smile, and wagging tail....

    can you tell I have seen that too? ;)

    Yep, I'll admit when I see teeth showing along with the grumbles, I pay attention.:eek:

    Cleo doesn't do it all the time, I swear it's just when she's in a bad mood. I've noticed mood differences on several of them. If it's been raining for a couple of days, damp and dreary…............have you been there???:D


  • Wagging tails can mean different things depending on HOW it's wagging. It's easier to tell how they wag with a non basenji tail. If you look at how it's held you can see a difference also. A high tail with a stiff wag is a 'look out' indication. A full sweep is a friendly tail. There are many different variations on this.


  • have you been there???

    i've noticed our male gets mean during spring & fall (other dogs in heat?)


  • @Barklessdog:

    i've noticed our male gets mean during spring & fall (other dogs in heat?)

    Is your male in tact?

Suggested Topics

  • Growling at bedtime

    Behavioral Issues
    5
    0 Votes
    5 Posts
    4k Views
    CrazySenjiC
    This is a very common basenji issue! They get comfortable and don't want to be bothered. My brindle dog only does it when he's still delirious from sleep and "snaps out of it" when he realizes what's going on. Teaching a dog "OFF!" is very important! Do it when they are happy and awake and then move to sleepy and grumpy. On the couch, say OFF! and treat them when they get it right. It becomes a game. Both of my dogs know what "OFF!" means and listen to it. One of them will continue to grumble until he's fully awake and then he's back to his happy self. I agree with Pat and the treats for crate time. When I leave for work I say "Who wants a treat?" and off they run to their kennels! I break out the good stuff for going to work time. At night I say night-night and in they go. This didn't happen overnight! It took my red boy months to like his crate. Lots of sleepless nights with a screaming puppy. I actually had to buy him a new one because I discovered he was scared of the all enclosed plastic crates. Now his perfect in his crate and goes in on his own to relax.
  • Growling Alpha issues...

    Behavioral Issues
    4
    0 Votes
    4 Posts
    3k Views
    wizardW
    Unless there is true fighting leave them alone. They will work things out - the resource guarding may be behind it - but one simply doesn't want the other to be so close or whatever.
  • Vet Concerned with Growling

    Behavioral Issues
    22
    0 Votes
    22 Posts
    10k Views
    MothM
    Oh he is so cute <3
  • UPDATE on Bitten & Constant Growling

    Behavioral Issues
    24
    0 Votes
    24 Posts
    7k Views
    DukeD
    About the JR type - Duke is probably Basenji-Jack Russell. I'm tellin' ya - I thought he was the craziest puppy on earth! He was about 12 weeks old and didn't know what he was. But thought it would be my advantage to train him young. Darn if all my efforts went down the drain with him. This was not a typical domesticated dog - at all. (More like a devil dog from hell.) But he was mine and thought he was better off with me than anywhere else, 'cause he was going to be trained one way or another with love. Today - he is well trained, but like was mentioned, he typically will respond to commands with the attitude of what it's worth to him. He's now almost 2 1/2 years old - sometimes obedient…sometimes rebelious and way happier since we added Daisy to the family. direy01 - kudos to you for loving Joey. I know the training is hard work - and exhausting - but your perseverence and repitition will be returned with pride and joy.
  • Destructive..why now???

    Behavioral Issues
    5
    0 Votes
    5 Posts
    2k Views
    senjiS
    They do always act up a little when he leaves but usually settle down. They usually just fight more, like they're trying to rework the pack order. This is the longest he has ever been gone. I guess we just hang in there and hope he comes home early…it's tough on all of us. Thanks for the help!!!!!
  • Minor puppy growling

    Behavioral Issues
    17
    0 Votes
    17 Posts
    6k Views
    E
    You're right! My wife and I have animals since childhood and since we are maried, almost 25 years. We are really animal-lovers and we can't stand it when folks take animals, just for their own satisfaction. We once bought a abused Parrot for a lot of money, only to give this bird a better place. I am delighted to her that someone of this forum understands what we are trying to say. And the last thing we want, is that people think that you can establish a good relationship with your Basenji through yelling, hitting etc. That kind of constantly fysicaly and mentaly abusing isn't right for no animal! ;) @Quercus: <<we see="" correcting="" as="" the="" last="" posibility="" but="" we="" believe="" that="" sometimes="" it="" is="" necessary.="">> I don't think you will find anybody here that disagrees with that…at least not that has spoken up about training issues. Corrections definitely have a place...but some folks' form of correction ends up doing more damage than help. Yelling, spanking, etc don't have much meaning to a dog. I think corrections in the form of voice are particularly effective during puppyhood when puppies are learning all about what is acceptable. I think physical corrections with an adult dog who is showing aggression in any form is a mistake.</we>