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First Attack

Behavioral Issues
  • @tanza:

    I don't give mine human values.. just stating that my Basenjis do not attack the injured/sick…

    Thinking back,

    We did have a terrier mix that had a cancer growth removed and the day we brought her home from the Vet the Basenji's acted a little weird, hoovering around her with these strange looks and my wife thought they would attack her if we didn't keep them away. It was fresh from surgery, dried blood and so on…......it was weird though.

  • I would also like to add, that she only does this when he is screaming in pain.

  • My two have had such bad fights that they now live on separate floors in my house. Rosie attacks Willie - she's much smaller, but much more fierce when she fights than he is. It's pretty scarey stuff - the first time they got into it when I was around, I thought Willie's ear would be ripped off when he got up. She's quiet, but he's usually screaming because she's just too quick for him and she's pulling on some part or another. They worked up to this gradually and I'm now in the process of trying to get them back together, at least when I'm home. I don't think I'll ever feel okay about leaving them together when I'm not around.

    Your fight does sound like a little food frenzy rather than a real fight.

  • Just to weigh in…I haven't had my Bs try to kick each other when they are down...but they do get nervous when somebody comes home smelling like the vet (well, not the vet...the vet's office...you know what I mean ;) )

    But I have seen this in gorillas from when I worked at the zoo. It was instantaneous. If a gorilla started getting ill, or injured, the subordinate gorillas of the same sex (usually females, since generally you don't keep multiple males) would immediatey start to pick fights with the ill one. The two who were the worst were two sisters that were both wishing to have the highest status (non-Silverback) status in the group. They had status issues going on all the time, though...and you may see that same behavior in dogs that have ongoing, but supressed status issues when one gets sick.

  • I'm guilty of treating my Bs like kids sometimes and like they have human values/feelings….but I did see a program on tv recently about a study done on animals feeling "love" and other emotions--like grief. It was very interesting. And I do know some people whom I think my dogs have more feelings/values than :)

  • After all things said and done - today for the first time ever - Duke laid in his crate for an afternoon nap. I was up & down doing errands and think - it's strange one or both aren't following me! hmmm . . . I find Duke in his crate and behind him on the rear half of his comfy fluffy bed is Daisy - snoozing away! I couldn't believe my eyes - I had to look twice to see if it was really Daisy lying with her head resting on top of Dukes behind. Duke would never-never-never let her come close when he rested - always he sounded a warning growl. I went and grabbed my camera and darn if the thing crapped out on me today. Yeah - it's dead. New batteries wouldn't wake it up. Darn - I had a Kodak moment and don't know if I'll see that again. I hope maybe that scary attack on Daisy was a turning point in their relationship. Is there love after all? :) :confused: :p

  • :confused: Okay! Am I going nuts? Here is this thread about Daisy and Duke's fight and suddenly in the midst of the thread (top of page 3), I have a picture posted by Barklessdog that is so funny that it is almost disturbing. It is of a tricolor B in a Santa outfit. Now…the picture clearly has nothing to do with the thread but no one else has even commented on it.......which leads me to wonder if I'M the only one who has the picture. Tell me....are the voices in my head now showing me pictures!? Does anyone else have the picture? It is funny.

    Pat

  • No, we all are seeing it… personally I think it is a little over the top

  • @BasenjiDiva:

    :confused: Okay! Am I going nuts? Here is this thread about Daisy and Duke's fight and suddenly in the midst of the thread (top of page 3), I have a picture posted by Barklessdog that is so funny that it is almost disturbing. It is of a tricolor B in a Santa outfit. Now…the picture clearly has nothing to do with the thread but no one else has even commented on it.......which leads me to wonder if I'M the only one who has the picture. Tell me....are the voices in my head now showing me pictures!? Does anyone else have the picture? It is funny.

    Pat

    What? Does that strike you as strange? ;)

  • I posted that relating that to dog owners who like to humanize their dogs, but when they go primal that image goes out the window.

    The point was, people can dress up their little dogs and give them names, but deep inside they are primal animals. The Santa Basenji illustrates that idea.

    That how it relates, to me, that's why I posted it.

    We have a Christmas pillow with that picture!

  • @BasenjiDiva:

    :confused: Okay! Am I going nuts? Here is this thread about Daisy and Duke's fight and suddenly in the midst of the thread (top of page 3), I have a picture posted by Barklessdog that is so funny that it is almost disturbing. It is of a tricolor B in a Santa outfit. Now…the picture clearly has nothing to do with the thread but no one else has even commented on it.......which leads me to wonder if I'M the only one who has the picture. Tell me....are the voices in my head now showing me pictures!? Does anyone else have the picture? It is funny.

    Pat

    I had seen it before, it does have a comical quality to it.:D

  • @Quercus:

    What? Does that strike you as strange? ;)

    LOL….not really. It doesn't strike me strange that a bunch of basenji owners are a tad bit eccentric OR that the voices in my head are now showing me pictures! :D

    Pat

  • I thought it was kind of Grinch like…........scrooge.....ect.:rolleyes:

  • It made me laugh :) I like how his paws are devilishly folded together. It is photo shopped, I think, no? He wasn't forced against his will to wear a little Santa suit ;)

  • @Barklessdog:

    I posted that relating that to dog owners who like to humanize their dogs, but when they go primal that image goes out the window.

