Skip to content

House training.. :S

Basenji Training
  • @porsh:

    ooo okay.. well are they easy to train for obedience ??
    like the basics. sit, stay, come, heel, off, (stop jumping), walk on a leash, down. and maybe flyball and or agility? ?

    Based on my own lil' bundle of joy:

    Sit - If you have a treat, yes. If not, she'll think about it.

    Stay - Heck no…they want to see what you're up to. The only time she's ever listened on this one is if she can sense I'm angry or serious.

    Come - Usually they're already there.

    Heel - She-Ra's fairly good at this, but if she sees something in the distance,
    forget about it and get ready to RUN! You can try a Gentle Lead but she absolutely hated hers and ate it when I wasn't looking! :)

    Off - Depends on who it is. Me or my father-in-law she's all over when we come in the door. Other people she'll just baroo at for a while.

    Walk on a Leash - Does a great job and knows the leash means a walk is in the immediate future. You have to watch the pulling and also the occasional zig-zag in front of you (both are no-no's when training).

    Down - Again, if you have a treat

    As has been said, Basenji's are very smart...almost too smart...and that works against them (and you) where training is concerned. They will attempt to out-think you, they love to test your limits and "play games" with you (a big one at our house is "I have to go outside to pee!" so you get to the door and then she'll walk away "Haha...just wanted to see if you'd get up!"), and obedience is kind of an after-thought. You really have to be on your toes.

    Potty training wasn't too difficult for us. We lay out pee-pads near the back door where we let her out so if we're not there she has a place to go...and she uses them.

  • @tanza:

    It was Afgans that were last.. but Borzois would be low too, because Hounds are thinking dogs… and therefore there needs to be a reason to "train"

    My former boss and his wife had 2 borzois that were very sweet and docile. Just like overgrown lap dogs.
    I just think that basenjis are TOO smart. They're always thinking 3 steps ahead and have that "what's in it for ME" attitude.

  • IT's funny that other people will interpret the difficulty in training to mean that the dogs are "stupid". They really can't see that it's quite the opposite!

  • @JazzysMom:

    IT's funny that other people will interpret the difficulty in training to mean that the dogs are "stupid". They really can't see that it's quite the opposite!

    exactly!:p

  • @JazzysMom:

    I haven't tried agility or flyball. I think agility may be easier than flyball, since Basenjis tend to chase what it thrown and run with it,LOL.

    Basic obedience can be pretty easy, except that whole "walk on leash" thing.
    The whole concept otally escapes a lot of them. :rolleyes:
    Neither of mine mind being attached to me by a leash,but it's hard to get them to not pull. I gave up, but many here have had success.

    ok:)., well i guess we will see how it goes when i get the puppy :).

  • @torchsong:

    Based on my own lil' bundle of joy:

    Sit - If you have a treat, yes. If not, she'll think about it.

    Stay - Heck no…they want to see what you're up to. The only time she's ever listened on this one is if she can sense I'm angry or serious.

    Come - Usually they're already there.

    Heel - She-Ra's fairly good at this, but if she sees something in the distance,
    forget about it and get ready to RUN! You can try a Gentle Lead but she absolutely hated hers and ate it when I wasn't looking! :)

    Off - Depends on who it is. Me or my father-in-law she's all over when we come in the door. Other people she'll just baroo at for a while.

    Walk on a Leash - Does a great job and knows the leash means a walk is in the immediate future. You have to watch the pulling and also the occasional zig-zag in front of you (both are no-no's when training).

    Down - Again, if you have a treat

    As has been said, Basenji's are very smart...almost too smart...and that works against them (and you) where training is concerned. They will attempt to out-think you, they love to test your limits and "play games" with you (a big one at our house is "I have to go outside to pee!" so you get to the door and then she'll walk away "Haha...just wanted to see if you'd get up!"), and obedience is kind of an after-thought. You really have to be on your toes.

    Potty training wasn't too difficult for us. We lay out pee-pads near the back door where we let her out so if we're not there she has a place to go...and she uses them.

    THANK you soo much :).. now i can get an idea about them a little more :)

  • I brought Mia home when she was 2 1/2 months, and she only had 2 accident in the house and that was on the 1st day! I trained her to ring a wind chime (which I saw in a Basenji video) 4 days after that! I think it was becasue Mia's mom took really good care of her pups and brought them to relive themselves outside their living area. So ask the breeder maybe how the mom is might be helpful in determining how the pup will be. If the mom kept the area clean, most likely the pup will too in her new home. Just make sure to bring him/her out often after they have eaten and drank alot of water (which, I find mine doesn't really drink alot unless it's after her runs and walks)

  • o okay thanks :).
    i could teach it to ring a bell at the door :)

  • as for the other basic trainning…Mine does sit, shakes and lays down really well (with treats most of the time, but usually sits anytime I tell her). The "come" command, umm not so much lol. She has a mind of her own when it comes to coming and going where SHE wants lol. Read some books to get tips and maybe try to research a good trainer in your area. I tried Petsmart but it didn't really do anything for her.

