@Chealsie508:

Had the same issue, once oakley hit maturity he turned dog aggressive- went to tufts behaviorist to have his thyroid panel drawn bc out vet didn't do the FULL thyroid panel and when it came back normal I had my answer: he's dog aggressive! Not to say he doesn't have a few dogs he has grown comfortable with and is fairly reliable (FAIRLY) in controlled non food situations. Can be a breed issue unfortunately (and some
May not agree)

What all do you consider on a full thyroid panel? So I can be sure to mention it when I go into the vet.

Her check up is this month, so timing works out fortunately.

I was unaware of that. I definitely will do that at our checkup. Thanks!

Tesla just turned 4 this year and since then she has become very aggressive towards other dogs while on walks and at the dog park. We used to regularly visit the dog parks around us without a problem. Now she will barely let a dog approach her without growling and snapping- and the other dog can be completely calm when approaching her. She won't even sniff/let the other dog sniff her before she's set off. I'm not sure what to do to break this new habit of hers. She never responded to clicker training as a puppy so I don't think I can go that route. Does anybody have advice for this?

Thanks!

Tesla just turned 1 the beginning of this past February, and by the end of February we had a new member to our family, Sparky. They've had their ups and downs, but for the most part they're getting along just fine.

This past weekend we adopted a male italian greyhound mix (Sparky) and brought him home. Tesla had met him before and played just fine with him so we figured it wouldn't be too incredibly bad. I understand that she is looking at our apartment as her domain and so Sparky being here is him invading on her space, but we're trying to get her accustomed to him. The only time we really have an issue is when Tesla gets in a play mood where she gets a little jealous of Sparky and sometimes goes for him instead of the toys because he is the one that is moving. My worry is that when she does go after him she always goes to bite his throat - which is also the first thing she does to any new toy that she gets - and she'll hurt him because lets face it, he's kind of a smaller more compact dog. Because of this, we don't leave the two of them home unattended when we leave, one always gets kenneled. She is fine with him around eating, getting treats, on walks, at the park, and sleeping in the same bed, it's really only when she gets excited that we have to pull them apart, and it is 99% of the time instigated by her. I realize that its going to take time and patience, but I was wondering if you had any tips or pointers on how to go about breaking this habit.

Thanks!

So I got Tesla in mid May - she's 7 1/2 months old now- and expected her to pretty much chew up everything from the start…but that wasn't the case. The whole summer she was pretty much fine, with an occasional mistake here or there. Now that school has started again, she's going after everything... pillows, towels, tissue boxes, papers, storage boxes, and especially shoes. I feel like its related to me being gone now more than she is used to, but I have lots of toys of her own for her to play with. I kennel her at night and by the end of summer had been letting her stay out in the living room if I were only going to be gone an hour or two and things were fine. Now she goes after everything that isn't hers and not much of what is hers. Has anyone else had problems with this before? I'm back to kenneling her during the day while I'm gone which upsets me because I want her to have room to run about. But I want to be able to fix this habit and don't know the best approach to it. Any advice?

Thanks!

I've had a similar problem with Tesla. She has all three of those tags too and at first I was confused as to what she was getting into. Then after thinking about it, I realized it was her tags so I started taking it off when in the apartment. It took me a couple baths to be able to get the color out. :P I'll be interested to hear what other options people suggest

@Buddys:

I was introduced to a harness by Puppia, you can google this. Uzie always pulled, and of course when there is something in those bushes… He actually pulls less with this harness. No gimmicks, just a good thing. It is well made and worth the cost (average) the mesh is easily cleaned and a well sewn clip for a leash. Very impressed, because I always liked the martingale version of collar for dogs in training, Basenjis and sight hounds and small dogs definately need a harness. See Pix: PS: just looked at the harness you mentioned, and to me it looks a though it would really hurt the chest area when they are going to pull. This is just an 'aversion' to pain or discomfort harness for a dog that is going to pull anyway. Like I said, Uzie pulls less.....

I currently have one similar to what you have, except instead of having the two clips on the top it has a velcro strap across then one clip that has two D rings, similar to their Pacific Harness B. There was definitely an improvement with her on walks when we got this harness, as compared to just a regular neck collar, but she still pulls a lot. My other problems with it are that it started to rub her shoulders, making her lose hair and also the velcro would attach to the material containing the D rings and it would pull out the strings, almost making it fray. :P

I'm looking to get a new harness for Tesla, and have had had both the Easy Walk and Sense-ation harnessess suggested to me. I was just curious as to what success any of you may have had with either and or to hear some pros and cons that you all may think of for each. Tesla does like to pull a little and whenever we go outside I have to keep her on a leash, unless we're at a park, because i'm at an apartment without a fence next to a busy road. :( Thanks!

