Well needed exerise

[basenjimama]

I am from Michigan and was wondering if anyone knows any type of sport activity for Basenjis. I am located in West Bloomfield, MI. She needs the exercise and more social interaction.

[tanza]

Lure coursing is a great way for interaction and exercise….

[MacPack]

If you don't have lure coursing in your area, there are other options. Long walks, dog park if she is friendly, obedience and agility classes (and all the practice involved) uses up some energy and helps them focus…hopefully. If you ride a bike there is an attachment called a Walky-dog that comes highly recommended. It is hard to burn all that young basenji energy, good luck.

[ComicDom1]

MacPack, thanks for the info on the walky dog. I watched both movies where they are riding the bike and the dog is attached. While I would like to try something like this with my Basenji, I am somewhat nervous because I fear either my Basenji or I will get hurt if the dog just stops dead in his tracks, sees prey and decides to try to bolt and take off after it, or sees something else he wants and either bolts forward or sideways.

Do you have any personal experience using this Walky-Dog attachment?

Thanks,
Jason

[kiroja]

@ComicDom1:

Do you have any personal experience using this Walky-Dog attachment?

Jason, Debbie Brown-Thompson has Basenjis and uses the walky dog. She speaks wonders of it. Her boy Quinn is pictured on Amazon's website where it sells the product. Just roll your mouse over the images underneath the main image and you'll see 3 pictures of Debbie and Quinn. And this is a boy who is certainly full of antics so if she can do it, so can you! lol

http://www.amazon.com/WalkyDog-Hands-Free-Bicycle-Leash/dp/B0002MQJJW

[kiroja]

@basenjimama:

I am from Michigan and was wondering if anyone knows any type of sport activity for Basenjis. I am located in West Bloomfield, MI. She needs the exercise and more social interaction.

Welcome! I am from Southgate, not too far away. There are so many things you can do with your B! I have puppy owners in Rochester that do lots of rollerblading with their boy. Lure coursing or racing will probably be the most exciting (and tiring) thing for your kid. There are only a handful of events each year in the area, but it's a lot of fun. The next trial coming up is an ASFA trial on May 9/10 in Gibraltar. Although there is talk recently about holding a practice in Stockbridge next weekend. Usually there isn't any way to practice, except to go to the events and most of the time on Saturdays after the trial they will run practices.

Also there are lots of traditional activities you can do like obedience, rally obedience, and agility. There are several nice clubs that would have classes/activities in your area. I belong to Ann Arbor Dog Training Club and they have some fabulous instructors and classes at very reasonable prices. They love having the Basenjis around. Besides obedience and agility, they also have tracking and flyball classes. If you search around online, you can find links to a lot of training clubs in SE Mich. Fortunately for you, a lot of them are in the northern suburbs. Not so good for me. lol

And if you're really looking for something unique, we also do weight pulling! lol There are practices every Sunday in Leslie, and there is a place in Romulus closer to where I live now that I've been going to work out at. If you search for my kennel name you can see lots of pics of my kids doing all these kind of events. Some of them take a lot of patience and work, others the dogs just pick up naturally. Basenjis just sometimes take a different approach to training. They're not your "want to please you" robot like some other breeds. But you can have a lot of fun with some of these activities, even if it's just casually in your own backyard.

If you want to contact me privately feel free to do so. I'd be happy to help you find something to do with your girl. Or we can always just get together sometime for a playday.

[renaultf1]

@ComicDom1:

MacPack, thanks for the info on the walky dog. I watched both movies where they are riding the bike and the dog is attached. While I would like to try something like this with my Basenji, I am somewhat nervous because I fear either my Basenji or I will get hurt if the dog just stops dead in his tracks, sees prey and decides to try to bolt and take off after it, or sees something else he wants and either bolts forward or sideways.

Do you have any personal experience using this Walky-Dog attachment?

Thanks,
Jason

I haven't used this attachment, but still run Ruby on the bike. The reason you won't lose your balance with the Walky Dog is because it is attached to the seatpost - your center of gravity. Put it on the handle bar stem and that would be a different story. The other key thing is with the Walky Dog (and the way I run Ruby) is that they can't get to the wheels of the bike.

Honestly when I run Ruby, I don't feel like she is even attached to the bike - there is no pulling. The one thing I found when running Ruby is that even if there is prey that she might be interested in, she is moving forward and in a manner that doesn't allow freedom to go in another direction. I've encountered rabbits, squirrels, deer and cats and never had her try to chase off to the side. If they are in front of her, she will pick up speed, so I try to match her speed. She's looked at them, then looked at me and all I've said is "keep going or forget it" and there has never been a problem. Mostly she is looking ahead and having a blast running.

We run a steady pace on the flats of about 14 - 16mph (11mph up hill - great for her, but it nearly kills me :eek:)…I'm sure she could go faster, but we go about 4 - 6 miles so I don't want to completely wipe her out.

You want to tire out a basenji - a bike is a great tool!