Skip to content

How to housetraiin dog with separation anxiety?

Basenji Training
  • Our one year-old basenji adopted two months ago urinates in the House when we leave. We leave him with a Kong filled with goodies but he does not eat it until we return. We have only been leaving for a short time, about half an hour. And we make sure that we take him PP before we leave. So it looks like the problem is separation anxiety because there are no problems when we are home. Believe where he was before he was left outside the house so was not housetrained. How do we house train him?

  • @basenjifan said in How to housetraiin dog with separation anxiety?:

    So it looks like the problem is separation anxiety because there are no problems when we are home. Believe where he was before he was left outside the house so was not housetrained. How do we house train him?

    If there are no problems when you are home it sounds like he is housetrained. So it is separation anxiety you are dealing with. If you could set up a video camera and observe his behaviour when you leave it would be helpful. Many separation anxiety dogs are upset when you depart and settle down afterward. A distraction when you are leaving......I used a roller ball that dispenses treats......may help. It worked well for me. I would prepare it before I left and let him see it but not have it, to build anticipation. Got to the point where he wanted me to leave so he could have his ball! However, if he is too anxious to eat the goodies in the Kong this may not work with him.

  • I wonder if you are leaving him alone for too long - even half an hour can seem like an eternity to an anxious Basenji. Try leaving and returning instantly - out of one door, in another. Then slowly lengthen the absences, 3 minutes, 5, 10 and gradually build up to the 30 minute absence. Do it very gradually, over a week or even two. So he knows for sure that you will be home again with him.

    That he is clean when you are at home suggests he has been house-trained - and it is being left alone which worries him.

    Good luck -

  • This post is deleted!
  • It may also help to exercise/play hard before you go so he is tired.

    On the treat thing, find something your dog salivates for, maybe tiny bits of beef or chicken that you can stuff in the kong or freeze into ice cubes, or put in a treat dispenser. Give them in the crate only. (put the ice cubes in a food bowl to decrease mess, obviously)

    If none of this works, then you can do a plan b, which is put in a really large crate or pen with some sort of indoor potty system. Or, try a medication and continue training until no more peeing, then ween off.

Suggested Topics

  • Are coursing dogs different than confirmation dogs?

    Basenji Training
    7
    0 Votes
    7 Posts
    6k Views
    J
    Thanks everyone for your comments. I feel assured what the breeder said was sound-That the dog can do both lure and show providing they want to. So since I really want to lure how soon should I start with the pup?
  • Sleeping with your dog

    Basenji Training
    27
    0 Votes
    27 Posts
    10k Views
    P
    "I can't think what you all mean! I sleep with Basenjis every day of my life - Yours with love," Jewel (16 and a half)"
  • Separation Anxiety and Re-Crate Training

    Basenji Training
    50
    0 Votes
    50 Posts
    29k Views
    M
    This is an old thread, but we'd love to hear updates. Still very fitting with our on-going issues with Mowgli's separation / confinement anxiety. Lola? Mldawson?
  • Dog Park Etiquette

    Basenji Training
    4
    0 Votes
    4 Posts
    3k Views
    MantisM
    I am not sure how old you basenji is, but i found basic training very helpful at the park. Caesar could understand what i expected from him when out. crazy running is normal humping or biting is very poor conduct at any dog park no matter what size…it is an action often immitated and is to show dominance there is nothing wrong with a basenji that prounces around stiff when other dogs are sniffing them....that is there way of saying, " you may sniff, but not dominate me! I am basenji". the hair standing on the neck and back or posturing is another way the basenji asserts him or herself at the park.... typically hair standing means nervous or scared= i watch that more closely than posturing or puffing up.... i am weary of the large dog areas when there are more than one pits in the mix. they naturally translate the basenji running as game and will try to tag team as well as play more orally than i like. if your basenji is humping a lot and is fixed, the small dogs may not be providing enough exercise or stimuli.... I try to have my basenjis in dog pens with vislas, bird dogs and running physical dogs. chasing retrievers is a great way to burn that basenji energy when casear was young and had difficult times at the dog park that seemed only addressed by a time out, we would leave and tight leash walk together. as soon as he would pull i would stop walking until he sat. then we would walk again. i also used hide and seek at the dog park as another technique for the park. Both my boys know to keep me in sight at all times. this keeps them from going off and getting into too much trouble. i would hide behind a tree until they realized i was gone and they found me. also, leaving the park with the dog in the pen is another way to let them understand that they should keep you in their sites. i did that a few times when i had a friend there with me and they stayed in the dog area. there is nothing more annoying IMO than an owner with treats in the dog park. or an owner with a dog on a leash in a dog park. or a person holding their dog in the air in a dog park. or a small unsupervised screaming and running child. the best rule is to communicate well with your animal. realize that time at the fenced dog park is free time for them to learn how to socialize. i have learned that basenjis do guard. if i am standing in the dog park, they run, sniff and play. if i sit in the dog park they will post near me and not go to far away. have fun, try new techniques, and watch other dog owners and how they participate with their dogs. you may pick up some good tips and see bad behaviors that you may want to avoid. as socialization continues at the park, your basenji will adapt and learn how to communicate with the least amount of conflict, so they can sniff as many butts as possible....
  • Agggggressive at the Dog Park

    Basenji Training
    11
    0 Votes
    11 Posts
    5k Views
    jys1011J
    Lenora-how do you keep her on leash while she plays?? Just curious to see if this might work for us. thanks for the info!
  • Dock Dog

    Basenji Training
    14
    0 Votes
    14 Posts
    13k Views
    ChaseandZahrasmomC
    Dock Dogs was here in Chesapeake,VA today for Bark in the Park, it was very cool.