• Scarlett has started chasing chickens, ducks, and cows and other farm animals since we moved to the country. At this point she hasn't killed anything but she does tease the cows, ducks, and chickens and most owners around here are very defensive about their animals and she has returned home with a huge goose egg on her ribcage twice from being hit by something. My biggest fear is that she will eventually catch and kill the chickens and I will end up paying for her mistake or finding her dead or getting a phone call from the shelter that she is going top have to be put down for being destructive. Any suggestions?


  • Sure, keep her in and with you.
    Don't let her run free.
    I can't tell you how many b's we have rescued that have been shot, by guns or bb's.
    Honey, please, do the right thing, keep your dog on a leash or in a fenced yard.
    Otherwise, she won't be coming home at all.


  • Thats the thing, i have her in a 50 by 50 fenced in pen and the fence is 6 foot tall and she climbs the fence…i come home and find her laying on the back porch...she is miserable tied up the yard, and she is not allowed inside because we live with my boyfriends mom and she is allergic to the dog.


  • @scarlettsmomma:

    Thats the thing, i have her in a 50 by 50 fenced in pen and the fence is 6 foot tall and she climbs the fence…i come home and find her laying on the back porch...she is miserable tied up the yard, and she is not allowed inside because we live with my boyfriends mom and she is allergic to the dog.

    Well that is a problem, since Basenjis want to be with their family…. they have never done well in a pen outdoors and not able to be inside.... good luck, but I think you are in for many problems.


  • i guess my biggest question is are basenji's known for actually killing prey or like most dogs that hunt do they just track and tease?

    She has never shown aggression toward anything unless they tried to hurt me or my boyfriend and i just don't see her ever kiling anything. She has never actually tried to kill anything that she has chased…cats, kittens, other dogs, she caught a wild rabbit and held it in her paw and licked it...another one of the dogs that runs down here later killed the rabbit and she had her share but she didn't kill it because it was alive when she and i left for our daily walk and when we got back it was dead and we had two pit bull mixes at the time.


  • I think your concern should be that something/someone hurts, kills her.
    It could be a car or a human or a larger animal.
    B's are pack animals and if you can't find an enclosure to keep her in, its not going to be getting better.
    I am sorry, I don't see much good about the way it is now.


  • his mom is trying to move into the trailer with her fiance soon so that would solve the problem, but until then i guess i am just gonna have to hope and pray that she doesn't kill anything or get killed. If she does move it will be within the next month or so.


  • Will basenjis kill prey? Yes, absolutely. They may not do it with every catch but they do kill prey.

    Even if they did not kill prey, all your neighbors need for justification in shooting your dog is that she is harrassing their livestock and may kill them. As has also been pointed out if she is able to escape your yard she is also in danger of being hit by a car.

    If you must leave her in the yard then you need to look into making the yard more secure. One option is the the Coyote Roller, http://www.coyoteroller.com/home It clips to the top of the fence so the dog will not climb out. I do not know if there are cheaper alternatives but I do know of trainers who have had good results when their clients used the Coyote Roller.


  • Even though you have a fenced in yard, what about getting a BIG outdoor kennel that she can go in when she can't be supervised. I went to another B owners house today for a meet up and she had a HUGE one in her backyard, plus the yard was fenced in. You could even put a doggie house in there so she could go in if its too hot/rainy. I would still be careful about leaving her alone outside though, what if a big storm with hail or extreme heat occur when she can't be supervised? What about just allowing her in ONE room of your house, like your bedroom in a crate while you are gone? Yeah, she might not like it as much, but at least she will be safe, and my basenji does wonderful in a crate, and doesn't seem to mind it too much.
    Either way, I would definitely not let her go the way things are going now…if she gets out, how do you even know she will make her way back home? I doubt Tosca would...
    Seriously, please be careful, so far you have been lucky nothing has happened, but I am afraid luck could run out...


  • @scarlettsmomma:

    his mom is trying to move into the trailer with her fiance soon so that would solve the problem, but until then i guess i am just gonna have to hope and pray that she doesn't kill anything or get killed. If she does move it will be within the next month or so.

    And, wouldn't it be worth it to do something just for piece of mind? If I had to worry about whether or not my dog will be alive when I return every time I am gone, I would never want to leave the house…I would obsess over it the whole time, and certainly wouldn't be able to function at work or anything...


  • The biggest issue that I really think you have here is that your Basenji is going to get attacked by another dog protecting the animals on the surrounding farms, clubed, run over, shot or poisoned. While I am not attempting to scare you at the moment, this is the reality of what happens to animals that chase livestock. Its also not helping you with your neighbor relations. How allergic is the mother to the dog? Have you witnessed an allergic reaction by her, or were you just told verbally that she has an allergy to the dog.

    I found this on the net:

    “I have allergies and understand that basenjis are hypo-allergenic. Is this true?”

