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Aggression

Behavioral Issues
  • abby_basenjiA

    Abby tends to be food aggressive when we are eating dinner even though she doesn't get any table food if we try to move her away or take her out of the room she gets real snippy growling and trying to bite:mad: she also seems a bit aggressive when she is tired and we go to move her from "her" spot on the couch, this one she only tends to do when my stepchildren are there for the weekend, it's almost like this is her house and they are invading it, but i'm afraid she is really going to bite them:eek:. Any info anyone can give on this would really help alot.:confused:

    Michelle, Abby B, Cooper B, Missy mut, and FatFat the cat!

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  • barkless513B

    My boy Tobias is very wierd when we move him while he is sleeping, he growls at us and it sounds really vicious but once he is moved he wants to lick the skin of my face as to say "IM SORRY MAMA", I dont know if your Abby will bite , best to tell the children to respect her space, it also works when you talk to them before tring to move them, this always works now with Tobias, I guess it changes his frame of mind.

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  • MantisM

    please be aware that females in particular growl to talk….that snarfy sound.

    i have had a food aggressive dog, only towards those she wanted to dominate...the other basenji and my cats....she never growled at me because i was always the alpha female when they would get out of hand.

    i talked to a trainer about it and it is a dominance issue. he suggested feeding her separate in a kennel so she felt safe. she would still growl if a cat got close to her food, but I didnt have to worry.

    maybe you could feed her in the kennel when you eat.

    try a spray bottle when she growls and say no and see if that works.....

    good luck.....

    i found that the growling while sleeping and growling in general is a lot easier to understand when you are around other basenji owners in your community and they share similar behaviors...then it isnt so scary....

    if you are feeling uneasy and the basenji makes you feel uncomfortable in any way....try training classes without treats....that will help you communicate with your basenji...

    most stuff can be worked out with enough effort....and understanding. good luck!

    Caesar and Cairo….the boys

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  • QuercusQ

    Abby is participating in what is called "resource guarding" Your first step should be to set her up so that she can't practice the behavior….so put her in her crate before you eat.

    Limit and supervise the interactions that she and your stepkids have. If she is uncomfortable around them, which she very well may be..have them take turns feeding her treats. A lot of Basenjis that weren't raised around kids are very wary of them, and will try to warn them off by giving them a low growl...if it is ignored, or harshly corrected, many will bite.

    When she is sleeping condition her to quietly calling her name and when she gets up, give her a treat. It won't take long before she hops up as soon as you call her name, to get the treat.

    Good luck

    Andrea Walters

    Quercus Basenjis

    NW Ohio

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  • Y

    My Basenji also growled when woken up or moved from her warm spot. Didn't have a food problem though.

    I've once seen her wake herself up from a doggie nightmare, she even snapped in the air a few times before she awoke.

    The only way we could persuade her to move without the fuss was with something she liked even more than her warm spot like a treat or the heater.

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  • abby_basenjiA

    These are all really good tip thank you guys so much.

    Michelle, Abby B, Cooper B, Missy mut, and FatFat the cat!

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  • youngandtiredY

    My Sahara likes to eat cat poo, can anyone tell me how to get her to stay out of my cat's litter box. I have 2 cats that live in the garage during the winter and so the litter box is out there as well. My washer and dryer is there also, so when I wash Sahara of course follows me out there. I do try to get her to stay inside, but sometimes she scoots by me, she is such an escape artist. She likes to chase my cats, bother them until they jump on top of the chest freezer. Well, then she goes over to the litter box, I caught her in the process, it was so gross, help!!!!!!! No sweet kisses for me for awhile!!!!!! haha!!!!

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  • JazzysMomJ

    Every dog I've owned has had a thing for the cat poo…so nasty!!!

    We wound up having to get a covered litter box and turn it toward the wall, leaving just enough space for the cats to get in and out.
    At least it took the dogs longer to get to and we can could catch them in time!
    Since Jazzy moved in we've moved the litter boxes to part of the house where she cannot go. The poor cats were being daily tormented and it just didn't seem fair.

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  • QuercusQ

    We built a platform for the cat boxes, that was high enough, and small enough, the dogs weren't that wild about trying jump up there.

    Andrea Walters

    Quercus Basenjis

    NW Ohio

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  • MantisM

    yeah, its like chocolate or something fantastic for dogs. my one basenji was obsessed with the box.

    i have the automatic litterbox and it still didnt fix the problem. I eventually just added a baby gate for that room and it became the get away room for the cats when they didnt want to be chased….

    Caesar and Cairo….the boys

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  • abby_basenjiA

    I too have an automatic litter box but we built a platform almost like a cabinate and the poo goes down into a garbage can with a bag in it and abby or missy can not get into the poo.

    Michelle, Abby B, Cooper B, Missy mut, and FatFat the cat!

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    @JazzysMom: Let me ask you this, Pat {and all}….. I've always fed my dogs separately, esp. since Keoki came into the picture because he will scarf his food and run to see if he can get what the others have. I don't crate them, but they are fed in separate rooms which puts them about ten feet away from one another. Keoki has learned NOT to hover over the other dogs, but he does kind of watch and wait for either of them to finish and then he runs over to lick their bowls. I don't have a problem with that, as they all run from bowl to bowl at the end of the meals, licking whatever {icky} they can find there. It's funny because they all get the same food. Lately, in the mornings only, Jazz won't eat UNTIL Keoki finishes and and then she will growl and ruuuuun for her bowl. So, the last few days I have put her bowl near his {as an experiment}-- w/in maybe 2 feet -- and she will immediately eat while he does. He eats faster, and it's almost as if she slows down when she knows he's finished. She picks up one piece of food at a time to carefully chew it, with the occasional quiet growl to remind him that it is hers. What is up with that? Honestly…sounds like a fight in the making to me. Eating faster is the first level of resource (in this case food) guarding. She may be eating slower for any number of reasons...the first one I thought of was a calming signal to him? I doubt she is trying to tease him...but she may be trying to make a point...mine, calm down, mine, calm down... These kind of things tend to escalate, so IMO, I wouldn't even experiment with it. Why not feed them separately, like with doors in between? It has got to be less stressful for the dogs if they don't have to worry if the other dog is going to bully them for their food...or on the other hand, if they can bully the other dog.
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