Appreciate all the advice.

Debra, sorry I didn't mean to come off like that … what I should have/meant to say was that it's difficult for me to wrap my head around this situation (feels like I've come home to a different dog), not that I can't accept it. I'm hearing all the advice loud and clear and I really appreciate it, was just looking for some guidance from people who have been through this before... I was worried about taking wrong steps and making the situation even worse.

I think you're right - once we're able to move back into my house it will definitely be easier to get her in a routine and I'll go from there, I'm not sure if she was getting enough exercise while I was gone either which could explain why she's a little more on edge.

Very good point Chealsie, I think I focused too much on the why… but I was just trying to give people an idea of how this situation may have developed and was looking for any insights on the best way to fix the problem. I can't accept that Basenji's just get this way with age, I've had friends with dangerous/power breeds that got along great with every dog so with proper training I don't see why my girl can't either.

Maybe I'll look for a local trainer.

My girl is spayed yes, I believe at 7-8 months or so… I followed the breeders instructions on timing.

I've actually not been to the dog park with her since about a year ago, but when we went she was never aggressive or overwhelmed whether there was 1 other dog or 8, the more dogs the more she got to run...

In walking her we've only walked past a couple dogs (staying out of the city right for a few weeks) and she has gotten her haunches up and snarled both times, my family told me shes been doing this with every dog since shortly after I left so I wondered if maybe that was a trigger... my family has never been confident/pack leader with her, they are very passive whereas I am the opposite.

Right, the dogpark isn't essential but its only a block away and it's two city blocks (I live downtown) so it's really the only viable place I can let her offleash.

While we can phase out the dogpark, I'd really like it if she could at least get along with other dogs that pass by on walks/runs… it feels like I've come home to a different dog.

Hi all,

Backstory: My girl just turned 3 and I've had her since she was 8 weeks. I used to take her to the off-leash dog park virtually every day for her first 2 years and she never aggressive, but I had to relocate to Europe for work and have recently returned after being gone 13 months.

While I was away my sister stayed at my house and looked after my girl for me with the help of my parents, but they warned me she has started to become aggressive towards other dogs. I didn't believe them as they used to tell me this when I was in town but I never had any issues with her being aggressive. The last two days I've had her out and as soon as she sees another dog…the ridge on her back is up and she starts snarling and even tried to bite a dog that got close to her.

Based on what I've read this might be related to her taking an alpha role when I'm not around, and since I've been gone for so long shes assumed that role full time.

Not sure what the best way to fix this is? She also has been staying with 2 other incredibly passive dogs (labs) and gets along with them without any problems.

Appreciate any input so I can return to the off-leash parks, thanks!

Thanks for the replies.

She isn't fat by any means, I was just curious as to how much other basenji's eat but you all bring up some good points regarding size/food. I've recently moved her onto Orijen fish, before that she was eating Timberwolf.

I just measured her, shes 16.5" at the withers.

Not sure which is the most appropriate forum for this, anyways…

On two occasions with my old leash she was able to get off (I have no idea how).... we were walking and she became loose. I took the leash back to the store and explained what happened, they gave me credit towards a new leash which has a stronger snap, but she has done the same thing with the new leash two times. This morning I turned to walk and she wasn't attached, luckily she was sniffing the ground and was oblivious that she was free.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I don't know if its a fluke I have two defective leashes that are different styles from different companies or if my dog is a genius :). The only solution I can think of is to have 2 leashes on her at a set time which isn't ideal, or use something without a snap that is permanently attached to her collar (and unfasten the collar when we get home).

These are the two leashes I've tried so far, and all the leashes I've seen in various stores look pretty much the same in regards to the snap.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2751339

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4070844

Any suggestions would be really appreciated, thanks!

A couple people have commented on my girl saying she is very big for a Basenji and I'm curious how much others feed their Basenjis.

She's turning 1 in a few weeks, and she weighs 25 lbs. I feed her a shade under 1 cup of dry food twice a day.

