The world according to the 3 bassets
I have noticed lately that there have been many incidents where bassets have bitten their owners for one reason or another. I believe that part of the problem is that people do not have a clear understanding of the world according to a basset, and tend to shower their basset with affection instead of maintaining the lead spot in the pack.
In the basset world, there is one leader, and the other dominant bassets will continuously try to take over the leadership spot. The owners of the bassets have to make it clear that they are the one and only leader, and that all of the bassets must respect that position at all times. When owners do not do this, the chances of a behavior problem increases. I have found that the 3 bassets test this leadership role in many different ways daily, and I must always display the leadership role to them.
One example of this is dinner time. While I feed the bassets at the same time every day, and they let me know this, I make the decision that they will be fed. I will lead the bassets to the garage (where they eat) and make them wait for their dinner. Once I have finished fixing their food, I will put the bowl down in front of each basset. If any basset tries to eat another bassets food, he is disciplined right away so this behavior does not happen again. Creating this routine has made dinner time very pleasant for the bassets. They do not have to rush through their food because they know no one will steal it. The key is to make sure you as the basset owner make the decisions, not the bassets.
In the basset world, there is one leader, and the other dominant bassets will continuously try to take over the leadership spot. The owners of the bassets have to make it clear that they are the one and only leader, and that all of the bassets must respect that position at all times. When owners do not do this, the chances of a behavior problem increases. I have found that the 3 bassets test this leadership role in many different ways daily, and I must always display the leadership role to them.
One example of this is dinner time. While I feed the bassets at the same time every day, and they let me know this, I make the decision that they will be fed. I will lead the bassets to the garage (where they eat) and make them wait for their dinner. Once I have finished fixing their food, I will put the bowl down in front of each basset. If any basset tries to eat another bassets food, he is disciplined right away so this behavior does not happen again. Creating this routine has made dinner time very pleasant for the bassets. They do not have to rush through their food because they know no one will steal it. The key is to make sure you as the basset owner make the decisions, not the bassets.
posted by 3 bassets | 6:44 PM
1 Comments:
Staying the leader is not easy though, for if given the chance, one of the bassets would like to take over. Of course, they do not realize what the pressure of being the leader really is. They'd have to go to work, pay the bills, and make sure that the pack gets fed. This is a lot of pressure for a basset!
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