Posts made by sarahlorrain

Well, at first we thought the fighting at the previous home was because of the other dogs because there was only conflict with our small dog for about 2 days. But, now I'm thinking she has no problem with him because he's small, male and neutered and an incredibly submissive dog. Now, I think she is a mildly aggressive dog who wants to be the alpha dog. I think you are 100% right that she needs to be an only dog with people who can allow her to be the princess she thinks she is. I'll fill out that BRAT form as best I can and we'll see what happens from there.

I looked at the form on the BRAT website. I believe she is purebred, but I don't have any documentation of that. I need to get her immunizations dates from my vet before I can fill it out. If it won't cost me much money, I don't mind placing her through BRAT. I could give a small donation.

Oh, I also wanted to mention the other reason why I feel Lady is the one at fault (in the fights) is because in her previous home she fought with ALL of the other dogs, but the other dogs didn't fight with each other.

I knew you guys wouldn't agree with me; and I'm sorry for that. I checked out the BRAT website, and it looks like like they want $100 to place her? Is that right? I would definately prefer to have her go to someone who can appreciate the Basenji breed. She would be a wonderful dog in a one-dog home. She's potty trained, doesn't chew things up, doesn't wreck the yard, etc. You just can't crate her; she'll ruin a crate; even a metal one.

As far as who's picking the fights … Lady will growl when Raven is walking by and then just jump her and it goes from there.

Because Raven is a better fit for our family than Lady is.

Ugh, never mind. They got in another fight last night just as I was letting my guard down. I'm going to have to find a new home for Lady. If she keeps picking fights, Raven is going to seriously hurt her.

Agh, I just wrote this long paragraph about Lady and Raven and then my computer froze and I lost it. How frustrating. Anyway, the whole point was I've been working with them a lot and I think Lady is getting better. I have some pictures of them playing to share. They actually played tug-of-war with this toy! They both had a hold on it, Lady laid down on her back and Raven pulled her a few feet. It was SO funny. Of course they stopped when I tried to sneak in the house to get the camera.

I pick up the dog poop twice per day (three dogs here too.) I put it in a 5-gallon bucket (bottom lined with newspaper), pour a little baking soda on it the poo daily and add a layer of newspaper every other day. I empty the bucket in the big trashcan twice a week. I'm thinking of painting the bucket with some flowers to make it look nicer than the "nasty poop bucket". The only problem is, if there is no lid then it gets nasty when there's rain. So a lid to contain any extra smell is a good idea. Heck, with three dogs we don't get that much company anyway! I live in a small town with no special options for doggie poo disposal so this is pretty much the best way I've found to do it.

LOL, I know this conversation is pretty much over but I had to jump in anyway. I too, think the new "designer breeds" are silly. They make cute mutts sometimes, like my precious "Chiweenie". I never knew there was a name for a Chihuahua/Dacshund mix/mutt until we got him from a ….. !surprise! shelter. :p

@Ninabeana26:

I believe the dog she is mentioning is a lab, not her basenji.

That's right. I'm hoping the crate accident she had was just because I let her have water to drink after dinner. I only did that one evening, and that was the evening she pottied in the crate. I think I'll try to keep a closer eye on her when she 's in the house so I can tell when she needs to go.

Ok, so in case anyone hasn't seen my other post about my new dog (a Lab), we have a new 2 year old female spayed lab that we rescued from a local shelter. They told us that she is house trained, that they only let adult dogs out to potty twice per day and that she never pottied in her kennel there. So, assuming they are being truthful, I know she can hold it. I always put her out to potty at night before bed (she sleeps in a crate at night). However, she peed in the crate last night and I also found a puddle in the living room today. The crate doesn't have the plastic tray in it (Lady, our Basenji, tore it up long ago). So, there is a comforter in it for comfort. I thought about buying a replacement tray, but they are SUPER EXPENSIVE for just a piece of plastic. I'm wondering what I should try to train her not to pee in her crate? I've thought of keeping a few pieces of kibble in my pocket at all times so I can reward her for going outside? I thought about putting a large piece of plywood in the bottom of the crate to substitute for the missing plastic tray but I'm thinking that could be very bad if she decided to chew on it …

I've never had to house train a dog before; Freddy and Lady were both already house trained when we got them. They both tried once to potty in the house at first, but I caught them, gave a stern "NO" and put them outside and that put a stop to it.

