I know it's an issue for a lot of basenjis, and I'm not surprised. They sleep differently than the other dogs I've had. I'm used to dogs resting with their eyes flickering half open a lot of the time, but my basenjis really sleep. They don't get disturbed by normal things happening around them, they're completely out of it. However, they're also extremely aware of the things that are not normal, and their ears will swivel to keep track of any potential dangers. It's so contradictory with the deep sleep + exceptional awareness, but that's the basenji!
This is absolutely fascinating and a very important video for basenji owners. I wish I had seen it years ago when seeing this behaviour in one of our basenjis. I too thought I had a cranky basenji but it now makes sense to me. Thanks again for your very insightful and valuable basenjis videos!!
thank you for the feedback Robin! it's been a learning curve for us too, and I was surprised things like this are not really mentioned on the internet...
That's very interesting to see! My 7 year old basenji boy is like this. It surprised me when it first happened as I hadn't seen much mentioned about this behavior online when I was checking to see if this was normal. He has bitten my feet for accidentally moving in the night (god forbid!). But we have come to an understanding that I don't take him that seriously and I tell him "Move" very sternly and he grumbles and moves to let me readjust. I know how to keep my face away or put a blanket over him if I need to move him. He's way less explosive than he used to be, it was the sound more than anything that was startling. The things we put up with lol.
if you touch them calmly/approach them slowly and use words of reassurance it makes a world of difference! My Chloe starts to growl, but once I get both hands around her calmly and soothe her she's all good
Wow! Thanks for posting this. We have a 3-year-old girl who acts like this. It really freaked us out in the beginning. We learned never to try and pick her up when we're going to bed. It is interesting to learn this is just part of the breed.
Wow. 😮 never seen that. My Basenji even when sleeping you bother him move him kiss him push him off my bed etc , he’s the most tolerant dog I have ever seen. I’m so grateful. I believe I own the best Basenji in the world ! 😂
Our basenji would only growl at/ snap at (but never bite) non-family members who tried to touch her. She was apparently abused before we adopted her. She never exhibited aggression toward family, and she was wonderful with us kids. She died of old age in the 1990s, and I still miss her.
We have an akita and a shiba, they do not react like that (primitive breeds like basenji). And i have not heard of this from other owners. Have you noticed this behavior more pronounced in intact dogs?
Hi, thanks for these informations. Now I am having a little bit of trouble with my 5-months-old basenji puppy: he doesn't have any form of resource guarding, however he still tends to bite even though we aren't playing and he even spilled blood from my nose and fingers. I immediately stop when he starts biting me during playtime, redirecting his attention to a toy he can bite but it isn't working. Do you have any advices?
that stage will pass soon, and it sounds like you are already doing the right thing. I would advise engaging the puppy in short training sessions with food, to teach him focusing attention on you and engaging with you in fun ways that is not biting. usually when food is involved puppy will be less likely to bite and play and more interested to see how he can get the food. simple games to reward puppy looking at you, hand touching, sitting, following you, coming by name etc. this way he will learn that there are better ways to engage with you than biting. also often non stop biting can be a sign of tiredness and that the puppy needs a nap. anyway a good idea is to have a safe confined space where you can leave the puppy to stop him bothering you and attacking you when you dont have time to engage with him and actively manage him. good luck with your puppy!
Thank you so much for your advices! I have started doing short training sessions since I got him and I am using our balcony after removing all the plants as his area while I am not at home or I need him to be confined. I am starting to see improvements, so hopefully we'll manage to fix this behaviour.
Don't be put off by this, even if your basenji happens to be predisposed to this reaction (not all are!), its not really a big deal once you know how to handle it and avoid confrontation. 🙂
My dog gets mad as F when I wake him up and move him because I need to roll over. He bites but not too hard. It’s best to pet him for a minute first, let him get fully away…..I don’t have a basenji, I have a mini poodle….
