Best posts made by brindlebasenji

I am so sorry your girl is not herself. I experienced this with my little chihuahua. Her little bed was right next to ours, and she would get up and walk in tight circles many times at night. I would hold her, calm her, and get her back to bed. She still ate well, she never gave up on that.

She often got lost in our house. I think the crowning blow was when her favorite friend, one of my dear friends, came over as she often did, and Stella refused to have anything to do with her. Before, she would sit on her lap for hours.

I knew it was time; I tearfully told my veterinarian, a close friend who tells it like it is, that Stella still knew me. Her response? "She is used to you."

Hard to let tiny Stella go. She was seven when I got her, and hadn't had much of a life until she came to us. I feel so sad that her good life had to come to an end.

She was an uninspired little agility dog, but she LOVED it. She was also the softest little cuddle.

My Tess Basenji is sixteen. She is okay, but having lived through Stella, I know that she is slipping. I want to say goodby to her while she still knows me and wants my company.

I will put you and your pup in my prayers.

Your pack is adorable. My two basenjis lived with a great big mixed breed we called an Albuquerque Brown, and a four pound chihuahua.

I am down to one, sixteen years old red basenji. Life is very quiet these days.

Enjoy your beautiful babies!

My Basenjis were both trained with a recall.
My Naomi never really needed it, after the first fateful escape, where she ran around me in a huge circle, popping up on her hind legs to let me know that a jackrabbit was coming my way, please catch it.

She soon realized that I was a real dud on the hunting front, and gave up trying to hunt with me. Poor little Naomi!

She loved her agility classes, and never once left my side. She didn’t even learn that there was a fence around the huge field where classes where held.
My theory is that she enjoyed agility so much, she wasn’t interested in losing her chance to play.

Because of her enthusiasm for agility, I thought I’d try her in rally; not a chance. She completely ignored every command I gave her. She, unlike Tess, who managed to get several titles in rally, thought rally was worthless!!

Tess really never paid much attention to me with agility. She didn’t run away, she just got too distracted.
In one class, she obligingly ran the course for me, then ignored me, turned around and did the entire course backwards!!

Tess also left the ring during obedience on the recall running straight past me and over the baby gate, into the park. She did return to me, just in Basenji fashion,
after I watched her little bagel-tail disappear over the crease of the hill!!

Tess also left my side on the off-leash, to ready herself to jump the baby-gate to go grab another dogs dumbbell. I yelled “come” at the top of my lungs to break her focus. She returned to my side. We were dismissed. I used undue force in my recall, according to the judge. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Who wants their basenji to be the cause of another dog’s upset??

Needless to say, Tess and I had a pretty rough go at obedience. She really didn’t have a workmanlike temperament. She makes an incredible, delightful pet!! image url)))

Basenjis seem to do things in their own ways. They readily learn tasks, but then perform them with their own spin.

Tess will still take the chance to run out the door. The behavior is very self rewarding. She runs to the open space behind our house and then comes right back, the little stinker.
She does come back on a recall, but I don’t usually get the chance, as she is so quick to return.

Basenjis just aren’t like other dogs. They aren’t as eager to please. But they are quite wonderful, if you are willing to take them on their own terms.

Would I ever train another basenji in obedience?
Yes.
Would I ever show another basenji in obedience?
Yes.
Would I expect consistent behavior in different venues.
Nope.
Would I enjoy the heck out of working with an unique and very intelligent dog?
You bet!

Yes, my Naomi had Cushing’s. You will need to work with your veterinarian for the best treatment.
Lysodren was the first drug we tried. Trilostane was the drug that really worked for her. She regained her muscle tone and she strength and brightened back up.

She did very well. She had her ACTH tested regularly, sitting quietly and patiently in the waiting room with me as she never liked the kennels at the veterinarian’s and threw unending basenji fits.

I do remember the first signs of Cushing’s. Naomi’s tail developed a strange kink. None of the veterinarians in the practice could find anything wrong with her tail. She was otherwise healthy and bright.
Next, she dropped a bar in agility. She never touched a jump before that, and could of course, jump much higher than her designated jump height.
It did take a while for her to get to the point where she could be diagnosed.

