Posts made by lilkcolbela

we have a human treadmill and Copper loves it. He can run on it for 30 minutes. We keep a leash on him in case we need it and give him treats to encourage him.

Hi,

I talked to my daughter last night and she really does not want me to find him another home, even though he's making her sick, (she's allergic to him). She threatened to leave home if I did. She's 18 so she could. I guess we will try and keep him. The good news is I did find a place that will pick up and drop off dogs, take them for long walks in the woods, and let them play with other dogs for the day. All for just $17.00 a day. So at least he's not in a crate for 9 hours any more and he seems to really enjoy it. He runs to the person right away and is excited to go and comes back very happy and tired.

I've attached some photos. I will call this week.

@angelina:

Hello I was reading about your situation with you basenji. I am very interested in him. I grew up with 4 basenjies. I fell extremly sad that you have to crate him for 9 hrs a day. I am a stay at home mom with two children. If you still have him I would love to see a picture of him or meet him. Thank you angelina

Hi,

If you are still interested, I'll post a picture, as soon as I can get my daughter to put pictures on my computer. He is super beautiful. Everyone just loves him.

Do you live in Ottawa, Ontario?

Hi,

if someone in Ottawa is free to babysit/walk my Basenji especially week days i may be able to consider keeping him. If someone owns a basenji in Ottawa, and has a fenced in yard where he could have regular play dates.

I certainly could try and help out in return.

I have a Basenji - red/white 17 months - in Ottawa

Hi,

I have no contract with the breeder. Copper was shipped to us from Texas. i didn't realise giving him away was a bad thing. Makes sense what you say.

I'll amend the post.

I have a male Basenji, born February 2010, red and white. He is a great dog. The cutest dog you have ever seen. Very loving. Loves to cuddle, gives kisses and hugs. Loves to be around people and other dogs. Requires a lot of attention and a lot of exercise. He can run on the treadmill for 40 minutes at 5. He is crate trained (during the day while at work) sleeps on his own bed on the floor in my room. Once in a while he gets to sleep in my bed and loves it. He is house trained. Walks perfectly well, sits when asked or when you are walking and stop to talk to someone or getting ready to cross the road. He can lay down and stay when asked or when you are at the table eating. This avoids any jumping and snatching food off the counter or table. He can be a handful if he is not exercised enough and you do not keep an eye on him. He is a hunter by instinct and can shred a stuffed animal in minutes. Even the toys (tuff scale) 8 to 10 which should be tough to destroy, he can destroy in minutes. He cannot be trusted off leash as evreything interests him and he will run away. He needs a strong leader or he will take over the household.

When we got Copper, we had the time for him. My family has shrunk. I am alone now, and my only assistant, my daughter, is going to University in the fall. I am a senior, but still working. I'm not the right person for this type of dog. He deserves a family that can spend a lot of time with him, has a fenced in yard where he can run and play. People that will play with him, walk him, run with him and give him a lot of love and attention.

All I can do with him is walk him and give him love and attention. But he spends 9 hours a day in his crate while I'm at work and I don't think this is fair to him. I take him for long walks, but I know he would love more than that. I also feel tied down to a dog that needs more than I can give. It stresses me to always have to run home after work to take him out and it is too expensive to hire someone to do this all the time. I don't drive, so I can't take him to dog parks.

If some one owns a Basenji and would like another one for companion, or who has owned a Basenji before and knows what they are like and wants another one let me know. We love Copper and want to find a good permanent home for him. I will take care of him until I do. He deserves a home where he can get more attention and exercise.

He's been fixed, up to date on his shots, and has a clean bill of health. He weighs 20 pounds. So he is a bit small for a Basenji, but really cute.

Price is to cover the new crate, and life time dog training if you are in Ottawa. The rest will be donated to a local animal shelter.

I still have to talk to my daughter, she's going to University. I can't take care of him by myself. He was a year old in February. If she agrees, I would give him away to a good home where he would be loved, have lots of exercise, get to play with other dogs. He comes with a life time of dog training by a professional and is up to date on his shots. She may want visitation rights at least at first if that would be possible. He is 20 pounds, red and white, double curl tail. Always happy, good nature and energetic. He also has a brother that lives in Ottawa that may want to visit once in a awhile.

He's been back a week, and all is well. The trainers trained us to keep up the training Copper received. It's all positive reinforcement (Praise/treats). We still have a great relationship with him, he still loves to cuddle, but he is a lot more manageable now. These trainers knew what they were doing. Everyone is very impressed.

Hi,

Well Copper came home yesterday. He was happy to see us and so were we. Sending him for training was the best decision. He has learned to walk properly. I can walk him on a loose leash, no more pulling. He has learned to play nice with other dogs. He has learned basic commands. They come in handy when you want him to stay put and not eat your furniture, floor, anything you left hanging around. He will sit, sit stay, sit, down stay. He also learned to run on the treadmill. So doing this twice a day, along with play time and walks, keeps him tired and out of trouble.

Hi,

thanks for all the information. I saw Cesar Millan when he was in town and Red Moon was the food he was promoting, so I thought I would try it. I like that they deliver to your home at no extra cost as I don't drive.

Hi,

I read somewhere that lamb and fish was not good for Basenji's. Any truth to this?

