My First Scare

[Vanessa]

Last night while in a rush trying to get to an evening class I decided to stop at home for a few things. Chance was excited to see me but when It was time to leave, I opened the door and he just bolted right out the front door!
Chance took off in a mad sprint right for the street. I took off right behind him but evertime I tried to swoop down and grab him he would either dart to the left or to the right. :eek: After a few minutes which felt like a lifetime he slowed down to where I could catch him. This little 10 week guy can run fast! I know that I am in shape but for a 10 week old!!! Man, I could only imagin him at 6mts. There will be no way i'll be able to keep up with him.
I have read the posts about basenjis getting hit by cars and that was all that was running through my head while I was trying to catch him.
New Rule..throw a treat to the other side of the room while trying to leave :o

[Shyla]

Oh how scary. Our puppy just stares at the door (like hes thinking about it) the kids opened the front door today and I came into the room and he was just siiting under my desk staring at the door. He hates outside though and would rather stay in all day.

[Vanessa]

@Shyla:

Oh how scary. Our puppy just stares at the door (like hes thinking about it) the kids opened the front door today and I came into the room and he was just siiting under my desk staring at the door. He hates outside though and would rather stay in all day.

Chance is 50-50 when it comes to indoors vs. outdoors. Sometimes I have to pull him outside to get him to go potty and other times he just runs right up to the door waiting. Who knows what a Basenji is thinking :rolleyes:

How is Guru's potty training going? Any better? I found this Bissel steam cleaner from Target and it works great for picking up nasty puppy messes and it gets rid of the smell so they will not go back to the same spot. It was under 60 bucks! You might want to pick one up.
~Vanessa

[Shyla]

@Vanessa626:

Chance is 50-50 when it comes to indoors vs. outdoors. Sometimes I have to pull him outside to get him to go potty and other times he just runs right up to the door waiting. Who knows what a Basenji is thinking :rolleyes:

How is Guru's potty training going? Any better? I found this Bissel steam cleaner from Target and it works great for picking up nasty puppy messes and it gets rid of the smell so they will not go back to the same spot. It was under 60 bucks! You might want to pick one up.
~Vanessa

I need that what was it called?

His newest thing ins sniffing the litter box and peeing just outside it:eek: Or he will poop on the futon in the living room. He just peed on a pillow my dd was laying on out there :mad: lucky it was a huge pillow and didnt get her head (it was at the opposite end). So he is outside for the moment. Off to go clean

[Ambered]

my friend did have a b (not fender, he is a momma's boy) run away before. she tried to catch him for 6 hours. she called me to come help. after spotting him a couple of times i sat in his driveway (he kept returning to check on things) he couldnt resist coming to check me out, he walked right up to sniff me and ha, i got him. they are too quick, there is no way she would have been able to chase him down or tire him out.
curiousity killed the cat, or here caught the basenji, (not to mention got captain jack sparrow sent to the depths of the ocean with his precious black pearl.)

[jessi76]

They do run fast! I found the best way to catch 'em is to run in the opposite direction like a crazy person. hootin and hollerin…. waving your arms... basically looking like a total loon. My B always comes runnin to see what all the hubub is about. (then of course looks at me like a nutcase... ahhh, yes, but a nutcase who caught her dog! HA!)

[Mantis]

oh man, I know that feeling when there is an escape…i have found a raw hot dog is stinky enough to get attention or calling to my basenji and asking them where their favorite dog buddy is. he always falls for that one. i always keep a happy tone so he doesnt realize he has done something bad and run more.

oh, in basic training they showed us the "look" command which is great for those troublesome moments. you just say look and when there is eye contact, give the treat.

SUPER FAST aren't they!

[Duke]

Super fast alright! Vanessa, I'll never forget the 1st and only time Duke shot out the front door. We only had Duke a few weeks then. I opened the door to let son's friend in. Puppy sat back quietly all the while watching. I didn't expect he'd bolt out the door quick as lightning. Stunned, I screamed "DUKE!!!!" Boy did that get him going. He ran off the porch and up and around me in circles, then zig-zagging across the front lawn. I looked the fool out there - seemed like a very long time. Finally, I stopped and crouched down and waited for him to zip around past me. He came and I grabbed any part of him I could touch - his back. He squealed, but I got him safely back inside. I was so scared that I'd lose him. I learned a big lesson and so did my son. He was crying. Fortunately, now Duke knows the "stay" command and he's really good about it but we are still very careful.

[Basenji_Boy]

I hope it's the last scare you have like that, they are so quick. Once they get a taste of how great it is to run free…...they may try it again.

I watched a dog get hit by a car two weeks ago on the way home from work, it bothered me for days. There was a little boy running after the dog trying to catch him......it was horrible.:(

[Quercus]

@Basenji_Boy:

I hope it's the last scare you have like that, they are so quick. Once they get a taste of how great it is to run free…...they may try it again.

I watched a dog get hit by a car two weeks ago on the way home from work, it bothered me for days. There was a little boy running after the dog trying to catch him......it was horrible.:(

Oh NO! That is something I live in dread of! I have never hit an animal, or actually seen an animal get hit (frantically knocking on wood)…but I can't imagine how long it would haunt my memory. I still have a memory from over 20 years ago of a kitten that had been hit by a car. <sniff>My husband had a deer run into his car last summer...it actually jumped out of the brush into his car...it was stunned, but seemed okay....I am rambling now...</sniff>

[Quercus]

A basenji escape story…one of my faves, because everything ended okay!