Naomi fought inflammatory bowel syndrome for a good part of her life. She often had bad tummy days. We did the best we could to keep her comfortable and happy. In the end, a tumor was detected in her bowel, and we made the difficult decision to euthanize.

I don’t know how long she would have lived on the Trilostane protocol. She was a darling, beautiful little dog, and I miss her greatly.

I do wish you the greatest of luck with your baby, and pray that your sweet pup and you have many, happy, healthy years ahead of you.

Zaki is a real cutie! He quite dapper in his raincoat.

Here is Naomi, my little African girl. She was one generation removed.
She had what the breeders here called an African tail. It didn’t have a tight curl at all. She was a beautiful, dainty little girl, under 16 pounds.

I can see her wearing a bell, but I don’t think she would have liked it at all!

I had a little chihuahua living with my two basenjis. She was not a barker. I think she bought into basenji culture.

She did on occasion howl like a little coyote, choosing to sit on the arm of the sofa to do so.

I have an old girl, just about 16, who is the last of four dogs.

I have to strongly agree with eeeefarm, that leaving surreptitiously, or quietly isn’t a great idea.

When I leave little Tess, I’ve found that it is important that I calmly let her know I am leaving. I get the things I take with me, my purse, etc., wake her from her slumber and say that I’ll be back soon. I am upbeat, but not excited.

She’ll go back to sleep, and will be fine when I return.
Should I be in a hurry and forget, I come home to a sad, mournfully howling basenji. I might even find an accident.

She just needs to know.

The fact that I was home so much did make it a little harder for her when I went back to work.

I love the suggestion of the Adaptil. Also that of leaving for short periods of time with a puzzle treat, or frozen peanut butter in a basenji sized Kong. Slowly but surely increasing the time you are away is a good idea.
Initially, 10 minutes may actually be too long.
10 minutes in puppy time is a very long time.

I am so sorry your little dog is having separation anxiety, but I know you will help your puppy through it.

She is certainly a beautiful dog!

My little Tess absolutely loves fetching. She will not fetch endlessly, but still loves it. She is 16, and winding down, but we have had fun.

She was trained most of the way through Open obedience with some Utility.
In true Basenji form, she would perform flawlessly during training, because it was fun, and then go open loop in the ring.
Too many interesting smells and sights.
I was accused of not having trained my dog by a one judge, who apologized the next day.
One judge was very impressed with Tess’s performance one day, only to ask if I had brought the same dog the second day (Tess stopped to dig a hole in the outdoor ring).

She loved fetching and jumping, but liked doing her own thing more than my thing. She is such an independent girl. But training was fun for her and kept her busy. It was a great for bonding.
I think Tess enjoyed the company of the other dogs in her training class and the fun of learning new things. She is a real show-off!

It was worthwhile, and I recommend it if you have the time and inclination.

Tess did very well in the Rally ring, she has her novice rally title and her advanced rally title.
She learned that the yellow star meant exit. And would gaily leave the ring. I had to keep up with her to avoid losing points.
Her performance was anything from “stunning,” judge’s words, not mine, to: “you’ve passed, please leave the ring,” spoken by an exasperated judge who was tired of watching me cajole Tess to down.

I gave up on obedience, she just didn’t want to behave in the ring. But, I’m not sorry we did the work. We had so much fun as a team.

So, I guess what I am saying is this, consider training you basenji.

My Naomi loved agility. She never left my side. She never even knew there was a fence around the big field we played agility in. She just wanted to run and jump!!!
She is gone, and I miss her so much. I am so glad we had those days together.

So, find something fun to do with your B, even if it is a series of behaviors that you make up and then find ways to make it fun for your B and for yourself.

It will be worth it.

Also, I don’t recall if anyone else mentioned it, but the time for calm indifference is when you come back into the house.
Come in calmly put your things down, go about your business putting groceries away, etc., then great you dog calmly and without commiseration.
If you commiserate with your pup, your pup will think he/she was right to be upset; thing are really as bad as he/she thought.

Don’t take too long before you greet your pup, just don’t put your pup first on the agenda when you come home.

