Hi I just joined!

[Bandit]

@kerrberr95:

I have a 2 and a half year old, will be 3 at Christmas time, female red and white named Ninjia, pronounced Nina. She was named after her Grandmother. Boy when people see me walking her I get the 20 question game when it comes to what kind of dog she is, does she bite and if she likes kids. Of course she just loves kids, when theres kids in my home, the adults get ignored and she is always by them. No, she doesn't bite, she is such a social and people dog and loves any and all attention she can get.
My boyfriend and I got our Basenji as a puppy and at the time we were just going to "look" and not decide that night if we were going to bring her home. Well the first time I saw here, that was it, she was definitely sold to me. So that night, in the middle of winter, we wrapped her up in a nice warm blanket and took her to her new home. Of course as any Basenji owner knows that is where the adventure begins. All the chewing on everything, and loving to be outside(unless it is raining of course).
Well I can say now, I am a devoted and loyal basenji owner. Hope to be able to post some more.:D

Hi KerrBerr95, I know what you mean. My husband and I always look in the Pet Shop pondering whether or not to get a companion for our Lowchen Alfie and both of us stop in our tracks when we saw Bandit who was a very cute puppy. Well Bandit at 3mths is certainly living up to his name and chewing on Alfie, furniture, clothing and if it's not nailed down, he steals and stores in his kennel. He's driving us crazy with his biting razor sharp teeth :eek: but we adore him and Alfie.
All the best
Angee

[youngandtired]

I found bite marks on my new living room coffeetable, boy was I mad. Here I was thinking that Sahara was doing good, chewing on her rawhide bones and not my wood furniture. And to top it all off it is new, my husband didn't want to see it, but he has to fix it with that colored wood filler. I was fussing at her and she jumped on my couch and hid her head under the couch pillow, I thought I would die trying to hold in the laughing I wanted to do. At any rate, I am checking my furniture more closely these days and I am spraying Bitter Apple on my stuff.

[thefussybasenjilovers]

Hi and welcome….I'm new too and I'm looking forward to meeting more basenji lovers like my family...I am glad to hear that you are having a good time with your new friend. As for the chewing on things, we overload our house with dog toys and they always manage to find one of their own rather than something they shouldn't...in the rare instance that they do pick up a sock or something, we immediately replace it with one of their toys (we don't scold) and they respond very well....we really haven't had a chewing problem and we have 4 Basenjis! Good Luck and welcome.

[JazzysMom]

"Fussy",
We have always handled Jazzy the same way – just quickly replace the "forbidden" item with a toy. In the year and a half we have had her, we've had very few things chewed on. And she has never damaged anything important, which was my husband's greatest fear in getting a Basenji because he'd heard the horror stories.
Now when she wants a rawhide, she'll bring me something she knows she's not allowed to chew and we trade. LOL And if she does grab something she shouldn't have, all we have to say is, "Hey! What have you got?" and she drops it, hangs her head, and waits for us to take it away.

[Quercus]

I don't want to be the party pooper here. And I am so glad that everyone has found their beautiful basenji in whatever way they did. But please, please, please don't buy puppies from pet shops. No matter what the staff there tells you, those dogs came from puppy mills. Most of the salespeople are told the puppies come from local breeders, but in reality they are from breeders that mass produce puppies, take them away from their moms at six weeks so they can be on the "shelves" at eight weeks, and they are all vetted and sorted at huge transport companies.

Responsible breeders that do health and temperament testing DO NOT sell to puppy brokers EVER. And they usually charge FAR less money for a FAR healthier dog in mind and body.

Please don't think I am picking on, or criticizing anyone for getting their puppy from a pet store…but please learn all you can before you purchase your next puppy. When we know better...we do better....

That is my public service message for the day

[Duke]

But please, please, please don't buy puppies from pet shops.

Because it's been mentioned, I opened an new thread under:
Choosing a Puppy called Pet Store Puppies - Problem.

Thanks.

[Quercus]

Thanks, Jill. That is a great idea!

[DebraDownSouth]

@youngandtired:

At any rate, I am checking my furniture more closely these days and I am spraying Bitter Apple on my stuff.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA… how is that working for you? Every dog I have ever owned thinks I am simply BASTING their object of desire for them.

[JazzysMom]

LOL, I had the same problem. Not with Jazz, but with our other dogs – including Gypsy. I gave up. All three of the dogs that I have tried Bitter Apple with LOVED the stuff. LOL

I also tried jalapeno pepper on a few items. Darned if the dogs didn't like that too.

I gave up putting anything on anything, and resorted to watching closely early and teaching that NO!!! really does mean NO!!!! But I have an advantage in being a stay at home, homeschooling mom. My dogs are generally watched by a houseful of people all day long. They can't get away wtih much!
.

[ChaseandZahrasmom]

Zahra thinks Fooey is a condiment she ate the cap off the bottle, Bitter Apple seems to work with her but not as much as Chase (our Puggle) all it takes is for him to see the bottle of either and he is gone!

[Quercus]

Here is a trick to try: If your dog seems to disregard Bitter Apple, try opening her mouth, and spraying it directly in. Usually, after that, they don't want anything to do with it.

[Terry]

I had to burst into laughter when I read about Jazzy's bringing you a forbidden item when she wants a rawhide!! And they say Basenjis aren't as smart as other breeds - well, they are problem solvers, not blind obedience dogs!! Plus, they know how to train us very well!

Terry

[JazzysMom]

My niece, who has pitt bulls and with whom I have friendly little "competition" as to who has the better dog, says that little "trick" doesn't prove Jazzy's smart, just that she has me well-trained.

Well. . . then, she MUST be relatively smart. She's managed to do a better job "training" me than my parents and husband put together. LOL