I was 8+ mos pregnant, and we were doing some remodling on our house. The workers had left for the day, when I returned from a doctors appointment, where she had put me on modified bed rest, so I was looking forward to lying down on the couch and doing nothing. I let a few dogs outside, but Querk wanted to stay in. A few mintues later, Querk is alerting to the front window. I glance out, and see some dogs running around, and think 'hmm, those look a lot like basenjis...but i didn't think there were any other Bs in the area'....seconds pass...OMG! Those are MY dogs! So I jump up, grab a box of treats, and run out front. Both girls come running, I get one inside where she starts crate fighting with another one. And grab the one still running around the front. Then I check out the back yard, and the workers had removed a panel of the fence that is out of sight of the back door...nice...So then I put everybody away, went to my bed and cried, and fell asleep. If Querk hadn't let me know the girls were somewhere that the shouldn't have been, they could have been long gone by the time I noticed

[Quercus]

A couple other ideas for getting loose Bs: running away is good, as Jessi suggested; kneel down on the ground and point out something as if it is the most interesting thing ever; lie down and flop around..that usually gets their interest; have them conditioned to know what their box of treats looks and sounds like (this always works for us); try not to act freaked out…a lot of times your andreniline rush will make the dog act silly, or run more, or try to stay just out of reach. Act like, you silly dog, what are you doing out here. One last idea, if the dog just won't let you get close enough to grab it, is to make a slip noose out of your leash, and gently loop it around his head...you usually only get one shot at this, once they realize what you are doing, they won't let you try again

[Basenji_Boy]

@Quercus:

Oh NO! That is something I live in dread of! I have never hit an animal, or actually seen an animal get hit (frantically knocking on wood)…but I can't imagine how long it would haunt my memory. I still have a memory from over 20 years ago of a kitten that had been hit by a car. <sniff>My husband had a deer run into his car last summer...it actually jumped out of the brush into his car...it was stunned, but seemed okay....I am rambling now...</sniff>

I could see it coming like it was in slow motion but could do nothing, I slowed down, it ran in front of me to the other lane and…..well I won't go into the rest.:(

I'd been sick for a week if I had hit it.

[JazzysMom]

I hit a squirrel once – my only road kill -- it was three days before my now ten yr old son was born. I STILL think about that poor little squirrel. I imagine if I ever hit a dog, I'd be an absolute wreck!

Last Summer an acquaintance let Jazzy out the front door -- he actually let her out, then came into the living room and said, "Is the little dog supposed to be let out front?". AARRGGHH!!!!!
It was night time, and pouring rain. There I was, running around in the wet darkness in my sock feet, yelling, "puppy puppy puppy" like a fool.
Thank God she only teased me for a few panicked minutes before coming to me.
The most annoying part is, I had SIGNS on my door that said, "Make sure the puppy in in the mud room or in someone's arms BEFORE OPENING THE DOOR."
Do you think that means it is allowed out front? I was just a little hot!

[Basenji_Boy]

@JazzysMom:

The most annoying part is, I had SIGNS on my door that said, "Make sure the puppy in in the mud room or in someone's arms BEFORE OPENING THE DOOR."
Do you think that means it is allowed out front? I was just a little hot!

:eek: :eek:

[Vanessa]

Scarry yet good ending story…
A few years ago I was driving to visit my parents. They live up by Lake Tahoe which is a drive for me...well anyways, you have to drive through these little towns where the population is somewhere around 200. While driving through one of these towns (the road is still a highway and homes right off the road) this little puppy darted into the street right at me. I slammed on my brakes and expected to hear a thump but nothing. I bolted out of my car only to see this woman in a robe screaming at me telling me I killed her dog. Oah my god!!!! I hit the ground looking frantically under my car and there he was...just sitting under my car fine as can be. Thats when I got up and started screaming at her for screaming at me!
Thank god the puppy was fine...maybee that will teach her to put her dog on a leash.

[jys1011]

A couple other ideas for getting loose Bs: running away is good, as Jessi suggested; kneel down on the ground and point out something as if it is the most interesting thing ever; lie down and flop around..that usually gets their interest; have them conditioned to know what their box of treats looks and sounds like (this always works for us); try not to act freaked out…a lot of times your andreniline rush will make the dog act silly, or run more, or try to stay just out of reach.

That's great advice!! It really does work. Our breeders warned us that they would try to escape at first. And they DID! My poor husband was nearly in tears but he did EXACTLY as the breeder instructed us to do…..STOP DROP & ROLL (act silly) sound familiar...

Well you have to get them to look in your direction & drop to the floor acting silly so that they run over to investigate why you're on the floor looking crazy :eek: thankfully they only ran 2x & without incident. Now they stay put outside our door until I'm ready to walk

[Capt_Jack_our_Basenji]

i cant count how many times jack has done that…grrr

[red and white furever]

Once when Storm bolted, I picked up a twig and baby talked that twig to death "Ahhhhhhhhh little baby sticky poo woo woo, looky at you sweetie pie cutie patootie - (ad naseum)" and generally made a fool of myself in front of my neighbors who were watching me quite intently :eek: - my baby talking caught jealous Storm's attention and he was back in a heartbeat to investigate what I could possibly find more enthralling than him :rolleyes: . It's amazing how these dog's minds work and what you'll do to keep them safe and happy!

[Capt_Jack_our_Basenji]

AWW man, i WISH that would work with Jack. i should try it…