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Malaika passes Puppy foundation assessment

Basenji Training

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  • Puppy biting

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    DebraDownSouthD
    @drew82 I've been doing rescue and breeding (not Basenjis, and not for 20 yrs now)... and I have to say that among responsible trainers, rescues, breeders and professional veterinary behaviorists, you won't find any who will say under 8 weeks is okay for any breed... and for many, 10 to 12 weeks is recommended. It is in fact illegal to take puppies under 8 weeks from some states and it should be in all of them. Call a few dozen rescues and ask them how many animals they deal with that have issues started from being placed too young. It is good you are working on things, just hopefully the physical responses won't continue. No breed needs to be swatted or even mildly hurt for training. Basenjis even less so than many. It hurts your relationship with the puppy, and you are punishing a baby for being a baby... there is no "rebellious thing"... just normal behavior you have to patiently train away from.
  • Puppy training at night

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    Baba BamideleB
    The rule of thumb I was taught is that a puppy can only wait an amount of time equal to their age in months plus one. So, at eight weeks old (two months), your pup can hold it three hours tops (1 month + 1 month + 1). You should probably schedule a couple of potty visits outside during the night, even though it will be a pain. When we got Cosette, my wife and set a timer for three hours and three hours beyond that. We took turns taking her outside. At twelve weeks old, we were able to lengthen the time between breaks to 4 hours, then 5 hours at sixteen weeks, etc. It's tough, but it will keep your home (and her crate) clean!
  • Puppy behavior

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    lvossL
    There are many different ways to train loose leash walking. I like training it in a class with distractions and for my baby puppies that is really where they learn what a leash is. I took my boys to class for the first time this week and the only thing we worked on was loose leash. We started just standing in place and click/treat for loose leash. Then we would like a step and when the puppy followed we click/treat again when the leash is loose. The boys were walking pretty good with me and my husband for most of the class. I also like using a long line for loose leash, it really seems to help them understand that being near me is the behavior I want since they have the choice to go quite a distance from me but are only get a click/treat if they are close enough for me to touch them. Make sure you are using really yummy treats in class, it helps you to compete with the distractions. Many people bring kibble or other so-so treats that the dogs are happy working for at home but can't compete with the excitement of class.
  • Puppy Kindergarden

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    MacPackM
    Way back when, Topper was the 'demo dog' for his puppy and adult classes, he would always do the new things, but get annoyed if the instructor kept asking him to do it again. "Hey Lady, I know what I'm doing, no need to repeat it!" Nicky became the demo dog for agility as she is fearless and loves heights. She did like to make the teeter-totter slam to the floor, and jump off grinning. Basenjis ARE smart and seem to excel at all sorts of classes as long as it's fun for them. Have fun with Kismet!
  • Puppy class fun

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    NemoN
    @bernicem77: I took Luke to his first puppy class tonight, and WOW. He would not listen to me at all. He was more concerned with what the other dogs were doing than what we were supposed to be doing. What kind of treats did you guys use when trainning your B's? Like I said in my previous post, this is similar to what happened with me. Zoni had to get comfortable in the room, sometimes took her about 10 minutes or so. After a while she got used to it but was still very interested in everyone else, particularly if we were moving around the room. Really practice on attention exercises at home and that will help. I went through a range of different treats, and I think I found for class the smellier was better for getting her attention. Although not smelly, beef lung worked really well for me too and it is easy to use and break up into little pieces. Little biscuit-type treats weren't high value enough for her in class.
  • Training a puppy

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    Robin_n_JackR
    HA! We did the up& back method at my petsmart class. Jack is so flexible, he would actually follow the treat back with his head, until his head was almost lying on his back. I think what I finally had to do was push his butt down with one hand, while holding the treat in front of his face with the other. He got really good at it…now, he sits when I snap my fingers, when I say sit, or, my favorite, when I salute him. Good luck!