Hi everyone,
First off, thank you for these forums. I learned so much from many topics on here and it has helped me with raising my Basenji.
Background:
I have a 2 year old Basenji named Marvel. I love him to death like if he were my own son, and nothing will make me get rid of him. He is actually a well behaved dog (for a Basenji) compared to most that I hear about - he doesn't "go" in the house, he doesn't chew things that he shouldn't, he listens as well as a Basenji can, etc. We usually keep him in the cage for ~8 hours for 4 days a week and he sleeps with us in the bed. We only ever put him in the kennel when we leave for work or go out somewhere. We take him to the park almost everyday to help get his energy out with other dogs, if not then we take him on long walks. He always seems satisfied. Also, he is not neutered.
Problem(s):
Something has changed lately as of April. He is now ALWAYS waking up whining and crying at 6 am, no matter what time we go to bed (9am, 11am, what ever). He used to wake up anywhere between 7:30-10 am, and when he does he will whine a bit to let us know that he has to go outside. But he is now getting up at 6 am everyday and whining very audibly. We are obviously forced to take him out. Not only that, but now he won't stop crying throughout the day while he is awake. We will take him out multiple times a day in hopes to get him to stop, but he doesn't. He even starts crying again as soon as he gets back inside even after he did his business and got his energy out. He eventually cries himself to sleep until he wakes up to recommence his whining. Actually, as I write this, he woke up into a whining frenzy even though I took him to the park 30 minutes ago for an hour of playtime...
I have noticed that his whining gets even more triggered when he hears a dog barking outside, and he starts pacing around and standing by the door (his sign to tell us he needs to go). The same thing happens at the dog park - sometimes he will be alone at the park and he sees a dog outside of the park (not coming into the park) and he goes into an incredible whining frenzy to try and get to the other dog.
And I get the feeling that he is constantly whining knowing that we will eventually take him outside, even if he doesn't have to go or already drained himself.
I recall him having this EXACT issue last year around the same time of the year. He eventually stopped and went back to his normal routine. Could this be a seasonal thing? Can he tell that females are in heat and he just wants to get outside because of it? Should we get him neutered? Do I sound crazy for asking these questions? Please... help...
Thank you.
