Let's also consider that when you chase your dog, the dog thinks it's a game and will run away from you. Like... "you can't catch me!" Man, Basenji's can bolt! On the other hand, when you are the one running away, the dog instinctively joins you because you are part of the dog's family/pack. This is not to be confused with a learned command to chase an assailant, in Police work, for example. That would be a totally different game of chase.
Finally had enough…
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Eating oftentimes stimulates the bowels. I would feed him prior to going out on the evening walk. To me, 3/4 cups twice daily seems like a lot of food for a basenji; two signs of eating more than needed is large volume of stool or frequent BMs; I am not sure he is exhibiting frequent BMs in the proper sense since in truth he is not defecating the same number of times he is eating in a single day (in this case - twice daily BMs). If you feel he is in good condition (should be able to see and feel ribs easily with your fingertips without need to dig) I would perhaps feed him more of his meal in the am, less in the pm but always feed before the walk. If you feel he is in too good of condition, I would decrease his food consumption overall by 1/4 cup twice daily (to 1 cup daily) again feeding him before the evening walk to help stimulate the bowels.
A way to keep him from learning pooping equsls the end of fun, always extend the walk for another 20 minutes or so after he defecates. Only exception is if it is raining and he wants to go in, then it becomes the opposite, he is rewarded with returning home only after he produces. Also-have you put his house training on command? If not, I would start teaching that, this will help those times when he is not concentrating on his duties.
Lastly, I would tether him to you at night so that he does not continue to exhibit bad behaviors. Do you have a balcony? It yes, pee pads on the porch for those late night excursions. Or you can, for a month or two, not for life - crate him at night so he relearns to hold his bladder/bowels until a more favorable time. Once you have reprogrammed him on this, then do the tether for a few months, then try it without either and see how he does.
Good luck.
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Just a suggestion
I litter train all my basenjis
That way, I can be certain that if they have to go in the middle of the night
then they can use the litter box.
Makes life a lot easier in the wintertime also.
Get a large litter pan and fillwith wood shavings.
Easy to clean and on rainy days it's great too! -
6PM ( at the latest): get home, immediately out to pee & hopefully poop ( today I was put for 1hr15min in the rain bc he refused to poop; I know he had to bc his bum turn outwardly pink(graphic,sorry)..but he stubbornly squeezes it in again to keep going
Oh god, I thought I was the only one. Mine does this quite frequently. It seems he's almost doing it out of spite, simply on purpose. You know they have to go and and soon as you bring them in (after giving up), they'll just go anyways. Can be quite frustrating sometimes.
Sometimes he will literally stare at me and not move an inch. Letting me know he has the control of the situation… and it's true.
Just a suggestion
I litter train all my basenjis
That way, I can be certain that if they have to go in the middle of the night
then they can use the litter box.
Makes life a lot easier in the wintertime also.
Get a large litter pan and fillwith wood shavings.
Easy to clean and on rainy days it's great too!It's tough to train a pup that's already been going outside, from my experience. After a brutal winter of consistent -10 thru -20F temps, I tried to litterbox train Kananga. He was just over 1 yrs at that point. He wouldn't budge. He knows outside is the proper place.
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I like the suggestion of feeding him more in the am and less in the evening….I can reduce his food slightly without sacrificing healthy weight...I an also tether him to me at night..I wish I could crate oakly but if any of you remember Oakley had severe crate confinement/separation anxiety which has gotten better but he can't be in his crate while I'm home..it would cause him to regress, plus it wouldn't help. I think part of the problem is I housebroke him long before I could break him of messing his crate due to the anxiety...so I feel like in his mind he doesn't equate the house as a "NO GO" zone bc he still occasionally gets upset in his crate ( even of I'm five minutes late and will pee, it's rare though)...I have a font and a back porch and I
Def. thought of pee pads but I find hes either stubborn or mentally trained to go while walking..I hope to eventually do that as a backup (bad snow,rain). He does average three poops a day...one in the am, one after work and the one during the night...so if that's an indication of cutting back food then I'll do it. Oakley was litter trained by his breeder and we continued as a pup but he would only pee in it...so I quickly switched to outside. Kananga- trust me, I got in from our long stubborn battle at 715...I pushed off our last walk til 10:30ish and it was sill raining but I stayed out about 25minutes, brought the clicker an a treat this time and rewarded for peeing, no poop..but it was also raining so for him I didn't push it, he chased a bunny then in we came. I locked my bedroom door so he couldn't get out and now he's asleep. I'm goin to get up at 7 and try for a longer run...I'm really going to get stricter about winning the battles over not going "just because" and not because he doesn't have to go!I've really been trying over the last year, ruling stuff out, following the doctor, being cautious about cause and effect- but he's still my little toddler that wants to follow his own schedule!
