BCOA Bulletin January-February-March 2007 - the Basenji Club of ...

Daydreaming of an Obedience-Trained Basenji
By Sally Ann Smith
“Before the reality comes the dream.”
- quote from Argus poster
Daisy, my Basenji, and I attended enough conformation shows
to finish her championship. For a number of reasons which I won’t
bore you with, she is not yet (but soon, I promise, soon ) going to
try her skill at the field trials. What to do? She hates staying home
while the younger dogs get to go on trips.
Daydream The First: I think my Daisy would look really good in
the obedience ring, and how nice to have an excuse to bring her
along to shows. As you have already guessed, Daisy is my special
pet and bed dog.
“Obedience is best:”
-Sir Henry Newbolt
performance in the obedience ring. As I recall, the words “Really
frustrating for you”, “Maybe too independent”, “Well, if you really
pour a lot of effort into it,” and other tactful phrases for “Forget
it!” were used.
Was I discouraged? Never. Cory was now even nicer to live
with. He was a lot quicker to obey requests, and we had a 70
percent chance he’d sit on command. Besides, Daisy was my ace
in the hole.
Daydream The Third: Daisy, CD. Me, modestly accepting the
humble apologies of all who had laughed and offered to be catchers
outside the ring. Besides, Daisy’s breeder has an outstanding line
of multi-titled dogs going, and a number have made wonderful
obedience dogs.
“I once found myself saying that a masochist is a person who is
training his or her second basenji.”
- Vicki Hearne
REALITY: At a show a couple years ago, a fellow Basenji owner
just happened to mention he was entered in obedience later that REALITY: Kathy, the trainer, didn’t have an appropriate group
day. Intrigued, a group of us stuck around to watch. The concepts available for Daisy, but did have a Dobe pup of her own she wanted
of Basenji and obedience are not often linked, although we do to begin, and a second, already titled Dobe she wanted to polish
have some in the breed with advanced titles. Lightning struck as for further competition. She suggested private lessons, with one
we watched a very independent Basenji wander around the ring. of her Dobes as a second classmate. We had two private lessons.
“Betcha I could do this!” Stupidly, I voiced this thought. My On Kathy’s turf. Daisy was a dream. She modeled her behavior
companions stopped laughing after a couple minutes. The idea was after the titled Dobe, learned almost instantaneously, and Kathy,
filed away for future reference.
who naturally had taken my enthusiastic ravings about Daisy’s
background and potential with a large grain of salt, actually said
Daydream the Second: My super little dogs will really shine in she was beginning to get excited about the possibility of my girl
an obedience class.
making it into competition. I reminded her of all the other Basenjis
out there that are doing just great, and said they really did earn
“Observe the opportunity.”
titles. I even gave her a tattered copy of a Dog World Magazine
- Apocrypha: Ecclesiasticus
feature I’d pored over in which a Basenji named Wassail tells all in
the area of training humans.
REALITY: A new ad appeared about six months later in our Daisy hasn’t been worked much lately. It seems our garage has
small weekly Mountain County, GA newspaper. It read, in part: two black and white kittens in residence. Daisy has spent the last
“Dog trainer with more than 25 years experience in obedience, four months incredulous that we haven’t cleared the varmints out
police, and narcotic dog training work will be forming a class for of there. The kittens, in turn, delight in teasing Daisy outside her
beginners......”
run. Daisy’s first move as she comes into the house is to tear to the
I was second on the list. The trainer owned up to having worked door leading to the garage, and look at us inquiringly. “Don’t you
with sighthounds before and added she should likely charge me know our garage is infested?” She seems to ask. “Here, let me help
double! She said she was only quoting a common joke among you get them.”
trainers..............” Not wishing to mess up Daisy on my first Yesterday, since we had a lesson scheduled soon, I called Kathy
venture into this area, I enrolled male Basenji that really belonged and pleaded for advice. Daisy would do her Sits, she would Heel,
to my son, who was away at college.
but there was no hope for any progress in Stay – not with two kittens
Cory did seem to look forward to our classes, after he got over 40 yards away in the woods sniggering at her. Seven thousand
his initial disdain at being asked to do servile things like “Sit”. As years of genes said, “Forget the food rewards, turn off the ears, and
a matter of fact – small brag here – Cory was a quick student. At the concentrate on kittens.” Kathy offered several sensible suggestions
head of the class in grasping what was wanted. Also, for the first involving crating the kittens safely and gradually desensitizing
10 minutes, at the head of the class in performance. It’s downhill Daisy, etc., and did drop a hint that maybe I’d like to reconsider an
from there, as any Basenji person will happily tell you. This dog is obedience career for her if she was so intent on hunting. Picture the
from a breed that has spent more than 7,000 years as independent, problem if the next ring had a class of longhaired Chihuahuas, for
quick-witted hunters. Cory saw no particular reason to “Stay” with example. (This actually happened to a fellow Basenji lover once.
those big hairy beasts -Goldens, Labs, Dobes, and a Rottweiler- That’s another story. But no, there was no bloodshed.)
when there were things to do and smells to be investigated.
Last night, Daisy’s obedience career came to a temporary halt.
Nevertheless, we more or less graduated. Our instructor, Kathy, One of the black and white kittens almost came to a permanent halt.
gently suggested that maybe I wouldn’t be too happy with Cory’s It was dark, my “obedience-trained” graduate, Cory, and my star
The Basenji Club of America, Inc. BULLETIN - 26
Continued on Page 28