Skip to content
Basenji Forums
  1. Home
  2. Behavioral Issues
  3. He just hates his crate. Anyone else with this problem?

He just hates his crate. Anyone else with this problem?

Behavioral Issues
  • jys1011J

    I use the DAP diffuser & I think it's helped us out quite a bit. Topaz stopped peeing & pooping in her crate. I won't stop using it now for fear that she may go back to soiling her crate.

    Basenji Mom of C3PO & TOPAZ

    0
  • jys1011J

    I'm going to try using the spray for car trips as they both get very anxious on car rides.

    Basenji Mom of C3PO & TOPAZ

    0
  • JazzysMomJ

    Hmmm, I just noticed that I have some amitriptyline left over from last year when our cat was exhibiting odd behavior {ie, peeing every BUT the litter box even though her health check was fine}. The stuff worked great and she almost immediately started using the litter box again.

    I think I'm going to call my vet and ask about trying it on Keoki. {It doesn't expire until Sept. 07}. He just saw Keoki a couple of weeks ago, so I'm hoping he doesn't insist on seeing him again. . .

    I wonder how safe I'd be in just giving it to him. I don't think it's a prescription item as it can be ordered on petmeds.com .

    0
  • JazzysMomJ

    LOL so I went to PetCo today and bought new bedding for Keoki's crate – one blanket-type pad and actually a very cushy cat bed that I figured would give him a cozy, cuddly feeling.

    He can't get near the crate. Jazzy is curled up inside and growls like a Tasmanian Devil any time Keoki gets near the door. LOL

    Great. Right effect, wrong dog.

    0
  • youngandtiredY

    Would it be possible that the new puppy smells Jazzy in the crate and is afraid. After all Jazzy does not like her to get near the crate, maybe she is nerveous about it b/c of Jazzy's reaction when she gets near. Just wondering!!!!

    0
  • QuercusQ

    I would try using an X-pen, possible with a cover. And retrain him to the crate. A big PIA for sure. But he is defintiely crate phobic at this point. You have to take teeny tiny baby steps. Put some kind of treat in there that he loves outside the crate, like a stuffed bone or raw bone. Lock it in there, and let him see it…talk it up. Let him in and get chewing on it. Close the door. Hopefully he will be busy chewing on it; count to 10 and open the door. Call him out with a treat. Take the chew away. Do many short training sessions per day. Have another place to put him when he needs to be confined (xpen). Once he is comfortable with the count to ten, start extending the time. Once he is comfortable with a minute or two walk out of the room, come back let him out. You get the idea....baby steps....never let him out if he starts screaming, but try to let him out while he still wants to be in with the chewie.

    Good luck...and sorry...I know how bad this situation feels :(

    Andrea Walters

    Quercus Basenjis

    NW Ohio

    0
  • nomrbddgsN

    I've also had to use a bigger crate/cage to retrain dogs. It does work, but takes a bit of time.

    Arlene, the Basenji Brats with the Boxenji![](images/smilies/biggrin.png "Big Grin")

    0
  • JazzysMomJ

    Dare I hope?

    Last night I put Keoki into his crate all by himself, with the new bedding – a fake fleece crate pad and the cat bed pillow -- and he went right in, went to sleep, and slept quietly until 6 AM!! He didn't even fuss when I got up, but waited with waggly tail until I opened the door!

    I'm afraid to get too excited, lest this be a cruel fluke, but wow~ it's exciting!!

    0
  • jys1011J

    OOOOHHH I'm keeping our paws & fingers crossed for you & keoki :)

    Basenji Mom of C3PO & TOPAZ

    0
  • QuercusQ

    @JazzysMom:

    Dare I hope?

    Last night I put Keoki into his crate all by himself, with the new bedding – a fake fleece crate pad and the cat bed pillow -- and he went right in, went to sleep, and slept quietly until 6 AM!! He didn't even fuss when I got up, but waited with waggly tail until I opened the door!

    I'm afraid to get too excited, lest this be a cruel fluke, but wow~ it's exciting!!

    That would be great! Here's hoping!

    Andrea Walters

    Quercus Basenjis

    NW Ohio

    0

Suggested Topics

  • A

    Problem with Crating !!!!