Thanks all for the suggestions and help. Sorry I didn't reply sooner, I've been studying for my MCAT that's on Friday… Not so much fun.

@DebraDownSouth:

Okay she is IN heat, or you are waiting til she GOES in heat and do it afterwards? You do know that for bitches, waiting til after a heat increases the risk of mammary cancer, so if she is not in heat, do it now.

I disagree on "fixing" a hernia not being necessary. Of course if it FEELS tied off and safe, you wouldn't do a surgery just for it. But if it doesn't feel right or if already having surgery, why on earth wouldn't you repair it? As pointed out, even ones that feel right CAN rupture so I don't get the folks saying don't bother.

She isn't in heat yet, I was told to wait until after.

And as for going through heat, locked up and throw away the key for 30 days. No male contact, no being left in the yard as there is no fence that will keep out a male after a bitch in season. Or better yet, have her spayed now.

I'm in an apartment without back yards, so the only time that she gets to go out is for bathroom trips, walks, and to the dog park. I was told to wait until after her first heat so that she'll have all the hormones that she'll need to grow completely…. is this not true? Also, i'm still researching the vets here to see which has had experience with basenjis or other sight hounds.

Tesla is 6 months now butI'm waiting for her to go through heat before I get her spayed. While doing so, the vet suggested to fix her hernia. I was worried at first when I got her because everything I've known about hernia's is painful, but this doesn't seem to bother her. I was more worried about her hurting it when crawling or getting rolled at the park because it's about the size of a medium to large grape. Any opinions on what to do? It's easy to find websites saying it's not a huge fix, but I'd rather hear from other basenji owners who have had, or have heard of others that have taken care of this. Also, as this is my first dog, I'm not quite sure what to expect for her going through heat. Any advice or pointers? Thanks!

There have been very few days this summer where it hasn't been triple digits. Getting into my car monday night read 101 at midnight and then 114 during the day. That is definitely hot.

@tanza:

I would not recommend his to anyone for a puppy. He does not health test (has the sire and dam of your pup been DNA tested for Fanconi?)
He was caught by AKC after he put a banner on his web site that he was an AKC "approved" breeder. AKC has no such thing and he was made to remove it. To purchase or refer people to a Back Yard Breeder like this is to encourage him to keep breeding. And I especially would never recommend him due to the temperament problems that no socialization causes.

By the way, not to defend him but having an unbilical hernia would not be a reason for any breeder to reduce the price. They don't really need to be fixed and are usually only done when a spay or neuter is happening. I only ever had one fixed other then during a spay/neuter and that was when Mickii's ruptured due to puppies from Maggii's litter trying to nurse on it…(:eek:)

If the sire and dam of your pup had not been DNA tested for Fanconi, I would encourage you to do so.

Wow. I was unaware of this. I'm incredibly sorry that I did refer him. I'll refrian from doing so. This is my first dog and first time buying one. I'll definitely do more research this next time. Sorry.

@tanza:

Who was the breeder?

Rick Lamascus. I was a little disappointed when I got Tesla from him, but things have been okay now. He kept his dogs outside - which can get extremely hot. He didn't give them any flea prevention or heartworm prevention - which is a horrible idea for what is basically Houston area. Mosquitoes are terrible there. Also, the dogs weren't socialized with people, so now I have to struggle with getting her to go up to and be okay with meeting people. Tesla had an umbilical hernia which I know is common, but needs to get fixed, and he still charged me full price for her, when she was the only one who had one. So a little frustrating. He did have good cages for them though. He made them to house a litter or two with plenty of running space so they weren't cramped.

I've also heard of County Hearts Hound Rescue. I bought Tesla from a breeder in Humble, TX. He has sold all of his for this year, but said they are expecting a couple litters in January/February.

Since Tesla is almost full grown now, I wanted to get a harness that would be low enough in the front to where it wouldn't choke her when she pulls – which is almost every walk -- and that would be pretty durable for when she is at the dog park playing around. Any suggestions?

I'm actually in College Station right now, but i got her in Humble from Rick Lamascus (KML Africanus). The whippet is my sister's. She wanted to pet sit while I was out of town so that Lola could have a friend around.