Danny , is your B just learning to be inside the house alone with you gone ? Maybe he was alone for a little too long and separation anxiety caused his destructive behavior . It's hard to gauge how long is " too long " when they are first learning to be left alone inside . Sometimes we learn the hard way . I've been down that road too . Our new boy , a 2 year old rescue , seemed to be doing fairly well . He was calm and gentle and doing fine alone for short durations , but one day we were gone longer than we planned and he obviously became upset . he must have tried to get out every window he could see in the house . Fortunately the damage was limited to blinds and curtains . We did not punish him because the damage was done before we got home . Those things are replaceable , your relationship with your dog is not . Don't hold this behavior against him . Just chalk it up for experience and learn from it . In all likelihood he bit you because your behavior was uncharacteristically aggressive and he was afraid and defensive . You did the right thing by secluding yourself from him until you calmed down . Because our dogs are so smart , we sometimes expect too much .

I have a supplementary question along these same lines . We got our BRAT Ricky two weeks ago ( YIPPEE!!!! ) He is WONDERFUL . The only problem we are having is that he WILL NOT potty in our fenced in yard . In fact , it seems he won't go within 1 block of our house . We walk in the am and pm . He is very particular about where he will go, though he sniffs every available surface . While the weather is nice , I really don't mind this . We would be walking anyway . But when the frigid cold hits , it would be nice to open the door and have him go out , do his business quickly , and return . We have tried waiting him out in hopes of praise and treats once he goes in the yard . But Mr. iron- bladder- steel- sphincter WON'T go in the yard. Are there any suggestions ?Oh , by the way, once we are out of the yard and down the street he goes after a few quick sniffs .

Just wanted to thank you all for the information . I will hopefully get a better idea after talking with the foster dad as to what types of things seem to set off the scratching , etc. Then once we get Ricky home I'll be on the look out for triggers .From what you are saying , food seems to be the biggest culprit . As I understand it the Wilderness recipe is grain free , but I'll check . If it's not I'll check for the other brands suggested here . Do you think fish oil supplements are a good idea ?

Well , we're finally getting our BRAT Boy , Ricky , and we are SOOOOOO excited !!!!!!!! According to the info given thus far , Ricky has " unknown " allergies that cause him to scratch . The fosterdad has given him a good diet ( Blue Wilderness ) which we will continue and he takes antihistamines 3x a day .It seems that this approach has helped . Still , I have been searching the web for supplements . There are many . Some very expensive . Naturally all of the web sites are full of glowing testimonials . I would be more likely to believe a testimonial from the folks on this forum ( Since I'm asking ) . Do any of you have any recommendations for supplements for skin conditions caused by allergies ? Some of these supplements claim to treat the immune system , thus "treating the cause not the symptom " . Most appear to be based on Omega 3 and Omega 6 plus various and sundry natural ingredients . I'd appreciate any input . We want to keep our new boy happy and healthy.

That story reminds me of something our girl did when she was a pup ( which was 17 years ago ) . Seshie was probably about 6 months old at the time . I was in the Living Room doing something I thought was important and heard a scuffling sound in the kitchen . I ignored it - not always a wise thing for a basenji owner to do . I heard the sound again and called for Seshie , but didn't go check it out . More scuffling . Just as I was about to get up , here she comes trotting into the living room with her water bowl in her mouth . She prances over to the couch , throws the bowl at my feet , sits down and looks up at me like " I believe you are being remiss in your duties Mom.Get with the program " I couldn't believe it !! From that point on , any time we heard the bowls being pushed around we knew we needed to fill the water . How smart are these little boogers ??!!!

Thanks for the links to the poisonous plants . It's about planting time . We're putting up a new fence for the hopefully forthcoming new basenji ( waiting for the home visit from a BRAT volunteer ) and I wanted to plant some flowers inside the area . I needed the information on plants . Also , does anyone know if onions are poisonous to dogs ? I always heard that they were , but did not see them listed . Our yard tends to sprout the wild variety .

I thought about trying to contact a reputable breeder about any " extra " dogs they may have should the BRAT adoption not work out for some reason . I just got an e-mail from the BRAT coordinator who said my home visit should be set up soon . So I'm really hopeful . I have a degree in Social Work ( though I haven't worked in the field for quite a few years ); so , my heart just gravitates toward rescue . I guess we'll see . We just REALLY need a basenji in our home.

We were looking at Ricky . Our 11 year old really wants a dog he can play with and at the least teach a few tricks ( although I think basenji's teach their humans more tricks than we realize ) . Our Seshie just didn't have the energy to play much or go for long walks . Plus at this point Ricky may be the closest dog to us . We have family we visit in Indianapolis ,IN so a drive to pick up is possible . We hope to hear from BRAT soon . Columbus is only a 2 hour drive from here . It'd be great to actually meet someone on this forum . I'll keep you posted .

Lori

Thanks to all for the greetings and condolences . We have decided we can't live much longer without a basenji in our midst , so we are applying to adopt a rescue from BRAT . I know the process takes some time so we'll have to be patient , but we are really excited about the prospect of welcoming a furry baby into our home . We will have some adjustments to make we're sure , but "Bring It On ! " It's good to know this forum is here ,along with the good people from BRAT , should we need advice . We live in east central Ohio ( a rural area on the border of West Virginia ) and are the only basenji owners we know of around here . I'm a little worried that a home visit from BRAT may be hard to arrange due to a lack of volunteers in our area . I guess we'll find out .

Just wanted to say hello . My family and I were owned by a sweet little red and white girl named Seshie for almost 17 1/2 years . She crossed the rainbow bridge ( as I have seen it so gently stated ) on January 11 . In addition to mourning our loss we are also experiencing some serious basenji withdrawal . This forum has helped stave off some of my "BT's" . I've enjoyed reading about your little darlin's . It brings back many fond memories and a few tears . I wish I had found this forum years ago . It would have helped answer some questions and deal with some issues . We used the fly by the seat of your pants method , but fortunately with a little research at the time it seems we dealt with things appropriately - positive reinforcement and redirection . We were fortunate she was healthy , but the information on Fanconi and other health issues would have been good to have . Our vet never provided much info . This is a great forum . Keep up the good work . We're hoping to adopt a rescue from BRAT as I have frequented that site as well and really like the idea of rescue . Wish us luck .

Lori Runyon