Thank you so much for letting me know of the noise risk and the sedation at a vet's possibility. That is a great option if necessary and as I will be moving to Tucson sometime later this year it may be needed. I'm sure the move will be traumatic on Mike. Was your german shepherd an adult or puppy when this happened? Again, much thanks!

LENORA….May your surgery go well and your recovery be fast and easy on you. Abbey will be wearing her worried brow look when you get home and need lots of affection and cooing talk.
I agree on the big stick, but I read in a dog training book to take a fast- trigger umbrella and it certainly worked on a too friendly adult bulldog who was coming toward us. It is a good, friendly dog, but Mike wouldn't have been able to go thru it. The fast spread of the umbrella scared the bulldog and it lit out down the road at lightning speed. Really impressed Mike, too. I'm going to buy some pepper spray for extreme emergencies and pray that I don't get it on Mike or me. Too many big dogs around lately and if they decided to jump their fenced yards, we'd be mincemeat. Even have pit bulls up the block now; that really worries me a lot.
God bless you and yours.....kansasgirl

Lenora….In mid-December, my Mike (female, proper name Micah, but she likes Mike better) and I had just crossed the street to begin our walk, when a neighbor's dog got out their door when the resident teens were unloading musical instruments. Neither Mike nor I heard or saw the dog, a female blue of a considerably larger breed coming at us. The dog hit me on the calf of my right leg and went at Mike with teeth bared. I went down on my tail bone--I was almost 69 at that time--on the blacktopped roadway, but I grabbed Mike up into my arms and started yelling for someone to come help me get up and get the dog. Finally the boys who let the dog out came unfrozen and one of them came and got the dog and one helped me up. I hurt like heck but it only took two chiropractic sessions to get me back on track....but Mike was a mess until about two weeks ago. From the time we resumed our walk, she became alpha dog and the protective sentinel guard, leading the way and swiveling her head from side to side to check out the terrain. She was hyper deluxe and psychotic as all get out. Wouldn't sleep and paced constantly. Also refused to let me sleep; just whined and cried and howled 24/7. Walks were done at race speeds. She refused to potty on the walks. I had to take her to the vet and put her on "puppy Prozac"--Clomicalm--at twice the dosage for her weight which just barely slowed her down, but gave me about three hours sleep before she started in again. I looked up panic disorder and found her reaction to the dog's coming at us was common and would take time to overcome. I found feeding advice for feeding brown rice and turkey or chicken which causes relaxation and sleepiness, but the main thing is that about one a.m. a couple of weeks ago, I had a heart-to-heart talk with her. I told her that I would never put her back in a pound, but if she didn't let me get some sleep and rest then I would probably fall or trip from fatique and hurt myself badly so, therefore, I would be forced to put her to sleep, put her down, and it would break my heart to not have her with me. She looked me in the eyes--something she had not done since the attack--and the panic was gone. She was back to the wonderful companion she had been since I had picked her up at the Humane Society in Phoenix. Our ordeal with the aftermath lasted from mid-December until mid-March. So if your Abbey is having problems, good luck...be patient and just talk to her. I know Mike understood what I said because the change was a miracle. She hasn't needed the "puppy Prozac" since the talk. She still is more alert on walks than she was before the incident, but not psychotic. As I said, good luck to you both....kansasgirl

Yesterday my lovely neighbor drove me 100 miles down to Phoenix to adopt a Basenji at the Phoenix Humane Society. She was suppose to be cured of kennel cough but she isn't over it. We had a very sleepless night. I know it is an allergic reaction so since no vet could see her until Monday, I am giving her Benadryl by the 5 mg morning and evening today. I hope I am not harming her, but she seems to be doing well and is now frisky, but can rest now and then, also. She came with a damaged back missing a lot of fur along the spine from neck to tail due to sunburn, I was told. I'm putting burn ointment on the bald spots and she seems much better and not trying to scratch, so that's coming along. She is not potty trained, so I appreciate all the advise. I did let her out after feeding, before bed, and let her out first thing this morning, but she didn't use the outdoor facilities; just dumped a load and peed before I could get to her to get her outside. The every 20 minutes and praising her when she does go outside should work; she is smart. Has anyone else dealt with severe sunburn on their Basenjis? Also she howls and whines a lot, but I think with purpose: She obviously has had a litter of pups, maybe two litters, even though she is only a year old. I remember that my mother always kept a pup out of every litter for the mother. She had seen sorrow in dogs whose entire litter were given away or sold. We had a lot of dogs! Any experience and advise you can share will be gratefully received. Our first Basenji trained herself, was fastitous, and was like a hound from hell, but faithful and the best watchdog in the world regardless of the size.
I am kansasgirl in Cottonwood, AZ