Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier & Basenji Owners I Need Your Aid!?!?
November 17, 2009 by admin
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
My bf and I already have a 2-year-old Italian Greyhound and we just LOVE her. She is VERY socialized and has been around MANY other dogs & can even handle playing w/ my mom’s 8 month old boistrous lab puppy so she won’t be a problem.
My bf has fairly bad allergies and can’t even handle cats at all so I’ve been researching dogs that, like my IG, shouldn’t cause him trouble. I’ve been researching and thinking for a good 6 months now and I’ve narrowed it down to 2 dogs, the Basenji & the SCWT.
I want to know from YOU how easy are they to train? How well do they bond with you & your family? How easily do they pick up & react to your moods? How is the grooming & how DO you groom them?
How active are they? How do they play? And any funny sweet stories that would be great? Also anything else you feel I should know?
Thank you I REALLY need thorough answers on this one.
Also I live in Colorado, which would be better suited for our climate?
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If you want easy to train don’t get a Basenji. They’re very willful and stubborn. They also don’t usually like cold weather. They can bond very close to their families but are usually wary of strangers. They’re very active and if not exercised enough can be very destructive. I have a Basenji mix and I love her but she’s a handful sometimes. She wasn’t fully house trained until she was a year old. She knows sit and lay down but stay and come are non existent. They also have a very high hunting drive and can’t be trusted off lead usually. My dog started killing birds as soon as I moved into my house with the fenced yard were she can run. She got out once and killed a rabbit within 5 minutes of leaving the yard. She loves cats though, I’ve had several kittens that she adored. Basenjis are very dominant dogs and will fight to keep that dominance with any size dog. Basenjis are great dogs, my favorite breed, but they take a lot of work and commitment.
My sister has a Basenji. They are sighthounds and are not easy to train. They do shed, but it is minimal.
Basenjis….”Obedience” is not part of their vocabulary. If you want a biddable, owner-focused dog who is eager to please….a Basenji is NOT what you’re looking for. They are an independent, primitive, prey-driven Sighthound breed. They are highly intelligent, but it is more of a self-serving intelligence….in other words, if they want something, they will figure out how to get it. Even if it means climbing/jumping fences, digging- heck, I know of a Basenji who figured out how to push a chair from the kitchen table, over to the counter, so she could jump from the chair to the counter, and eat the roast that had been left there to cool off (dog figured this out in about 15 minutes).
Mine get a bath once a year (Basenjis hate water- bathtime is usually a noisy struggle). My male “blows coat” once a year- after that, you can hardly pull a single hair out of his coat. My female sheds lightly year round. Both are easy to keep under control with a weekly brushing with a rubber curry brush….weekly currying also helps keep the coat shiny & free of dry skin. Basenjis have almost NO odor whatsoever….I regularly invite people to bury their noses in my dogs’ coats and take a deep sniff, if they don’t believe me. They smell like warm, fresh linen to me.
Their intelligence can easily lead to mischief, especially in youth….the general rule of thumb is puppy-proof everything to a height of about 6 feet- as this breed can jump and climb with ease. Crate training is a must with Basenji puppies; but many Basenjis can be left out alone when they are adults (both of mine can).
Basic manners- proper leash walking, furniture boundaries, basic commands, are relatively easy to “teach” but don’t expect consistent obedience. A Basenji will “sit” when asked if he feels like it, if you’re offering a treat, or if there’s not any more pressing distractions (squirrels, birds, other dogs, a sunny spot by the window). A Basenji taught to stay off the furniture will probably only do so in your presence- or if you’ve offered him plenty of “equally desireable” spots he can claim for his own. Basenjis can NEVER be allowed off-leash or unfenced- they are sighthounds & will chase prey, and will ignore a recall. Training results are best if you use positive training techniques, such as clicker-training. Heavy handed or “forceful” techniques do not work- a Basenji will shut down if he thinks he is being “forced” to do something. The trick with training is letting the dog think it’s HIS idea…which is why clicker works so well.
Housebreaking is about the only EASY aspect of owning a Basenji. They are very fastidious dogs by nature and it’s not unheard of to find puppies who are housebroken before they leave the litter. This isn’t to say they can/will “hold it” if not given access to outdoors, but I have seen plenty of 9 week old puppies who know to go outside, or to a newspaper, when they potty- my male dog came to me this way. Typically a mother Basenji who is given free access outside, will begin to “walk” her puppies outside when they are 5 weeks old and “mobile”…thus teaching her puppies to go potty outdoors.
They bond very closely with their “people” despite their independent nature. They are curious dogs and like to be involved in whatever you’re doing- they hate to be ignored. They seek warmth and most will burrow under blankets and cuddle up with you at night, or on the couch. They are very perceptive dogs and do seem to sense whether you’re happy, sad, angry, etc. Mine usually take their “cues” from me to determine activity level. If I am mellow on the couch, they join me. If I am up doing housework, they spend time chewing bones or playing with each other (or “helping” me fold clothes or protecting me from the evil vacuum cleaner).
Most Basenjis have an ‘off button’….they are Sighthound-like in that they are more active when outdoors and more mellow inside. They DO require daily outdoor exercise, whether it be a good run in the yard or a long walk. Their indoor activities are usually limited to short bursts of full-speed running in the house, known as the B-500, where they make several “laps” around the house, banking off the furniture to make their turns.
Grooming?? What’s that?
Basenjis prefer warm weather….but there are a TON of awesome Basenji people in Colorado. I live in South Dakota, LOL. These are *indoor dogs*…..as long as they have a warm retreat, many do enjoy a short romp in the snow. If you email me privately I can put you in touch with some people in CO….you could probably find someone near you that you could visit & meet their dogs.
Here are some more Basenji links you might find helpful:http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines…http://www.zandebasenjis.com/inform.htmhttp://www.basenjirescue.org/http://www.basenjifiles.info/
I don’t know much about Basenji’s except that they yodel.
However, I do know that SCW have a VERY extended childhood and are absolute crazy dogs. I would personally never own one because I couldn’t keep up with their energy level. Their grooming really isn’t too high maintenance just brush them every other day. But if you do get a SCW keep it in a breed cut! They look SO beautiful like that and no one ever keeps them with a fall, everyone cuts it off and then they just look like a mixed breed dog. But I mean…you can do whatever with your dog, just a suggestion, lol…