From what I've read, B's circle as a "hunting" instinct. They are one of the few dogs who will hunt alone and not in a pack and will circle their prey.

A few pictures. He has great teeth and I love his wrinkles, but as you can see, he still has a lot of weight to put on and his coat is in a sad state of affairs.

That's the hard part, is that he knows when you say his name, and his ears perk up. He'll only come to it if we're going outside… because he knows he has to come in order to go out. Once we're on the walk he's clueless. It's good to know I don't have to feel frustrated or like a bad owner because of some of these breed traits.

Thanks for your kind words, luzmery. Everyone has been really helpful, especially when it comes to reinforcement. I'm used to dogs that have different personalities, but I've come to prefer Hunters' and can see myself as a lifelong Basenji owner.

The deal with the microchip is this: He is chipped, and the vet gave us the owners info to try to contact them. Their address isn't current, none of their numbers are connected, and I don't have names. All I found out is that his shots were current, he's six and that his name was Smokey. He doesn't respond to Smokey at all, I tried. Went with Hunter because he responded to it, now he knows that's his name. Anyway, when I talked to my friend at the rescue she recognized him by the name Smokey. She had also been to their prior address. She insinuated that the owners were negligent and said everything short of him being better off with us. We put up posters regardless, because who knows, someone else could have taken him in before I did. Still haven't heard anything, so he's my boy now. Oh, he is neutered.

Minor success story to relate. Worked on the positive reinforcement today on a walk, with firm a firm "No" when he pulled excessively and treats when he listened and a "Good boy, Hunter!". At first we spent 10 minutes on our block. Every "No" provided him an opportunity to smell anything within the radius. I would then walk the other direction to show him that I was leading and setting the pace. Eventually he ran out of things to smell and got bored, then treats, and after about a half hour, he was really getting it. Still pulling a little, but he was looking up at me like I was the one showing him where to go. Or maybe he was just getting impatient and wondering "What on Earth are you doing?". Either way, for the first time, we were walking together.

I'm going to call later today and ask Peggy for her recommendations on local trainers that might be inexpensive. I know they aren't massively expensive, but I'm only 24 and just simply don't have a lot of disposable income at the moment.

House training hasn't been much of an issue, I think the reduction of stress has helped a lot, as well as developing our routine.

With the dog park, I only go if it's empty, and he's only been off leash once. He teared around the perimeter, but when I started running with him he took a chomp at my arm. Didn't enjoy that.

Okay, finally had a moment to update the post. I left out one crucial detail: Hunter is six years old.

jys1011: I feel we're getting to know each other pretty well. I spend a great deal of time with him and we're doing three a day walks(grueling at times). I'm not sure we've reached the "trust level" yet, but he responds positively to me, and he's showing a lot more character than when he first came home. It's been a short amount of time, but I feel there's progress. I also picked up some great treats that he loves, but so far it's hard for him to get used to the concept of treats as a reward. In terms of aggressiveness, he's not a biter, although he did take a good nip at me when I ran him off leash at an empty dog park. He has problems with male dogs and will show his teeth and make one of his noises. Hair raises on the back, I know it's a bad situation. He can be around other dogs, but needs his space. Also, I think people might have had the wrong impression when I said "assertions of dominance". I've watched a ton of Cesar Milan and tried some of the techniques he uses. Needless to say, I'm not pack leader yet.

Vanessa626: A gate might help, especially in defining space within the house, IE my room, his bed, etc. He's adopted a spot in each room and will go out of his way to keep it (sitting on laps, etc). I really love the breed, I had a Shep/Lab mix when I was young but mom always had cats around. I grew to like their temperament but was still a dog guy. Hunter is the perfect mix of the two.

nomrbddgs: He immediately runs from the kennel. He actually refuses to enter the room it's kept in. The time I tried to lead him near it on leash, he did a 180 and lunged so hard he was suspending himself on his hind legs. That's when we stopped with the kennel. I'm going to try to feed him there and use treats as positive reinforcement, but if he has something traumatic related to kennels I'd rather get a gate. The Cesar tips I tried were simple things like walking ahead when we were out (apparently this doesn't happen), walking out the door first, etc. He immediately runs ahead. When we're outdoors, he forgets he has a name.

Barklessdog: See, I thought I was winning him over when he started sleeping in the bed. He has a terrible habit of trying to sleep in between legs or cuddling up behind them. The crate training has been a nightmare as detailed above. I understand how feeding him last works with other dogs around, but I'm lost otherwise.

BDawg1005: Great post, thank you. After I get done with this, it's on to more crate work. I appreciate that they're smart dogs, and that nothing comes fast, so we'll continue to work together. He'll let me pet him, and scratch his belly, but he doesn't get excited. It's like he's Mr. Cool and of course I'd want to pet him, I should be so lucky! I love that about him. He pretends to be a lazy bum most of the day, sneaking off to find the occasional pen to destroy. The problem is that I spend time working on the computer in my room while he's in the living room unattended when the roommate isn't around. I need to find a solution to that. He's a big snuggler in bed and occasionally when we watch T.V. I'll make sure to get some pics up later today or tomorrow.

Quercus: I've been in regular contact with the coordinator of our local Basenji rescue (she's quite familiar with Hunter) and have e-mailed contact with several members of the local Basenji organization. Before we knew about his chip, I was trying to contact anyone who might know his owner. Honestly, I didn't want to admit to them I was having such a hard time… although, they probably know anyway! I'd love to get a trainer, but with all the costs (crate, food, leash, testing strips, vet fees) and then possibly getting a gate and a different leash, it's just going to have to wait.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'll put up some pictures soon!

MHG

Around three weeks ago, a stray basenji wandered into my work at a local restaurant. Everyone immediately fell in love with him. I was the only one who could take him home, however, and I had no clue what I bargained for.

He has a chip, but his owner's info isn't current and the coordinator of our local Basenji rescue said the owners were negligent and unconcerned about his constant escapes. Hunter (previously Smokey) was in awful shape… his coat was patchy and he was underweight by a few lbs. It was obvious his owner had simply given up on him. I couldn't.

When he first arrived home, he seemed content to sleep constantly. Now, any pen in the house is fair game for chewing, he's constantly places he shouldn't be, will NOT be kenneled, is standoffish towards anyone who isn't me or the roommate, downright aggressive with other animals, pulls on his leash, urinates on himself and is a constant threat to escape. The biggest issue, though, seems to be dominance. He tests me over everything and responds very negatively/aggressively to any of my assertions of dominance.

I love Hunter dearly, but I feel like I may not be capable of turning things around for him. Any help would be sincerely appreciated.