I currently feed my Basenji dry food with the first ingredients chicken, chicken meal, and a lot of fruit and vegetables.

I hear the best meat for them is beef or horse. If I were to make his food would I cook the beef?

I currently feed him Red Moon and he really likes it. Just looking to provide him safe varieties. I know when I make roast beef with vegetables, he devours that.

thanks.

Thanks everyone for all the wonderful advice. I have some research to do. I'll keep you posted.

Reading all these posts, I am getting worried that I did the wrong thing. We really love copper, and want him as part of our family no matter what, we were just hoping that this would help. We can't possibly watch him 24/7. I don't like putting him in his crate if I'm at home.

The training school is very reputable. I trust them. But I may bring copper back now, I'm so worried we did the wrong thing.

BTW, what is the best dog food for Basenjis? I'm been feeding him Red Moon, (recommended by the Dog Whisper) but I wonder if there is something better for Basenjis. I may even look at recipes and make his food.

Thanks for all the great comments. A lot to think about.

@Quercus:

I agree with a lot of Debra's post…but I do want to clarify that not ALL board and train, or train w/o owner programs are bogus. Lots of people don't WANT to learn to train a dog well; or they have more money than time; or whatever, but they do want a well-trained dog; and that is fine. Board and train is more successful for the basic behaviors, than it is for problem behaviors. And a good trainer will end up training the owners before handing over the dog. It is admittedly difficult to train a human with very little training aptitude, and a dog that has several bad habits at the same time.

The problem I see in training w/o owner with dogs like Basenjis is that they are smart enough to know whom they need listen to, and whom they don't...so if the owners aren't actively involved in the training, chances are the Basenji won't bother to listen; and if force is used, they will be intimidated by those who did the training, but not necessarily by the owner when they return; AND for most of the problems the OP described the training really needs to be done IN the situation in which it is occuring. That is, I could teach your dog not to counter-surf at my house, but he would go right back to it at your house, unless you did exactly the same training in the new location.

They are training him in a positive way, and do plan on training us on their return. Training us and Copper at the same time didn't work, I think we were too soft and inconsistent with Copper. so we figured if he is trained properly, then we know it's us, and then we will follow the rules to keep up the training. The trainers know that stubborn is part of a Basenji, but he should still be able to stay when asked, and not chew up furniture because he thinks it's his. I can be a better house cleaner, but I need furniture, floors and walls. He's aggressive with other animals and people, he nips, he has drawn blood when nipping my daughter, I think these are not acceptable behaviours even from a Basenji.

@Quercus:

No offense intended, but this has red flags all over. He sounds like a totally typical Basenji. The fact that your trainer is having problems because the dog is "stubborn" sounds like he is using training techniques that are largely unsuccessful with dogs like Basenjis. I think if you were to pursue more appropriate training techniques with this dog, your results would be much more satisfying. My guess is that you will get your dog back with more behavior issues than he left with, and they will be more serious, and harder to deal with. I hope I am wrong, but please keep us updated when he comes home.

What are the successful training techniques for Basenji's?

I'll try and find better pictures. His eyes are actually black.

I forgot to mention that he is crated when I'm gone to work. he likes his crate. When we first brought him home, he went in it right away on his own. He has to be crated for his safety as well as protecting my furniture. One time I thought I would leave him in the Kitchen, more space than a crate. I have gates to keep him secluded in the kitchen or out of the kitchen. I thought I had Copper proofed the kitchen. I came home to find a small piece of fridge magnet on the floor. He had eaten the magnet. I took him to the vet. It took a couple of days for it to all come out of him. I had a metal crate with towels around the crate to make it cozy. He ate the towels. I would come home and he had pulled the towels in his crate and ate them. Huge pieces were missing. So then he had no more towels or bedding as he would eat that too. So, he started eating the crate floor. He would then vomit that. It's not like he didn't have toys to play with in his crate. Now I have a plastic crate and will try that when he gets home. The trainer says he is doing well in it.

He's smart. When I'm home, he pretends he is chewing one of his toys, but all along he is eating the floor. I don't get it. I constantly have to watch him. A room with just floors and walls would not be safe with him. He is also a puller when we walk. I hope the training helps.

I know a tired dog is a happy dog. So we will make an effort to go for longer walks, play more with him and even do the treadmill. Hopefully this will help.

He's cute and we love him. Unfortunately, the time we enjoy him most is when he is cuddling with us and is sleeping as this is the only time we can relax.

@Basenjimamma:

He sounds like a typical basenji…lol..

You stated he's been with the trainer, are you there as well or is it just him? Many times us humans need training too..:)

As far as training, they respond much better to positive treat motivating training than negative....

When you are not there is he crated? Many basenjis have to be crated or else the destruction is fair game...mine does ok being loose, but he has three play buddies that keeps him somewhat out of trouble.

We tried having a trainer come to our house but it didn't work out. I think part of it was we didn't like the trainer. Now Copper is doing some boarding school training, then they will bring him back to us and spend time with us training us to keep up his training. This way he gets trained properly by professionals, and they we get trained and hopefully keep it up. They give you a certificate as a certified trainer for your dog if you pass. So hopefully this will work.

I will call my vet and see about getting Copper tested just for peace of mind. My friend has his brother, and I'll suggest the same for him.

Thanks everyone.