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Indoors dogs & sleep

Behavioral Issues
  • ZenGrrrlZ

    To follow up on my previous question "How much does your B sleep?" here's some more specific info. Both of my dogs are indoors, inside my apartment with me, unless I take them out for a walk or to the dog park. There's no lawn or yard for them to play in. So they spend all day curled up on my bed, on the floor in my room, or sleeping in the sun on the balcony. What they don't have are opportunities to play with any other animals (dogs, cats, birds, squirrels, etc.) or chase anything or explore any part of the natural world. They're stuck in a human being's house all day long, everyday! So I worry that they must be bored to death - and so, just sleep. NB: Ziggy is 9 years old, Zoe is 6, so both have long since passed the "puppy energy" phase. Any thoughts about this situation? ~ Lori ~

    The Z-Pack: Zen and Ziggy

    In memory of Zoe and Zhara Baroo

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  • BDawgB

    It's the same situation at my house. Lexi's had more socialization throughout her life– Miles, well, we just don't know what situation he came from. But my dogs will be lazy if they are allowed to be... you know, content to sleep in the sun. That does not mean they are lazy all the time though. They will run with you as long as you can go... :) Just make sure you get on the floor with them and talk to them and play. And of course regular exercise/run/walks are essential too!

    Miles & Lexi's Mom

    www.stelladot.com/barrick

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  • dashD

    If it makes you feel any better, we do have a fenced in back yard and I was so excited that Dash could run around like a crazy man. But he generally jumps into the lawn chair in the sun and takes a nap. If he is not doing that he is scoping the fence for weaknesses. He has found a couple.

    Jennifer

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  • JazzysMomJ

    We have a fenced back yard also, it's maybe 1/3 acre or so. It's plenty of room for the Basenji 500, wrestling, ball chasing, and squirrel chasing.
    And both Jazzy and Keoki do all of those things –- for a little while. The bulk of the time is spent sleeping in sunbeams, whether that be in the lawn chair, the deck, the sand pits for our horseshoes, or a little patch of dirt off the deck.
    They sleep A LOT.

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  • jys1011J

    I'm sure if they lived in wide open space with acres & acres to roam they would still sleep oh about 18-20hours! :eek: :eek:

    I feel bad too..they're cooped up all day at my house too! But when I do take them out to a fenced in area to run around they only do so for about 15-30minutes & then they sit & look at me like…ok let's go home now Lady...:)

    Basenji Mom of C3PO & TOPAZ

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  • J

    I am fortunate that I can take Hollie with me to work, and I do (everyday). She has lots of interaction with the people I work with and my employers two dogs. Hollie is different from most of the dogs mentioned in this post. She loves to play, run, hunt, etc and would stay at the dog park or anywhere fenced with a playmate for hours (granted I HAVE to be with her - no mommy = no play). As I have read here, a tired basenji is a happy basenji (and a tired baseji = a happy b owner!!).

    Lori, is there anywhere you can take the dogs to run when you are off work? A friend or relative with a fenced yard? I know most people don't like dog parks, but we visit ours ONLY early in the mornings when it's not crowded. Is this an option for you? I know they like to sleep, they are dogs, but they do need exercise and socialization too.

    Good luck. Let us know if you discover a way to get them more active.

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  • BDawgB

    Oh, the other thing I wanted to mention was that Lexi will go forever if she has woods– like squirrels to chase. Here in DC, we have graveled-treeless dog parks that are small. Lexi does not like those at all. It's too boring.

    Miles & Lexi's Mom

    www.stelladot.com/barrick

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    On the couch Gossy either justs sits on my lap or curls up next to me; on the recliner she prefers directly in my lap. On the other hand, if I'm on the couch in the evening Teddy will slowly climb up onto my lap as if he thinks I won't notice then he'll curl up leaning against my chest and go to sleep! If Gossy is already in my lap, he'll try to squeeze in between :)
  • NerdyDogOwnerN

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    wizardW
    I've taken my previous basenjis to the closest dog park and everything was fine for the most part. There were occasional dominance type snarkiness events but only once did a real fight start (and the owners pulled their dog immediately). Never encountered a jerky owner. But I was very careful not to go when the prime times were - Saturday mornings (and if I had a day off then around noon) were usually the times only a handful of dogs were there and it was easy to keep an eye on them. I haven't taken Gossy since she goes to doggy care once a week and has a lot of fun there. Also I've discovered that though she is exceptionally friendly, if another dog becomes nasty aggressive to her, she will definitely fight back. So the dog park will require more vigilence on my part I think - this park is half wooded and kind of large - I'm a firm believer in owner socialization comimg second to keeping a watchful eye on the dogs.
  • torchsongT

    Growling at the dog park

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    The treat issues haven't been too horrible. Most of the time the people who bring them quickly learn the downside of it and don't do it again. :) She's been doing a lot better, and I've been determining when it's okay to discipline and when not. If she's doing a "give me space" where three or four dogs are sniffing her at once, I hold back, but occasionally she's gone after just one dog and I put her down for that. Next thing you know she's just playing with the dog, chasing or whatever. So it seems to be working. She's gotten a lot better at coming on command as well, even from across the park. It's tough to break that ADD that most 'Senji's have :), but of late she's gotten really good at breaking away from what she's doing if I call her. Who knows…we may make a dog out of this "cat-dog" yet! :)
  • BookwormB

    Sleep issues

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    BookwormB
    We've been leaving the crate door open. The worst thing he has done is during the night, he goes to the other dog's pillow, plops down, and the other poor dog gives up and moves somewhere else. We haven't heard a peep out of either of them all night, so we can sleep. Only problem is stepping on them if you don't know where they are! Right now we have two visiting dogs for a month - big female yellow (clueless) lab and a big blonde retriever mix. Buster thinks he can go up and nip their necks and he growls and snaps at them. I know I've read about this type of behavior on the other discussion boards. The thing is, for the first few days, they were getting along and playing. Now, Buster is getting a little more aggressive. Is this just part of the Basenji charm?:confused:
  • ZenGrrrlZ

    How much sleep?

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    A
    Akeyla sleeps through the night from 11:00pm-8:00am, then outside to potty and breakfast. It's not much longer after that that she is in the morning sun sleeping until about 12, then a walk and back to sleep until about 2. And the rest of the day she is up until after she eats dinner. (of course we have a few potty breaks in there)
  • Robin_n_JackR

    Fear of dogs

    Behavioral Issues
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    C
    My son has been afraid of animals his entire life. We didn't know it until we were visiting a friend when he was 1 year old and their cat WALKED across the room. He freaked out. From that point on he was afraid of any live animal, but loved stuffed animals. He is 6 now and we just got an 8 week old Basenji. We talked about it alot, (he has slowly gotten used to our friend's cat, but every time the animal made a sudden move he jolted). He was excited to get the puppy, and we sat with him while he got used to exactly what the puppy would do. It has only been 2 months and my son is so good with our dog that he is not afraid of the dogs across the street who are high strung little fluffy things that always sent him runnning and screaming into the house. When I asked him about it he said he wasn't afraid now because he had one now. We waited to get a dog until both of our kids were older and could handle some responsibility. It was the best decision we made. He is still uncomforable around large dogs and other large animals, but has made remarkable progress. I don't know how your nephew will respond, but as he gets older he may realize that he has some control over the animals and that may help. Good luck!!!