@Barklessdog:

I agree your not going to make a golden retriever out of a Chow, Akita, Shino and a lot of terriers that you can trust with small children, strangers, other dogs without very strict adult/owner supervision. Basenji's are the same, don't expect something they can't really be, that's not in their nature.

Owners need to know what they are getting into. That's why I never recommend someone getting a basenji. I don't think many people are committed or educated as to what it takes to own these dogs.

I understood what i was gettgin into when i got Pongo. My husband and I did plenty of reasearch on Basenjis before we got one. so i knew what i was in for. If Pongo never changes then i am willing to accept that. but first im going to try and help him through his aggressive behavior.

the fact that i should be feeding the treats to him and not what makes him nervous is a very good point. i havent been doing that just right. i will try that out. and pongo probably is resouce gaurding or gaurding us. i did talk with his trainer. (which by the way is a positive reinforcer trainer) she asked me to come in next week. she wants me to enrol him into the beyond basic obedience class so she can she how he acts and help us out. she is very good and has been a trainer for over 20 years and has delt with basenjis before. i feel confident in her and i will let you know how his classes go.
also, pongo has not been neutured. she said that is prob. part of the reason he is acting this way. i dont want to neuter him becuase i hope to show him. thanks for all the support and help

Honestly, Quercus i agree with that. i do know that my husband and i have worked very hard to establish dominence with Pongo. he obeys everything we say, and IS the dog in the house. we make him wait for his food, show him that we are the first ones out the door, and he even goes to bed (in the crate) when we tell him to "go to bed". he is a very good dog overall. i will look into a behavioralist and im going to talk to our obedience trainer tonight. if anything, i think pongo is reacting in nervousness or fear or protecting his territory. i thought we had done a good job socializing pongo but maybe im wrong? i dont know.

Pongo has already taken puppy kindergarden and basic obedience classes. his last class was about 2 months ago. im afraid to enroll him in any more classes because i dont want him "attacking" or biting anyone. i will get ahold of the vet and see what they have to say. i got the same suggestions from the breeder and she also told me to try a water bottle. everytime someone comes over and pongo begins to growl likes he about to attack, i spray him. i guess im not suppose to acknoledge him but just spray him. so far it seems to work. he stops growling for a few seconds and cant figure out what just happened. when (on the very few occasions) he is ok with someone being around him i tell him good boy and give him his favorite treat. i guess i will try this for a little while and see how this works out. thanks again for everyones help. as i have been monatoring his behavior latly i can see that he trusts my husband and i am would never snap at us for anything. when he is on the couch or being held by my husband and i and someone even just walks too close to him, he snaps. it seems like a pertective thing then. but when we is just walking around and someone comes close to him, his fur gets raised, ears go back, and he will not take his eye off that person. its like he is catious, nervous even. its strange. but im going to try everything i can think of to get this resolved. ill keep you posted. thanks!

Thanks everyone for your help. i will try the treat thing and see how things work out. as far as i can tell, pongo likes to be petted. and loves to cuddle. i just dont understand why he is doing this. he hasnt been in for a vet check up and doest seem to be in any pain anywhere because of anything. i will talk to the breeder and see what she says.

Hello, i have a basenji pup, Pongo, who is 7 months old now. i have had him since a puppy. i have posted a thread a long time ago about aggression towards me and my husband when we would pick him up and found everyones answers helpful so i need to post a new one. i searched through pages and pages of threads already and cannot find one that is like my situation so i need help!

Ever since my last posting when Pongo would get mean when i would pick him up, i have sinced resolved the matter and have not had any such problems ever since. in fact, he has been such a good boy! he WAS the perfect dog. However, about 2 weeks ago things all of a sudden changed for which i do not know why.

My problem is is that Pongo has suddenly become aggressive with strangers and people he knows. sometimes, really really agressive! luckily he hasnt drawn blood yet but he had come close. its a weird situation but ill do my best to explain it.

