Got a new dog, kind of a rescue dog, since our last dog passed on. His name is Shadow and is about 2 1/2 years old. We got him from a breeder. The dog could not run with her pack so he spent a lot of time in his crate. When we got him he had severe crate anxiety. He would freak out in the crate. We were working with BRAT looking for a dog. The person who I worked with from BRAT told us to just let him free in our house. We did and he is doing surprisingly well. Still is having a few accidents in the house, but we are dealing with it & being patient with him. He is a really big male, but is a real gentle sweetheart-no aggression what so ever. Had him two weeks & counting.
Congratulations on your new boy! Your story sounds a lot like mine. My current boy came to us at 3 years old from his breeder, and he had had a lot of crate time prior to coming here. Well, crate time with other dogs in adjacent crates is one thing, crate time on his own in a strange house was quite another. He had severe anxiety about being left in the crate, even with bribes such as wonderful meaty bones. We soon transitioned him to being loose, and for the most part he has proved trustworthy. He is now 8, and probably the best Basenji in terms of not being destructive we have ever had. Doesn't even get into the garbage or rip up tissues and toilet paper, and he basically has the run of the house.
I hope you have many happy years with Shadow. He looks like a real sweetheart! 
thanks.
"He is now 8, and probably the best Basenji in terms of not being destructive we have ever had. Doesn't even get into the garbage or rip up tissues and toilet paper, and he basically has the run of the house."
He is very similar, is not destructive or naughty in any way. I think he really enjoys his freedom. I think he has spent enough time in a crate for the rest of his life. No more crating ever for him.
When we first got him-
We have heavy gauge metal wire crates and we locked in, went to work. He bent most the bars on the crate door some broke the welds. He managed to rip the heavy springs off of it, forced the door open, busted down the leverage lock baby gates and pooped all over, but did not destroy anything. We were off to a rough start.
After that we decided to give him a chance and let him free with our other dog. Except for the fewer & fewer accidents, he is turning out to be the best basenji we have ever owned.
Good for you to realise that Shadow would be better off left free. He is a very handsome boy!
Congratulations on the newest addition- he is vey handsome ( I'm partial to black and whites after falling for Oakley ; )
I love how each new dog comes with their own set of issues and challenges, I'm glad he found someone who could appreciate them all. Good luck with him
he's very handsome!!
After that we decided to give him a chance and let him free with our other dog. Except for the fewer & fewer accidents, he is turning out to be the best basenji we have ever owned.
We had a few pooping incidents at the start, and also a few times when we did something unusual, like leaving him alone in the middle of the night. I had to pick up my husband at the airport in the wee hours. When we returned, Perry was anxious and had left evidence he was upset. But such incidents have been rare, and as long as our routine isn't disrupted too much, he does very well when we leave him alone. I think the pooping is related to anxiety and not a spiteful act. I have encountered spite with previous Basenjis…...all bitches......and the preferred method of expressing displeasure was peeing. The preferred place was on my bed!
What a pretty boy. I love black and whites
Shadow is a lovely looking boy, glad you have got him sorted.
We don't need to crate either of ours
Congratulations, he is gorgeous! I love Black/White basenji boys!
What a beautiful wonderful face! Congrats on getting him. If he has done so well this fast, I am sure you are going to do fine! You said big– how big is he. I used to dream of an 18 pound basenji. I have a 28-30 pounder (she should be 27 but steroids doesn't help) and a 37 pounder. 
eeee: . He is now 8, and probably the best Basenji in terms of not being destructive we have ever had. Doesn't even get into the garbage or rip up tissues and toilet paper, and he basically has the run of the house.<<<
I hate (okay envy-- sitting here with my 5million pound wooden trash can with the lid screwed and clipped shut) you. And your dog hates you. Outing him on a public forum for not bothering tissues and toilet paper? OMG, they will never ever let him live that down in the basenji destructo club. You bad owner!
He is 19" at the shoulder and 18" from his chest to his haunches. He is about 25 pounds. His neck is about 11.5 around (measured for new martingale collar).
eeee: . He is now 8, and probably the best Basenji in terms of not being destructive we have ever had. Doesn't even get into the garbage or rip up tissues and toilet paper, and he basically has the run of the house.<<<
I hate (okay envy– sitting here with my 5million pound wooden trash can with the lid screwed and clipped shut) you. And your dog hates you. Outing him on a public forum for not bothering tissues and toilet paper? OMG, they will never ever let him live that down in the basenji destructo club. You bad owner!
