Pippin is going nuts while crated…

  • Houston

    ..and I don't know what to do. He is not crated alone at home as I gave up (I hate to admit it but I am a "giver upper" when it comes to the crate and him)..he would scream for hours, if I'd let him..so he crates in Moses' large crate with Moses…works great, they simply go to sleep together. But I know this won't work longterm as Pippin gets older Moses will more then likely not like to share his crate with him.
    I also have Pippin crated while in the car...omg...it is enough screaming, shrieking and clawing at the crate to make me drive off the road...
    Yesterday on the way home from the vet he flipped the crate over and effectively managed to get out and ended up sitting in the backseat as a very content with himself puppy...what do I do?
    I have since ziptied the crate connections along with the clips already on the crate......I keep the crate in the very back fo my volvo xc90, I did also try it in the backseat, no help. Should i just do the hardlove thing and wait it out or is that the mean thing to do? It breaks my heart to listen to him..

    I should add that I am fully aware that crating two dogs together is not a good idea but I don't know what else to do...he is destructive and also potties if left out.


  • Buy a bigger crate. 🙂 Perhaps I was lucky, but when I crated Lucy and Joker together, it eliminated Joker's anxiety…. it was female/male, which may make a difference, but in my opinion, if Moses and Pippin get used to being crated together, they should be fine later.

    I am a wimp, too, when it comes to dog cries. 🙂


  • if he was shipped to you in a plastic crate, try a wire crate. and vice-versa. And get a dvd called Crate Games. that will help. watch all of the video before doing the exercises. Also, rescue remedy or a DAP may help. And there may be some just waiting it out. My girls (one basenji, one malinois) LOVE their crate, in part b/c they get fed there.

  • Houston

    I can't fit a bigger crate in….i don't think.....
    Agilebasenji, he came in a sherpa on the plane...he has a wire crate in the house and plastic crate in the car...but I could try the wire for the car too. I tried feeding him in it and he simply doesn't eat...i guess I should tough love it more.


  • the crate games has step-by-step instructions; it will help. you can find it at cleanrun.com or dogwise.com, maybe amazon

  • Houston

    I will look for those crate games thanks Agileb.


  • @Basenjimamma:

    I can't fit a bigger crate in….i don't think.....
    Agilebasenji, he came in a sherpa on the plane...he has a wire crate in the house and plastic crate in the car...but I could try the wire for the car too. I tried feeding him in it and he simply doesn't eat...i guess I should tough love it more.

    If he sleeps with Moses in the crate, I am surprised that he refuses to be in one by himself? While it does happen, not that often, especially with the crates are right next to each other. When I brought C-Me and Franie home their wire crates are right next to each other. I had no problems with them eating and sleeping in their crate. If they had to get up in the middle of the night, then I would put them back in one crate for the remaining part of the night… worked well.....

    And I do use wire crates in the car.

    And I do want to add that "tough" love is sometimes needed... for sure... IMO, if he doesn't eat in the crate, then it is taken away till the next time.... he will eat if he is hungry. One trick I use for eating (in crates always) is that if they are not eating, when the time is up, I open the crates and let the other eat the food the one is leaving. Trust me, once or twice of this... and they will ate rather then let one of the others have it.


  • Sorry but in all situations someone gets trained. Easier NOW to let him scream it out and get over it than a life of problems. What happens if the other dog wants him out.. then you have to go through it at an older age when it's worse…

  • Houston

    Good idea about placing his crate closer to Moses', they are about 7' apart right now…will try that. I ordered another wire crate for the car...i am all about tough love now as supposed to being in shambles later...thanks for the ideas guys.

    Agilebasenji...saw some videos about crate games on youtube, very helpful..he also starts his regular puppy classes tomorrow...


  • Are other dogs left out loose when he is crated? That could be a reason for his behavior.

    When I brought home Ono last year even though Dude was well behaved enough to be loose I crated him in a wire crate next to the puppy in her wire crate so that she wouldn't be feeling left out. I also alternated time crated with Dude along with time crated alone. Neither of my dogs have had anxiety in the crate so I haven't had to deal with issues but every time my guys go in their crate they get a biscuit/treat and they are fed meals in their crate.

    Another thing that I do still to this day is short periods of being crated accompanied by receiving treats while you are doing chores. Give a yummy chewy and crate while you vacuum, or do the dishes, etc… Gradually increase the time

    Have fun in your puppy classes and I hope Pippin can learn to love his 'room'


  • I have 5 basenjis, 4 of whom are perfectly crate trained and 1 who just will not go in a crate (Trouper).

    I raised my litter of 6 pups all the same and Chance and Trouper were crated together when they were young. This worked great until Chance decided he didn't want to share anymore. Well, Trouper just would NOT be crated alone, even if his crate was right beside Chance's. Trouper's crate used to belong to my GSD so was huge for a B. He will eat inside the crate but that is it!

    We tried everything to crate train Trouper but he is just having none of it. He is 4 years old now. He now is the only B who is left uncrated in the house. He sleeps on the sofa and is as gold as gold. In the car, he wears a harness and sits up by me in the front of the van. He just loves it and is perfectly safe.

    I think crate training is an absolute must for any B but I also think there are some Bs who will just NOT play ball. Trouper's uncle is another B I know who just will not tolerate a crate.