What the puppy trainer taught me (and it's worked for me) is when she pulls I simply stop walking, and then wait until I can get her attention by saying her name once or she will look back to see why I've stopped walking. Tap your pant leg and call her back and when she gets to you praise her. She often walks in front of me and the trainer told me that should be acceptable (it has nothing to do with dominance) as long as she isn't pulling and I decide when/where we go.

Very true tanza, I took her to some trails on the weekend so its likely something may have bit her…

I talked to the vet, going to monitor her for the next couple days and if it continues I'll take her in but I/we don't think its anything too serious :)

Hey guys,

Starting yesterday, my 3 month old yelped a little and then tried to bite her behind a few times. We thoroughly massaged her everywhere to make sure she hadn't hurt herself and she is fine but its confusing why she's starting doing it.

This morning when she got up she yelped as if she was in pain but again I can't find anything wrong with her… she has had all of her shots and was just at the vet last week. I searched her for any sort of bite marks/fleas and found nothing...

Going to call the vet but would also appreciate any advice

Hey guys,

I was on these forums and received some great help & advice in late 2008 when I was looking into a basenji but things fell through and it didn't happen. I'm happy to say I've recently adopted a baby girl (8weeks old) but I'm having issues potty training her and was looking for some firsthand advice.

I've done quite a bit of reading, and have been crate training her as well. It's been less than a week and she is doing extremely well in the crate at night - she has stopped crying after the first night or two and only whimpers when she needs to pee, in which case I let her out and we go to her puppy pad… she does her business and then we go back to sleep for a few more hours and do it again. The issue is with #2 though, she won't do it for me at least not where I want.

For the first few days I was feeding her in the hallway (tiny 1 BR condo) and had a puppy pad in the kitchen as well as a spot she'd picked in the living room. Then I read that I should feed her inside her crate so that she associates the food with the crate and will a) see the crate as a more positive experience, b) not eliminate in the crate as she sleeps there.

I picked up a baby gate yesterday but none of them were large enough to block the hallway so I've got it setup in the kitchen, and left the one pad there.

I've been following the same feeding schedule since day one (approx 730am, 1230 and 6pmn) but today I started feeding her inside her crate and then left her in there for 15-20mins to digest and just get a little more comfortable with the crate (she loved it as long as she knows I am nearby for the first couple days, now she is fine in there regardless unless she needs to pee). Then I take her to the kitchen and the puppy pad. I call her to the pad and she sniffs it and I walk away, and if she pee's I give her praise and whatnot and shes gotten much better at this but she will never #2. I usually leave her in there for 5-10mins and if she doesn't do anything I bring her back to the crate and try again in 30mins or so. This went on for essentially all of today, and she ended up sleeping in the crate most of the day with me nearby. I just put her in the kitchen one last time before bed with no luck, so I figured we'd go to bed. I had her in the crate in the bedroom - went to the bathroom and when I came back she had eliminated a bit so I cleaned it up, used stain remover and scrubbed out the crate and put her in the kitchen in the meantime. Afterwards I put her back in the crate and was cleaning up the kitchen and when I went to the bedroom she had eliminated all over the crate and made a huge mess that I've just finished cleaning up again at 1am :/

I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong and how I can get her to #2 in the kitchen or anywhere for that matter. For the first few days I just kept an eye on her but she would always just go before I could stop it and it didn't feel very productive to follow her around and then just constantly pick up after her without her learning anything.

Any advice about how I can ensure she doesn't eliminate in the crate and what to do about when she whines from the kitchen would be really appreciated. Up until today she hadn't even pee'd in the crate but now we've had two episodes in the past hour so I don't want this trend to continue.

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the quick replies once again, I sent a couple quick email followups but didn't hear back. I think some breeders are just legitimately really busy with the season and one got scared off when I asked the usual questions.

Tanza - I'm in Vancouver BC, very close to the border :)

I don't feel comfortable publicly posting the breeders I've talked to thus far but if you'd like a list you can get ahold of me at the604onlineathotmaildotcom (change "at" and "dot" to "@" and ".")

Thanks again for the leads but I'm getting kind of discouraged with the lack of responses I'm getting from breeders and I'm curious if this is to be expected.

First breeder - Good phone/email dialogue but she was moving across the country. I asked if she knew any local breeders or perhaps had older dogs (as per advice here) and never heard back from her.