Actually, I can't take the credit for Perry's exceptionally good manners, he learned that from his breeder, who has had similar success with most of the dogs she has raised. From puppies they are taught what is "legal" to chew, and what is not. They are also not given the opportunity to practice bad things, as they are well supervised when loose. Perry still has all of the plush toys I have bought him, and he has not chewed up any of them!
I asked him if he was upset about me outing him on the forum, and his response was non committal, so I don't really know if he considers me a bad owner or not! 
I guess if he chews something up now, I will get the message…..
He is 19" at the shoulder and 18" from his chest to his haunches. He is about 25 pounds. His neck is about 11.5 around (measured for new martingale collar).
He's tall for a Basenji. Sounds like a very solid and fit fellow.
He still suffers from separation anxiety, which is being manifested by him chewing on the molding near our sliding door, in what appears him trying to escape. We have tried just about everything except drugs. He's perfectly fine when we are home. We tried giving him chew toys, leaving the TV on, leaving worn cloths around the kitchen for scent, doing training with him. We even tried a Thunder Shirt, which gave mixed results.
I read an article about how dogs with separation anxiety need you to be the "alpha" so they can be secure. We molly coddled him to this point, since we felt bad about his previous situation (spending long hours in a crate). So now we are doing alpha training for our selves-making him heel, last to eat, enter & leave. We will see if that helps.
He still suffers from separation anxiety, which is being manifested by him chewing on the molding near our sliding door, in what appears him trying to escape.
Is this the only destructive behaviour? And what can he see outside that door? Any chance something going past is getting his attention? My one bitch, who was always good in the house, on one occasion chewed up whatever was handy and I think it was because she spotted something trespassing on "her" property and couldn't get at it. I am sure if that had been a regular occurrence we would have had more issues. I am assuming the sliding door is not the one that you leave by, but can he see you from there when you are departing?
Yeah, thats about it. He is great when we are home. He is destroying the molding though.
Today I blocked the molding that he has been chewing and instead he chewed on the laundry room kitchen door molding, which has no window, but it is the door we enter & exit through. He has also been chewing at the door knob on this door as well.
It used to have a lever handle, (which I changed) which he learned how to open. When my son came home he bolted out of the house, through the garage. My wife & myself were gone grocery shopping and just about home when it happened. My son called us, I stopped the car, my wife got out and ran to the woods where my son said he ran to. She called him and he came running to her from the woods. Talk about fate or being at the right place at the right time. He had no dog tags or micro chip at that point (he has both now).
Lesson learned
Yeah, thats about it. He is great when we are home. He is destroying the molding though.
You know, if it was me I might just give him a cheap molding to indulge himself with and replace as needed. If he restricts himself to that, it is a small price to pay…....and hopefully he will give it up after awhile. I would, however, "notice" it when I came home. I had one boy who needed to get my attention. He started off being destructive, ate one of my husband's shoes at one point. We had a major discussion about that, and thereafter he only ripped up some insignificant piece of paper and left it in a prominent place for me to find. I always verbally chewed him out for doing it, and he never did anything else. He made his point, I made mine. My husband said, "why bother telling him off?" And I said, "because if I don't he will escalate until he knows he has done something that annoys me, which is his whole purpose in doing it". A lot of people will disagree, but I have had too many Basenjis to believe they aren't deliberately spiteful at times. (a couple of times I snuck back right after I had left, to spy on him, and saw him "choosing" something to rip, quite calmly and deliberately, and I knew I was right!)
Well he was having accidents as well on the rug, but now that he has adjusted to our schedule that has been greatly reduced.
I'm sure he will stop sooner or later.
You can put peppermint oil or tea tree oil on the molding to discourage chewing. That always worked way better than a bitter spray…the oils I mentioned assault the nose and therefore generally dont even make it into the mouth. And since it's molding it wouldn't be ruined by the oils either. Inexpensive and often a solution until he just stops trying
Many congratulations - he is a very handsome boy.
