@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.
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.
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....
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!!!!!!!
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.
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?
Let me guess…umm Cleo?
Such vision J:D ….....yepper!:D At times, I think it's the only way she communicates.
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? 
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?)
i've noticed our male gets mean during spring & fall (other dogs in heat?)
Is your male in tact?
Here is an update on the little growler. Since the post I have tried a few different things and the best thing that seems to work is getting down and dirty 
(figure of speech)
I have been mixing the food with my hands and hand feeding him. It has been working and after doing that for a few minutes I give him the bowl and sit next to him telling him that he is a good boy. So far so good. He is definitely trying to show that he is becoming a teenager but what he doesn't realize..I am more stubborn than him and wont give in He is now sleeping on the floor. No more sleeping with us. I now make sure I am first to walk out any door and he must follow. These little things are helping. Thanks everyone for offering suggestions!!!
i've noticed our male gets mean during spring & fall (other dogs in heat?)
My intact males never got mean during breeding season… if anything they got totally "stupid"....:eek:
Is your male in tact?
No, we had him neutered early as he can't be bred (has slight eye strans) and I guess I should term him being more grumpy then mean. The times we have any aggression issues it's usually in the spring or fall. We do walk him quite a bit.
The older he gets the more mellow he has become and incidents are becoming much further apart.
My sister in law is staying with us for the week, so I had to go over all the stuff she can't do that could set him off, like staring him in the eyes, grabbing his tail, startling him while he's asleep and so on. So she's kind of scared of him (she is a dog owner as well - owns minature bischon).
So she goes up stairs to take a read & take a nap. She wakes up with finds the dog next to her sound asleep. Next he goes & cuddles into her body laying himself on her, with his head right near her face, then starts to snore really loud!
She was terrified!
The dog behaved great and woke up & left. He really likes her and wants to be petted constantly by her. He follows her around now. Both dogs really like her.
I guess the point is I had to go over the basenji ground rules as I dont want any incidents. You just never know how they are going to get along with someone. Some people they really like and others not so much.
