We have a Shih-Tzu/Pomeranian cross who is about 6 years old. My son adopted a Basenji last year who is roughly 3 years old. They have had a few visits, mostly at my house, in which the Basenji, who is female, has been kept on a leash. This past weekend, however, she was left off the leash and, in less than an hour of being in the house, she attacked our Shih-Tzu cross, who is about half her size, grabbing onto his scruff and part of one year before locking her jaw and refusing to let go. (Yes, I know there are those who will tell me that "locking the jaw" isn't a really good term for it, but my husband and son, driving fingers where the jaws are attached at the back of the mouth, weren't able to break her loose until one of them also twisted the collar, choking her until she was forced to either let go or stop breathing entirely.) I'm a little worried about a repeat performance if we ever let them bring her back over, but with the speed she did this, I'm also worried for my grandkids, the youngest of whom is only 3. For anyone who works with a vet, might this be a one-time-thing that the Basenji did just for dominance, or should we worry about her attacking one of the children?

Any dog can display this behaviour. Don't assume because it is a basenji, a hound, that this is a behavioural trait. If you are concerned about your grandkids you should be voicing your concerns with your son. If you don't want this to happen again insist the dog be kept on a leash or not visit at all.

What transpired between the two dogs before this happened. Was there food involved, your son interacting with your little dog? Has the basenji displayed this behaviour before that you know of ? Basenjis are intelligent, easy to train. I don't think they are territorial.

Speculating about any dog is a matter of probabilities, and there is NEVER a 100% vs 0% set of odds about a dog attacking animal or child. There are just too many variables, including the behaviors of the children, changes in the dogs as they age, on and on all day. You mention gender but not whether spayed/neutered, and that is extremely vital info.

ANY visiting dog should be held closely for as many visits as every person in the house feels it takes to feel safe and secure. Keep in mind that outside/inside will be different, and on leash/off leash will be different. Your son should bring a crate with him for any visit of more than a few hours.

I would not feel 100% unless a lot of time is spent out in the yard, playing on un-held leash, very close to people. Partly to see how they act with each other, partly to see how protective they are of their masters, partly to see how they view children. For many dogs, a child is another animal, not an alpha human towering over them.

I think you need to get a book or two on this subject for all of you to read. Your son's dog probably saw your dog get too close to your son or something important to the dog that you didn't notice.

I had a very mild mannered golden retriever for 12 years. He attacked 1 dog and 2 people in all those years, or wanted to. I never knew why the dog, but the people were easy - they were lunging in my direction, and he thought he needed to protect me.

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Originally Posted by tickle

Any dog can display this behaviour. Don't assume because it is a basenji, a hound, that this is a behavioural trait. If you are concerned about your grandkids you should be voicing your concerns with your son. If you don't want this to happen again insist the dog be kept on a leash or not visit at all.

What transpired between the two dogs before this happened. Was there food involved, your son interacting with your little dog? Has the basenji displayed this behaviour before that you know of ? Basenjis are intelligent, easy to train. I don't think they are territorial.

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We are approaching this with my son, who has been asked to either leave Kira home or take precautions, but having worked in a veterinary office, I know that there are certain traits that ARE breed related. (For instance, spaniel breeds are prone to instances of sudden rage syndrome, which we found out about when a dog we were told was a collie/lab mix but was really a spaniel mix tried to kill one of my son's friends for speaking to him at the wrong time.)

I was hoping someone here had experience with the breed, as my vet sees very few Basenji in their practice and couldn't say if this was just a remote incident or the breed. (We were all standing/sitting around my kitchen, which is one of the places we gather to talk, but the only "food" was coffee and the dogs were just wandering between feet with no seen provocation before Kira suddenly lunged. Kira goes to the dog park often and had never behaved like this.)

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Originally Posted by joypulv

Speculating about any dog is a matter of probabilities, and there is NEVER a 100% vs 0% set of odds about a dog attacking animal or child. There are just too many variables, including the behaviors of the children, changes in the dogs as they age, on and on all day. You mention gender but not whether spayed/neutered, and that is extremely vital info.

ANY visiting dog should be held closely for as many visits as every person in the house feels it takes to feel safe and secure. Keep in mind that outside/inside will be different, and on leash/off leash will be different. Your son should bring a crate with him for any visit of more than a few hours.

I would not feel 100% unless a lot of time is spent out in the yard, playing on un-held leash, very close to people. Partly to see how they act with each other, partly to see how protective they are of their masters, partly to see how they view children. For many dogs, a child is another animal, not an alpha human towering over them.

I think you need to get a book or two on this subject for all of you to read. Your son's dog probably saw your dog get too close to your son or something important to the dog that you didn't notice.

I had a very mild mannered golden retriever for 12 years. He attacked 1 dog and 2 people in all those years, or wanted to. I never knew why the dog, but the people were easy - they were lunging in my direction, and he thought he needed to protect me.

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Thank you for this answer - and I do have a dog book, but it's currently in one of about 2 dozen boxes of books, as we're doing renovations and the library isn't completed yet, so all the books are currently in storage. I haven't found a whole lot about the Basenji breed online. I'm praying this was a one-time thing... :)

I never mentioned needing a book on the breed. It's a very complicated, general topic. And within any breed there are variations. ANY vet will tell you that ANY dog can possibly see a child, especially one whose face is close to theirs, as another animal.