Jake is now 15 months old and pretty much the perfect basenji with one exception: he is extremely picky on where he'll have a bowel movement. He won't go if there are too many people around or if he's in the open. It's basically in the bushes or bust. The problem is that there aren't any bushes near my condo. The result is that it sometimes ends up taking 10-15 minutes to take him to the washroom. I'd like to cut this down if possible.

I've tried to train him to go in a specific spot by simply refusing to take him elsewhere. He'll scratch at the door, I take him to the spot and then he just stands there. After repeating this for an hour or so I get frustrated and just give up. This cycle has been going on for about a week.

Any ideas/suggestions on how to better handle the situation?

Thanks

You could try matching him. For an explanation see post #12 in this thread:

http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?11806-Wet-grass-rain-issue/page2&highlight=matching

LOL… that is a Basenji for you... might as well get used to it... they want what they want.... Matching works, but many don't agree with its use... I have used it for years with puppies at shows ... with no problems..

@eeeefarm:

You could try matching him. For an explanation see post #12 in this thread:

http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?11806-Wet-grass-rain-issue/page2&highlight=matching

Haha I've never heard of this. I'm going to give it a try!

@tanza:

LOL… that is a Basenji for you... might as well get used to it... they want what they want.... Matching works, but many don't agree with its use... I have used it for years with puppies at shows ... with no problems..

Tell me about it! I'm usually pretty stubborn but he's outdueled me in this matter. I didn't realize the matches sitting in my drawer would be my secret weapon.

my boys are the same. luckily i have time and "bushes" on my side. :()

I use a match when nothing else is working and I am reasonably sure he needs to go, especially if I am planning on leaving him alone in the house. Otherwise, I'll just take him out again later. They are just like little kids. "I don't need to go", and five minutes later…..

Oakley is notorious for not pooping right away and only " where he wants"! I have matched him once or twice as a pup and once, he refused to go…. Until I put him in the crate in the car which was an explosive disaster! I'm already researching for a good winter jacket and great boots because I forsee many "below zero" walks in my near future.

I'll keep this in mind when the puppies start showing up and remember that I should be thankful I only have one!!

@Chealsie508:

I'll keep this in mind when the puppies start showing up and remember that I should be thankful I only have one!!

Actually, this won't help you resist puppies…when I had only one b - she was one of the ones that had to have the perfect spot, wind blowing in the right direction, stars perfectly aligned in order to poop - and god forbid a leaf moved in the middle of the poop - because she would pull it right back in. Anyway, when I added a second b - the whole poop thing became so much easier - if he went, she went. Even when I've added puppies - if an adult goes, the puppy has gone. Yet, another reason for me that 2 are better/easier than one. I have one that will not poop in his yard, and another that will only poop in her yard. But regardless, if one goes, the other always goes.

My Male wont go if anyone is watching him except me. If people walk by-he sucks it back in and off he goes. I find trees are good to hide behind and if it is raining he likes the umbrella to cover him. It was pretty much hit and miss until we found what worked for our B's. Hope you find something soon!

I find Basenji boys are worse than the girls when it comes to pooping. Bungwa has to have a steep bank (we've plenty of those). Miggy has to find a particular spot but it changes from day to day and if he can't find it he just doesn't 'go'. He can wait for hours and hours. Arrow likes a tarmacked road and again waits until we walk over one (we have to make a special journey for that). Their dad, Ama, like Bungwa needed a bank.

Never tried matching but know several people who do.

I didn't realize basenjis, as a breed, were so particular about where they went to the washroom. I've thought a bit more about the matching approach and I'm okay with doing it short term but it's not really a long term solution. My plan is to get him to go in a specific spot and then reward him with a high value treat. Repeat until he'll go without the matches but still give him a reward. Eventually I'll phase out the treat as well.

Winning strategy?

I don't really want to be the guy that sticks matches up his dogs ass unless I have to be. Haha

I don't think matching is a permanent solution, but it is a good trick to know when you desperately need the dog to "go". Basenjis as a breed can be very annoying with their toilet habits…....even a pee can be hard to get on a miserable, rainy day. I even came back in one morning and wrote a haiku about it!

Stupid f*cking dog
has not peed this morning yet
and I want breakfast!

@eeeefarm:

I don't think matching is a permanent solution, but it is a good trick to know when you desperately need the dog to "go". Basenjis as a breed can be very annoying with their toilet habits…....even a pee can be hard to get on a miserable, rainy day. I even came back in one morning and wrote a haiku about it!

Stupid f*cking dog
has not peed this morning yet
and I want breakfast!

LOL - too funny - the haiku is great.

I went to a dog show this past weekend and I walked one of my basenjis in the pouring rain for 20 minutes (and it was quite cold as well) and that dog would just not go to the bathroom. Peed 40 times, but no poop until he finished showing. And trust me, on show grounds with hundreds of other dogs that have pooped, getting a poop out of him has never been a problem before. Couldn't believe it because he doesn't care at all about the weather and is quite the consistent pooper.

I have another haiku for you:

Dreary skies bring rain
puddle on the rug affirms
'Senji will stay dry

Oh we can relate. We used to have to walk Mowgli 20 minutes to a wooded trail 3-4 times a day. When road construction made it nearly impossible to cross the road before and after work, we decided perhaps she'd finally pee/poop in the yard if it was fenced and there were less distractions. So after a week of building a privacy fence, she is still somewhat picky unless she really has to go!

Now that we are getting wetter weather, Kipawa is hating peeing outside. He will poop outside fine, but obviously peeing to him needs more time and concentration and that means he will get wet! Yesterday he held his pee from 10 p.m. until 8 a.m. the following day. That is 9 hours! Finally he did pee, but he did it on my grand niece's little pink blanket. It was so forceful that it sounded like he was pressure washing the blanket!! I may look into a pee pad system for the winter and keep it under the sheltered area of our back patio.

ive seen isis crisscross the yard looking for the ideal spot,like 1st thing in the morning she'll dart out and pee then want to come in,but we've learn nope sure enough she'll go and do her thing,rainy days are tough,our nightly walk she has about 3 spots you can bet money on. you know its funny i put them out on there run normally b4 there walk,you figure she would go then.nope ill save it for down the street …

Heh, they are a fussy breed when it comes to this topic.

I've even had the problem where my B will go, and then once we're inside he might get overly anxious about something and drop out a few more, but that's not a common occurrence. Kananga is very fussy about where he goes. I've managed to adapt and learn which spots he tends to be most comfortable with and just stick to those areas no matter what. As we say to ourselves constantly, they train us.

My female has the worst morning potty routine I have ever seen :eek: She goes potty in the evening around 6pm (maybe occasionally pees later) then we get up around 5:30 am and she goes outside but only to check for creatures. It will be another 1/2 hour before she pees and maybe maybe (if I'm lucky) a poop 20 minutes after that. I've had to resort to the match trick so I can go to work but she's catching on and tightens up. And when she does finally poop she has to dance around and around and maybe find another spot and dance around some more and maybe even find a different spot and yes dance around again. HTG it can get irritating.

You might want to add some significant roughage to her diet. I would also be tempted to CRATE her between "outside trips" to discourage the repeated going out, lol. In every situation, someone gets trained. Sadly I find all to often it is me.