    Please be very careful with your B when you are crate training him if he is screaming chewing etc - Trouper has broken one of his canine teeth and I am facing a vet bill of 4 figures to do root canal treatment or have an extraction :eek:

  • Houston

    I do have 2 non basenjis out loose in the house but Moses and him I crate…l guess maybe I could close the door to the bedroom so the loose dogs don't flaunt their freedom..
    I will start feeding him in it this morning and if he doesn't eat he will eat at the next feeding, I hope. I have tried having him in it ehile I am home, but whooly cow, it sounds excrutiating....I bet the other dogs are plotting for his early departure.....hehe..
    I am worried about him getting hurt, and he also potties in it, even though we've been to a walk....hmmm, persistence on my part hopefully will pay off.

  • Houston

    Well he had his breakfast in the crate no problems at all…last week when I tried it he didn't eat, just tried to bite his way through the bars for 20 minutes...maybe he is giving up..if ever so slightly...jippea..small step for me a huge step for him and crate training..I hope.


  • Have you move the crate so that it is right next to Moses? That I think would help also….

  • Houston

    Yes I did….will work with them being in their crates even though I am still here..Moses will do it all day long, he loves hie "room" and rather sleep there throughout the day as supposed to anywhere else. I hope Pippin will get even remotely close to that.


  • At the beginning Ayo cried a bit sometimes. I read somewhere that they would cry and then quiet down within about twenty minutes. That if they cried for longer than that, then maybe you shoud try something else. But within that time frame the advice was to just leave him. If you keep coming back to check on him , or he hears that you are near he will cry. Ayo still does this, he is fine crated if he knows im leaving but if I hang around and he hears my voice he starts calling for me to take him out. Which is another thing you shouldn't do. Never take him out if his crying or restless. Try to wait till he calms down a least somewhat so he gets it that crying isnt gonna make you release him. Like children, they learn cause and effect. Hope this helps… Also I find that I have to repeat things with Ayo regularly even if I dont need to, just to keep him used to it. For example. For a while I didnt have the crate with me and I would just leave him in the bedroom , without the crate, and I noticed that he was getting used to not having a crate, so I went and got the crate , even though I can leave him in the bedroom, I crate him just so he stays used to it..


  • @tanza:

    One trick I use for eating (in crates always) is that if they are not eating, when the time is up, I open the crates and let the other eat the food the one is leaving. Trust me, once or twice of this… and they will ate rather then let one of the others have it.

    +1 on this. Pat gave me this advice when I Liyah was going thru a phase of playing instead of eating. I let Ruby in Liyah's crate to eat the meal that Liyah was ignoring - it was the last time Liyah skipped a meal. One thing I would add though is be sure that whatever dog you let in isn't even slightly a resource guarder as that would likely be a problem. That was why Ruby was allowed in and not Brando. I did the same trick with Ozzy the other night - he dumped his dinner as he wanted out. Consequently I let Liyah in his crate to clean up…He's now back to being a perfect eater. 😃

    Oh and with the car crating - doesn't the xc90 have lash/tie points in the way back (I know the xc60 did when I looked into ordering one in the summer). Just get some bungy cords (walmart or an auto parts store) and hook those to the crate and lash points to secure your crates. Super easy with bungy cords to take crates in and out if need be. I also put chew toys/treats in the car crates that they only get in the car, so that is an additional interest to them.

    I'm wondering if part of Pippin's issue with the crates is that his first main experience (even though with a sherpa) was on a plane and the noise might have been a little traumatizing to him.

  • Houston

    I had no issues with him eating today in his crate, but if he does give me some I will send Luna our yorkie/schnauzer mix in, she is not a resource guarder at all…but so far so good.
    I did order another wire crate for the car, bigger than the plastic one I use right now and since wire seems harder to tip over I think it will be a good thing..but yes the xc90 does have tiepoints I could use if I need it. I am now thinking maybe the new style crate I got him is scary to him..when you go to close the garage style door it makes a metal on metal racket, could be unnerving to say the least. I ordered the standard two door style midwest crate that Otis had and that Moses has, although Moses' is much larger..
    As far as the plane flight and sherpa..maybe ..but he slept 12 of the 14 or so hours he was on traveling foot..not a peep came out of him once..so if he was scared he never showed it. He sat in the seat next to my brother during the whole trip as supposed to on the floorboard.


  • I'm all for crate feeding. The crate needs to be associated with something 'good'.

    Kipawa was doing the whining when we first crated him. He did not settle down. As Dmey mentioned, I would not let him out until he had settled down. Now, after feeding, I leave the crate door open with a few good toys in it. Kipawa is choosing to go into the crate on his own during the day to play with the toys.

    If I have to leave the house, even with my husband at home, we crate Kipawa, as Kipawa moves tons faster than my hubby in his wheelchair :). Darrel tells me that Kipawa whines for about 10 solid minutes, then settles down and naps, then whines again, then settles down…. This repeats itself until I get home.

    Then, when I let him out of his crate, he 'complains' to me - lots of talking and telling me he didn't like me leaving him. He is extremely attached to me, and we have to work on him being comfortable when I go out to get groceries, go to the pet store, etc.

    Just remain consistent with what you do. Don't give in. Barring damaging himself in his crate, it's kind of like 'who will give in first'. I'm sure things will improve for you.


  • @Basenjimamma:

    Well he had his breakfast in the crate no problems at all…last week when I tried it he didn't eat, just tried to bite his way through the bars for 20 minutes...maybe he is giving up..if ever so slightly...jippea..small step for me a huge step for him and crate training..I hope.

    OMG that was Cara… she still chews on them sometimes but not like at first.

    As for the other dogs, mine always have fits if the others are free to nah nah them.

Suggested Topics

  • 19
  • 9
  • 6
  • 23
  • 21
  • 12