@YodelDogs:

I'm not sure how CM is using it but many people use it as a distraction, to break a dog's focus off of another dog. Once the dog's focus is broken it will start to relax and then you can praise it for ignoring the other dog.

I think that's right. I didn't know how to explain it. It's not like yelling or anything like that. It kind of gently diverts their attention I guess?

Of course! That makes perfect sense. Thanks.

Most of the time, things are pretty calm. However, my dh was letting the girls out this morning and he tried to pick up Lady and she growled at him. She was probably on alert from being in such close proximity to Raven though. I wasn't here, so I didn't see it.

Also, this morning Lady vomited in the kitchen. There is a small, maybe 2 foot wide space between the table and the wall. That's where she was when she did it. Anyway, Raven ran over there and shoved her out of the way to lap it up. yuck Anyway, Lady just walked off and didn't even raise the hair on her back. I thought it was a fight for sure. I'm pretty optimistic. Lady is playing more and flipping out less, although we are of course still very careful.

This morning I heard all this barking and this HUGE commotion outside. I just knew they were tearing each other up so I ran outside. Nope, a stray cat came inside the fence and they were chasing it out.

Ok, one more thing I'm confused about. After the cat incident, Lady dug up a rawhide that she had buried. She went to sit down with it and Raven was acting a bit interested. Lady sat the rawhide on the ground and started growling. I didn't say anything. Raven just sat down and didn't bother her at all. Then, Lady just walked away from the darn thing and let Raven have it. I can't figure that one out at all.

@MacPack:

I am assuming that Raven is larger, and Lady is definitely being dominant and showing Raven that SHE is the boss.

You are so right! Lady weighs 25 pounds, while Raven weighs 70. I can see why we only had this problem with her and our little dog for a day or two. I think she may feel very intimidated by her large size. I wanted to let you all know that Raven is starting to back off when Lady growls at her. I hope she continues doing that!

Ok, I can see how that would make sense. The girls seem to be a bit better today. I didn't see them escalate into any fights today, and I spent quite a bit of time with them. Also, when I was playing fetch with Raven, Lady was acting like she wanted to play. She would run toward the toy with Raven, but then turn away when Raven got to it first. I always went up to her and petted her and got all excited that she was being good and playful with Raven. Also, I have started only giving them their milk bones when they both come to me and sit on command. They will do this every single time without getting upset. I do not ever give them treats at any other time and always feed meals separately. I also do not let them in the house together. I think the close quarters gets Lady stressed out. They are only allowed in the house one at a time except for at night, when Raven is crated.

@agilebasenji:

Correcting a dog from growling can backfire.

Can you explain this more? I'm not sure why I would just allow growling to happen and not correct it. Surely that isn't what you are suggesting? Should I not say anything but instead remove Lady from the situation when she growls or something like that?

I will. Thank you for being so kind and unjudgemental. Today, I've been taking walks with the both of them; one on each side where they can't reach each other. When Lady tries to growl, I pull her against my leg and say "Ssshhhhsstttt" like that Dog Whisperer guy does. She's growling less during walks already. The other thing that I've noticed while watching them is that Lady is MUCH less likely to be aggressive when she thinks I'm not watching (when I'm inside and they are outside). So, maybe she's jealous of attention Raven gets from me? Also, I think I'm going to leave them outside in the evenings until it's time to eat and go to bed. We get a lot of people walking by, animals, and other things to investigate, and they seem to be investigating things together like a pack would.

Thank you for your response. I don't mind giving them a couple of weeks at all. I wish I could get a trainer here but there aren't any within 60 miles. I shudder to think what that would cost! I will check out that link asap.

That's what I was afraid of.