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Fear of husband-help!

Basenji Training
  • M

    My husband does walk him and he is so so with him. BUT yesterday my husband came home, walked in ignored rusty sat down in the recliner. Our female, Chloe, walked up to him to get petted and then so did Rusty!! It only lasted for about 2 min but then he went back to being scared. So I think we are making progress! I was shocked when i saw that.

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  • Patty MP

    Yes, you are, and so is Rusty! If only we could peek into his brain to understand what happened in his first year of life to make him leary…. time, love and tenderness (wait, is that a Michael Bolton song?:)).

    He sure is a beautiful dog, and with his big "sister" there to teach him the ropes, he will quickly learn that he's there for the long-haul... I bet that within a month, you will be amazed at his transformation. Hearts and hugs to your family!

    "I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it."

    ~George Bernard Shaw

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  • DebraDownSouthD

    Arlene, that's why I said after he is more settled. Certainly tethering when afraid not good. But once they are okay, it makes the getting up and moving around part of his activity also and should stop the barking if it continues.

    We had a rescue here that barked every time my husband moved. Fine with him, took food, sat, let him groom… but let Larry move and he barked. Tethering simply taught him Larry was in control and stopped the barking.

    Debra

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  • bcraigB

    We certainly had the same problem with Ella. She had a noticeable preference for women from the first day we got her. I am male and I did most of the walking and the feeding, including hand-feeding her for many weeks (which I highly recommend). We almost re-homed Ella because it was kind of tearing me up and making it diffucult for me to create a close bond with her. Every time I would stand up or make any sudden move she would react, even if she was across the room. I could barely get her to take treats from me. I was walking on egg shells for months.

    It has been 2 years and Ella still has a definite preference for women. However, I can say that our bond is extremely close and, if anything, I tend to be the person she obeys the most and that she looks to when she is confused or scared. Our first Basenji friend said she had the same problem with their second Basenji being afraid of the husband. It took a while to overcome.

    In our case it took nearly 6 months before I felt accepted by her. In retrospect, it was mostly painful because I didn't know if it would ever work itself out. All I can say is that Basenji's are smart and eventually Rusty will figure out that your husband can be trusted. And once you have a Basenji's trust, you will have it for life.

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  • Patty MP

    BCraig, what a heartwarming post!

    Thank you for being so open and honest about your Ella! It sounds like she's found her forever forever home. :)

    "I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it."

    ~George Bernard Shaw

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    wizardW
    All good suggestions so far for you to try. Here's my suggestions based on my experiences. 1. When mine first came to my home I would arrange a bit of vacation time so that the first day I was with them totally, then the next day I would disappear out the door for 15 minutes and then for longer times, then the third day I disappeared for an hour or more, etc., until I could go to work for half a day then eventually for my full regular work day. This took me about a week to train the dog to be home alone. 2. The second basenji that came into my life had been broken of his crate training by an ignorant owner so I never could get him back into it. Instead I blocked off a corner of the kitchen for him with a bed and toys for him to stay in for the first several days. Gradually I allowed him more wandering room until he was trustworthy enough to have access to the whole house. This took about a month. 3. Be sure to give your dog a variety of toys and especially the kind that you can put kibble or other food in (such as "Kong" toys). Basenjis need mental stimulation or they get bored (=destructive). My current basenji gets frozen raw marrow bones when I go to work and sometimes she'll still be nawing on it when I get home. I also save old bones and fill the hole with kibble and yogurt or pumpkin and then freeze and give this to her sometimes. 4. Someone mentioned rawhide but I've never had luck with that - it's not digestable and has caused problems with my dogs (one time a piece got stuck in the digestive tract and he screamed "bloody murder" with every movement). Never give your dog a treat unsupervised until you know she can handle it or doesn't have an allergic reaction to it. Once you know its safe then okay - but even then I never give the stick type treats to mine unless I'm home to supervise. Hope this helps.
  • spitfirekrl1S

    Leash Pulling…HELP!

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    I just stand still when Mirtillo pulls. He has a normal collar and leash. I wait untill he makes a turn and comes to me or makes eye contact. When he comes, he gets a treat. (just his normal kibble) When he makes eye contact I tell him he's a good boy. We are now at the point that when he comes he doesn't immediatly gets his treat, he first has to follow, sit, follow and then it's ok. On the flexi I mostly try to call him to come to me before he is at the end of the line, he gets a treat and he is 'free' again. On the normal leash Mirtillo also gets rewarded when he just looks at me and/or walks next to me. That way I'm way more interesting then the ground… When there is a dog/cat/bird and he pulls, I don't expect him to pay attention to me.. so I'm happy when he sits when I stand still and gives a quick glance at me. I also tried the method of just making a lot of turns, until the dog pays attention.. I didn't like it.. it was frustrating for me and for Mirtillo. I don't like to pull back.. I believe it is way too easy for the dog.. When I stand still, Mirtillo has to figure out how to get me walking again.. It's more of a positive game. When he pulls, I don't think... Ooooooohw.. here we go again........... But I think: ok, this is a great opportunity to get him to pay attention to me.. And I just stand still.. first he will ignore me, he will sniff somewhere else (there is no pulling anymore), then he will try to pull again to make me clear he wants to go there.. then he cries.. And then he thinks: I HATE YOU.. and he looks at me and comes to me with a face like: IS THIS OK??? And then I praise, give something yummie and we're both happy.