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  3. NEED an answer to my crating question.

NEED an answer to my crating question.

Basenji Training
  • jennifereverJ

    i will definitely speak to his current owner about the friday scheduled pick-up. but im so excited, and hate waiting! his current owner said he does have a kennel/crate, and likes to sleep in it, and she thinks he sees it as his safe place. she said he's good about holding "it" in, but then again, she's got a doggy door in her home, so he can come & go as he pleases, whereas i do not. i'm thinking very much about getting a toddler gate & keeping him in the kitchen during the day while im at work, until he's used to things. but then i think he'd be able to jump over it. are there taller toddler gates i can put in the doorway? i dont know where to look! any suggestions as to how to keep him confined while im gone?

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  • ChaseandZahrasmomC

    Stick with the crate until you know him better. Basenji's are pros at the high jump and the baby gate will just be a hurdle. The crate will make him more at ease in his new place while he is adjusting to things.

    I had Zahra for only a few days when I left her alone in the kitchen to take the trash out, when I came back in the tiny little thing was on top of my kitchen counters, she was only about 10 weeks old!

    I crate both of my dogs while I am at work all day and the nights that I have school the fairy pet nanny comes in and takes them out (my husband is deployed so I need the extra help on those longer days). Maybe you could get a pet nanny to come in if you are worried about the first few days.

    Good luck!

    Jenn

    Jenn

    Chase and Zahra's Mom

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  • YodelDogsY

    I agree that a Friday pick-up would be better overall. And I would definately recommend using the crate. Leaving a dog loose in a brand new environment is just asking for trouble. Be sure to crate him some while you are home also so he doesn't learn that being crated means being "abandoned". I wouldn't put food or water in the crate though. He will eat and drink and then have to relieve himself. He will either soil the crate or be extremely uncomfortable until someone gets home to let him out. That can make him dislike being crated. Good luck with your new boy.

    Robyn Dubbert

    Sherwood Basenjis

    One thing that I have learned in life is to accept that things are not all black or all white. Life is shades of gray and just because someone sees a different shade of gray than you do, it doesn't mean their shade is right or wrong, its just different. ~ Robyn Dubbert

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  • dmcartyD

    ok well here goes - I am going to go against the flow here on a FRIDAY pickup. When I'm placing adult, young adult or rescue dogs people always want the weekend for the dog to get used to them but - Monday always comes. Sometimes dogs need that quiet time to listen to their surroundings, and most of the time the first weekend the dog is insecure and you work for 2 days through that and then crate time comes on Monday.

    I ALWAYS recommend getting the dog on Sunday, crating and going to work or whatever you need to do - yes it is a little sensory depriving BUT you do get to the you are a wonderful person who lets me out much quicker. Then the next weekend you will already be bonded and not dealing with a dog that has to process where they are.

    Whatever you end up doing - allow for a lot of alone time for your dog to process your new setting.

    Diana McCarty
    MIJOKR BASENJIS

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  • jennifereverJ

    a crate does seem like a better idea now.. with the cats, they'll probably jump over the baby gate (i was going to get an extra tall one so no matter how high raleigh jumps, he wont get out) and bother him. i just have never cratyed an animal before, and when i was a groomer, seeing the dogs in kennels kind of made me feel bad. being that he is used to free-roaming, i just dont want to make him worse by locking him up. but if you guys say thats the best way to go, then i'll do it. i want to get a big crate, so he has room to stretch out. as for no food or water in there, ill be gone 8 hours! i guess i could feed him in the morning before work.. but i cant force him to.

    is there a certain place the crate should be? i was going to cushion it with a crate pad, and then cover that with a blanket i use, and put some toys in, and a little food & water.. that seems like a good idea. i just will be feeling really really bad leaving him in there all day, even though his current owner said

    "I don't know if you will want the kennel I have. He goes in it sometimes but it is actually my smaller dogs kennel. You'll have to see what you think. He crams himself into it and sometimes he sleeps in it with the door open. He does not tear things up around the house but with a new environment I might use a kennel the first week you have him. He is prob going to be really nervous so I don't know if I would trust him to not tear up anything. He seems to feel safer in a kennel."

    so i guess ill go with the advice i asked for! thanks everyone, definitely appreciated!

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  • jennifereverJ

    ive gone with the baby gate and so far there hasnt been a need for it other than when im not around to supervise him, to make sure he has no "accidents".

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  • nomrbddgsN

    I would keep a crate for him open in his "area". You may want that crate one day and need it! So keep him used to the crate and you'll have less problems later when you try to re train him for the crate!

