@kimyko:
Hello! I am the proud new Mommy of a rescued 2 yo Basenji girl. Starla was kept crated for the first two years of her life and is a puppy mill rescue. She's been with us for a week and really likes to chew on the furniture and our shoes and blankets and etc. etc. She isn't at it all of the time, but enough that it's nerve racking. She also scratches at things - doors, mainly, including the oven door! She's not been given toys or treats since she, whilst in her crate one day at the rescue facility (which had her crated almost all day every day for 8 months), dragged in a rope toy, ate it, and had to have blockage surgery. We've been trying to show her "her" toys - Nylabone, WestPaws heavy chewer bone, tirebiter, and Kong, saying "Starla's toy!" in a "trade ya'" fashion when she chews "illegals".
She didn't even know her name a week ago and knows no basic commands at all (she is coming to her name a lot now, after just a week :)) She's a sweet thing, and I want to be good to her… I don't know if just saying "no" firmly and spraying (the object) with bitter apple is the right thing to do. She also detests getting into her crate to sleep at night. We have it in our bedroom, and would like to have her out of it at night, eventually, but I'm nervous for her safety and our sanity. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, keeping in mind that I am a "positive" training person... thank you and kind regards to all!! (I'm so glad this forum exists!!! Sorry if this info has been previously posted.. I just don't have the time to search really well, and I'm new at forums - quite bad at searching for info. on here so far...)
Aw….poor girl! I am so glad you have her, and are trying so hard to help her. Sounds like you are doing everything right. It takes quite a while for a dog rescued from a bad situation to be comfortable in a whole new set up. Even though we think 'wow, she should be so happy here, it is so much better than where she was' dogs don't always think that way, and she might be quite nervous with all the new freedom that she has. Interesting about the scratching at doors...I am sure that you investigated the possibility that she has to go outside when she does that....so could it be that she does it when she is feeling nervous about something? It could be a nervous habit that she picked up while being crated for so long. I wouldn't correct it at all, at this point...in fact, depending on how 'new' she is to your house, I probably wouldn't correct anything at all. Just distract her, or keep her from being able to access the door when she starts it. Have you tried tethering her to you during the day with a leash...and giving her treats every time she looks at you? That could really help build a bond between you, and distract her from whatever is making her nervous...it would also keep her from being able to do the things that you don't want her to do.
She sounds like a fascinating re-hab project. Feel free to contact me thru the private message (or whatever we call it here), if you want to talk through some more ideas.
sigh...
Definitely try the xpen. You need to have a place that you can put her when she isn't being supervised so that she will not have the opportunity to chew things. You might contact the rescue person you mentioned, and see if anybody has an x-pen you can borrow, before you purchase one.