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It is not at all hard totin an oder dog.
All you do at first is put th litterpan in a large crate
or in an x-pen.
You put the dog in there to do its business,then after a while it
will get the idea.
Been doing this for YEARS
36 YEARS TO BE EXACT.
Your b will get the idea.
At dog shows, the ex-pens all have shavings in them,the dogs
will use it by instinct.
Doesn't matter the age,I have trained them from as young as
4 weeks to over 13 -
Man, my keyboard is going crazy
Sorry for all the mistakes -
When he won't get down to business, you could try "matching" him. Wouldn't want to do it as a regular thing, but I resort to it when I know my guy has to go and I need him to do it "now".
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I have a couple that get up to use thier wee wee pad in the middle of the night. I just put a pad in the bathroom before bed and clean it in the morning
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Went through them all and see that eeeefarm suggested what I would… try matchsticking at night to make him potty before bedtime. In truth, he may simply like getting out for that walk and be habit, so if you have to crate, or simply refuse for a week and clean up pee/poo (or put down potty pads or get a litter pan) breaking the walk is good. I would also change the regular walking routine. Take out to ONE SPOT, do not take a walk. Stay til potty, say good dog, treat maybe, and then and ONLY THEN take a walk (or better, go inside, wait 10 mins and say WALK !) and go for a nonpooprelated walk. You need to retrain him to POOP fast, then walk so he doesn't delay poop to get to walk. It is common with dogs who must be walked but he's taking advantage.
On the rain issue, I stood in a storm for well over an hour with Cara CRYING holding up one foot then the other, would not poop. She would stop eating if it rained so she wouldn't have to poop. We ended up with an anal sac rupture. That was it-- put her on cyproheptadine to get her to eat every day (actually 2x a day) and I add fiber (she hates pumpkin, won't eat it.. green beans didn't seem to do it) every other day to make her HAVE to go. Yes, sometimes she poops on the porch, sidewalk and occasionally on the floor but after dealing with the rupture and soaking for a month, I don't care. Thank goodness I don't have carpeting.
And yep, give nearly entire food in morning, snack size at night so stomach not EMPTY and hopefully that will help stop the need to poop at night.
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I just want to make sure I read the initial post correctly, he is sleeping through the night without asking to go out. It is that he gets up at 7-8am and wants to go out? To me, this isn't unusual for young dogs. All my youngsters, aged 7 months - 2 1/2 years are early risers and go out shortly after they wake. We have done the going out 10 minutes later to build time but really we usually don't get to sleep in much unless it is the winter when no one wants to go out in the cold and wet and are happy to sleep in.
Now, if he is waking you up in the middle of the night to go, then that would be unusual.
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I do match stick but not often and mainu because it doesn't alway make him go! I wish I had one ueterday though. Debra, I agree and stuck to my guns yesterday and we walked only the one strip next to the river and I refused to walk him around town because I want him to know that's where I want him to go…that made him miserable on top of the rain since he's used to me walking anywhere until he goes...
Lisa, many night I don't even hear him get up to go, but he never wakes me up to say "I gotta go"...and it's usually pretty early morning like from 4am on...the good news is, we had our last walk around 10:30pm..still raining, no poop
...as soon as we got in and I shut the bedroom door he scratched as if to say "gotta poop now that I'm home! I didn't let him, and I leashed him to me and he woke up at 6:50 and scratched at my door..he peed and pooped as I clicked and treated..came home, I fed him got in the shower..no more than ten minutes after he pooped outside I got out out of the shower and on my floor were threetinstone segments of poop...I just don't get that? It's like he doesn't release it all!! But it's still progress, I slept well other than thinking "wheres oak" -
I will be firm though now on the potty spot…I think having that will differentiate potty time from walk time too...it just won't be easy but luckily it's summer..
