Good luck, he is a really sweet looking dog. Others are far more knowledgeable, but my guess is he had a bad life and now now a good one, may have fears that you will give him up too. His life has been very uncertain (at best) up till now. All the other advice, classes, long walks and tiring him out, then lots of love and cuddles, not no "poor baby" stuff.
Hi and welcome to the forum. Reuger looks lovely. Poor chap being so scared, wonder what has happened to make him like that. From your posts it looks like he has bonded with you and is frightened to lose you. Probably in time he will become more relaxed. In the picture of the journey home he looks like he has shut his eyes in relief.
Basenjis have their tails and most responsibly bred ones in the US have dew claws removed. Rat Terriers have their tails docked and can have a strong resemblance to basenjis since they were used in their development.
I have a question about your boy's coloring, does he have a chocolate colored nose?
He does have a chocolate nose, now that you say it. Very dark. Why the removal of dew laws? I know that the shelter said he may be mixed with a terrier, but they didn't know. The vet thought full basenji, but he couldn't tell.
@Rita:
Jaycee's dew's were cut off when she was a baby. I not sure but some of the others on here that have had B's longer could tell you but 5 is young. Loves of love and time and I am sure the afraid will go away. He loves you all ready just making sure your there to stay or that he is there to stay.
Rita Jean
Yes, love time and deep breaths
How much white does your dog have on his coat? I would think he is some sort of Terrier. Is he the same size as a Basenji or is he smaller, usually a male Basenji weighs around 24 lbs. I finally was able to see a larger picture of Reuger and there are two things I notice about his head/ears. His head looks longer and narrower than a Basenji and in some pictures his ears look like they have a point to them where a Basenji would not have this.
Perhaps he is highly inbred and not socialized. He sounds like he has not been socialized to new things and may not have even lived in a house. Could it be the doorbell or knocking that he is afraid of? Are you the only one feeding him and/or petting him? It sounds like he has developed an attachment to you and the other people in your household need to pay more attention to him. Is there another dog in your household that he hangs out with?
I have heard of this and biting in the air or fly biting is associated with epilepsy although there are a few other things that can cause it including eye problems. Are you sure he is not trying to catch small bugs? If not, I would research it. I typed in "Canines biting at the air" for a google search.
Here is a good website/page and there is a short video of a dog on it having the symptoms:
http://www.canine-epilepsy.net/flybite/flybite.html
Dr. Johnson is doing a study on epilepsy. In case you did not know, he is the same doctor who is doing the study on Fanconi for Basenjis.
Wow! what a lot of info. I will research it. Thank you.
He is 23 lbs, his ears are almost pointed but not quite. He has a quite a bit of white on him, although he is mostly fawn.
Not being socialized makes a lot of sense. I do require the whole family to take part in loving him, which isn't hard because everyone loves him so much. He is very attached to us all. He gets along perfect with my other two dogs.
The being inbred makes sense too. Maybe he jsut has genuine mental problems. One thing is for sure, terrier, inbred, whatever-we love and are committed to him.
Thank you for your advice. I will follow up.
Whatever the breed, this is my advice.
Take this dog out and walk him…long time, wear him out. Every day, or even better 2 times a day..a run in the backyard won't do it. He needs to burn off anxiety.
Next, ignore the dog when he is clingy. Talk to him an a voice that says, your so silly, you need to be more independent.
No "poor" baby talk.
I would get him into a gentle obedience class. It will help him burn off energy and become more confident.
Well, that is my advice.
Hmmmmm. Good point. I am queen of the walk. My dogs don't want for energy burning, but I do poor baby talk him a lot.
If he's lacking a tail, he could be a rat terrier more than a basenji.
Otherwise, no matter the breed, there are several things you can do. He hasn't really been in your home very long so it's a great time to start implementing house rules. I'd suggest a thyroid test (just to be sure things are in working order) AND I'd try a DAP. Also see if you can find a behaviorist or a good positive training class. If you were local to me, I'd suggest a friend's Realtionship Building class. Call around many more progressive training facilities are offering this type of class.
Books that I would suggest would include:
Click to Calm
Control Unleashed
Fiesty Fido
I also just finished reading Reaching the Animal Mind - great book, wonderful intro into clicker training if you haven't done it before.I have no idea exactly where Madras, Or is, but this place looks great!
http://www.dogdaysnw.com/index.html
(one of the instructors was on the Control Unleashed list before it closed. very helpful, insightful person)Just using google, I found several promising looking training centers near Madras Or. Of course you'll want to call and i'd ask to watch a class or two to see if you feel comfortable with your potential trainer.
Here's what I found that I'd look into if I were in your position.
http://www.betterbehaveddog.com/A_better_Behaved_Dog/Home.htmlhttp://www.dancinwoofs.com/Classes/Description_classes.asp
http://www.kindredheartsdogtraining.com/kindredheartsdogtraining.com/Training_Classes.html
(couldn't get a really good feel for training methods on this one, but maybe worth looking at)
Holy cow! Thank you so very much. I will look these up and the classes. I agree, I think my Reugers problems are beyond my capabilities and I need expert advice. I am very interested in this clicker training. I can't continue on this path, though. He is miserable and it breaks my heart.
thank you. This almost made me cry. He does look relieved. I just tear up thinking what he went through before and I don't get it because although he is high maint. to say the least, he is a love. Just a kind hearted love. How can people be so cruel?
He does have a chocolate nose, now that you say it. Very dark. Why the removal of dew laws? I know that the shelter said he may be mixed with a terrier, but they didn't know. The vet thought full basenji, but he couldn't tell.
He is probably rat terrier or rat terrier mix if he has a chocolate nose, basenjis have black. Even if he is rat terrier, he will probably have many basenji traits since he seems to have inherited a lot of the basenji phenotype that is still in some lines of rat terriers.
Dew claws are removed because they can cause problems as adults from getting caught or from lack of nail care. The injuries can be quite severe if it is a situation where it is caught an pulled because often the tendon ends up ripped. When removed as very puppies it is very easy, heals quickly, and is considered a minor procedure. When removal is needed as adults it is major surgery.
http://www.dogscouts.org/Protocol_for_relaxation.html
good for any dog, and is talked about in Control Unleashed.
Also, i'd try sitting down with him and massage him for a few minutes a day and tell him is is NOT going to another house, that you love him, that he's a wonderful dog, but need to learn to behave, etc.
