Skip to content

Night time problems!

Basenji Training
  • It sounds like you are crating her while you are at work and crating at night, is that right? That is a lot of crating and with the crate being in the kitchen so there is the added element of separation at night also, it all adds up to a lonely puppy. Dogs are social animals that really need to know they are part of the pack. If you could find a way for the crate to be in the bedroom so she is not separated from you at night that might help.

    Is there are reason you don't want her sleeping in bed? If you are going to crate during the day, then I wouldn't recommend also crating at night. You may want to look into getting her a nice dog bed that you can train her to sleep on.

    If you scroll down to Go To Mat this is one method for getting her started on learning to sleep on her own bed, http://www.dragonflyllama.com/%20DOGS/Levels/ByLevel/2Level.html

  • I don't mind her sleeping in bed with me, for the most part. She's a neck and face cuddler tho, so sometimes she doesn't realize her claws hurt my face. :)

    I do feel bad crating her at night, but my girlfriend said that once a puppy gets used to the bed she will absolutely refuse to sleep anywhere else.. I figured that might be a bad trend to start.

    But it makes sense… plus the help with house training will be nice..

    I will try to let her sleep in bed with me for awhile and maybe I can gradually switch her to a blanket on the floor next to my bed?

  • If you want her to sleep next to the bed then you need to start that now not try to switch later. But she may be much more willing to accept sleeping in her own dog bed in your room then alone in kitchen.

    There is another thread right now about beds with some good recommendations for some that you could get.

  • Just because the sleep in your bed doesn't mean they won't sleep anywhere else but it is harder to retrain a new behavior than it is to just start with the one you want.

    My male has always been a bed dog but there many nights he prefers to sleep in my computer chair.

  • It does all depend on the dog itself. Medjai will sleep easily in my bed or his crate. Even though his crate is next to my bed, he was comfortable when his crate was out in the living room as well.

  • So last night I let her sleep in the bed with me and my girlfriend..

    And it went pretty well.. she woke up at 2am and I took her out to pee real quick, and then she went back to sleep. The only real problem is she loves to pounce on Aly's hair and start gnawing on it, but other than that… no howling and I was able to get a decent nights sleep.

    And the best part was no messes to clean up this morning - she definitely didn't want to go potty on my bed (Thank yooooooou) haha

    thank you guys for the help =) hopefully she stays this wonderful

  • Dallas would try to knaw on my hair when he was a puppy too. Something about the texture they love? Haha. Anyway, just give her a strong NO when she does it, & move her away from the hair. Sometimes it is also a good idea to have something you can redirect her chewing to after doing this, like one of her toys. When she starts to chew on the toy vs. your girlfriend's hair, praise her big time. She'll get it in no time. :)

    Oh & welcome to the world of bed hoggery. Hah. You will learn quickly how basenjis have this amazing talent of taking up the ENTIRE bed, with only one of them sleeping in it. Your girlfriend and you will be cuddled up to one side of the bed in no time :p

  • I think the hair eating is texture and smell because Medjai still can't resist some of my friends hair when they sit on the couch where Medjai can get to it.

  • @etzbseder:

    I think the hair eating is texture and smell because Medjai still can't resist some of my friends hair when they sit on the couch where Medjai can get to it.

    Yes that is a B thing… hair... I remember when I met Leighton's boy Ruka... he just loved freshly washed hair.... and loved to try and roll in it.... ggg

  • Oh, I was talking about dry hair. There is NOthing that can keep Medjai from wet hair. He will climb on my shoulders and lick my head for 15 minutes if I let him.

22/22

13 Feb 2009, 15:59

Suggested Topics

  • 0 Votes
    4 Posts
    3k Views
    The rule of thumb I was taught is that a puppy can only wait an amount of time equal to their age in months plus one. So, at eight weeks old (two months), your pup can hold it three hours tops (1 month + 1 month + 1). You should probably schedule a couple of potty visits outside during the night, even though it will be a pain. When we got Cosette, my wife and set a timer for three hours and three hours beyond that. We took turns taking her outside. At twelve weeks old, we were able to lengthen the time between breaks to 4 hours, then 5 hours at sixteen weeks, etc. It's tough, but it will keep your home (and her crate) clean!
  • 0 Votes
    12 Posts
    4k Views
    @Moth: Once my pup learned sit…he was expected to sit before his meals were handed to him. Another thing I like to do is give them their meals in food dispensing toys so they have to work a little to eat their meal. It's good for mental stimulation. Ahh Yes, the dispenser! I have a round shaped globe I found at PetSuperMarket, it has a plastic separation piece that allows for kibble. The clear plastic then has another hole. Uzie has to 'roll' it and is intermittently rewarded with the escaped kibbles. I use it to keep him occupied while I feed the other two. He then gets his other half of breakfast in his bowl. I wish I could get his excited dance on the way to the feeding grounds!!! His front legs go up while he is jumping on his hind legs and I bust out laughing every time! I get him to 'sit' on a carpet piece, place the bowl down and he has to 'wait' til I say "ok" to eat. When I introduced this to him the first time, he sat, but when I lowered the bowl he went for it. (some dogs go crazy running around, but they get the idea you are not moving til they settle down and wonder what the heck you are doing with the bowl in the air!!) I picked it up, and he had to understand that 'wait' meant wait til it is down on the ground. (do not use the term 'stay'-way different!) If he moves towards the bowl, it goes back up in the air…. A few seconds then a few more, three months later he waits til I say "ok", even around the corner. Patience! Persistence! Consistence! So in time, he has 'waited' until I can walk a few feet away then say "ok" for the release and his time to engulf.:D
  • 0 Votes
    25 Posts
    9k Views
    great news. I know for myself the concret hurts my knees but my concern was Champs. Great the running will continue.
  • 0 Votes
    18 Posts
    7k Views
    IMHO, please be careful with the alpha roll over, I used to do that when I first started dog training many years ago, I eventually had an aggression problem with the dog, got bit pretty good. I guessed it was my fault and never rolled one since. I never used pacifiers with my son, so no dog troubles there, but his blanky got stolen often. gg It sure cannot hurt to put the litterbox there and see what happens, its easy, fairly clean, and better than cleaning the rug often. You could also try using a scatter rug over the other rug, see if that helps any! I have one spot where one of the dogs, having gotten too excited, peed, they still go there if excited. I love my dogs, oh well its only in the hall. ggg Good luck, hope you find a solution! Carole
  • 0 Votes
    19 Posts
    8k Views
    Thanks for the opinion. I will give a head halter a try.
  • 0 Votes
    13 Posts
    6k Views
    I adopted my B and the foster parent that I picked her up from said she would pee in her crate at night if there was a blanket or any kind of bedding in there but is fine otherwise. When I adopted her we decided to leave her out at night and she also seems to be fine with that.