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I think you are on the right track…....now patience and repetition, and yes, good thing it is summer! My guy will sometimes "go" because of excitement, even if he has already gone. Otherwise I don't see any reason for your "surprise package" other than spite. Yeah, I know, dogs don't do that. But I have seen too many cases with Basenjis to rule it out!
(their inner "cat" coming out!) -
People can swear up and down that dog don't do things out of spite but Oakley sure does….but it would be nice if he'd just chew the throw pillows or steal the q-tips out of the trash rather than a surprise poop only ten minutes after the first!!
Oh Oakley,tomorrow is my birthday- I hope he gets the memo and decided to be splendidly well behaved...
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Is he still having soft stools? If so, he could have an allergy to the food.
Jennifer
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Somehow I still feel that this is due to feed. How often does he poo in a day normally (including the problem one)? please let us know the result of feeding him earlier. Personally i'd feed him only once a day and in the morning. You could increase this once he stops the night pooing. A normal, healthy dog should be able to go through the night after a certain age.
Have you considered raw feeding? Normally there is far less output with this because all nutrients are used. Have you had him vet checked to ensure that he is now clear of giardia which can be very persistent and immune to some wormers.
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"He has done this all his life and I'm sure it's not health related unless due to his gastrointestinal sensitivities…"
that may very well be the reason. What are the consistency of his stools once he goes???? If they are soft, may you can help with some fiber added from sweet potatoes (about two teaspoons) and the enzymes help with a dog's stomach. (I have recommended this to many people with a Vet's blessings) Is the amount of stools large or small bits here and there when he goes? I am not familiar with the ingredients of your food, does your Vet think there is a problem? For your sake and since you live up in the great white north....have you ever thought of having a small area for potty in the house? I know this is a wide open subject, and if you don't have another dog, maybe for convenience for the both of you??? If he is in your room at night, you can close the bedroom door and put a pad, paper, whatever placed in your bathroom so he can 'go' at night and not wake you for a walk or soil what you don't want soiled.....not an easy one-hope you can figure it out..
(oops, made this comment before I read pg3 of the thread.....)
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The consistency of his stools are formed, he usually poos in pieces. The first one or two pieces is always the biggest and most formed but the third and fourth tend to turn soft and less formed. Because he has done this "routine" all his life the vet feels its more behavioral and not health related. He has had giradhia check since and they were negative, he shows no discomfort when going to the bathroom, no swelling or tenderness when touched..he thinks this is a learned behavioral routine and I need to retrain him ( easier said than done when coupled with the fact he takes forever when outside and it's not an easy connection for him to make about outside->bathroom-> click despite the key terms and praise. I have thought and half tried to use pee pads to go to the bathroom and he realizes peeing on the pad but he doesn't connect pooping on it. But I do admit, I haven't put effort into teaching him to go in the house. I have recently started keeping my bedroom door locked so he can't push it open and I'm going to start a "bathroom log" to include what time he's waking me up at night to see if I can find trends or patterns.
He is such a smart dog I can't find reason why he isn't catching on to alerting me to go the bathroom, and at this point why he doesn't know when I say per or poop that it means "go! Nevertheless, I will try to find a workable food situation that works better, start the log and adjust walks to at first accommodate, clicker train and treat as he goes and slowly work towards why I want him to do.
I consider my self a smart dog owner and I did what people would consider the right things to do to potty train so I'm a little stumped as to why we are having these issues but the again, Oakleys always beat to the tune of his own drum.
I plan and Oakley laughs
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I got the pups used to useing the paper for everything from their first day with us. As they always slept in the bed with us, I would take them into the bathroom with me when I got up every 3 hrs or so and put them on the pad. They learned quickly, that once they were empty they got to crawl back in the nice warm bed and go back to sleep.
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Ok, so I hope this won't be 'gross' but maybe this weekend try to keep a piece of poop on his pad for the night time. Let him see/smell it on own. If he is following you as they do in the sleep ritual! In other words, don't make a big deal of it. Just stand there brushing your teeth or what ever, and do just like a basenji-pretend you are not looking or interested in the (small piece) of poop on the pad…..go to bed as usual and see what happens over night for the next few days. If it is a learned behavior and he just likes your company combined with his relief at 4am or whatever, try to break the cycle. Everything takes a little longer with these smarties. I guess they just like it their way!
