Skip to content
Basenji Forums
  1. Home
  2. Basenji Training
  3. Booger the Bully… need advice please

Booger the Bully… need advice please

Basenji Training
  • AndrewA

    I need some advice on what to do with Booger.
    He will be 2 in January, and we started coursing him this summer. We went to 2 practices, where he ran alone & with Zip. (Zip is MauiGirl's female)
    He ran with Zip in August for his ASFA certification, and also ran against Zip at an ASFA trial in late October. So far, so good. Good follow, enthusiasm, etc.
    However, last weekend at an ASFA trial he turned & bumped Zip, and coursed her for a bit. It didn't progress further, so the judges decided to keep the lure running, and they finished out the course. Booger was dismissed for interference. The judges said it is likely it was play rather than aggression since they spend so much time together.
    This weekend we attended an AKC trial. Yesterday he got the first leg of his JC with a beautiful run, and today he failed to get his second leg because he lost the lure & wandered around for a minute before picking it back up & finishing well. After the trial, I decided to practice him with my 11 month old, both to practice her as well as see how he would act.
    The lure operator complimented Lola, but in the middle of the run called Booger "a bully." He was bumping into her for the entire second half of the run (after he stopped to take a poop! Oops!). At one point, he knocked her over & she rolled. Fortunately, she is used to it as she is little & gets bowled over a lot during play. She finished beautifully, ignoring Booger as best she could, but Booger antagonized her for the whole second half!!! He was very keen on the lure yesterday, but today seemed to be less interested in it & more interested in everything else.
    He loves to run, and I will continue to practice him as well as run him in Singles stakes in ASFA. Any advice for how to refocus him on the lure? Or should I just let him keep doing fun runs & singles stakes at ASFA events?
    Since he enjoys it, I don't want to stop completely, and I have no problem with him never winning ribbons or titles. The down side to him running singles is that there aren't many basenjis running in our region. Currently its just Zip & Booger. Lola will start running in mid December & Riley (MauiGirl's other b) will start running in January. Taking Booger out really limits the competition, but I can't have a bully on the field!!! Help!

    Carrie & the Brindle Babes, Callie & Lola (Not Andrew)

    0
  • lvossL

    Some dogs never really gain focus, some just need more maturity, and some just can't focus for an entire course. If you have some straight racing in your area, you may want to see if he is more focused on the short straights. Try him by himself and see if there is a difference in his focus. Also because the straight racing uses a squawker it sometimes increases the dog's interest in the lure.

    It is a good idea to keep him in singles or practice until you see improvement in his focus otherwise he will just learn that it is okay to do it.

    0
  • tanzaT

    For now, if he were mine, I would just continue to practice him and run singles.. and your are totally right, no Bully's on the field…..

    You may just find that it is the time of year that is distracting him... many B Boy's are "stupid" during breeding season, neutered or not.... my boy, neutered at 3yr, knew quite well that it was breeding season and still does at 17+.

    Do you run him with a muzzle? Many times that will help to keep the focus on the task at hand instead of bumping and playing...

    Also the fact that you are running him with his housemates/friends that he typically plays with, is also a distraction (possible)... and if he is not totally focused on the lure then he thinks they are out there for play time.

    I would (if mine):
    1. Put on a muzzle if he is not already wearing one
    2. Continue to practice him alone and ask the lure operator to keep the lure right under his nose... even to the point of letting him almost catch it... to get him really focused on it.
    3. Don't run him with Lola as being a housemate might keep leading to him wanting to bump and antagonize her
    4. Wait till well after breeding season to see if that changes anything in his focus

    And in the end, some are just like that... my OJ has never coursed (except the other dogs...ggg)... he was sure that the only reason that he was out there was to bump and run with the others (I only ever let him run with bitches that I knew in practices and would not be put off if he did that)... and when he ran alone, he would get totally distracted if the lure was not right under his nose.

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

    0
  • AndrewA

    Thanks for the advice! I heard a lot about muzzle use this weekend, and how for many basenjis its like "focus time" when the muzzle goes on. I'm definitely NOT going to run him with other dogs for a while. He was an a-hole this weekend. I was aggravated that he was messing with Lola so much… she was having a fantastic run otherwise!

    Carrie & the Brindle Babes, Callie & Lola (Not Andrew)

    0
  • nomrbddgsN

    Some dogs, as the others have said, just run better by themselves. I'm not very fortunate as mine, for the most part, won't run away from me, but I'm working on it. We wear muzzles up in Canada and after they get used to them, they get excited when they see them come out.

    Arlene, the Basenji Brats with the Boxenji![](images/smilies/biggrin.png "Big Grin")

    0

Suggested Topics

  • E

    In need of a little assistance

    Basenji Training
    58
    0 Votes
    58 Posts
    31k Views
    E
    im sure it will :)
  • KipawaK

    Walking Kipawa - need your ideas

    Basenji Training
    10
    0 Votes
    10 Posts
    4k Views
    KipawaK
    @DebraDownSouth: I do 2 kinds of walks with my dogs, both do no permit pulling. On most walks, I like to use a longer leash and I allow them to sniff and do whatever… it is what is fun for them. On exercise walks, I make them heel and keep head up. That way they get that sometimes they can meander and sniff, other times it's business. I have never tried it, but I suspect you can teach sniff, then NO SNIFF lol. We do both on our walks, free leash and then heeling. But I would love him to have his head up more during free leash walking.
  • wizardW

    Tips on house training needed

    Basenji Training
    17
    0 Votes
    17 Posts
    4k Views
    wizardW
    Gbroxon - no big deal. No one knew Luny (aka Tommy) would exhibit SA and especially not in such a severe form. And I understood what you were thinking - about people dumping dogs. One of my stupid neighbors has gone that route (they've had 6 different dogs in 3 years - I won't talk to them anymore). And I don't know how many times I've come across people who say "oh what a pretty dog, I'd like one like that" when they see me walking my dog. I almost always discourage them from getting a basenji (with that attitude no dog would be good for them). So I'm with you there.
  • C

    Please HELP with rescued basenji

    Basenji Training
    15
    0 Votes
    15 Posts
    5k Views
    Ninabeana26N
    My vet suggested not leaving any water for him as long as I am not gone longer than 3-4 hours. I stopped leaving water & it seemed at first to stop him from peeing but only for a short time. I feed him early enough in the day that he is out of his crate for several hours after eating. He isn't even crated daily because my sister is home from college right now & thus home during the day a lot. It's only when she has to go out that we crate. His crate being too big may be a possibility. It's a good size crate because I wanted him to have room since when I lived in FL he was crated for closer to 6 hours at any given time. Plus in FL he was still sleeping in his crate. I guess I could give a smaller one a try… As far as leaving him uncrated, we are working towards that. We leave him out if it's only like 30 minutes or so to try to see what he'll do. My goal is to eventually always leave him uncrated but right now I just don't trust him enough. We left him uncrated in my room one day & he ripped a huge chunk of the carpet out [down to the concrete!] So…yea. Haha.
  • C

    Need some hunting info

    Basenji Training
    5
    0 Votes
    5 Posts
    5k Views
    tanzaT
    Thanks for posting that Vegas!!!!!! I could not remember the yahoo group name either…
  • sekoS

    Need help with slalom

    Basenji Training
    6
    0 Votes
    6 Posts
    7k Views
    M
    Makes for a decorative backyard but it breaks the routine of walks on a leash–any "skill" course seems to trigger the inate ability of challenge.