    Arlene, the Basenji Brats with the Boxenji![](images/smilies/biggrin.png "Big Grin")

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  • spitfirekrl1S

    How is he with the cats? Are the cats tormenting him all day while he's in there? I was going to suggest crating him in a room that was closed off to the cats so he has less stimulie to excite him. Also, a lot of people don't suggest free feeding (leaving food down for eating whenever) so 8 hours without food is pretty normal. We feed once at 7:45 and again and 6:30. This just makes it so we know when she's eating how much she's eating and allows us to see a problem of not eating the normal amount much easier. I would definately agree to leave a crate around if you're not going to crate so that you're not dealing with crate training all over again when you need it. It is very possible that you will find when you dog adjusts to you're new home and realizes that he's there for good, other behaviors (a little more B like) will start to shine through and you'll definately want to crate if that happens. You'll read in other posts that most of our B's that are crate trained love their crate (mine is in there for around 8 hours a day and every morning at the same time will go in her crate and wait for me to leave her a treat, shut the gate, and leave).

    Sorry for the lengthy post.

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  • L

    don't put anything that you don't mind getting pooped or peeded on. I put a brand new expensive pad in when I first got my B. Big mistake. I recommend an old towel or something with your scent on it that you don't mind getting soiled on.

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  • jennifereverJ

    he's got a crate, and sleeps in it from time-to-time. as far as accidents go, he's had a couple. i bought puppy floor pads, and hes used them once, but never again. :( luckily i see that once he eats, whatever form thelast time he ate comes out, so i can time when to take him out. another thing – he doesnt eat his food! he always eating the cat food, and wont eat unless i sit on the floor with him, and hand feed him a few kibbles until he's like "hmm this isnt so bad" and finishes the bowl. & it's weird because im feeding him the same stuff his last woner did,. so its not like i completely changed his food.. :(

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    @Janneke: Sorry.. but she hates her crate… and she has to be in it for 8 hours a day... And you don't walk her in the morning...? I would start with making sure your dog is tired in the morning before you put her in her crate. And maybe you can try to leave her loose in the house so she can move around? This is not only to you, but I read it so often on this forum that dogs spend entire days in their crates... I just don't understand that people can put their dogs in crates 8+ hours a day (I'm not including nights..) I agree with Janneke here - if she hates her crate, she may pee in it because she gets extremely unhappy there. Not all dogs need to be crated - I've never had a dog who was crated, and the two I have now are loose when we're gone because Shaye, who was 10 weeks when we got her, always hated it, never changed, and started breaking baby teeth on it. When we leave we leave them with a treat to get their immediate attention, and they usually sleep or keep themselves busy, with no damage or upset. Of course, we aren't usually gone more than 6 hours when we leave them.
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    Need HELP!

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  • DiegosMomD

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    wrx227wrcW
    Piggy only has problems pooping when she gets panicky too. For example if we leave her home in a crate and someone comes in the house but doesn't come down to see her or let her out she will do it. We can't put anything in her crate or she shreds it, we tried everything. For a while I was even buying fleece baby blankets at the dollar store and tossing them if she pooped. We gave up on that after a while. The mess was terrible, so I can relate to hours of cleanup… by the time you get her cleaned up and the crate. We did some desensitizing and left for short periods like I described before, and that helped a lot. My friend that has a B went to the vet about her anxiety, hers would cry incessantly, and they actually gave her meds, prozac I think, for it. I think she tried it, but didn't think it worked enough to do it. Sounded crazy to me. It hasn't happened in a while so we have been lucky. She has come to terms with her crate now and will once in a while go hang out in it by choice, so I know she doesn't hate it. Have you tried one of those snuggle buddy things? I wonder if you could find some way to protect it if Darwin had an accident. Best of luck and lots of patience!
  • spitfirekrl1S

    Need some advice…

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    <> He may not find a kong with PB all that important. I am sure there is something out there, that he would find rewarding enough to go into the kitchen when he KNOWS he is going in for the day. Try a raw marrow bone...like a knuckle or femur that you can get from a butcher. Try not feeding him at all, until he goes into the kitchen in the morning...if he wants to eat, he has to go into the kitchen. Other than that, it sounds like you are handling it very well. He may have to wear a lead to get him into the kitchen, then you can remove it. I imagine he was allowed to pretty much do whatever he wanted in his last home...so he is confused with the new restrictions, and boundaries you have put in place (ones that he should have had from the beginning). It is hard when a dog has to start from square one, especially when they have learned that using their mouth can get them what they want. Good for you for hanging in there. He will eventually learn that he has to cooperate. I would definitely use his food for reward for good behavior. Doesn't mean you have to withhold his food if he doesn't cooperate...but you can use his food to help him realize what you want him to do.