    Basenjis do not have doggy odor and have limited dander. Many people who suffer with allergies are able to live with a basenji in their home. If this applies to all allergy sufferers, we can not say for certain as the extent of allergies differs from one person to another. Visit a breeder and spend some time with the dogs to see if you experience any sensitivity while around them.

    Maybe a test of the mothers allergy would be something to consider if you can get her to cooperate.

    Jason


  • I can only ditto what has been said previously and I wouldn't hope for nothing bad to happen in the next month until the mother leaves. That's 30 days when something can go wrong. In addition to trying leaving the dog in your room or in a crate, how about finding a doggie daycare in the area. The coyote roller is also a good idea as is the super large kennel. Don't wait any longer do whatever it takes to protect your basenji!
    My previous basenji was hit by a car when he accidentally got out of the kennel and a previous mutt I owned got kicked when he teased a horse. It is awful to lose a beloved pet!
    And my current basenji chases and catches and sometimes kills small animals. In some areas, when dogs harass farm animals the farmer is legal to shoot the dog.


  • I do know lots of people that have allergies and react badly to Basenjis… because they do shed (abit most not alot except for about once a year) and they do have dander... that is one of the things that really gets to me about things you read on the net about Basenjis... No bark - does NOT equal mute! and No shedding - WRONG!!!


  • well we have a leash ready that is tied to the porch and the porch is screened in and has a fan and during the day when i am home and him mom is gone i try and bring her in, but i have to make sure i super clean the house everytime do this. her allergies are not severe but she constatntly sneezes and coughes and has bad eye problems becasue of the shedding…Scarlett is a basenji bulldog mix is another thing to remember. At our old place she was crated during the day and did fine but we have very limited space here and her crate is one the porch and there is no room in the house for it. I am at my wits end and running out of ideas... i would absoultely lose it if something happened to her.

    you guys have been really helpful, but i guess until she leaves i am just gonna have to keep trying different things. i just hate leaving her tied up all day and i can't bear the thought of the crate in the heat, at least on the leash she can get into the shade and move around more.


  • She doesn't look like a killer…:(
    attachment_p_47153_0_scarlett_boooo.jpg


  • Thanks for clarifying that she is a mix…


  • This is going to sound very strong and angry, and I don't mean for it to, but I'm trying to seriously explain to you the possible consequences of your dog being loose and chasing stock.

    Since Memorial Day I have had several geese killed and eaten and two sheep mauled by either dogs or coyotes. Neither sheep was killed, just really torn up. Last week I had sit down in the pasture with a sheep my daughter raised on a bottle 8 years ago and put it to sleep rather than watch it suffer. It was in such bad shape we couldn't even lift it up to put it in the truck for a trip to the vet.

    We are trying to decide how to stop these animals without putting our own dogs at risk. Poison is one alternative, but there's always the chance my boys could end up with it. Shooting is another, but something I really can't bring myself to do. We're also talking to animal control about coming out to put traps out. They would then put the animals to sleep. As much as I want to protect my animals, I have a very soft heart and it's hard for me thinking about killing these attackers. Most people I know wouldn't think twice about it.

    Honestly, if you can't figure out a way to keep your dog from chasing and potentially harming other people's animals on their property, there is a strong possibility either your neighbors or the animals themselves will hurt or kill Scarlett.


  • i have started tying her out on the porch but she looks pitiful and once his mom leaves she is going to be coming inside and go back to being the inside dog she was before we lost our place and had to move out here…lets just hope she doesn't figure out how to get off the leash and off the porch in the meantime. the porch is daytime only and she is being crated at night to get used to the crate again...she will continue to be crated during the day once she's brought in unless we can figure out a way to keep her in the pen in the yard.


  • To Eli and Me, I am so very sorry for the loss of your stock, sheep and geese.
    I don't think most of us think of how much folks who have these large/different animals bond with them…same as we bond with our dogs...
    It must have been awful for you.

    Morgan something else that should be brought up, altho it does seem like your working on the loose dog issue, is that if your dog does hurt/kill any animals, you will be libal for paying for the damage or replacement of the stock.
    If its a chicken, I don't imagine its too much, but what if your b bites a cow or horse? Hurts its leg. That could be as much as a used kennel run.

    So, maybe you can get on line and find someone who has a used dog run for to buy...something you can put a top on and keep her contained.

    We do so want this getting out to stop so you and your dog aren't at risk..

    Your b is lovely...I can see why you love her so much.


  • Sharron…Thank you...It is surprising the bond/protectiveness you grow to have for these animals, especially the sheep who really have no way to protect themselves. I wouldn't even let my daughter go down to the pasture, she cried enough without seeing the results.

    Morgan...Again I don't want to sound hostile, I just don't want anything to happen to Scarlett. I know that would break your heart.

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