Any suggestions?

[Buana]

Just a little question I've been thinking about.

Our boys are very well behaved when it comes to show training.
At home, outside and even on places other dogs are they listen very good.
But when we are at a show and they see other Basenji's, they become a bit crazy and want to go to that Basenji (play, smell them)

We always practise before the show starts or the judge arrives and most of the time they behave well when they have to show.
It just looks like they sometimes put a big banana in each ear and forget there are people around them.
But I always think they can do a bit better..

I don't know how to practise that because we would need a lot of Basenji's to pracitse…
We let them smell and play with as much as Basenji's as we see before the show starts but that never are all the B's..

If somebody knows a good suggestion or a idea... please let us know!

Below are two pics of Buana, one during a training and one during the show..
You can see the difference.. (the one taking during the show was after the placements, so Buana was a bit more easy going because he already smelled the other Basenji's)

[-ClarEmmKai-]

Hello Buana,

I'm not sure if this will help, but Kairoe will do the same thing when we go to shows. He'll go bananas around other dogs; especially if we arrive at the show minutes before going into the ring. What we've learned so far, is that we need to drain his energy by going for a walk prior to placing him into his car crate for the ride to the show. And once at the show we take him for a walk around the perimeter of the venue so he can sniff around and smell all the other dog scents. We also make it a habit to arrive at the shows about an hour prior to showing, so we can walk him inside and around the other show dogs. This will calm him down considerably and it's noticeable around other B's as he'll just sit there and ignore them.

We have noticed that if he's the lead dog into the ring, he will not show well and becomes distracted by the Basenjis behind him, but if he's mid pack then it's perfect because he'll self stack while he concentrates at the dog in front of him. I tell Clarisse that he tends to stack better if the lead dog is close and the dog to his rear is further away. We also use Roll Over bait that keeps him very attentive in the ring. LOL - and as suggested by our breeder - While I'm taking pictures of them in the ring, I'm to stay out of sight, as to not distract him…

The odd thing that we've noticed is that he can look horrible hours leading up to the show, but once he's around bitches in heat - B's specifically; his body conforms into a great looking dog. I like to believe it's an instinctual thing so he can look good for a future mate. That mentioned, he earned the majority of his points when the bitches were either going into estrus or while in heat.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Emm

[Buana]

Thanks so much Emm!

We always arrive at the show a good hour before the show start (that is someting we learned already )
But we always walked the dogs for a short time before going into the car. (we're always in a hurry because we mostly have a long drive)
But we will change that to making a nice energetic walk before driving to the show!
I really think that will help for their energy!!
(when the Basenji are judged at the end of the day, both boys don't are interested in the other Basenji's)

I've noticed that it's up to the other Basenji what they do in the ring.
I mean, when there is a interested basenji in front of them they better can be the lead dog. But if there is a interested male behind them they keep looking behind. haha
I think it's important we visit enough Basenjis in the show area before show starts.
We always make a round at the whole show but I think (as what you say) they have to sniff and look at the other B's good enough.

Thanks
At the end of February we have our first show after my pregnancy…
10 Basenjis will be there!

Emm, youre boy is very handsome!

[Janneke]

Tillo is the same.. but he doesn't want to smell the other b's.. he wants to taste them I do think Tillo stacks better when he's excited.. at home he always looks like a bag of potatos.. at show training and in the ring he looks a lot better. But the excitement also makes him hard to handle..

The times we were with Chandu in the ring, Hamito and I practice together before entering the ring together, so that was great. Otherwise.. we just try to survive.. :rolleyes:

[-ClarEmmKai-]

LOL…it's SO much fun watching a ring full of B's, especially hyper ones to boot. I think we're the only breed at the shows where the handlers can have 'issues' controlling their dogs, which makes them more interesting to watch.

The other breeds seem so docile and boring in comparison.

[tanza]

This is a pretty common problem.. and the only thing that I have found that works is going to the shows. I know that in Europe you do not have as many shows as we do in the USA, but as puppies we will take ours out to quite a few shows to let them get used to the activity and other dogs/Basenjis being around. Usually once they figure out what it is all about they tend to settle down quicker. And I try not to let them play too much before our time in the show ring, but after instead. They do tend to figure out that once the show is done, they get to play a bit.

What was said about Tillo showing better when a bit excited, I also agree. They do show better, but it is harder on the handler. Mostly if you can keep your dogs focus on you, it makes it a bit easier.

[Buana]

I agree, Basenji's that are 100% not interested won't show themselfe better than that bag of patatoes Janneke is telling about

We just have to find a way that's in the middle of it, alert but not tired…

[lvoss]

The other thing is that if you do other events where you will have other dogs, especially basenjis around, and there is down time, you can do some practice there. Like at a lure trial when you are waiting for your next run, you can find a quiet spot and practice gaiting with different dogs in front and behind.

[Quercus]

Something that really worked for me with Querk, was teaching a "watch me"…it helped both of us focus, and calm down. I don't want him to do it in the ring, because it will mess up his topline, and neck...but we worked it a lot outside the ring, and sometimes in a large class when the judge wasn't looking at us. Focusing on the human, lets the dog know that they don't have to worry about anything else going on around him. I haven't needed to work it quite as much with Hippo, as he is pretty much focused on me when are at a show...and I have never had a bitch that needed to focus

[Buana]

@lvoss:

The other thing is that if you do other events where you will have other dogs, especially basenjis around, and there is down time, you can do some practice there. Like at a lure trial when you are waiting for your next run, you can find a quiet spot and practice gaiting with different dogs in front and behind.

Thanks! Thats a really good one!
We signed up to the coursings from the Basenji club (holland) so we can practise that soon

@Quercus:

Something that really worked for me with Querk, was teaching a "watch me"…it helped both of us focus, and calm down. I don't want him to do it in the ring, because it will mess up his topline, and neck...but we worked it a lot outside the ring, and sometimes in a large class when the judge wasn't looking at us. Focusing on the human, lets the dog know that they don't have to worry about anything else going on around him. I haven't needed to work it quite as much with Hippo, as he is pretty much focused on me when are at a show...and I have never had a bitch that needed to focus

Watch me, they learned that at puppy class. It's one of the best commands I use. We don't use it too often because they know that when we use it it's serious.
I use it sometimes just before entering the ring, when they aren't too excited to get their full attention. that always helps at least a little bit!