    The point was, people can dress up their little dogs and give them names, but deep inside they are primal animals. The Santa Basenji illustrates that idea.

    That how it relates, to me, that's why I posted it.

    We have a Christmas pillow with that picture!

    I dunno….a little anthropomorphization (whoo...hard to spell) is okay. Dogs are similar to people, that is why we love them so much..and why they can share our homes. OUR dogs are maybe a little more primal......

    Let's not forget that humans can be horrifyingly primal as well.....

  • At first I thought it was that dog on the Conan O/Brien show! I agree…I like the crossed paws. He is a devilish looking Santa.

    Pat

  • @Quercus:

    I dunno….a little anthropomorphization (whoo...hard to spell) is okay. Dogs are similar to people, that is why we love them so much..and why they can share our homes. OUR dogs are maybe a little more primal......

    Let's not forget that humans can be horrifyingly primal as well.....

    True, true & true.

    My impression of the Santa dog - Looks like a Holloween photo of a vampire dog in a Santa suit and strait jacket - Poor little doggy is morphed out. :eek: How did you do it Barklessdog?

  • In photoshop with cut & paste

    My family absolutley hated this one of the pigdog

  • Your family is right…..Pig dog is just not right!! I've never seen a B's tail that curly-Q'd like a pigs tail. Did you do a photo shop fix on that also or does the tail do that on its own?

    Pat

  • It's an inside family joke, once we were in upper Michigan at a Lumber Jack festival and a hill billy came up laughing pointing at our dogs tail saying"look at that, that dog has a tail like piggy" and busts up laughing. Our dog who was facing the other way, turned around and looked him square in the eye with a really evil look. It shocked the guy and he just walked away.

    Yes his tail is real and it can never uncurl. No one can touch it accept my wife & myself. She trims it no problem.

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    I'm no Basenji expert since I've only had one. And, I don't want to start a dog park argument. I'll just share my experience. Jengo LOVED running free, but he's a Basenji. Can't do that cause... cars. The dog park near our house is HUGE. A big completely enclosed lawn area the size of a football field with towering oak trees. We were OCD about keeping Jengo's vaccinations up to date. He was chipped and wore a collar with contact and rabies tags 24/7. He loved the dog park, but not all the dogs there. He hated any dog of any size that would try to dominate him in any way. He rarely instigated it, but he never tolerated it meaning regardless of size... he wouldn't back down. He also hated if another dog approached him from behind and would snap immediately. My solution was to stay near him and to keep moving. We would walk laps around the perimeter and by about the second or third lap he'd been or had checked out all the other dogs. Then things were good. If I saw that he was getting anxious I'd usually catch it before he reacted and would tell him "Easy". 9 times out 10 that was enough. I'd also make sure that he was aware of dogs in our vicinity so that he wouldn't be surprised if they came from behind. We went to the park for years. He never caught anything that I was aware of. I did pick him up and leave if there was another dog he and/or I weren't comfortable with. And, I also recall walking away before ever entering the park if there was a dog we didn't like already there. I guess my point is that part of protecting your dog and others is knowing and focusing on them without over-reacting at the same time. I don't want to set him off. But, I want to know what he's going to do before he does. You have to read him. All dogs give signals one way or another. Tune in to your dog, not the other people at the park. I liked the other people at the park, but I wasn't there for them. My focus was always on Jengo.
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    @patty and others that reference a responsible breeder: I got my Jessey (my friend dubbed him the Jester because of his loveable zaniness) - who is my second Basenji - from a responsible breeder and he was well socialized by her and then me. I took him to the dog park which he loved at first, but then after many visits, he became scared. He used to walk the neighborhood, but then became scared. Any boom/bang/bounce - he bolts home. My other Basenji was nothing like this. Jessey has his pack of BFF's but is usually snarky to other dogs (typical B!). My point is, it's not always the breeder. Dogs - like humans - can develop "head issues". It has been very frustrating for me having a neurotic dog, but I've come to accept that's him and would never love him any less! The vet gave me Solliquin to try, but I've been hesitant. Anyone out there tried it?
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    @Quercus: …I can't imagine a dog in a real fight taking the chance of turning his back on the attacker. Though, I am used to seeing girl, girl fights...where neither girl is willing to surrender...it could be that a dog who really doesn't want to fight will try to protect his head and neck by offering other 'parts'...it would definitely indicate that the other dog wasn't reading his signs correctly...either by the dog offering surrender, or running away...it isn't really appropriate for the attacking dog to continue attacking... This is probably what may have happened. I don't think anyone actually saw the fight… So it's hard to tell, but my friend now thinks it is a part of male dominance fighting! I told them I would ask on here and see if it is common or not...
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