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Crate Time

Basenji Training
  • ShannaniganS

    Allrighty, I've read a few threads in here on this, and I want to share my "crate training plan" with you guys and see if you can catch any problem areas I may have.

    These first two days home, Paco has had me and Chris all to himself at the apartment, because it's the weekend. He stayed in the crate last night, complained a little, was let out at 2 am and 4 am for potty breaks, and today has napped in the crate with it open (yay!). Hopefully he'll be as good tonight in there.

    Tomorrow, I will have to leave at 10am for work, and I plan to leave Paco in the crate with chew bone filled with peanut butter. My brother will come by at 12 and let him out and even play with him (he's a puppy lover) and says he's willing to stay until I get home at 3:30 or so.

    Tuesday, I'll be leaving at 10 again (normally I don't leave until 12, this week is just the first week of a new semester - I teach afternoon classes). Peanut butter bone again, and a friend of ours will be back around 12 or 1 to take him out and let him go potty, but he may not be able to stay around for play, so Paco may wind up back in the crate from 12:30 until 3:30 or so.

    After that, he should only have to be in there from 12 - 3:30 each day. Is this ok for a 9 week old puppy? Eventually, when he is fully potty trained and isn't chewing our carpet, we'd like to let him be loose in the apartment. I'm hoping this time will come before May, as I leave in May to work at a summer camp and Chris works every day from 7:30am until 5pm or later. We found an affordable doggy day care center nearby that we might be able to use on day Chris knows he'll be working long hours, but I know we need to socialize Paco thoroughly first.

    Tips? Problems? Suggestions? The three of us appreciate it! :D

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  • tanzaT

    Sounds to me like you have a very good plan. And 12 - 3:30 should not be a problem for a 9wk old. If he gets stressed, he may have accidents, but I think you should do OK. As far as leaving the puppy out by May, I would be very surprised if that works… Usually Basenjis or any puppy is not really reliable enough for large spaces till at least 1 or 2yrs old.... Some of course will be OK, but in general, I would say you could have a problem. You might want to look into an Xpen that would give him a little more room if you are concerned. And doggy day care is an excellent idea

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

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  • ShannaniganS

    Thanks, tanza! Do you think it's possible to build something as safe as an xpen with something like chicken wire? If we did something like that, it would probably be in the kitchen and I think we'd need to custom build it ourselves to make it work. Chris is a handyman, so if we knew of safe materials then maybe we could do something like that.

    (Also, Chris is excited about the idea of a doggie door that leads out to our balcony, but I think our balcony is to…escapable. Maybe we could build a pen on the balcony, though, that the door opened to. Hmmm...ideas....)

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  • tanzaT

    Something like a doggy door to the deck is a great idea, provided that the deck is really safe and he could not climb and escape…

    I would not use chicken wire... heavier wire would be better... or you can build one out of PCV pipe, which I think would be much safer then chicken wire. Remember however you need a "cover"... Basenjis are great climbers and jumpers.

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

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  • AJs HumanA

    I think I's use hog wire rather than chicken wire. The wire is much thicker and has various sizes of mesh from 1/4 inch "squares" on up. Chicken wire is much too puny for the likes of a Basenji and can fray, which can cause all kinds of injuries, not the least of which are eye injuries.

    AJ's Ride:

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  • lvossL

    Here is a link to a great crate training article, http://askdryin.com/movies/CrateDogLR.pdf

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  • ShannaniganS

    Thanks for the link, Ivoss! And thanks for the wire suggestions, as well guys. Chris is actually a plumber, so we have a surplus of PVC lying around! I'm sure that's going to be Chris' next favorite project; once it gets going I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes. :) Any ideas on what the maximum space between pipes would be? We don't want him wriggling and squeezing his way through.

    This might really help for while I'm away!

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    Exactly as it should be ! Happiness well deserved :grinning_face:
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    When you feed him in the crate and close do you walk away? I had a foster that was terrified of the crate and also suffered terrible anxiety w/peeing in the crate too. So I would feed him in the crate and then close the door and sit right there with him. At first I only closed the door half way, did that way for about a week then was able to close it all the (without latching) for another week. I would sit right next to the crate and praise him for eating his meals. Then I would scoot a few feet back at one meal, move back at the next and do that for a for a few times. Then I would stay at the few feet back. It is a slow process but it really really helped him in his crate training process and getting him over his fear. I was soon able to feed him in his crate and walk away. He was running to his crate and sitting for his meals. He still had his anxiety for long periods w/the peeing problem but we even worked on that were we could leave for short times and he wouldn't pee in his crate
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    I have the same story as nobarkus - we moved our first puppy's crate around a few times. Even from a full backyard view to a shared front bay window view (had to make room for B #2), she's always been pretty good. I think as long as the pup understands crate = happy place, you'll be fine with wherever. I used & still use treats. And to my much appreciated surprise, my little crate hater boy has become the model crated B of the 2 - he was soooooo vocal during his first month, but now he just lounges - and now my female is the whiner. :p
  • soulmateS

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    I love to see the b's running and smiling. This is a great photo…thanks for sharing.
  • DiegosMomD

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    Piggy only has problems pooping when she gets panicky too. For example if we leave her home in a crate and someone comes in the house but doesn't come down to see her or let her out she will do it. We can't put anything in her crate or she shreds it, we tried everything. For a while I was even buying fleece baby blankets at the dollar store and tossing them if she pooped. We gave up on that after a while. The mess was terrible, so I can relate to hours of cleanup… by the time you get her cleaned up and the crate. We did some desensitizing and left for short periods like I described before, and that helped a lot. My friend that has a B went to the vet about her anxiety, hers would cry incessantly, and they actually gave her meds, prozac I think, for it. I think she tried it, but didn't think it worked enough to do it. Sounded crazy to me. It hasn't happened in a while so we have been lucky. She has come to terms with her crate now and will once in a while go hang out in it by choice, so I know she doesn't hate it. Have you tried one of those snuggle buddy things? I wonder if you could find some way to protect it if Darwin had an accident. Best of luck and lots of patience!