Benny is keeping up with some of the Basenji traditions!!! Great photos!
My new brindle bundle of joy…
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Congratulations! She is so adorable and I LOVE her markings!
(I haven't read much in this forum) Good luck on naming her!
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Hi, I have toagree with everyone else, sheis adorable. Our third rescue is a brindle boy,who we had to call Buddy, as he and Mr Baroo bonded instantly. As for a Z name I'm pretty sure you aren't old enough to remember an old Hollywood character actress, Zazu Pitts.
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Oakley had such a high degree of panic and sounds like your girl…unfortunately, the only thing that solved it for me was his trip to the hospital for xylitol poisoning. He spent three days there with anxiety meds and chewed through IV sets quicker than the vet could re-administer! When he finally got home he decided all by himself that being in his crate for a little while was way better than being alone without mom for three days. Blessed disguise that was for me! Positive associations, not rushing it and possibly trying an expen if the crate is too confining for her? Oakley had separation anxiety AND confinement anxiety...important to distinguish between them and plan accordingly
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Yes, she may be like Oakley. I think she is showing signs of both separation anxiety and confinement anxiety. Did Oakley have the diarrhea issue? Normally, she does not– only when left alone in the crate with the door shut.
She is going to meet the vet this week, but I can tell it's going to be a slow process. She got off to a bad start in the crate, so it has been back to square one to try and establish a positive association. Baby steps. Thank goodness the housetraining and clicker training are going well!
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Thanks for all the compliments and naming ideas, everyone! Poor little no-name puppy at last has a name. Her name is Ava. We've tried it on for size and it seems to fit.
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Very nice! Look forawrd to more photos of (Ta-da) Ava!
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Welcome Ava!!!! Is crate training going any better?
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I used to have to clean diarrhea off the ceiling of the crate! Not only would he have diarrhea but he didn't care if in his panic he got covered in it..especially in the car. One time I remember handing him off to my best friend when I arrived at her house..she immediately took my little black and white (and brown) bundle of mess to the kitchen sink while I opened a bottle a of jack daniels to calm my own nerves! Oh the days of puppyhood- Oakley broke me in for sure!! I'm sure Ava will learn to readjust…persistence, consistency, and calm.
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Yes, that is exactly what she is doing– diarrhea everywhere, on the top, bottom and sides of the crate and all over the bars. Chealsie, you are the first person I've talked to that has experienced this level of panic. Ava did it from Day 1, within minutes of being shut in the crate. It's the only time she has diarrhea or shows anxiety and wow, does she go berserk! I'm glad Oakley got past it. I'm taking it slow and only shutting her in for short periods of time, building a little every day. I hear you about the Jack Daniels-- it's as hard on us as it is on them-- maybe worse!
I'm putting the towel over the sides of the crate, Pat, and that is containing the mess, but it's slow going. Tad said both of her parents were easily crate trained, so I'm not sure what's up with Little Miss Ava. I sure hope she can get past it soon!
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If you haven't tried this, put something in her crate that is very high value…...a treat, bone, whatever......and lock the door so she can't get at it. Make sure she knows it is there, and give her time to build anticipation before opening the door for her to have it. Whether or not you lock her in with it, do not allow her to take it out of the crate. She must eat it or play with it there. Obviously short duration at first, and if I were doing this I would not lock the crate, but would enforce her not being allowed to leave the crate with the treat. It helps if it is something she can't just gobble down quickly. With luck, you can get her to change her opinion of that crate into something pleasant.
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Thanks, eeeefarm! That is good advice. I only give her kongs (filled with peanut butter or cheese) and bully sticks in her crate– both of which are her faves. She knows she can't take them out and will happily eat them in the crate... until the door shuts. Then she'll keep eating cautiously for a few minutes before the whimpers start. You can see the anxiety building as she starts circling and circling faster and faster, then it just explodes with her screaming and pounding frantically on the sides and bars of the crate with her paws... then comes the diarrhea. I'm no psychologist, but it looks like the canine equivalent of a panic attack. I think the crate may be a manifestation of a fear of confinement. She doesn't like it when I shut the door of a room, either. She scratches and paws at the door, even though I'm sitting calmly with her. I'm beginning to get the feeling that this may not just blow over.