    Behavioral Issues
    6
    0 Votes
    6 Posts
    3k Views
    Chealsie508C
    It's true, I've never had to even think about crating until I got Oakley. All previous breeds were no problem staying loose in the house, oak is very house destructive so that was a no go, we also went through crate phobia but at 16 months he tolerates it better than I ever imagined
  • KipawaK

    Marking problem

    Behavioral Issues
    47
    0 Votes
    47 Posts
    19k Views
    KipawaK
    @Therese: I avoid calling him dominant because that word seems to draw fire in the dog world with new training methods and I don't really know that describes what he is. Sober is also a therapy dog and exceptionally good with small children and the tiniest of dogs. He completely respects me and my husband and without much formal training is probably one of my best trained dogs. That said he (who Kipawa is very much like) is very strong willed. When Fran took Kipawa we warned her consistant fair ongoing training would give her a Sober in her house, but letting him take over or encouraging it will likely give him license to challenge situations. I think she and Darrell understand this and are doing a great job. I think continuing what they plan will be great and they will have an amazing adult dog when he is finished. Kipawa is out of a line that matures very slowly and for his health and well being we believe in his case it would be good to wait to neuter him when he is fully mature. I think the key is changing the behavior, by peeing Kipawa out (maybe only a dribble will remain as would with my boys) it will likely not cause as much embarassment or damage while the behavior is corrected. If Kipawa has his dad's bladder (which he did when he lived here) he can pee quite a lake if left to his own.Therese I am so thankful, Therese, for you and Kevin guiding us with Kipawa. As you mention Sober's peeing ability, Kipawa is definitely the same. He does have a healthy, big bladder. He gets a good pee right before we go to bed around 10:30 p.m., and upon rising at 7:30 a.m., he is not interested in going out right away to pee. He needs/wants his 'loves' in the morning. We do that 'within' our morning routine. I have a coffee first, at which time he sits with me, and after that he goes out for his first morning sniffs of the day and a pee. Then he is fed. We are using the technique of 'peeing him out', and that is really working for us. After about 4 good long leg lifts, he usually only has drops left. Then when those go, the problem of peeing on people is 'eliminated'. Kipawa is also going to be a therapy dog like his Dad Sober (meet and greet paraplegic and quadriplegic folks). He is very loving to any human he meets. We are working very hard on the 'good neighbour' requirements and we have accomplished many of them. And we have decided to leave Kipawa intact until he is fully mature. Over the last week I have spoken to and read so much information on the detriments of neutering. As Therese said, being fair and firm lets Kipawa know who the leader is. Perhaps that is a better word than dominant - just indicate your dog is a 'lead dog'.
  • S

    Peeing in the crate!

    Behavioral Issues
    11
    0 Votes
    11 Posts
    4k Views
    tanzaT
    Many puppies will totally forget about house training when they really start to teeth…. so just always go back to housetraining 101
  • V

    Peeing in Crate

    Behavioral Issues
    2
    0 Votes
    2 Posts
    1k Views
    tanzaT
    Because she spent so much of her young life in a crate.. it will be a struggle, IMO, for her to get the idea that it is not an acceptable place for pee/poop… time, I think will reverse the behavior, but I would also say that she will "never" be trustworthy in a crate.....
  • C

    Crate Saga part 2: Is it possible some Basenjis just can't be crated?

    Behavioral Issues
    28
    0 Votes
    28 Posts
    11k Views
    JazzysMomJ
    @luvsmy2bs: Have things gotten any better? Just curios,,,,,,I was reading your post and felt really sorry for you. Currently I have turned my dd's bedroom – thankfully she's away at college -- into a kennel. There is a 6 x 4' ex-pen w/top taking up the entire floor space of her room. Both Jazzy's and Keoki's crates are in there. At night he sleeps okay in that ONLY as long as BOTH crates remain open into the pen. If I close either crate, he flips out. During the day when we have to go out, as yesterday and today, I have to remove all "real" bedding and leave just paper toweling. Yesterday I made the mistake of leaving a small piece of carpet UNDER Jazzy's crate, and when we got home it had been pulled out and torn to shreds. It is obvious that he still wigs out, even in the large pen w/Jazz as today I noticed that the front of his crate {above the door, which was open} has been all chewed up, even though he was not shut in. Still working with the behaviorist; she and the vet are thinking long-term meds may be in order. That is still being discussed. He's going to hurt himself one day if we don't get a handle on this...and eventually dd is going to be home from college; then what? We can't travel with him like this either.
  • youngandtiredY

    Greeting Problem

    Behavioral Issues
    3
    0 Votes
    3 Posts
    2k Views
    M
    Amen to the leash. That was my salvation in terms of fear of Gibby bolting out or jumping on visitors. After many months of making this the norm, he now sits and waits for the leash to go on and allows people in without immediately jumping on them. Naturally, he is curious after he is unleashed but he doesn't feel the need to jump up to get attention. With B's it sure does take months of reinforcement to get the concept identified but they will respond if you are consistent.