I do line the crate with newspaper so it absorbs any liquid...but the important part is that a puppy really should be taken outside at most every couple of hours to become housetrained...if you don't or can't do that, it will take longer to house train a dog.
Honestly, don't let him do anything to your dog that you are uncomfortable with. Anyone can call themselves a dog trainer, and sometimes owners are too embarrassed to say 'stop doing that to my dog'. But you have to be your dog's advocate, and protector. Some training methods can, and do make behaviors worse that people were trying to fix.
@erica-ruth said in My basenjis have a new yard, but won't poop there. Any recommendations?:
I can set my watch by second poop
My first ever Basenji, Donner, back in the very early 1980s learned from very young that as soon as he'd emptied, we'd turn and head back home. Lady, who arrived in the household just four days after Donner and long before we totally dog-proofed the garden, so walks were necessary, did her business as and when she needed to. But Himself no - to prolong the walk he'd hang on for (sometimes) miles !
When the first litter came along, we did totally fence the entire garden so as to keep the pack safe. It was only later, after several litters developed a penchant for fresh vegetables straight off the plant, Brussel Sprouts, sweet corn, cucumbers, raspberries etc, that we had to fence off the vegetable garden to protect it from the marauding hordes. The herb garden had to be isolated too, or we'd have even sweeter smelling puppies than normal.
