Crates for bedtime should be in the same room you sleep in… especially with a puppy... if you are rooms away, how would you have any idea that he/she is having a problem? And if you are home, the pup should be with you... and you should be watching him/her.... every minute... the crate is not for your pleasure, so you can do other things... .... or you are bored with watching them every minute.. Certainly if you have to crate when you are out of the house.. that is one thing... but if you are home, they are totally tuned into you being there. If they fall asleep as puppies will do, you can pick them up and put them in the crate... just leave the door open.. and go about your business... but check on the very often.... I have raised many a litter that they are in our family room crashed out or on the back porch for hours sleeping... I can get stuff done while they sleep.. but I keep the eagle eye on them all the time..
Escaping from crate!
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With Oakley ( Midwest wore crate-2 door) I had to double masterlock and use zip ties on the sides so he couldn't fold it while inside to escape. NO JOKE! Once he even escaped both locks and zip ties by chewing through all the ties… He has finally stopped with all crate antics and now is the best boy I could ever have hoped for when it comes to the crate. If you don't think your pup will be that determined then my suggestion is a carabiner clip
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I would go and find a carabiner to put on the door. Make sure that if he does get the door unlatched though that he can't get his head stuck in there choke or something though. You can get carabiners that are lockable and ones that just clip. If you have a local climbing store you can find them there. Good luck with the great crate escape!
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And you can find them anywhere you'd get keys made…home depot, lowes... Just don't get the thin cheapos... It should have some sturdiness so as not to break once he unlatches the latch and then tries to force the door open..should work unless you have an "Oakley"... Then you'll need to get locks!
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Uh oh here it goes! Anubis does that…wiggles the latches on his wire crate open and forces the door open. I use C Clamps you can get at walmart. Keeps him in! I tried the clips from a climbing store he managed to break them. C Clambs you use a screw and it screws closed. They work great!
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We use ex-pen clips on the doors of the wire crates. Also, be sure you have heavy gauge wire with good welds, L'Ox just busts the welds and squeezes out the hole he makes. He is only crated in the very heavy, made when people still made stuff to last forever, MidWest crate that I picked up at a lure trial for $20.
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Of my 4, I have one that can pretty much open an sort of crate latch except the kind on Kennel Aire crates - so Liyah either goes in a Kennel Aire or I put a carabiner on the door if using a regular crate. When Liyah was a puppy, she would not only open her own crate and let herself out, but she would open the other two crates and let out her friends, Ruby & Brando.
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Its a basenji thing, many of mine have been able to open crates, Tempest broke a front bar completely out of her midwest metal crate a few months ago.
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Thanks for all of the tips! We are going to try a carabiner tonight and ratchet up if we need to. I spoke with the breeder last night and she said that one of her dogs not only escapes from his crate, but lets everyone else out for a party if she doesn't use a carabiner.
Who are these people that say basenjis are dumb? Let's put them in a crate and see them get out when they are 12 weeks old.
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I spoke with the breeder last night and she said that one of her dogs not only escapes from his crate, but lets everyone else out for a party if she doesn't use a carabiner.
Who are these people that say basenjis are dumb? Let's put them in a crate and see them get out when they are 12 weeks old.
This is all proof that basenjis are definitely not dumb! That is so funny about one of the breeder's basenjis letting the others out. "Come on everyone, party time. THEY are gone"! You had me laughing out loud! We use carabiners. We have them on our parrots' cages and do use one on Kipawa's crate. I agree with Krunzer - you have to really make sure that there is no room AT ALL for either Kai or Willow to get out. A tiny bit of space can become a huge hazard. -
The only thing I have found that will hold Corin is a Kennel-Aire Commander crate, because it has 1 inch squares on all 6 sides. The new Kennel-Aires have larger sqaures on the bottom, and he has figured out how to slide the tray out and get out the bottom of the crate.