My little Naomi did it with a head toss. She looked like a little bucking horse!

Now that Naomi is gone, Tess has taken it up. Major head toss.
In fact, she is doing it right now, as it is time to feed her!!

My Tess loves to rid our yard and bird feeders of those pesky birds! She does have a very strong prey drive. Walks in our open space were really something with all the jackrabbits and other critters

My phrase has always been “eyes.” Tess was so good at that in training and in the house. Basenji’s can give attention like crazy.

But on walks? The tastiest treats were nothing to her. She was too focused on the critters.

Over the years Tess has become much more likely to pay attention to me. She does come when called. I believe that is down to wanting to be safe.
I say she comes when called, but she is getting quite deaf, and only hears me when I pitch my voice up in the high range and really yell.

You can certainly train a basenji, and I do recommend it. It strengthens the bond between the two of you. Basenjis love having their minds challenged.

I will also tell you that when I was actively training Tess, she had an amazing leave it. She loved the leave it game (doggy zen, they get the treat in your closed hand when they look away; to get the treat, you must not look at the treat).

One morning she ran out in the yard and grabbed a dove. She put it under her paws and began plucking it. I calmly told her to leave it, and believe it or not she put the dove down and backed away from it. She got a ton of treats for that.

The dove survived and eventually flew away, minus a number of feather.
I imagine that Tess leaving the dove was down to an age old instinct of giving up prey to a human hunting partner.

FIONA, I wonder what size your dog is? if she is not a very small dog, a front loading harness may be a possible choice, if the martingale doesn’t work for her. The leash snaps to the front of the harness. When the dog charges away and hits the end of the leash, the dog ends up facing the handler. I like how it works for some dogs. If she is at all interested in treats when you are out walking try giving her treats when she looks at you, whether you asked her to or not.
The martingale or the front loading harness may at least keep your arms from being pulled out of the sockets!

I wish you luck with your dog. Each dog is a puzzle when it comes to training, and it will take time to find out what will work for the pair of you.

I am so sorry you lost your sweet basenji. I am sending virtual hugs.

I kept my basenji girl from scratching at her stitches by dressing her in a very small child's T-shirt. It worked well. Sometimes covering up a wound is all that's needed. Unfortunately, sometimes not.
Naomi had a little T-shirt that boasted the lettering "Dirt is my favorite color." It was not of course; she was a very tidy girl.

I can’t wait to see your bell!

I am so sorry you are having eating issues with your pup!

My little Tess, has a less than stellar appetite. She does have some kidney issues, her blood work indicates early kidney failure, but she continues to be relatively healthy on her kidney diet. Her kidney values have been off for quite a few years.

eeeefarms suggestion is a good one. Once Tess' appetite is stimulated, she eats well. Tess definitely plays food games, now that she is the last dog standing. She would often leave her food uneaten all day. These days, she waits for me to eat, and does want some of my food. I will usually give her a bite, or put a little on her her food. She does then finally, grudgingly finish her food.

I have hand fed her some days. That helps too.

Tess definitely has had tummy issues along the way. I will include famotadine (veterinarian recommended) in her pill pocket if her tummy is off. It does tend to help.

She has a bad neck, the result of jumping up and hitting the tailgate if my Volvo station wagon as it was opening. Poor girl, it bothers her off and on. During her last bad patch, she was on prednisone to reduce the swelling. It did work, but she lost her muscle mass and her appetite. I really thought I was going to lose her. She was so thin and weak. I think it's been over six months: she has recovered and is beginning to eat more normally.

Tess looks pretty good for a dog who is about to turn 16. I am grateful for every day I have with her.

Persevere!!

I hope you will continue to pursue veterinary help if your sweet Maia doesn’t continue to improve.

There are any number of things that can cause failure to thrive in a dog.

In the meantime, I do know that Tess would sometimes eat some of her food if I put chicken broth on it. Not the broth with onions in it, just plain chicken broth.

When a dog feels too sick to eat, there isn’t much you can do to tempt them unfortunately.

I hope that Maia gets better, as Tess did. I am so sorry you have to go through this with her. Sending you my best, most heartfelt wishes.