One of the first times i saw it happen was when my husband and i were driving home from somewhere and we had my sister in the back seat with the dog. every time he would look at her, he would grown, and once when she touched him, he did the "im about to bit you snarl" and snapped at her. she pulled away so she didnt get bitten but the whole rest of the way home he had to sit with me in the front. its not like he has never been in the car with people before. there have been a few diff situations where he had to share the back seat and he was fine.

then like a few days later 6 or 7 freinds came over for a movie.we all sat on couches, including the dog with one of the guests. one guest went to the bathroom then when he came back he just walked by pongo and pongo jumped at him at snapped. ever since then pongo snaps at this person every time he sees him. everyone else he was fine with. there is also one other person that pongo started to snap at every time he sees him. he gives him a warniong growl for like 1 second and the snaps. this person cannot be near Pongo or he will freak!

I thought, well maybe pongo just doesnt like those two people, but then yeasrterday, we went to the beach and people wanted to come and pet him. he has always done fine with random people just comming up to pet him, but all of a sudden he is cautous, and will even snap/ attack some of them.

his warning growl is sometimes only like half a second long and doest give anyone any time to ever realize what is going on when he attacks. sometimes his fur will go up which is a sign that he is about to snap but other times you dont even see it coming.

I dont understand what is going on. ever since he has been a puppy has has been very well socialized. we always have people over and around him, petting him and everything and he has always been so good. no problems. any advice? im so confused.

my puppy pongo is sweet in some areas and not in others. he does like to be wherever we are all the time! if he cant see us, he crys. when we watch tv he likes to sit on our lap and chew on one of his toys until he falls asleep. he comes we we call him (most of the time) and has never biten because he was startled waking up. it does not seem like he is in any pain when we pick him up, its more of a grochy, "put me down" sort of a growl and then he will start snaping at you. the moment he is put down he is fine and goes back to his business.

I took him to his first vet exam 2 days ago and everything checked out fine.however the vet needed to have 2 assistants in the room with her to help her give a shot because he was biting everyone because he did not want to be handled. he seems fine with strangers as long as they dont try and pick him up. im trying the method of just holding him even to show him that he can not get what he wants all of the time. he bits and bits hard so ive been trying to wear some gloves when i do pick him up. hopefully this will work.

i am taking him to a puppy kindergarden in 2 weeks but i am concerned about how we will act around other dogs. my next door neighbor has a dog and we occasionally let them out to play together. the neighbors dog is very sweet and she just runs around him and sniffs him then runs off. everytime she comes near pongo though, pongo with attack her viciously. it doesnt hurt her, she thinks its fun, but im concerned about this as well.

i have also spoken to the breader about this and she says that i need to get him to a puppy kindergarden and i also need to be more stern with him. she said i should leave a collar and leash on him during training and when he trys to snap at me, give a little tug on the leash. i have found this to be very unsuccessful though because his agression only gets worse when i do this. i do know one thing about the puppys dad in all of this though. he dad was removed from a home when he was beaten and abused. he has a very agressive streak to him with certain people other than the breeder now that she has adopted him. could this somehow play a factor in how my puppy acts?

Thanks guys for all your help. i really appreciate being able to talk to other basenji owners for some advice.

I am a new member on this site and i am hoping to get some help with my new basenji Pongo. my husband and i just purchase a 6 week old basenji from a breeder recently. my puppy is now 8 weeks old and i have started to notice some very aggresive and vicious behaviors! when i try to pick him up to to carry him to his play area or crate, or basically anywhere we growls and me, shows his teeth and will then try and nip me. if i tell him no in a very stern voice, and then set him down, he snarls and trys to bit me again. ive tried to set him down and then walk away and ignore him but he doesnt seem to care. his aggression is getting worse and worse everyday and now its to the point where he does not want me to pick him up ever! also when i try and put his leash on him he gets mad and trys to attack my hand. he has very sharp teeth and has broken by skin a few times already. please help! i dont know what to do!
~very confused basenji owner,
Nikki