I know we all know just how smart our basenjis can be, but I still love it when they surprise me.
Tonight I took a couple of treats & worked with Callie & Lola at the same time (which is difficult because Callie often times just ends up lunging at me maniacally while I'm trying to get Lola to do something, so it can be counterproductive!!!). I used Callie's natural instinct to lunge & bat at me with her paws & rewarded her for just getting my hand with one paw & said "Good gimme five." I repeated it several times while Lola watched patiently & got Callie consistent with batting my hand with one paw when I said "Gimme five." Then I put Callie in a crate & took Lola to a separate room. I told Lola "Gimme five" & held my hand in front of her. After about 30 seconds, she raised her paw & touched my hand. Treat & praise, repeat to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Nope… she did it quickly & consistently several times in a row.
I've heard many times that training them together can, in some ways, be easier, because they learn from each other. But holy crap!!! That was REALLY impressive!!! Callie learned it in under 5 minutes & Lola learned it just by watching!!!! These guys really are amazing....

Unfortunately, it can work for "evil" as well as for GOOD !

Sounds great Andrew, clever girls you have there.

Way to go Andrew that was neat.

Rita Jean

That is great..yes they are smart..scary smart..