I use 2 old bath towels, folded in Daisy's crate to sleep on. I have a stack of old bath towels so I can remake her bed soon as I clean the crate if she's pottied in it. Plus old towels don't cost anything and fairly durable and don't mind throwing them away when shredded. We've had Daisy for 2 months now, and the 1st month was a challenge to keep clean. She's pretty good to go now. Alot of work (hassle), Keoke is worth it and it will get better. I keep a large canister of Clorox disinfecting wipes handy for the quick cleanups.
Just a word to the wise….towels can be really dangerous if you have a shredder. The little strands can get twisted around feet, tongues and teeth...I have known at least one dog that has had permanant damage done to each of those body parts from towels. Also, if your shredder injests them, towels can cause a terrible blockage, again because the little strands of terrycloth wrap around the intestines as it passes thru.
Only a couple of my dogs shred...but I just make it a practice to never use towels.
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Yes, he is completely trustworthy in the house...and has been since he was about 2? But he never was a very destructive Basenji (except to his crates! He actually broke thru the top of an intermediate sized vari -kennel last heat season). He actually only has access to the family room, because of the way we have our set up, the family room is closed off by half doors...I don't like the idea of him pestering the dogs who are crated while we are gone. But if we are moving around the house, he can be anywhere. The older girls may be trustworthy also..but I don't test it, because I am phobic about them fighting while no one is home....it probably wouldn't happen...but I don't like to think about the possibility of it.
Heed the warnings - Daisy is a sleeper. In the beginning, she of course whined and screamed. She isn't a shredder like Duke was. With Duke, I finally pulled everything out of his crate. He got newspaper. Yes, I felt kind of bad about it, but within a couple nights without, he decided when I put in a towel that he'd better save it.
Alright. No more towels for my shredder. I once put an old pillow in with him. I forgot it was down. Pretty funny to come home to. It filled his crate half way to the top!
Dash is a major shredder as well. I put a cloth tarp like you get to put down on the carpet when you paint. It is tough enough he isn't interested in chewing on it and it is soft enough he can lay on it. Towels had to be removed because he destroyed them.
I have been using Bully Pads in my crates since I got them for the puppy pen when Rally had her first litter. They are not indestructable but are quite durable. Nicky can destroy them but has only done so when he has had a major tantrum, crated without a girl in one of the nearby crates. I am not exactly sure what right size would be because I buy a larger size for the whelping pen and then fold them in half for their regular crates.
http://www.upco.com/cgi-bin/Upcol.storefront/4626779502aeff74ea6ec0a80a2f073f/Product/View/80003
I hope he chills out in his crate soon. I am always super conservative when it comes to getting a puppy accustomed to a crate…I am always phobic that I will get another Querk. I try to set it up so the puppy never has a complete freak out...because I never want to be put in the position of letting them out when freaking, or making the continue to panic because I won't let them out.
It is really funny how similar Nicky and Querk are. Nicky is the same way about his crate. So far my girls have crate trained pretty easily and none really mind it much, but Nicky is a whole other story. For the longest time I couldn't put anything in with him because he would shred it. One time a rubber squeak toy fell into his crate. He made confetti out of it.
So I went to Wal-Mart and bought some fleece. I sat down on my living room floor to cut in and make blankets. Keoki pounced in the middle of it and started "fighting" the fabric – ripping, pulling, twisting, you all know how it is.
I'm thinking I'll forgo the fleece bedding for now and stick with paper towels. It just seems so cold and uncomfortable. sigh.
hey jazzysmom
i know bryan using papertowels with his shredders. you could ask him what he is used to, maybe?
when i first got fender i used old towels. i no longer have a single "old towel" now he has a little pop out bed i found at tj maxx. it just miracoulously works.
It is really funny how similar Nicky and Querk are. Nicky is the same way about his crate. So far my girls have crate trained pretty easily and none really mind it much, but Nicky is a whole other story. For the longest time I couldn't put anything in with him because he would shred it. One time a rubber squeak toy fell into his crate. He made confetti out of it.
I wonder if it is because they are first dogs, who were only dogs for awhile? I think they are not too distantly related thru the Kenset stuff…maybe it goes back to that 
Querk has eaten so many things that he has sucked into the crate...ugh...one of my favorite jackets while we were traveling one time...
