Hi,

I have a new 9-week old basenji puppy named Finn that I just brought home on Saturday. He has been great so far and we love him but I am a little concerned about crating. He hates to be in his crate and starts whining immediately, usually progressing to full on screaming. I haven't left him in there for longer than an hour yet and I've only actually left the house while he was crated twice. Usually I'm still there and mostly in the room where he can see me and he still whines and sometimes starts screaming. I try to tire him out before putting him in but it doesn't seem to help. We've been feeding him in the crate from the beginning and he goes in willingly to eat but as soon as he's finished eating, he whines. I try not to take him out when he's whining because I don't want him to think that will work but sometimes it's hard to avoid doing that because he literally doesn't stop for more than 10 seconds. I know he's very young and this whole being alone thing is very new to him so I can certainly understand his reaction. I'm just not sure what I could do to make sure he doesn't continue this behavior when he gets older.

Otherwise, though, he is perfect! Here's a picture:

My boy did the same thing when I brought him home. It sounded like I was killing babies he was so loud and persistant. Over time (a few weeks) he has settled down and got into the daily routine. I am sure you will get a lot of advice from the forum here… my only advise would be as consistent as possible and be patient with the screaming. It will get better.

Your pup is totally adorable!!

Don't stop with the crating! If you do, you will regret it. I have one that the Kids (20 and up) would let out when she would scream. She is getting better now that the kids have moved out and she has no choice but to stay in, but in the meantime, she has lost one tooth, has another chipped, just bear with it. It gets better over time. And there are crate games you ca play as well. I think there may be a link somewhere on the threads to some.

Such a handsome puppy. Hopefully with patience he'll get used to a crate. Be very patient with him - I know screaming can get you down . There are quite a lot of posts about crate training which I hope will help you.

I second the don't give up! I gave up with Oakley and it wasn't until a recent three day hospital stay with the vet giving him high amounts of anxiety meds which led to a miraculous cure of his crate anxiety, many bloody crates and a chipped tooth later! I did many things I said I wouldn't do when I got him and now know I wouldn't give in on with my second… Live and learn is what I did but I would rather have listened to people here!

Wow he is adorable. Have you tried a puppy Kong stuffed with treats or peanut butter? Also a hot water bottle might help as well, as he might be a little cold and has nothing to snuggle up with. Don't give up on the training. Is he in a wire crate? If so maybe a blanket over the top will help him to settle down also.

My puppy is 13 weeks old. She did exactly the same thing when we brought her home. If not for my husband I would have given up. After a week she went right to sleep when we put her in. Stick with it!

Not to scare you, but Dolce screamed for 5-weeks and then one night she just stopped and now loves her crate.

Our now 10 week old girl screamed for 3 nights, it was hard not to give in but now she goes in quietly, no screaming all night.

We have just got a 12 week old Basenji boy - - like literally JUST got him 36hours ago.
He must miss his 'family' a lot because if we leave him alone for 2 seconds or put him in his crate he whines like is is training to be an opera singer!!!

When he's on the couch with us he honkey-dorey happy! Loves to snuggle. But he has to learn to be alone! Even when we are around…

We try to feed him in the crate play in/around it and to give him treats in it (when pointing through the door and saying 'bed' we can get him to go into his basket - but only for about the 5 secs it takes to eat it then he's out again.

Thankfully our fantastic breeder already had him used to his crate for sleeping time so 10pm we go to bed and he sleeps without a sound through to at lest 6am.

It's only during the day we have issues!

Today he will have to be alone for 2 hours! I'll play with him and tire him out real good before leaving - - so hopefully he'll be okay. But the whining sure does break my heart!

So I guess what I am looking for is some tips on how to make it easier for him?!?
I know you will all say stick with it - and I try (thank goodness my husband is stronger than I am). Thanks and 'high-fives' from Theresa and Murphy.

We did the horrible thing and didn't crate train our B. He's been scared of the crate since we got him and it took us 2 weeks of steady training to even get him to go in to get a treat. We did, however, use baby gates to keep him in the back porch. The first week was rough on us. The back porch also has access to our guest room so we brought him into our room when we had guests so his crying wouldn't wake them and so they wouldn't have to crawl over the gate to use the washroom. Over the past few months he's gotten so good at being in the back room that he trots to "his space" when we reach for the baby gate without a fuss. He sleeps with us occasionally but will often leave our bed to go into his area if we are tossing and turning too much and disturbing him. It will get better. You just have to put up with the adjustment. A friend of mine also put her dogs crate in her bedroom and that seemed to settle the puppy down.

I always recommend that the crate at night is in the bedroom where you sleep….

I agree with Pat. Its best to put the crate in the bedroom where you sleep. It helps if the puppy can see you so they feel safe. In the old days, we used to use a windup alarm clock because the rhythmic ticking reminds the puppy of the mothers heart beat. Of course you do not want to put it in the kennel/crate, but you can put it on top or next to it so the puppy hears the sound. You might be surprised, but another thing that can work is music. I do not mean rock and roll (lol), but soothing soft music can help. You want to make sure the bottom of the crate, towel, pad, or whatever is on the bottom remains dry. A wet cushion, towel, or bottom of crate can put a basenji puppy in distress and will eventually cause them to scream. They do not want to be trapped in the crate if they have an accident.