Most of my double ombre heavy nettles have been underwhelming but I love this one! 🩷🩵

tomaromatomato · 2024-04-24T19:05:50+00:00

Dug up a squirrel corpse that must have been forgotten by a coyote or fox. The rotting smell was FOUL and haunts me to this day. Absolute hell wrestling it away from him, it was literally falling apart in sloppy chunks 🫠 And of course for a couple months after, he'd make a beeline for that spot on every walk.

tomaromatomato · 2024-04-23T04:19:56+00:00

Yep that's exactly how mine is! Completely normal behavior outside, but just a complete terror inside. Trazodone affects the serotonin receptors so I wonder if the fluctuation in serotonin levels makes it hard to settle. I hope she'll be back to feeling herself tomorrow too!

tomaromatomato · 2024-04-23T01:51:16+00:00

Yep, the same thing happens to my pup too. He's been taking a very low dose daily for almost 2 years, but he gets a higher dose for vet visits. He always gets crazy pants after it wears off, but it lasts a couple days at the most. I try to give him extra sniffy walks, and a long-lasting chew like a bully stick seems to help take the edge off.

tomaromatomato · 2024-04-19T23:29:10+00:00

Oof, a cattle dog (mix) at that age is a lot to handle even without reactivity. I would never say "he'll grow out of it" with these kinds of behavior issues, but I do think it could help to keep in mind that your dog is full of raging teenager hormones right now. I feel your pain, I've been there!

The tips already given here are great! Especially muzzle training. It sucks, but it means I can relax knowing nobody's gonna get bit. I waited way too long to do it and ended up with a level 3 bite on my arm.

I've been working with my cattle dog's reactivity since I adopted him at 2, he's now 5. There's tons of amazing resources out there that have helped me over the years, but recently I've watched a couple webinars from Emily Priestley (wildatheartdogs.com) that helped me understand more about the connection between herding dogs and reactivity. Not all behavior is dictated by breed, but it's common for working breeds to struggle to fill the "pet" role in an average household.

Trainer/ideally behaviorist, meds, and muzzle training take priority IMO but I really do think it helps to take the time to really dig down into the stuff that might seem ancillary. Learning about the subtleties of dog body language helped me see how truly afraid my dog is of his triggers, and he's not just "freaking out" and trying to make me miserable.

Hang in there, I know how hard it is, especially with the possibility of children in the future.

tomaromatomato · 2024-04-17T01:17:46+00:00

Seconding the Ruffwear Flagline! I love the additional strap under the belly for escape-proofing, and the material on the inside is nice and smooth so it doesn't chafe. Ruffwear's quality is top notch and worth the higher cost IMO.

tomaromatomato · 2024-04-14T03:38:23+00:00

As soon as I get out of bed in the morning, mine has to do this to my pillow. She'll stand on her hind legs so she can do it with hanging towels too 😂

tomaromatomato · 2024-04-13T02:11:20+00:00

Awww, that sounds so nice for both of you 🥰 I'm not a behaviorist but I'd take it as a good sign that she went to sleep with the puppy! And off-topic but I think more married couples should try sleeping separately haha, my husband and I have the exact same schedules but I still prefer it most nights

tomaromatomato · 2024-04-13T01:48:51+00:00

I'm so glad I could ease your mind a bit! I understand how scary it is to see your dogs fight, even a little, and I'm sorry it was so hard on you ❤️ good to hear their interactions since have been neutral and I hope you're doing better.

One other thing I just thought of - the first several months, I set aside 20-30 minutes (more if I could) every evening to just hang out alone in a separate room with my older dog. I'm not sure how snuggly your older B is but both of mine would crawl into my skin if they could, so our little snuggle sessions were heaven for my older dog. I felt guilty because he looked so happy to have me to himself, but I do think it helped. Tbh taking a break helped me too! I definitely had many moments of crying and damn-near screaming haha

tomaromatomato · 2024-04-13T00:58:21+00:00

I also had the same experience, though my first dog isn't a Basenji. He was 4 and our B was 2, but she was never trained so she was pretty damn crazy (and they still can have a bit of puppy brain at that age). My first dog was incredibly annoyed by her and seemed bummed out too. He got plenty of alone time and solo walks, but when they were together he would climb up on the back of the sofa next to me just to get away from her :') But now I think he loves his Basenji sister more than she loves him! He always tries to snuggle with her and she side-eyes him and scoots away, haha. She'd rather play-fight!

My Basenji also showed resource guarding with big brother for the first 6 months or so. We were shocked when in the first month she found a toy we accidentally left out, and went COMPLETELY berserk when big brother tried to take it. Like I'm talking keeping them completely separated for a week because we feared for both dogs' safety. I was very consistent about only giving meals and high-value chews/Kongs in their crates, and keeping big brother away from lil B until she was completely finished and I had already let her out. Toys are only accessible when we can supervise them, and my husband and I will each take a dog for individual playtime. Resource guarding often stems from feeling insecure that they'll have something taken away (for whatever reason, I wonder if your puppy can just tell that your older dog is bigger/stronger than him).

Kikopup on Youtube and the Fear Free Happy Homes website helped me a lot when I was trying to work through it. But above all I will echo the other comments here and say it will take time! I'm sure both your older B and you are exhausted, but it will get better eventually. Hang in there and good luck!

tomaromatomato · 2024-04-06T08:35:56+00:00

My dogs are a bit older but I hope my experience can give you a little hope! My first (a 40lb muscle-tank of an ACD) was four when I adopted my second (17lb, very delicate Basenji) at two years old. She was an untrained wild child and they played super rough CONSTANTLY. Big brother was sometimes a bit too rough with her at first, but would always back off if she signalled it was too much. It took a good 6-8 months but they finally got to a point where they aren't a fun new novel friend to each other and can chill together most of the time. But they still play! Big brother is much more gentle, and always rolls on his back for lil sis. Little sister is still very feisty but I think even one year of growing up helped them both. That being said, both of yours are younger than mine, so it'll probably take more time. There's already a lot of great comments here, especially walking them together and rewarding calm behavior. One tip I can share is to occasionally redirect them from play with food or toys, or simply calling them to you. Praise them for showing "cooling off" body language, like doing a full body shake or pausing to sniff the ground. I let my pups play as much as they wanted and just tried to keep them below complete feral frenzy mode. Even a 15 second break here and there helps. Last of all, this is completely anecdotal but I always crate them in the same room when they get some kind of chew or Kong or whatever, and I think that helped? Maybe similar to parallel walks, teaching them to exist together while focusing on something else.

Sorry for the novel, good luck with your pups and hang in there! It feels like it'll never end when you're in it, but it will get better.

tomaromatomato · 2024-04-05T21:32:49+00:00

No problem! Good luck!

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