Cali barking and yodeling

[tlbuddy]

I was wonder if any of you have experienced your B's acting aggresively toward other dogs. Everytime I take Cali out for a walk or to relieve herself if she sees another dog she goes ballistic. It is almost embarrassing because it seems that the other dogs are well behaved in my condo community.
My neighbors say she sounds really weird when she barks. Not like a normal dog and I explain to them that she is a Basenji. I dont think I have ever in my life heard any other dogs make the noices that she makes.
We went for our walk this morning and of course she spotted 2 dogs and went crazy, barking(similiar to barking) and yodeling. My neighbors look at me like I am crazy. Sometimes I think she wants to play. The other day I took her over to a group of people that were out walking their dogs to see how she would socialize. Of course she was barking until we got to the dogs and they started sniffing one another. She was fine with the Rhodesian Ridgeback and the Greyhound, but she almost got into a scuffle with the Boxer. She also tried to attack one of my neighbors Dalmations, fortunately I pulled her away just in time. She seems to like certain breeds more than others.
I got Cali from the animal shelter so I do not know her history. She barks/yodels everytime she sees another person, but is very friendly if I say it is okay and they try and pet her. She is extremely protective.
My brother is a dog trainer and of course she does not behave this way when he takes her out for a walk. He says I need to let her know that I am the pack leader :) I guess I will be more diligent with her training because she can be so loud. I wish I could make a recording of how she sounds and post it on the board. She is so sweet, but can be so agressive toward other dogs. I definitely do not want her to get hurt or any other dog for that matter. I am going to borrow my brothers camera so I can post pictures of her, she is such a cutie.
tlbuddy

[Terry]

Some Basenjis can have problems with dog aggression; especially on lead. Sometimes it is based on fear - the flight response is inhibited by them being on lead and not being able to run away, therefore they're left with just the fight response. And many Basenjis seem to subscribe to the theory that "The best defense is a good offense..." If she has alpha dog needs, that could also factor in. (This is why you have to be pack leader...otherwise she will challenge you for alpha status) Then again, it might not mean anything at all, just noise and posturing!! If you ever have 2 or more Basenjis together, you will see a lot of this - our rule is if the snarking and ferocious noises exceed 7 seconds we intervene, but 95% of the time it isn't necessary. They like to talk! You should hear the bloodcurdling snarls when ours are racing along the fences next to each other, but when they are on the same side of the fence together they get along fine.
Her problems with certain breeds may stem from past experience or it just could be a Basenji quirk. I had one girl who was terrified of Basset Hounds. She had never even met one personally except in passing at dog shows and certainly never had a bad experience with one. But she panicked every time she saw one! Must have been a past life holdover <G>.

Terry

[Lenora]

Abbey is quite aggressive with most other dogs if we are walking on leash. Usually the larger the dog the more aggressive she is! She is fine with dogs she is familiar with such as our neighbor dalmation Jack who is very old. She seems to recognize that he is old and is overjoyed when she sees him. She gives him little kisses on his snout. He may be 16 years old but has developed a little spring in his step when he sees Miss Abbey. She also gets along fine with my son's two dogs, a 100 lb. rottweiler and a black lab. They chase each other round and round the back yard without ever seeming to get tired, and I've never heard a growl or snarl from anybody. Usually when we get home from a play date with Mona and Toad she has rottweiller slobber all over her head and ears. About the yodeling, however, it's my experience that this is something she does when she's happy and excited, not being aggressive. She has started making a curious little sound in the back of her throat when she is agitated about seeing other dogs, like WaWaWa. We have to just do our socializing with dogs she does know and like. I've tried taking her to the dog park but she apparently looks on strange dogs as prey and not playmates. I think we just have to accept that we own a breed of dog that is not like any other dog and enjoy their being different. I've given up trying to figure out what goes on in Abbey's head because she is constantly coming up with something new to surprise me. I think it's because you just never quite take the wild out of a basenji and that's part of their charm.

[Quercus]

My basenjis generally don't like boxers either. Boxers (and labs) are real 'in your face' dogs. Their cue reading skills may not be as sharp as a more primitive dog, like a basenji. So, they are more likely to come right up into a dog's face to say 'hi' without stopping to see if the other dog wants to be friends. Think of humans who are "close talkers" :)

Personally, I don't think this issue has anything to do with you being "alpha" or not. But you can control the behavior by teaching her "watch" or attention, then not allowing her to carry on by keeping her attention on you when other dogs are present.

And, don't be too quick to think that all basenji growls are aggressive. Some yodels, and grodels sound aggressive, but are just a unique way of showing excitement.

[JazzysMom]

Yeah... you should have heard Jazz at the dog show today when another dog got too close! And the poor dog hadn't even done anything. Now, why that dog triggered the response when several others had gone with little or no attention paid, I do not know.
Then we came home and I took her for a quick jog down the road, and the neighbors {soooooooooo annoying} young boxer ran out to say hello and Jazzy's first response was to growl and snap.

She is fine with Basenji's, but oh! what a bitch with anything else.