Hi my Basenji, Delle and I have just joined the forum

[Geddyupgo]

Hello everyone. I've had 4 Basenji's over the past 25 years but just found this forum.

My dog who is 10 seems to be undergoing some personality/separation(??) issues after eating a Swifter duster in early June. She'd developed some vomiting issues about 2 weeks prior to the swifter but we thought she was on the road back to health. Lately she's become destructive in her closed in area (the kitchen),bitting through the baby gates barring the doorway and chewing the living room rug at the doorway. I moved her back to her crate (she was a show dog and was very used to crating but we've not used it in about 5 years) and she got in willingly enough with a treat. Each day since she has become more destructive, screaming and screeching in her crate when I leave and return and chewing through the carpeting on the crate floor. The screaming and screeching now also occurs when she is riding with me in the car (and she has always loved car rides) so maybe it's not separation anxiety. She's quiet for the most part when we are home together and she is not in her crate. Last trip to the vet - did a complete chem screen and showed nothing abnormal but I will take her into see the vet again tomorrow. Taking her to my part-time job is not an option and neither is doggy care (which she used to love) as I'm retired and on an unbelieveably tight budget.

If anyone has in behavioral insight into what's going on I would love to hear from you. Since I need to keep her safe in the interim, I'd also be interested in knowing what type of crates you guys recommend (I have a Kennel-aire 154 but I need to replace the tray - preferably with a metal item because she all know how Basenji's can chew plastic trays).

Thanks for your help and I hope to be an active member of this site for a long time to come.