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Whole Dog Journal

Basenji Training
  • tanzaT

    This is a great magazine for dog owners, they always have great tips… here is one from this latest issue.....

    Destructive Chewing: Simple Ways to Prevent and Cure Destructive Chewing
    Puppies are notorious for their ability to chew on anything and everything. If you're at all dog-savvy you know when you get a new puppy that despite your best efforts to manage and supervise, you're likely to lose at least one valuable personal possession to the razor-sharp implements known fondly as puppy teeth.

    Puppies chew to explore their world as well as to relieve the pain and irritation of teething. What many dog owners don't seem to realize is that while puppies sooner or later get beyond the stage where they feel compelled to put their teeth on everything they see, mature dogs also need to chew to exercise their jaws, massage their gums, clean their teeth, and to relieve stress and boredom. It comes as an unpleasant surprise to many owners that chewing doesn't end at the age of six months when all of the dog's adult teeth are grown in.

    Puppies develop substrate preferences for elimination in the early months of their lives, and they similarly develop chew-object preferences. Hence the inadvisability of giving your old shoes or socks as chew toys.

    If you give your baby dog the run of the house and he learns to chew on Oriental carpets, sofa cushions, and coffee table legs, you will likely end up with a dog who chooses to exercise his jaws and teeth on inappropriate objects for years to come. You'll find yourself crating him frequently even as an adult dog, or worse, exiling him to a lonely life in the backyard, where he can chew only on lawn furniture, loose fence boards, and the edges of your deck and hot tub.

    Instead, focus your dog's fangs on approved chew toys at an early age and manage him well to prevent access to your stuff. In this way, he'll earn house privileges much sooner in life. By the end of his first year, you'll probably be able to leave him alone safely while you go out to dinner or shopping - or even while you're away at work.

    For more details and advice on ways to prevent and cure destructive chewing habits, purchase Whole Dog Journal's ebook, Simple Ways to Prevent and Cure Destructive Chewing.

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

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  • B

    Introducing to the Dog Park

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    B
    @curlytails: Basilboy, I just saw this post recently and thought of your post. "Dog Park Etiquette: Dos and Don'ts from a Trainer" http://dogblog.dogster.com/2011/10/04/dog-park-etiquette-dos-and-donts-from-a-trainer/ (I'm having a weird issue where all links to that blog keep redirecting to one specific post, not the one that I intended to link, so you might have to go to the main page? Anyway, sorry for any confusion) I personally prefer dog parks where I can keep moving, where there are lots of trails and plenty of things for my dogs to sniff and see aside from just interacting with dogs – because not every dog enjoys playing with every other dog! I feel like they learn to keep a closer eye on you (and you on them) if you're a moving target and not grounded to one spot all the time. So I don't really like small, completely fence-enclosed dog parks myself, but I do need adequate physical barriers (large bodies of water, partial fencing, etc.) combined with high visibility in order to feel secure letting my dogs off leash. Thank you for the article, a great read for before going to the dog park. Though I think we will wait until our puppy classes are over and I'm more confident in his behavior.
  • B

    What to put my dog into???

    Basenji Training
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    lisastewartL
    Google Gazehounds in TX. They do straight and oval racing in the Mckinney, TX area. We come down occasionally for their NOTRA meets. They are having an oval race this weekend if you would like to atttend and watch I can send you directions. We will not be there this time as I'm having surgery Monday and need to take a couple weeks off. Where in TX is Pearland? We do lure coursing in Hutto, Waller and Cat Springs, but the season is at and end now. Will pick up again at the end of Sept which would be a good time for your girl to try some practice runs. There are lots of nice non basenji people in the clubs who will help you train her. Get a good recall on her now, puppy training classes would help for that.
  • H

    Hungry Dog

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    nobarkusN
    @Basenjimamma: Otis' favorite household machinery is by far the dishwasher…joy to the world, when it is open and the dishes are still dirty...yumm-o!! Dishwasher a favorite for every B I've ever had. One time I had a guest here and he had taken a shower earlier using a towel he brought. Ringo pulled his damp towel off the rack, hauled it in the living room and right in front of the guy proceeded to roll around on it until it was a twisted mess. I was embarrassed to say the least. He didn't care. :D
  • c-busC

    Dog door

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    c-busC
    Now that is compassion. I have only had my B for three weeks but what a character.
  • L

    Dog whisperer???

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    myranM
    I agree i´ve used those methods on all my dog´s(long before Cesar came along) not only the basenji and never has a dog questioned my leadership.But I always praise and i´ve never used force never had the need for it so there i´m different.These methods are common methods with working dog´s I used to have a Boxer and i´ve just adjusted certain parts of it to fit the Basenji ;) Many of the dog´s in that show are just left to "run wild" no training or excercise and instead lot´s of silly things with people who humanize their dog´s.And they looked surprised if they need to take walks jeez I take mine out 4-5 times a day and two of the walks are 6 miles and he he plays with other dog´s every single day to keep him socialized as he´s growing into adulthood.I also show train him every day not more then 10-15 minutes just to keep it fresh in his mind. What people tend to forget obedience training is something that you have to keep doing continuously as their memory is not like ours so you have to keep it fresh in the mind. I probably stated the obvious but I do agree with Jazzys mum:)
  • dashD

    Dog Park Etiquette

    Basenji Training
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    MantisM
    I am not sure how old you basenji is, but i found basic training very helpful at the park. Caesar could understand what i expected from him when out. crazy running is normal humping or biting is very poor conduct at any dog park no matter what size…it is an action often immitated and is to show dominance there is nothing wrong with a basenji that prounces around stiff when other dogs are sniffing them....that is there way of saying, " you may sniff, but not dominate me! I am basenji". the hair standing on the neck and back or posturing is another way the basenji asserts him or herself at the park.... typically hair standing means nervous or scared= i watch that more closely than posturing or puffing up.... i am weary of the large dog areas when there are more than one pits in the mix. they naturally translate the basenji running as game and will try to tag team as well as play more orally than i like. if your basenji is humping a lot and is fixed, the small dogs may not be providing enough exercise or stimuli.... I try to have my basenjis in dog pens with vislas, bird dogs and running physical dogs. chasing retrievers is a great way to burn that basenji energy when casear was young and had difficult times at the dog park that seemed only addressed by a time out, we would leave and tight leash walk together. as soon as he would pull i would stop walking until he sat. then we would walk again. i also used hide and seek at the dog park as another technique for the park. Both my boys know to keep me in sight at all times. this keeps them from going off and getting into too much trouble. i would hide behind a tree until they realized i was gone and they found me. also, leaving the park with the dog in the pen is another way to let them understand that they should keep you in their sites. i did that a few times when i had a friend there with me and they stayed in the dog area. there is nothing more annoying IMO than an owner with treats in the dog park. or an owner with a dog on a leash in a dog park. or a person holding their dog in the air in a dog park. or a small unsupervised screaming and running child. the best rule is to communicate well with your animal. realize that time at the fenced dog park is free time for them to learn how to socialize. i have learned that basenjis do guard. if i am standing in the dog park, they run, sniff and play. if i sit in the dog park they will post near me and not go to far away. have fun, try new techniques, and watch other dog owners and how they participate with their dogs. you may pick up some good tips and see bad behaviors that you may want to avoid. as socialization continues at the park, your basenji will adapt and learn how to communicate with the least amount of conflict, so they can sniff as many butts as possible....