Dogs that were fine in crates with other dogs crated next to them are not always happy to be crated on their own. My current boy had been very good in his crate for three years, but with 4 or 5 other breathing bodies close to him. In new surroundings at our house, he found the crate intolerable and ripped up everything inside it, while working himself into a frenzy. Even with a nice meaty bone, we found it impossible to leave him for any length of time. (we did not crate him when we were home) We weren't long working on leaving him loose, and except for a very few incidents he has not abused our trust….....in fact, he is the best Basenji I have had in terms of not destroying things. Interestingly, he is fine if we go out for a few hours, giving him a roller ball with treats as we exit. He is less happy if we are outside where he can see us. He wants to be where we are, which is not always possible, e.g. if one is mowing the lawn, blowing snow, etc.
Fearless B afraid of balloons
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My B is pretty much fearless. He loves playing with the vacuum, he doesn't flinch if you play chase and run at him. He also loves being around when I use the hairdryer. Anyway, my friend brought a helium filled balloon to my apartment for my birthday. I put it in the corner and the dog didn't notice it all night but as soon as it started drifting around the living room he took notice. He wouldn't go near it and if I touched it he would take off and hide in my bedroom. I wanted to see if he was really frightened or if he was just not use to it so I had him sit down next it and I had him touch it and smell it to see that it would not harm him. He was not a fan! I clipped it on his collar for about 10 seconds and he went tearing around the living room trying to run away from it. I couldn't stop laughing! I found out that my b is not so fearless. I didn't think a balloon could cause that much terror!
Michelle
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Then what did he do? Not sure that really was a very nice thing to do….
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I took it off of him and had to hide the balloon. After that he wouldn't leave my lap. It probably wasn't the nicest but it was only on him long enough to make a loop around the living room. I guess no more balloons in my house. He got his revenge though, it scared me when I came around a corner in the dark!
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Our Puggle Chase is afraid of them too, I babysat once and took the little girl to Chuck E. Cheese, we brought home a mylar helium balloon and Chase kept barking at it, I had to hide it in the bathroom. I got one for my Birthday two weeks ago and thought he would be over it from the last time but he just kept barking at it. My DH did the same thing you did but he tied it to Zahra and she ran around with it on her collar. I was not happy about that and made him stop, she was having fun chasing it but poor Chase was terrified. I guess Zahra is fearless but our Puggle Chase is not.