Of our two basenjis (35 years ago), it was our female who exhibited this behavior. Sadly, at the time, the advice i received was to punish it. In those days “dominance” theory was the norm. Since punishment obviously didn’t work, we too had to accept and work around it. Our male was easy-going, like Oringo. A real joy and delight he was, “Howdy.” He would yodel his happiness upon seeing an old friend (e.g. his puppy kindergarten teacher). While we still had our basenjis we moved from the suburbs to a house in the country with a huge yard. On the first evening there, Howdy sat down on the front step and let out a great big, joyful yodel! Emmy was very sweet too, when she wasn’t in “wild dog” mode. Thank you for posting this thoughtful and important video! ❤
All of my basenjis had/have sleepytime aggression if you tried to pick them up. You just leave them alone while they sleep or just give them gentle pets.
It is good that the information about this is out there but did you really need to make so many example videos where the resting dogs are being provoked to aggression on purpose...? So not necessary...
yes thats interesting they can smell and understand who is approaching them even when asleep. Ipy our rescue girl never does that to me. Makena does to anyone and anything that moves by 😆
what? why are you letting a toddler learn its ok to startle a dog. what will you do if the dog has enough and botes. kiöl the dog and blame him? and have a child with facial scarring for life.. ps ive just woken uo so not as able to be as tolerant as usual of what spunds stupid to me.
haha the ugly truth about some owners would have been a better title. have you heard of hot water bottles and stuffed teddy bears. The man in the picture made le feel sick doing this, awake or not its unacceptable. i guess woman who slap men fir unwanted attentionnare 'aggressive' too. maybe its ignorance in bith casesvbut tpuch shpuld be consensual. rant over goingctonhave a coffee now to fully wake up but please folks do not do this to ypur dogs. nif you must do it fibd a stuffed toy. When you are drunk semi anaesthetised or just wokem up noone feels quite the same as when fully alert and awake. Could be having bad dream even. im gling to block this video as I found it distressing to watchm Too many dogs have had to be put to sleep or rehomed aftercbeing made aggressive by their owners or their children. womannkilled apparently by her dogs this week just a few miles away and everyone having opinions on that toom Really not zhe best time for this to come into my feed. nothing to do with the breed, everytjing to do with owner behaviour.. neverctpuch a sleeping dog. it should be able to relax while sleeöing and sleep is important to mental health and well being.
Our little girl basenji shows this aggression a lot when she sleeps. We just assumed that she is a “cranky basenji”. This makes so much sense, especially since she is 1/3 African. Since she, her (biological basenji) dad, and I sleep together in the same bed I see her do this from time to time, mostly with her dad. However she has been less sensitive to his cuddling behavior and has slowly gotten more comfortable with touching each other when they sleep (which I would not have thought was possible when he started living with us). She still does it now and again, thankfully she has not gotten worse about it and is more vocal than mouthy. Also she only tends to show this behavior at night. Which can be hard for me since both dogs tend to either sleep on one side together pushing me to the edge of the bed or sleep with me being the cream of the basenji Oreo. Thank goodness she doesn’t usually do this with guests and prefers to just move to another spot if she is bothered and her dad is so mellow that you can do whatever you want with him. Although he will sleep in bed with his butt positioned towards his humans just in case there’s any funny business lol. Ah the life of being a basenji owner. lol
@@oringomakenabasenjitrainin6407 I can’t imagine sleeping with one basenji anymore. It’s too abnormal for me. Although they tend to leave me with a sweaty bed. Where do your other basenjis sleep if they are not in your bed?
Gosh I'm glad to hear this is normal mine used to fall asleep on my knee and if I literally moved a muscle WD attack me aggressively. I don't know how this guy in video doesn't get badly bitten.I think the only answer is to let them sleep in their own bed by themselves ...
thankfully once they are awake they will only act scary but they dont actually mean to harm. but if they are startled in their sleep it can be very unpredictable...
