Behavior Worsens?

[sherryclarke]

Hi All;

Our girl, Bassit, is 10 months old, and, as much as I'm afraid to say this too loudly, she's simply a joy! Not very distructive, very, very sweet and loving, friendly to people and other dogs, exceptionally cuddly. We were at Woofstock this weekend and met someone with a 7 year old Basenji who said that theirs had gotten progressively more 'ornery' as she got older. Is this common? Are we in a honeymoon period and my sweet little girl will grow more distant and cranky? Would love to hear from others with more experience than me.

Thanks!

[Buana]

Our two Basenji boys, three and one year old.. did not became cranky when they grew..

I think they stayed exactly the same but! they connect more to us, we bond very good..
B's can be cranky, yes.. for instance, our 3year old becomes crancy when it raines… (then he comes to us and it looks like he will say "look at this bad weather.. I don'thave to go outside aren't I????)
They really don't grew more distant to us.. more towards us..

I think when you spend much time together you get a very close connection to your B..

[sherryclarke]

Hooray! That's the answer I was hoping for. I have made some pretty significant changes in my lifestyle to accomodate little miss. (I don't think I've gone out on an evening for more than a couple of hours since we brought her home.) I'm pleased to hear that the efforts we've made to spend time with her and bond are going to pay off long-term.

[Buana]

Most Basenji's are very close to their family, that's a great thing about Basenji's!

[wizard]

My first basenji made it to 9 years and I think he became more calm.
I know a lady in the neighborhood that has a "old" tri bitch and she does get cranky (isn't that a tri trait? ;)).
I think it just depends on the dog.

[etzbseder]

Medjai has gotten a little less patient with the dogs at the park over the last 6-8 months, but other than that, he's great. i think as long as you're working with her, it's mostly comparable to teen years. If they get more cranky, it's just temporary, but as with kids, not all of them will get the cranky streak.

I'm glad Medjai has gotten a little less patient. He used to get walked all over at the park and would get humped by two dogs every time we went, so now he stands up for himself. I wish he would listen better when at the park, but that's as much my fault with lack of proper training at home as it is his for not listening to what he was taught before.

[tanza]

@sherryclarke:

Hi All;

Our girl, Bassit, is 10 months old, and, as much as I'm afraid to say this too loudly, she's simply a joy! Not very distructive, very, very sweet and loving, friendly to people and other dogs, exceptionally cuddly. We were at Woofstock this weekend and met someone with a 7 year old Basenji who said that theirs had gotten progressively more 'ornery' as she got older. Is this common? Are we in a honeymoon period and my sweet little girl will grow more distant and cranky? Would love to hear from others with more experience than me.

Thanks!

Usually this would be a sign that they should have her thyroid checked… any change in behavior is a clue to make sure it is not health related.

[tanza]

@wizard:

My first basenji made it to 9 years and I think he became more calm.
I know a lady in the neighborhood that has a "old" tri bitch and she does get cranky (isn't that a tri trait? ;)).
I think it just depends on the dog.

Nope, cranky is not a Tri strait…. "wicked" is a Tri trait....;)

[Basenjimamma]

Is it really "true" that the different colored B's have certain traits? I have heard/read that before, but thought…"there is no way''?

[tanza]

@Basenjimamma:

Is it really "true" that the different colored B's have certain traits? I have heard/read that before, but thought…"there is no way''?

People that have had and have Tri's have always said that they are "different"…gggg .... Tris are "Tri-ing"...ggg and "wicked" in a good way..:D I have had a few Tris over the years and there is no doubt in my mind they have a different sense of humor then the reds....

[sherryclarke]

We met a red for the first time this weekend (up until now, our Bassit, a tri, was the only real-live B we knew). What I found hilarious, was that I could pretty much see what the red was thinking. His behavior was fairly predictable. With Bassit, we never EVER know what she's thinking until she's wreaked some sort of havoc!
Edited to Add - I'm sure that the humans owned by the red would beg to differ on his being 'predictable' but that was my opinion. His behavior made sense, whereas Bassit's…sometimes I have to think really hard to trace where her thought pattern started out!

[EskiLovr]

@sherryclarke:

We met a red for the first time this weekend (up until now, our Bassit, a tri, was the only real-live B we knew). What I found hilarious, was that I could pretty much see what the red was thinking. His behavior was fairly predictable. With Bassit, we never EVER know what she's thinking until she's wreaked some sort of havoc!
Edited to Add - I'm sure that the humans owned by the red would beg to differ on his being 'predictable' but that was my opinion. His behavior made sense, whereas Bassit's…sometimes I have to think really hard to trace where her thought pattern started out!

Sherry,

I think part of that difference was the fact that the red was a BOY. They are much more transparent than the girls, I hear. I also think that both black/white and tri are a little harder to read, because the expression is harder to see, due to the face color. Every change in wrinkle shows up crystal clear on the lighter faces….more there to read.

Just my two cents.

[Basenjimamma]

I can see that it is easier to read lighter colors, i.e reds, Otis is a very dark brindle, so unless you stand over him, you can hardly see his wrinkles/expression..