He is a cutie. Looks like he is getting lots of love and he will return it. Glad you have him.
Anybody want a Basenji????
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PiaMerete, perhaps you misread my story or maybe I didn't explain it correctly. The dog groomer put her in a cage whilst he was washing another dog. In my opinion it is better to cage her then to let her roam around the shop with the possibility of escaping should a customer open the front door whilst he, the groomer was washing another dog. I don't cage my dogs. I have had basenjis since 1999. Pepper is my third basenji and most destructive. Of course basenjis do not like being left home alone, but you cannot become a prisoner in your own home to basenjis. I do own a crate and could have easily left her home in that, but with the temperature here being around 40C inside, I preferred to leave her outside where at least she could catch a cool breeze.
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Well Pepper did it again. I left her and Mister Two Dicks in the backyard, locked the doggy door and went out. When I returned, there was Pepper sitting on the lounge, a smirk on her face, the doggy door completely shattered. Oh, Mister Two Dicks was hiding outside. Bloody hell, there goes another $70.00 to replace the doggy door. It was either get rid of Pepper or think of a way to prevent her from being so damaging. I bought two things. The first was a Nelson Remote Rain On/Off Watering Control 56620 which allows me to turn on and off my water tap from inside my home. The next thing I bought was a Contech Electronics CRO101 Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler. This is a sprinkler system that is activated by motion. Hooked all together with my water system and pointing the Scarecrow towards the doggy door, not once has Pepper been brave enough to headbang the doggy door. Don't get me wrong, little devil that she is, if I do not lock the doggy door from inside, she will take the chance and run the gauntlet to get inside. But once she is sprayed, she doesn't give it a second go. As well as spraying a two second spray of water, it makes a strange spraying noise which scares the two dogs away from the area under guard. Cost??? I bought them both from Amazon.com. The Nelson Remote Rain On/Off Watering Control 56620 was $39.98 and the Contech Electronics CRO101 Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler was $44.27. So, a total of $84.25 plus postage and handling. Was it worth it? YES, YES, YES. I want to keep Pepper and I also want to control her. She has to know who the boss is and if I cannot train her I want to disable her from breaking into my home when I am not there.
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Brilliant solution! Just be on the lookout that there isn't something that is making her nervous outside, and you don't see other undesirable behaviors pop out…like fighting with the other dog, or something else. I like that the sprinkler has a warning sound to let the dog know they are about to get sprinkled. Your idea would be fabulous for gardners that want to keep cats out of their garden...you could be a millionaire!
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Wait a second – why are you insisting that Pepper stay outside? From your posts, she has "only" destroyed the doggy door and not done damage inside the house (unless there's more to the story). Why not leave her inside?
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I never leave mine outside when I am gone. Too much danger out there.
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Mine have access to the yard and the house (their doggy room) via a doggy door.
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It all comes down to what folks think an acceptable risk is. I know too many dogs poisoned or lost when outside and no one there… so mine are never, ever in 30 yrs, outside when I am not home. Hell I had one bitten by a snake when I was home. Had I not been here and got her to the vet immediately, she'd have been dead. If I had some kind of secure fence within a fence setting so no one and nothing could get to them, I'd love to have them outside in a secure run. But not just with my fence. That's just me. And having had tree branches hit my fence twice in 10 yrs, well, just wouldn't do it without that idea fence within a fence.
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Since we have 12' privacy fences, padlocked gates, set far back from the street and have been through 10+ Basenjis over the years, I don't worry about it (too much) … I think we all worry, be them in the house, in a run, run of the house/yard... as said, we are all comfortable with what we decide
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The OP has a right to want his dog to stay outside, and not break her way through the door
It may be that some of us wouldn't leave our dogs outside during the day, but lots of people happily, and safely do. There is a big difference between a panicked dog that breaks out of something, and a persistant dog that has decided she wants to be somewhere. I think we can give the OP the benefit of the doubt that he knows his dog well enough to know that she simply wants to get in.That being said, if neither dog is destructive inside, I would probably let them come and go…because giving animals a choice is often the healthiest approach for everybody...but as we know, giving them a choice doesn't always jive with keeping your stuff safe!
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As I said Pat, it's individual comfort zones. If I had your setup with privacy fence (which makes snakes unlikely :), and were off the road, I'd probably feel much safer. But your situation is not what most have. If something happens to our dogs, we have to live with it, decide if we made the right choices, etc. As it should be.
But I also think we should have the right here to say if we will NOT do something and why, whether it is leaving collars on, leaving outside, crating, etc. There is a difference between saying why we make our choices and calling someone a bad owner for deciding different. When you see me call someone a bad owner for making choices, even if it is a choice I PERSONALLY feel carries more risks than I PERSONALLY am willing to do, call me on it.
