Great news Petra….. I am sure you will be able to resolve the issues...
It all seems very positive and hopefully you'll solve the problems with such good help.
We are still struggling with Otis and his unpredictable resource guarding, the other day he bit a friend of ours, more or less our dogsitter, so Otis knows him really well..
Otis and Moses got into it over something, don't even know what, and James tried to break it up, and got bit bad on his hand and fingers, the teeth even bit through two of his fingernails..either way, James knew not to try to break it up but his emotions took over and he did the wrong thing..he isn't mad/upset or anything but I am getting scared for our safety and more so for my kids safety.
Otis is scheduled for neutering party tomorrow morning..;) so I hope this will help as I am running out of options and more importantly time..not that I don't have time, but I am not willing to let this go on in our home much longer..
What should I do? Do you think neutering will help? What are my options if it doesn't?
He is doing better on the feeding and agression during those times, much better actually, but now it seems he is resourcing other things, like some toys, either the dogs toys or one that he got from the kids rooms..or shoes, now all of a sudden he is resource guarding shoes..is he reaching out to other things as he is now longer in control over the feeding tantrums he had?
Either way I am distraught and very saddened, I feel helpless..
Thanks guys
Is there a reason he is not neutered? Have you had a complete thyroid test done, not just a t4?
I wanted to wait until he passed a year..now he is 14 months. I have not done any thyroid, due to his young age.
Would not hurt to have the thyroid checked. And with having him neutered tomorrow, he should have a full blood panel before hand.
Have you talked to the behaviorist with these latest developments? Has the behavorist been to the house? A good behaviorist needs to see the home and what is happening in the home to really make the right assessment.
My take as an outsider is that Otis is a "want a be" and is going to continue to challenge your Pongo male, as it seems he has zero'ed in on him. And if neutering helps, you will NOT see and immediate change as it takes a couple of months for the hormones to settle down….
Hind sight being 20/20... it might have been better to have him neutered before you brought home another male
I was wondering the same thing as Pat, what has the behaviorist said about this escalation? and has the behaviorist done a consult in your home?
Neutering may help but it really depends on the dog.
Sorry to hear it is escalating. I too would be curious to hear what the behaviorist had to say about the new guarding of the kids shoes & toys (which seems really dangerous to me). And definitely have his thyroid checked - since they should be doing a full panel prior to surgery anyway. I think Pat might be onto something about him being a "wanna be" leader though - based on your description of how he behaves not only with Moses but with your other 2 dogs prior to Moses' arrival - particularly your other male dog.
Hopefully the neutering helps - it can't hurt - but as Pat said, maybe should have been done sooner, when the whole behavior originally started. Moses is still intact, right - are you planning on neutering him as well? I wonder if one is left intact if the problem might still continue (would the threat would still be there to the wanna be leader) - I don't know, maybe someone with more experience might be able to say.
Did you ever get the books Feisty Fido & How to be the Leader of the Pack - by Patricia McConnell? Those are both quick reads that have really great info about fighting and pack dynamics and control.
I have yet to get a hold of the behaviorist but of course am awaiting that she get back with me. What wpuld she be able to see in my home? I mean, she would have to live here to see his unpredictability..it is sweet one minute/day and then not so sweet the next, new things seems to get him,going different days.
He is especially sweet with people coming into our home, likeyesterday we had a realtor come and he sat by her side for over an hour and would just nudge her every so often for a pet, very unlike how he was months ago with strangers.
Yes hindsight is so much better then my current sight, but now I am here and have to work with what I got.
I will have the vet do a thyroid panel as well, could he already, this young, have issues?
I know it can take a while for the hormones to level out after a neuter, but we are ready for that..I just hope it helps even if just a little and then the training even more so..
Since Moses is part of foundations stock, neutering him is something we might do, but not yet, he has to grow up first and some of these grandes don't stop growing in height until they are two.
Renault1 I did get "How to be a leader of the pac", but my life took over and I haven't started reading it yet..I will tonight though.
My last resort would be finding him a home, a home where he is the only dog, but I am not ready for that yet..no way. Then again, who's to say he would be better in that environment?
I hope I answered most queries, if not..let me know..I will keep you posted.