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Wih Oakley, and that degree of panic- I use I put bacon or bologna in his crate and it would be untouched. It's a switch tht literally turns into the world is ending! I used to match stick Oakley so he'd go poop before input him in his crate, ex-pen, gated room..etc but he could have diarrhea on queue no matter how empty he was…it was awful, I used to cry when I came home (looking back its funny)...oh the days! He has come farther than I ever imagined at two...
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Oh, I can't shut a door even at two years old…whether I'm in the room I shut or not, he vehemently opposes shut doors or anything being denied access to something. It's no longer panic but he will run into the door and push it to open it...I can't go into the bathroom by myself!! But it's at a level I can live with.
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I only give her kongs (filled with peanut butter or cheese) and bully sticks in her crate– both of which are her faves. She knows she can't take them out and will happily eat them in the crate... until the door shuts. Then she'll keep eating cautiously for a few minutes before the whimpers start.
O.K. try this. Shut the door but reopen before she gets upset. If you are a clicker trainer, perhaps click the calmness and open the door. Move up the duration very gradually. This will work best with a treat that takes her awhile to eat. If she begins to tolerate being confined a little longer, than work on you moving away, a little at a time, from the crate. Hope you have lots of patience!!
Another thought (and this will be controversial) is to work with something like a scat mat. My guy will refrain from attacking doors or barriers that have a scat mat in front of them, as he knows the consequences. He may fuss and whine a bit, but since he is not really restrained, he doesn't have anything to fight against. Much like using an invisible fence…..
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Congrats on settling on a name! Ava is such a pretty name for your beautiful girl.
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I agree ..Ava is such a beautiful and wonderful name yet simple. jUst three words the child wont get hard when she goes to school.LOL
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Wih Oakley, and that degree of panic- I use I put bacon or bologna in his crate and it would be untouched. It's a switch tht literally turns into the world is ending! I used to match stick Oakley so he'd go poop before input him in his crate, ex-pen, gated room..etc but he could have diarrhea on queue no matter how empty he was…it was awful, I used to cry when I came home (looking back its funny)...oh the days! He has come farther than I ever imagined at two...
OMG, how long did this go on, Chealsie? Because of the crate soiling, Ava seems to have lost her cleanliness instinct and just goes anywhere, then walks through it and tracks it everywhere. We went from good housetraining progress to zero. We're going back to the vet on Monday, and if she checks out medically, I'm going to ask for a referral to a behaviorist at UT. For her sanity and mine.
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OMG, how long did this go on, Chealsie?
You know, I have come to the conclusion that most of us have short term memories, because if we remembered clearly what a pain it was at the beginning, we would never get another one! Whether raising from puppyhood or adopting an older dog with issues, there are always those days when you wonder if you were insane to take this "little bundle of joy" into your heart. Generally everything works out, or becomes "normal", and we laugh when we look back, and don't remember we were crying at the time. Hang in there. This too shall pass!
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Between my family and I, we have raised six Basenjis– not a lot, but we haven't seen anything like this. There is no improvement at all... and no signs that any of this may subside. I have read everything... tried everything... but nothing will calm her. I haven't slept much in almost three weeks, and my nerves are pretty much shot, too, at this point.
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Maybe you need to rethink the crate. Would it be possible to just avoid putting her in it for a time? When you are dealing with panic, the only thing I have found to work is for the animal to feel they are free to leave. A larger enclosure might work. My current boy does not like confinement, but is mostly fine with the run of the house. Not possible with a puppy, I know. But the house breaking going backward is not a good sign. Unfortunately I think the only thing that fixes that is vigilance. If she is not stressed, she should regain a more normal bathroom routine…..
Where does she sleep at night??
