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Poopin' in the crate…

Basenji Training
  • WrobelzooW

    Hi everyone!
    We have a new baby, "Juma", who is 11 weeks old. She is absolutely fantastic in every way…great with our kids, cats, older dog...etc. However, we are perplexed by the fact that she is pooping in her crate. We have tried the small crate and almost as soon as we shut the door, she poops. We feed her in the crate and have had her in the crate while we are in the room, but we can't quite figure out the poopin' thing. We are slowly but surely making baby steps as far as getting her to pee outside (yeah right, when it's cold outside), but can't understand her pooping schedule. She's only been in the crate a maximum of 2 1/2 hours when we are gone, and we exercise, feed and play pretty hard when she is out of the crate. OOPS...gotta go, she found a pencil.;)

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  • nomrbddgsN

    I have to admit, I was worried about mine (same age) peeing in the crate on the blanket. But I'm glad she's not pooping! Just remember, she is very young, and will have lots of accidents. Keep an eye on her as soon as you put her in-when she starts giving signs she going to go, whisk her out into a potty box (I use a cardboard box, lined with newspapers and shredded paper), and praise her when she goes in the proper spot. Be consistent whatever method you choose to use-whether you whisk her outside or to a nearby potty box. (I won't put mine outside yet, too many parasites, too wet, or maybe I'm just lazy!) You'll both have lots of accidents! Good luck!

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

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  • jessi76J

    You say she poops almost as soon as you close the door…. have you tried doing very short incriments? for example... start with her in the crate and don't shut the door at all. praise her. if she starts to squat to poo - whisk her outside.

    then start closing the door - first for 10 seconds, then 30 seconds, then a minute, and so on. Try this on the weekend when you're home and can devote some time to it. praise her lavishly when she doesn't poo in it.

    just out of curiousity, what type of crate do you have? as insignificant as it sounds, it may be an issue for your pup. I favor the all over wire crates, so I can see in, and the pup can see out. I do not cover the crate. and then again, some other dogs prefer the plastic vari-kennel kind.

    my dog never pooped in his crate, but at 11 wks old, did have a couple pee accidents in there. be sure to clean the crate really well, and keep the space available small, yet large enough for her to stand, turn around, and lay down comfortably. it should be like a cozy den, like a small nest. not enough room for her to poo and then lay down away from the poo.

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  • WrobelzooW

    Hi and thanks for the help!
    We have the all over wire crate, and we have tried the vari-kennel. Little miss is very social, so I think she prefers the all over wire crate. We have odor/scent remover and clean it as soon as poop happens. We have also made the crate smaller. I'm thinking it is some kind of anxiety that we're leaving, because this AM I put her in her crate to eat, shut the door and went to make toast. As soon as I was out of sight, she pooped IN HER FOOD….little stinker! So, good thing I'm a teacher and have next week off for spring break. Looks like we'll be doing some intensive poopy training. A funny note, however. As we were all getting ready this morning little Juma decided that a perfect spot to poop was on top of the "Basenji Training Manual". Ha ha ha very funny.:rolleyes:

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  • jessi76J

    LOL that is pretty funny! good luck!

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  • DukeD

    My sympathies about all these puppy training issues. Mine is 14 weeks and we've had her 5 weeks. She's still not trained. But soon, I do expect her to make the connection for outdoor duty. It's been cold most weeks we've had her. Now that the weather is beginning to get nicer . . . Good luck - attention to Juma's signals and plenty of patience and paper towel and it'll be done.

    btw - Juma is an unusual name. I like it. What does it mean?

    Jill

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  • WrobelzooW

    Juma means "born on Friday" in Swahili. We thought about finding an African name, and we loved Juma.

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  • youngandtiredY

    Sounds like a typical B to me with the pooping on the B training manual. You sure you don't have my B, she is quite smart also. Be patient your B will get the idea, and being home next week so you can work with her/him will help. They are very smart, my B learned pretty fast, and when she would go outside I always gave her a treat that she liked. You have to have the treat in your pocket and give it right away after he/she goes to potty, they only remember 30sec. after the fact. Good Luck!

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    I had a similar problem when my last dog was a puppy. She was a rescue, and barely 5 weeks old when I got her, so her ability to hold her urine or bowels was not a very long length of time. As puppies get older they can go longer periods of time between eliminating, but it's important to research (google puppy housetraining) lengths of time for your puppy's age, and work out a schedule for her accordingly. My puppy needed to be brought to the puppy pad and fed every few hours around the clock, and she was initially more work than a newborn baby. As far as the crating goes… puppies are more likely to soil a crate that is too large for them. That doesn't mean you need to run out and get a new one, but rather you can make the used area in her crate smaller. When my puppy was little, I had a soft bag carrier that was small that I placed inside the crate and closed both so she got used to the big crate, but was also just in the smaller carrier bag. You could also use boxes to reduce the size but I would worry about the puppy getting wedged in between the box and the crate, so if you use a box or wood or whatever, make sure it is secure and your puppy can NOT wiggle between it and the crate. Also, accidents will happen with puppies once in a while. They are like human toddlers who have very little control and are learning and gaining strength every day to become more and more house trained, so patience is key. Hope these tips help!
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    I think I will buy a wire crate also. LIked that the plastic ones are more "den" like , but like you said I can just put a blanket at night… Thanks
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    Thanks for the link, Ivoss! And thanks for the wire suggestions, as well guys. Chris is actually a plumber, so we have a surplus of PVC lying around! I'm sure that's going to be Chris' next favorite project; once it gets going I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes. :) Any ideas on what the maximum space between pipes would be? We don't want him wriggling and squeezing his way through. This might really help for while I'm away!
  • cazC

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    When you feed him in the crate and close do you walk away? I had a foster that was terrified of the crate and also suffered terrible anxiety w/peeing in the crate too. So I would feed him in the crate and then close the door and sit right there with him. At first I only closed the door half way, did that way for about a week then was able to close it all the (without latching) for another week. I would sit right next to the crate and praise him for eating his meals. Then I would scoot a few feet back at one meal, move back at the next and do that for a for a few times. Then I would stay at the few feet back. It is a slow process but it really really helped him in his crate training process and getting him over his fear. I was soon able to feed him in his crate and walk away. He was running to his crate and sitting for his meals. He still had his anxiety for long periods w/the peeing problem but we even worked on that were we could leave for short times and he wouldn't pee in his crate
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    Our dogs do wander in and out of each other crates. They will even lay down in the others crates. Having said that, I am of the opinion that each dogs individual crate should be their own safe place. I know our Boston uses hers as a place to retreat when she does not wish to be bothered by the Basenji or just senses she needs to be out of the way. Roo our Basenji actually seems to respect that and will usually leave her be. Of course her crate is smaller so it would be difficult for both of them to be in it at once. Jason
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