We can be comfortable with our decisions when we think them out. I wasn't bashing those of you who leave dogs outside unattended, but I do feel it's legit to point out that for most people it carries risks. We have had a couple of local dogs poisoned this week, another person has signs up for dog stolen out of their yard. I am sure you didn't mean to be dismissive or indicate there are no dangers, but felt the need to expand here. Again, you have a fairly unique fencing and situation that helps reduce risks.
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My Basenjis come and go outside at will but i do have a secure fence (I have to because of the sheep). Depending on the weather the outside door is left open even when I'm out for a time.
To each his own and I'm sure that we respect what other people do. It's a matter of being aware and weighing up the risks.
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Thanks Quercus. Little bugger that she is, Pepper only wants to get inside. There is no other thing outside making her nervous. Ha, no millionaire for me. The ads for the sprinkler show the sprinkler scaring away, cats, dogs, birds, the Pope, etc. Yes, the Pope, lol.
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ROFLMAO, Okay I want to see the ad! That's hysterical.
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Wizard, please forgive me for not replying to your post earlier. I have just recently bought a new leather lounge. The previous lounge was attacked by not only Pepper but Mister Two Dicks as well to the stage that I had to dump it. It would always happen when I was never home. Boredom I guess. I don't want my new lounge to become a byproduct of Pepper's juvenile instincts. Let's face it I don't trust her. So, everytime I leave the house, they go out the back yard. And it is not that bad, because they have a 6 metre by 6 metre enclosed area that is roofed for them to spend should the weather become inclement together with their little dog house which they share. They have a trampoline to play on and many toys to play with. Also there is the occasional pigeon that flies by that Pepper is able to launch herself into the sky and bring down to curb their boredom.
Quercus, yes, Pepper is not panicked by any measure. She is just persistent. She knows that if she head butts the door enough, she will get inside. She just needs to learn that if I send her outside, she has to wait there until I let her back in. Mister Two Dicks and Pepper are my second and third basenji and I find them totally different from my first, who I must admit was the perfect basenji. It is a pity they only live so long.
DebraDownSouth, here is the link for the Contech Electronics CRO101 Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler. Just click on the images under the picture of the sprinkler. I must be a little slow, because it took me a little time to work out why the Pope was there. http://www.amazon.com/Contech-Electronics-CRO101-Scarecrow-Motion-Activated/dp/B000071NUS
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Those pictures are too funny!
Great solution, so far… until she outsmarts it?I love your dogs names... by any chance, is Pepper a tri? lol
My Lola will get on our beds, circle around, and then proceed to dig frantically! Last weekend, she "helped" me dig a hole in my flowerbed outside!These crazy dogs. Why must they dig?
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Hi Patty M. Yes, my fingers are crossed. I watched her headbutt the doggy door today, but when the sprinkler went on, she gave it a wide birth. I would love to be able to set up a camera to watch what she does whilst I am away. No, Pepper is a tan and white. Here are the photos I took of them on our holiday. http://www.basenjiforums.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/3349 Pepper is the skinny long one with the little bit of white on her nose. Mister Two Dicks is the short fat one with the longer white on the nose and wider white collar around the neck. When I first saw Mister Two Dicks, he had a protruding hernia and it looked like he had two dicks. When I went to register him at the local council I had no trouble registering him under the name, although I did get a few giggles from the clerk. As I mentioned earlier, I have had three basenjis and not one has ever dug any holes. Nor have they ever tried to jump any fences, for that matter. Lucky I guess.
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ROFLMAO, you just nearly made me choke. I did say before I probably didn't want to know about his name, but that is hysterical. LOLOL.
OMG even funnier than the pope, it has chuck norris!
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Wow…I always thought that his name was reminicient of an English dessert or something...isn't there something called 'spotted dick'? Could be that I am completely losing my mind...
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OMG even funnier than the pope, it has chuck norris!
i can't even decide which photo i like best… gizmo, michael jackson on a tricycle, the dinosaurs, the scarecrow as a contestant on jeopardy... ! hilarious!
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Well. Pepper did it again. I went for a 9 hour drive in the country side and left the two dogs outside. When I arrived home, everything was fine. The two dogs were happy to see me, the doggy door was intact. The next day I locked them outside so that I could visit the local shoppng centre. I was away for 45 minutes. When I returned she had broken the doggy door and the two were happily waiting at the front door for me. Well, I am sick of it and have bitten the bullet. I have arranged to have a security screen door fitted to my rear door. If she breaks that I am going to have to find an area in my back yard where I can dig a basenji grave.