Again, thanks for all your help.
A good behaviorist sees many things that the normal dog owner doesn't see. That is why typically they come to the home to observe the dogs. They don't always need to see something nasty happening to be able to figure out what is going on. I have never heard of taking a dog to a behaviorist, rather then they come to the home.
I just dropped him off and they are doing a full thyroid panel as well.
Poor Otis was shaking, he did not like me leaving him there..
I am pretty sure the one behaviorist we finally found only works from her environment. i.e you go to her, but I am not sure. She never asked/offered to come and see him in our home.
I had a hard time finding a behaviorist in the area, most were just glorified trainers in my opinion, but maybe I am wrong. the one we did find said unless he listens to everything you say he isn't trained well, and I of course countered that with_.."he is a basenji, I am ok with him not being like a lab/golden or what have you in obedience"..she said "all dogs even basenjis can be trained and not to listen to all I hear on my forum"_
He has his obedience down, very good actually, but maybe he needs more training.
As far as two males..I have always only had male dogs and two have been together before either one of them were neutered..none were basenjis of course so maybe that is the difference.
As they say, it works till it doesn't. And just because it worked before, doesn't mean it will work now, especially if you have a "want a be" and I don't believe this really has anything to do with the breed of dog.
While I am NOT a behavorist and I am sure that each work in their own way, I honestly never heard of one that doesn't come to the home? I don't see how they can assess the dog unless they see that dog in the home it lives in?
Petra, are you in the Houston area? Looks to me like the ASPCA has behavorists at least according to their web site… but maybe someone like Andrea that does training can "pipe" in....
Just a note here Petra on the vet doing the thyroid panel. It's not a full panel like Dr Dodds does. You can have his blood drawn and they can send it to Dr Dodds here in CA. Please see these instructions.
http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/HEMOPET.HTM
Tanza..I was kind of surprised when we were there and she said..he seems really mellow now?..well yeah, he is at a strange place and odds are he will only lay down at my feet and try to sleep..what did you expect? They open in an hour and I will call as soon as they do, I did leave a message but …I haven't heard frm her yet.
Dan, I will see if they can send it to her instead, it shouldn't matter to the vet, right?
Just a note here Petra on the vet doing the thyroid panel. It's not a full panel like Dr Dodds does. You can have his blood drawn and they can send it to Dr Dodds here in CA. Please see these instructions.
http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/HEMOPET.HTM
There are a number of labs that do the full panel, usually the office has the ones that they usually use, be to Hemopet or U of Mich, U of Davis, etc
On the behaviorist vs trainer thing, you may need to work with both. I think you would really benefit from someone willing to come to your home and see the environment that Otis lives in and the other dogs and people in the household. There may be factors that aren't apparent in an outside the home consult. Also, you should be seeing someone on fairly regular basis at first to make sure this problem is being resolved. If it is not getting better then there may be need to alter the course action but that requires that there are regular "check ins" with the person you are working with.
Try this website to see if you can find any trainers in your area. You can search by zip code. You can screen a bunch by email explaining the situation, what you want to accomplish, etc. I did this for a situation with my brother's dog and it worked well for him. Good luck finding someone, I'm sure it feels like a major challenge in itself just finding someone to work with. IMHO, if they aren't willing to come to your home, then they aren't the kind of trainer/behaviorist you need. I could understand an initial consult away from home or over the phone, but for evaluation of the dog it would need to be at home.
Just got word from the Vet, he is out and doing really well..so I will be picking him up at 3:30 or so.
They have taken his bloodsamples and are sending them to Dr Dodd..
So glad Otis (and you) has made it through the blood test. I too hate leaving my beloved animals at the vet, but recognize the necessity of it. Good for you, Basenjimama - your Otis will thank you for it.
So glad Otis (and you) has made it through the blood test. I too hate leaving my beloved animals at the vet, but recognize the necessity of it. Good for you, Basenjimama - your Otis will thank you for it.
I don't think Otis will be thanking her for it today - he was being neutered! :D;)
Sorry, this made me think of the Far Side cartoon where the 1 dog is in the car yelling happily to his dog friend in the yard - "I'm going to be tutored!" LOL