Fear induced? Where? They are not afraid, they are pissed. Very different. Similarly to how I would be upset (and not terrified) if you woke me up talking nonsense like you just did. I'd be growling and may even bite you.
I've noticed this kind of behavior in two of my previous Basenji's. Both dogs. My present 4 year old bitch is the opposite. She is very gentle and if she is disturbed she'll normally want a cuddle and then lick me to death. She is very affectionate.
You dont ukderstand this bevaviour, or their communication, you rag and provoke a dog but any dog between or in sleep anaesthesia will be disinhibized.. if your dog is sleeping leave it alone. this is owner aggression, nit the dog. if you do need tp wake a dog do it by calling their name or some such.. to wake any sleeping dog and to dosregard its clmmunicatoon like this is asking tonget bitten so i dont think ypu shpuld be showing this on yputibe. tjis to my mind is a form of abuse.
Never approach a sleeping dog. Isn't this obvous? I cant believe you call this dog aggression when it is normal for any abinal (human included) to be annoyed and vecome like this when not allowed to sleep though. Dogs are not toys. Have the dogs sleep where they are safe secure and not gling to be bithered.. ensure they get adequate sleep and do not tortire your dogs in this way, please. Aggression here is from the owner and i föund ypur behaviours very inappropriate. it is gow to create a genuonely acgressive dog to do this. If you need to wake someone call their name and if they wake up then they will wake but anylne between sleep and wake will not have full control and not be as capable of maintaining control when provoked whuch at least you recognised you were doing. i think what you showed is on the spectrum of abuse. if any dog is not happy with something respect their communication and gakn their trust and definitely avaoid confrontation. Do not let ypur dog go to sleep somdwhere you arent happy for it to sleep. For a dog to have to sleep where an owner is gling to touch or prod it when half asleep will mean dog cant fully complete the sleep behaviour. Guarding can be a behabiour in any dog. A video on how to create aggression in a dog to my mind. But its good if ypu make the point not to wake a sleeöing dog of any kind and good if you tell visitors not to pet your dog, or dven make eye contact actually unlesscthe doc is indicating they are happy for this to happen.
This family are one of the most experienced Basenji trainers around. She literally said at the start of the video that they were "inducing the behaviour" to give an educational and demonstrative video to show less experienced or potential new Basenji owners about this particular trait, so they can avoid unintentionally inducing this behaviour in their own Basenji. Watch some of their other videos before you get on your high horse and start criticizing them.
I know it's an issue for a lot of basenjis, and I'm not surprised. They sleep differently than the other dogs I've had. I'm used to dogs resting with their eyes flickering half open a lot of the time, but my basenjis really sleep. They don't get disturbed by normal things happening around them, they're completely out of it. However, they're also extremely aware of the things that are not normal, and their ears will swivel to keep track of any potential dangers. It's so contradictory with the deep sleep + exceptional awareness, but that's the basenji!
indeed, very unique and weird 😊 but thats why we love them 😊
I can behave in the same way being woken up 😅
oh yes, my husband is like that 😆
My poodle acts like that when he wakes up. My Basenji is asleep in her crate and fireworks are starting to go off now. Happy I saw this now ❤
This is absolutely fascinating and a very important video for basenji owners. I wish I had seen it years ago when seeing this behaviour in one of our basenjis. I too thought I had a cranky basenji but it now makes sense to me. Thanks again for your very insightful and valuable basenjis videos!!
thank you for the feedback Robin! it's been a learning curve for us too, and I was surprised things like this are not really mentioned on the internet...
That's very interesting to see! My 7 year old basenji boy is like this. It surprised me when it first happened as I hadn't seen much mentioned about this behavior online when I was checking to see if this was normal.