Second - No response

Third - No response.

Fourth - Responded to my email within an hour and we chatted a bit. I asked some typical questions regarding her dogs (as per basenji buyers guide) and she never got back to me (that was two weeks ago).

Fifth - Responded to my email within an hour and had some good dialogue. She asked me to fill out an adoption application and I haven't heard back yet (1 week ago).

I'm just kind of curious as to how long other peoples experiences have been and if this is normal? or from a breeders perspective how many potential dog owners you deal with on a regular basis and have lots of people to consider?

I don't want to get too discouraged but at the same time just not hearing anything is kind of troubling as opposed to yes/no. I think I would be an excellent owner and can provide a stable balanced home to a dog so I'm not sure what it is - can't help but think I've offended someone and word of mouth has spread - maybe I'm just being too impatient and it's all in my head?

Yep - there was only one listed near me… I spoke to her but she happened to be relocating to the East coast the next day :|

Well I've done my homework over the past several weeks and I'm looking for a Basenji puppy or possibly an older dog.

Having difficulty finding many breeders in my area and hoping this may give me some leads.

I'm open to Washington as well (thanks Sharron) but would prefer a local breeder if possible =)

@sharronhurlbut:

We have some wonderful quality breeders in Washington state.
BC isn't that far from us.
I would be happy to share info re the Evergreen basenji club, if you wish.

Please do.

Also if anyone has experience with adopting dogs from the other side of the border I'd be interested in hearing your experiences/advice/border need to know stuff.

Thanks for the lead Renault … I emailed Terray @ terrarust but have yet to hear anything back so far. As it turns out someone I know has a 5yr old Basenji from her!

If anyone knows of reputable breeders preferably in BC with upcoming litters or an older dog looking for a home please feel free to send me a PM.

Hey guys,

Really appreciate all the quick replies, I had no idea there was such an active Basenji community and glad I came across these forums!

You've given me a lot to think about and I have also considered getting an older dog but I'm not sure. I actually have looked into rescue options and there really aren't many in my area. I'm definitely not opposed to an older dog, however I don't really want a rescue dog I know nothing about. Also looked into retired dogs and there simply don't seem to be many breeders in my area (bc, canada), at least not on the internet =).

Also wanted to add I absolutely agree 110% that a extra few hundred dollars for the adoption is a drop in the bucket compared to what I will pay during the dogs lifetime and its not about the money to me… I just felt if a breeder is asking significantly more than others its a bit of a red flag.

Going to look into older dogs a bit more now. Again, really appreciate the feedback!

Hey Guys

I'm sure similar topics have been posted a few times before but I was looking for some unbiased feedback from Basenji owners before I make a final decision

I began the process of looking for a breed that is right for me a few weeks ago and came across the Basenji. I really like what I've read and researched all of the pros/cons and health issues and I just have a couple concerns so here goes =]

1. I'm 28, live alone and do the typical 9-5. Should I be concerned about leaving a Basenji alone during the day most days of the week? Evenings and Weekends I am always either home or somewhere the dog would be able to accompany me. I'm not concerned about damage/trouble they might get into at home… more just if they will go insane being cooped up alone all day and if its unfair to the dog. I'm fully expecting a short walk in the morning before I go to work and a longer one when I get home to keep him/her active. I'm also not opposed to getting another down the road but don't want to overwhelm myself at this point for obvious reasons.

2. I own a condo that is not on the ground floor, thus no yard... should this be much of a concern provided the dog gets daily walks? Aside from having to carry a poop scooper with me everywhere I go :|

3. Growing up I always had a dog but I've never owned one on my own. Is the Basenji a poor choice for a first time dog owner due to their stubbornness?

4. I've spoken to a local breeder and this person is very established. Good standing with all relevant clubs, dogs are champions and all have had necessary health/genetic tests and passed with flying colors.... my only concern is the asking price which is ~$1100 US. Is this unusual? The information I've found suggests anywhere from $500-850 but I wasn't sure if those numbers were a bit outdated or not.

Thanks! Glad I stumbled across these forums, lots of good information on here =]