Ambered, I had just talked to Bryan about him the yesterday and he said to go w/paper towels. BUT because I need the puppy to be cozy, I figured I'd give the fleece a shot first. Needless to say, I should have listened to Bryan, LOL.
This morning about a third of a roll of paper towels was reduced to two handfuls of fluff.
I need to talk to Bryan again as Keoki absolutely panics at night in this crate, and I really don't have any other sleeping options for him. I need to find out what Bryan would do, I guess. DH doesn't do well on 2 or 3 hours of sleep, LOL.
i have a suggestion
you could bring him over here at night and he can sleep with me. DH wont be able to hear him. hehehe
hee hee Nice try, Lady!!!
Well talk about shredding… I was at a show one time and entered OJ as a Special instead of Maggii.... left her in the crate in the RV and went to the ring with OJ and Mickii..... however, I had left a pair of jeans on top of the crate (wire crate)... so in 20 minutes, Maggii proceded to shred the jeans to just pockets and a zipper! Guess she was pissed she was not entered.. LOL
Ambered, I had just talked to Bryan about him the yesterday and he said to go w/paper towels. BUT because I need the puppy to be cozy, I figured I'd give the fleece a shot first. Needless to say, I should have listened to Bryan, LOL.
This morning about a third of a roll of paper towels was reduced to two handfuls of fluff.
I need to talk to Bryan again as Keoki absolutely panics at night in this crate, and I really don't have any other sleeping options for him. I need to find out what Bryan would do, I guess. DH doesn't do well on 2 or 3 hours of sleep, LOL.
Where are the crates in your house? Could you put them somewhere you can't hear them?
Well.. no. I mean, I could put them where I would be almost out of earshot, but then the kids will be up all night w/the noise. LOL
The crates are in a spare bedroom next to ours, and Keoki's was facing Jazz so he can see her {the first night he could not, and we thought it would help…it didn't}. Last night - actually early this morning - dh did get up and move Keoki to the mudroom by our back door. That made it a little less audible to us, and more audible for the kids. Last night was the first night the kids heard him at all.
We'll get it figured out. Tonight I hope to really wear him out in those last couple of hours before bedtime. I'd like to get him going outside for a while late in the evening, but it's still getting pretty cold at night, and Keoki isn't wild about the darkness.
The Crate has been the best thing to contain my basenji, when I am not at the house. I allways give him a treat when he enters his crate, and make him sit when i let him out. I try not to keep him there more than 4 hour at any time. I have started letting him stay outdoors for short stays not more than 2 hours, but allway worry even though i have a high fence. I have not made up my mind if I am going to install electric fence high and low, or install a dog run. I really want him to have a safe place to play. Glenn
Jazzy doesn't mind her crate at all. When she was a puppy, it took a few nights of whining, but then she settled down and never complains about being crated ever.
During the day Keoki gets treats in his crate, and will sleep in there as long as the door stays open. Once the door closes, he goes in to panic – or tantrum -- mode.
Last night I put him in while he was sleeping. He woke up a bit, but I petted him and he curled back up and went to sleep. I left the door open, and moved to the living room where I could see him. After a few minutes he got up, took a few steps out, and I said--very gently, "You get back in bed". Darned if he didn't turn around and go back in, curl up and go back to sleep. That happened twice. Then at 12:30 my daughter came home from a babysitting job, waking him up again. I took him out to potty, then brought him in and put him right in the crate. I petted him a bit and he settled right down. I closed the door, but stayed there until he closed his eyes. Then I got up and turned off lights, etc. He started whimpering, so I sat back by the crate door in the dark and talked to him until he settled down again. I waited a few minutes, then quietly went to bed {it was 1 AM}. It was probably 10 minutes before he started crying and bumping around, but either it only lasted for a few minutes, or I have learned to sleep through it.
He was quiet until just about 5:30 this morning, so I got up then and took him potty and started our day.
I am home all day, with five of my kids and two that I babysit. We have a fenced 1/2 acre yard, so he gets plenty of attention and has a safe place to play. We don't leave him outside w/out people yet, though, as he does need supervision out there -- yesterday he found a small gap in the fence and got out. That has been repaired, and we don't think there are any more gaps.
He stays outside w/the other dogs and kids for hours at a time, though. He and Jazzy play like crazy dogs in the house, too. Honestly, you'd think he'd be so tired at the end of the day that he'd welcome some quiet crate time at night, LOL.
Sounds like progress! I am sure he will adust perfectly!