  • @porsh:

    o okay thanks :).
    i could teach it to ring a bell at the door :)

    yes we just hung ours by the door and it worked! it's really cute once they get it! I think alot of Basenji owners do it too

  • okayy. well my friends mom owns Luv-A-K9, and i kno everyone there and ive helped out with a few agility classes . and mimi matches :)

    i kno everyone there and ive been to like every class "D

  • @Mia:

    yes we just hung ours by the door and it worked! it's really cute once they get it! I think alot of Basenji owners do it too

    Yes, we have a bell by the door that Keoki rings. It is really cute, and quite effective.

  • okay i guess i could give that a shot :)

Suggested Topics

  • Training Blog

    Basenji Training
    4
    0 Votes
    4 Posts
    3k Views
    P
    This a very interesting article, Andrea. I'm not a professionla trainer and only have little experience in the field of professional dog trainers here. Those I do know mainly use positive reinforcement but I also know some old school trainers who while professing to now use positive reinforcement do rather confuse the two. I love and totally agree with his statement that 'training is not something we do to our dogs: its something we do with them'. This I think sums up completely the way we need to train our Basenjis for the best results. Toughand Prissy, thank you for posting that excellent video link.
  • Whistle training

    Basenji Training
    8
    0 Votes
    8 Posts
    3k Views
    KipawaK
    @agilebasenji: for this sort of thing (big value treats over long time period), the best thing i've found to use is frozen liverwurst. i buy it, slice it and put it in a small container (the leftover cream cheese containers work GREAT for this) then put the container in the freezer. the pup gets to lick the frozen stuff for her high value treat - LOTS of treat over a long time, but not lots of calories or lots of treats in the tummy. the dogs at my house swear liverwurst pupcicles are wonderful. sometimes they will try to nibble, but given it's frozen and in a small container, it's hard to get lots of treats. I will try this, but I myself love liverwurst. Hopefully I will not eat it all before getting to the park. At the park today, I was about 75% successful with the whistle/treat recall. Not bad for the first time out, I think. Especially because there were easily 20 dogs there, and Kipawa is Mr. Social and has to visit with all of them.
  • Interesting house training problem

    Basenji Training
    10
    0 Votes
    10 Posts
    3k Views
    KanangaK
    @Shaye's: Not to be indelicate, but you can also watch the dog carefully for when he's starting to circle and, their little butts kind of pooch out when they are ready to poop. Watching for that was a godsend for us when we were training Shaye. Yup. Very good point here. I noticed this as well.
  • Troy's crate training, need some advice

    Basenji Training
    19
    0 Votes
    19 Posts
    8k Views
    nobarkusN
    @tanza: Crate training is something that "if" possible all dogs, not only Basenjis should learn… in your case Shaye's Mom, as you will I am sure read of hear from other Forum members there are some that you can just not crate train.... but the reasons are many, not just house breaking, but a safe place if you are having work done in the house, no worries about someone leaving a door open... work in the yard, no worries about someone leaving a gate open... traveling, all should be confined/restrained when in a moving vehicle, visiting with family/friends... by taking the crate along there is always a place that your dog is familar with and comfortable... Most responsible breeders have usually started crate training before you get your puppy... so usually they are somewhat used to them... however this is one reason I will never ship a puppy as cargo... and people need to personally pick up a puppy... one great way to freak a pup out (in my opinion) is remove them from their litter mates, stuff them in a crate that they have no idea what it is, haul them to the airport to be put in the belly of the plane.... well, you get the idea... Of course that said... there are just some that can't be crate trained and have never had a bad experience You're absoluty correct Pat. I had 3 that I could not for the life of me crate train. Crating would have been wonderful.
  • Abby's first training class.

    Basenji Training
    2
    0 Votes
    2 Posts
    2k Views
    dashD
    Glad to hear she did well. She must have heard what you said and wanted to prove you wrong. They are such stinkers!
  • Training the Termite

    Basenji Training
    2
    0 Votes
    2 Posts
    2k Views
    nala121498N
    That is too sweet! Keep us posted on his progress…and more pictures, please!