He has bitten my feet for accidentally moving in the night (god forbid!). But we have come to an understanding that I don't take him that seriously and I tell him "Move" very sternly and he grumbles and moves to let me readjust. I know how to keep my face away or put a blanket over him if I need to move him. He's way less explosive than he used to be, it was the sound more than anything that was startling. The things we put up with lol.
oh yes, thankfully it just seems scary but they dont actually mean to kill you 😆
if you touch them calmly/approach them slowly and use words of reassurance it makes a world of difference! My Chloe starts to growl, but once I get both hands around her calmly and soothe her she's all good
yes, I found so too! like kids 😊
Wow! Thanks for posting this. We have a 3-year-old girl who acts like this. It really freaked us out in the beginning. We learned never to try and pick her up when we're going to bed. It is interesting to learn this is just part of the breed.
Thanks for sharing!!
Wow. 😮 never seen that. My Basenji even when sleeping you bother him move him kiss him push him off my bed etc , he’s the most tolerant dog I have ever seen. I’m so grateful. I believe I own the best Basenji in the world ! 😂
you are so lucky to have him 😊
Our basenji would only growl at/ snap at (but never bite) non-family members who tried to touch her. She was apparently abused before we adopted her. She never exhibited aggression toward family, and she was wonderful with us kids. She died of old age in the 1990s, and I still miss her.
Our basenji never does this thankfully ! He is usually very slow (and a bit grumpy) to get up once its bedtime. I am suprised to see this behaviour
same!
maybe the females are more agro than the males when being woken up - possibly due to high hormone imbalances
Makes sense my wife is more agro then me too 😂
I've seen it in both males and females, and regardless wherher or not its a dominant dog. I wonder if any other breeds have that...
We have an akita and a shiba, they do not react like that (primitive breeds like basenji). And i have not heard of this from other owners. Have you noticed this behavior more pronounced in intact dogs?
Hi, thanks for these informations. Now I am having a little bit of trouble with my 5-months-old basenji puppy: he doesn't have any form of resource guarding, however he still tends to bite even though we aren't playing and he even spilled blood from my nose and fingers. I immediately stop when he starts biting me during playtime, redirecting his attention to a toy he can bite but it isn't working. Do you have any advices?
that stage will pass soon, and it sounds like you are already doing the right thing. I would advise engaging the puppy in short training sessions with food, to teach him focusing attention on you and engaging with you in fun ways that is not biting. usually when food is involved puppy will be less likely to bite and play and more interested to see how he can get the food. simple games to reward puppy looking at you, hand touching, sitting, following you, coming by name etc. this way he will learn that there are better ways to engage with you than biting. also often non stop biting can be a sign of tiredness and that the puppy needs a nap. anyway a good idea is to have a safe confined space where you can leave the puppy to stop him bothering you and attacking you when you dont have time to engage with him and actively manage him. good luck with your puppy!
Thank you so much for your advices! I have started doing short training sessions since I got him and I am using our balcony after removing all the plants as his area while I am not at home or I need him to be confined. I am starting to see improvements, so hopefully we'll manage to fix this behaviour.
I have to visit a breeding farm in France this next week. After watching this video I am thinking about whether to get a puppy or not🤔😏
Don't be put off by this, even if your basenji happens to be predisposed to this reaction (not all are!), its not really a big deal once you know how to handle it and avoid confrontation. 🙂
My dog gets mad as F when I wake him up and move him because I need to roll over. He bites but not too hard. It’s best to pet him for a minute first, let him get fully away…..I don’t have a basenji, I have a mini poodle….
wow, I couldn't imagine a mini poodle doing this! yes, gentle cuddles and calming voice is what we do as well to prevent escalation...
I had a Basenji, that never happened that’s crazy!
very interesting and informative video. i've never heard of sleeptime aggression before. thank you for spreading awareness.
thank you!
