• My little boy Nimbus likes to pee on beds I was told he would grow out of it but I don’t think he’s going in that direction! He’s only 6 months 19days. He’s been mostly house trained sense 4 months. He pees on his bed, couch sometimes and blankets. The only reason he doesn’t sleep in my bed instead of the crate! I have another dog that sleeps with him and they both smell like pee after the wake up. I need help or just wait it out?


  • A little more context, please. Does he deliberately pee, or is it an unconscious act that happens when he is sleeping or at rest? If the former, I would restrict access to those areas except when you are watching him and immediately remove him with a stern reprimand if he "assumes the position". If the latter, I would be looking for something physical. I assume you have ruled out a UTI?


  • First thing to do, have you checked with your vet??

    email available on profile


  • My vet told me he might just grow out of it he’s done it sense we brought him home at 8 weeks. I can bring him to the vet again. He’s only peed on the couch and my bed like 2 times each he pees on his bed on purpose I believe... he does not have wet dreams. He is always being watched were ever he goes lol


  • He doesn’t lift his leg yet. I’m hoping if he starts lifting his leg it might help with the problem. When is a usual age they start doing that?


  • Some males never lift the leg, so don't count on that happening. If he does it while awake it might be a marking behaviour, making "his" place smell like him. Usually they don't do this where they sleep.


  • I can’t say if it’s the same thing, but my most recent basenji was a nightmare to house train and I still have no idea why - it took her a heck of a lot longer than my other dogs, but she did eventually grow out of it.

    In the meantime, I’d recommend having him sleep on old towels (or just dog-designated towels) because they’re easier to clean and way less expensive than dog beds.

    Is he neutered? It might also be a ‘marking’ thing, but like mentioned above, idk why he’d do it in his sleep space


  • Use a male wrap to protect your bed until he gets the idea.


  • My first female, who was never neutered and died young used to pee on our bed when my husband had been out of town and returned. Happened a few times till she got used to it going on.
    My current female is neutered and has only peed on the bed once and I’m pretty sure she had tried to tell us she wanted to go out.
    I think Basenji’s are much harder to train to go out then other breeds. But with persistence I believe it is possible.
    If your boy is not neutered I would start there, and until then I agree that diapers would save you a lot of extra work.


  • My Mku is also just 6.5 months. He started to lift his leg about 3 weeks ago, at first very self-consciously - and a bit shaky. Now it is very nonchalant but he only does it if there is a convenient tree. Out in a field he will still squat. But I have seen him cock his leg on a tall dock (plant) after another boy had done likewise.

    He has been clean since we fetched him at 9 weeks apart from a couple of accidents over-night on the kitchen floor during the first week. His breeder had done a superb job on him. My Basenjis all sleep out in front of the Aga - large kitchen range.

    Peeing on beds / chairs / sofas is not something I have ever come across. I would imagine it to be something you need to get ahold of and stop rather than just playing wait-and-see. If, as is often the case with peeing, it is attention seeking, don't rise to the bait. Ignore it and change the sheets quietly later when there is no Basenji watching.

    But check with the vet for UTI.


  • I have had a Basenji pee on my bed twice, the first time it was my first Basenji, and I found out after sneaking into the house way past the hour my parents would have considered reasonable, undressed quietly in the dark, slipped beneath the covers, and yikes, a puddle in the bed! My girl never did this before or after, and she did not "need to go", since my mom had let her out before she went to bed. I think it was a comment on my behaviour. The second occasion was my second Basenji, when my husband and I were having a noisy row about something. Lady leaped onto the bed between us and proceeded to pee, which put an abrupt end to the argument. Again, an action never repeated, and I believe she knew exactly what she was doing!


  • @brindledogs - I have had Basenjis since 1990 and never had an issue with house training, all have been very easy. And I have never had an issue with males marking regardless of in-tact or neutered. I have had females that will mark, but not that often. And at his age I would not say this was a case of marking....


  • @eeeefarm said in 6month and beds:

    I believe she knew exactly what she was doing!

    I'm sure she did ! Basenjis always know how to train humans !


  • My Male Basenji has peed on my bed and the spare bedroom bed. Where my nephew sleeps when he is in town. I am pretty sure he was marking though. I was keeping a 2 yr old female child at the time and she had been asleep in both beds. And he peed in the spots she slept. But he has not done it since. Vet said he would grow out of it. But I don't know if he grew out of it. Or just got used to the little girl being here.


  • @wynette - when I place my one pup with a family... she would pee on their son's bed... clearing she was marking it as hers... once they (on my recommendation) to stop her from getting in his room (he was 10yrs at the time) it totally stopped... so consider what exactly is going on.. If I am reading this right, he is in the same crate as another dog? Consider separate crates...


  • @brindledogs

    Check with your vet on this.

    private email


  • @morsesa - Always make sure first there is no health issue


  • @tanza the vet said as long as my other dog is ok with it it should be ok. Ever sense I got him as a tiny little dog he’d do the basenji dying child sound and I put my other dog in there he goes right to sleep no sounds. They are both ok with it and it’s a giant crate!


  • @brindledogs - Nothing against Vets, but they are not always the best on these types of things. If you use wire crates, put them side by side so they can see each other. I have always done this.


  • @tanza said in 6month and beds:

    If you use wire crates, put them side by side so they can see each other.

    And if you DON't use wire crates - go out and buy two, decent sized ones so the dogs can stretch out properly and tall enough so they can stand in comfort.

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