Of our two basenjis (35 years ago), it was our female who exhibited this behavior. Sadly, at the time, the advice i received was to punish it. In those days “dominance” theory was the norm. Since punishment obviously didn’t work, we too had to accept and work around it. Our male was easy-going, like Oringo. A real joy and delight he was, “Howdy.” He would yodel his happiness upon seeing an old friend (e.g. his puppy kindergarten teacher). While we still had our basenjis we moved from the suburbs to a house in the country with a huge yard. On the first evening there, Howdy sat down on the front step and let out a great big, joyful yodel! Emmy was very sweet too, when she wasn’t in “wild dog” mode. Thank you for posting this thoughtful and important video! ❤
thank you for sharing your experiences!
All of my basenjis had/have sleepytime aggression if you tried to pick them up. You just leave them alone while they sleep or just give them gentle pets.
agree, thats what we usually do as well. 😊
Nece 😂KUCA😊
My! I'm so glad my Basenji girl doesn't do this at all. In bed, I always move her slowly and kindly and she is fine with it.
what a good girl 😊
Interested to know what age this became apparent?
around 1 year of age
@@oringomakenabasenjitrainin6407 Mine is going to be 1 year old in 2 months. So far he's been the best. Hope he won't turn into a little monster. :)
Only once did my basenji growl at me when he was sleeping.
you must have handled that really well that your basenji didn't continue this behaviour!
It is good that the information about this is out there but did you really need to make so many example videos where the resting dogs are being provoked to aggression on purpose...? So not necessary...
also the dog who is "doesn't care" is showing clear signs of stress
I literally moved my boy in the bed to watch this and he got mad at me haha. They are so precious
ha ha, yes they are lucky they are so adorable so we are ready to put up with it 😄
haha that's my B when my toddler startles him when sleeping... but then he's like oringo with my husband and I.
yes thats interesting they can smell and understand who is approaching them even when asleep. Ipy our rescue girl never does that to me. Makena does to anyone and anything that moves by 😆
what? why are you letting a toddler learn its ok to startle a dog. what will you do if the dog has enough and botes. kiöl the dog and blame him? and have a child with facial scarring for life.. ps ive just woken uo so not as able to be as tolerant as usual of what spunds stupid to me.
haha the ugly truth about some owners would have been a better title. have you heard of hot water bottles and stuffed teddy bears. The man in the picture made le feel sick doing this, awake or not its unacceptable. i guess woman who slap men fir unwanted attentionnare 'aggressive' too. maybe its ignorance in bith casesvbut tpuch shpuld be consensual. rant over goingctonhave a coffee now to fully wake up but please folks do not do this to ypur dogs. nif you must do it fibd a stuffed toy. When you are drunk semi anaesthetised or just wokem up noone feels quite the same as when fully alert and awake. Could be having bad dream even. im gling to block this video as I found it distressing to watchm Too many dogs have had to be put to sleep or rehomed aftercbeing made aggressive by their owners or their children. womannkilled apparently by her dogs this week just a few miles away and everyone having opinions on that toom Really not zhe best time for this to come into my feed. nothing to do with the breed, everytjing to do with owner behaviour.. neverctpuch a sleeping dog. it should be able to relax while sleeöing and sleep is important to mental health and well being.
У нас таких проблем вообще нет. Он сам выбирает место где ему удобно в зависимости от того где мы. И наоборот любит, когда его гладят.
это классно что он у вас без таких "закидонов"! наши девочки тоже очень любят когда их гладят,но не тогда когда они спят 😄
Our little girl basenji shows this aggression a lot when she sleeps. We just assumed that she is a “cranky basenji”. This makes so much sense, especially since she is 1/3 African. Since she, her (biological basenji) dad, and I sleep together in the same bed I see her do this from time to time, mostly with her dad. However she has been less sensitive to his cuddling behavior and has slowly gotten more comfortable with touching each other when they sleep (which I would not have thought was possible when he started living with us). She still does it now and again, thankfully she has not gotten worse about it and is more vocal than mouthy. Also she only tends to show this behavior at night. Which can be hard for me since both dogs tend to either sleep on one side together pushing me to the edge of the bed or sleep with me being the cream of the basenji Oreo. Thank goodness she doesn’t usually do this with guests and prefers to just move to another spot if she is bothered and her dad is so mellow that you can do whatever you want with him. Although he will sleep in bed with his butt positioned towards his humans just in case there’s any funny business lol. Ah the life of being a basenji owner. lol
ha ha, exactly! we cant have two dogs at the same time in bed with us, they will kill each other 🙈 they take turns.
@@oringomakenabasenjitrainin6407 I can’t imagine sleeping with one basenji anymore. It’s too abnormal for me. Although they tend to leave me with a sweaty bed. Where do your other basenjis sleep if they are not in your bed?
@@lilbasenji1 they sleep in their own room and have a choice of beds 😊
Gosh I'm glad to hear this is normal mine used to fall asleep on my knee and if I literally moved a muscle WD attack me aggressively. I don't know how this guy in video doesn't get badly bitten.I think the only answer is to let them sleep in their own bed by themselves ...
thankfully once they are awake they will only act scary but they dont actually mean to harm. but if they are startled in their sleep it can be very unpredictable...
It's terrible that fear was induced onto an animal for a video.
I had no idea basenjis could be so aggressive, so I'm grateful for this video.
don't worry, no animal or human was harmed filming this video 😊
Fear induced? Where? They are not afraid, they are pissed. Very different. Similarly to how I would be upset (and not terrified) if you woke me up talking nonsense like you just did. I'd be growling and may even bite you.
I've noticed this kind of behavior in two of my previous Basenji's. Both dogs. My present 4 year old bitch is the opposite. She is very gentle and if she is disturbed she'll normally want a cuddle and then lick me to death. She is very affectionate.
that is so cute 😊
You dont ukderstand this bevaviour, or their communication, you rag and provoke a dog but any dog between or in sleep anaesthesia will be disinhibized.. if your dog is sleeping leave it alone. this is owner aggression, nit the dog. if you do need tp wake a dog do it by calling their name or some such.. to wake any sleeping dog and to dosregard its clmmunicatoon like this is asking tonget bitten so i dont think ypu shpuld be showing this on yputibe. tjis to my mind is a form of abuse.
I am sorry you had that impression
Never approach a sleeping dog.
Isn't this obvous? I cant believe you call this dog aggression when it is normal for any abinal (human included) to be annoyed and vecome like this when not allowed to sleep though. Dogs are not toys. Have the dogs sleep where they are safe secure and not gling to be bithered.. ensure they get adequate sleep and do not tortire your dogs in this way, please.
Aggression here is from the owner and i föund ypur behaviours very inappropriate. it is gow to create a genuonely acgressive dog to do this. If you need to wake someone call their name and if they wake up then they will wake but anylne between sleep and wake will not have full control and not be as capable of maintaining control when provoked whuch at least you recognised you were doing. i think what you showed is on the spectrum of abuse.
if any dog is not happy with something respect their communication and gakn their trust and definitely avaoid confrontation. Do not let ypur dog go to sleep somdwhere you arent happy for it to sleep. For a dog to have to sleep where an owner is gling to touch or prod it when half asleep will mean dog cant fully complete the sleep behaviour. Guarding can be a behabiour in any dog. A video on how to create aggression in a dog to my mind. But its good if ypu make the point not to wake a sleeöing dog of any kind and good if you tell visitors not to pet your dog, or dven make eye contact actually unlesscthe doc is indicating they are happy for this to happen.
This family are one of the most experienced Basenji trainers around. She literally said at the start of the video that they were "inducing the behaviour" to give an educational and demonstrative video to show less experienced or potential new Basenji owners about this particular trait, so they can avoid unintentionally inducing this behaviour in their own Basenji. Watch some of their other videos before you get on your high horse and start criticizing them.
I am sorry this video upset you