Morning Tantrum in Crate

[LovingLola]

My husband and I are new to this forum and new basenji owners. Lola is 15 months old and we've had her for only a week. We got her from a breeder who got her back when her previous family could no longer look after her. So far, Lola's been sweet and mostly well behaved. We've successfully fallen completely in love.

The biggest issue right now is the little tantrums she throws each morning. We crate her for feeding, small blocks of time when we leave the house and at night. She was crate trained by her previous owners and usually goes in with little to no whining.

It's the mornings that are torture! We put her to bed at 10:30-11:30pm. She gets up after 6-7 hours of sleep, which is not enough sleep for me. Around 5 or 6 am she starts whining, screaming, circling and pawing at the door. Her tantrums are really loud and break my heart. Eventually, I'll get out of bed, she'll get quiet and I let her out. I think we should be waiting for her to get quiet on her own, without us having to get out of bed, but I don't know how long to wait. Plus, this morning, for the first time, she peed in her crate. I don't know if she's telling us she has to pee or just trying to trying get free of the crate. We take her out before bed, although she doesn't always use the opportunity to go potty. She always seems plenty tired and often gets in the crate on her own. If she could just sleep a little longer…

We would appreciate any suggestions or thoughts.

[tanza]

What I would do is if she starts whining at 5 or 6 is get up, put her out and then right back in the crate… that way you know for sure that she doesn't have to go potty.... I would guess it is a little of both, she wants out cause it is morning... and she has to pee... and especially if she has not gone before bed time. Do you have any idea if that is when they got her up in the previous home? If so, she is just doing what was the routine before...

[Quercus]

Yeah, I agree with Pat…she probably really has to go when she wakes up. I would either put her back in her crate, or let her sleep in the bed for the last hour or two.

[LovingLola]

Yeah, I think you're both right that she has to pee. That reminds me that one morning, after I took her out, we fell asleep on the couch together. That would support the having to pee theory. I don't know what her old schedule was like.

I'm worried that if I let her out and then go back to bed, she'll get used to that. I'm don't want to have to get up early, get dressed and take her out every morning. What do you think? I guess I could do it a couple times to test the theory. If that's it, we could start taking her water away a little earlier the evening before.

I would love to let her sleep in the bed, but our breeder thinks it really important to crate her at night. I could just leave the crate door open and she would probably go back in on her own.

[lvoss]

My 5 month old puppy needs to go out at about 6-7am. She will go back to sleep after she has been out to potty but she is just too young to hold it longer than that. As for the crate training, if you are crating all night and then just let her in the bed after the early potty break, she is still being crate trained.

[LovingLola]

Ivoss, I like your answer, because I would love to let her sleep with us a little in the morning . Thanks for the reassurance. I'll give it a try.

[Quercus]

Who is your breeder?

I agree that it is good to have a dog tolerate sleeping in a crate at night. But I don't think there is any reason that a dog MUST sleep in a crate, unless there are some other issues going on like resource guarding, etc.

You are still kind of getting to know Lola, so it is nice that your breeder is giving you some tips….but in the end, you will just find what feels comfortable for your family.

[LovingLola]

So far, I don't think there are any issues like resource guarding going on. She's very affectionate and has never snapped or growled at us. In fact she's very well behaved aside from the early morning screaming.

The breeder's feelings on this are coming to me from my husband, so I may have misinterpreted the whole must be crated thing. We're also still within a 30 day trial period, so it may be an issue of wanting Lola to stay well trained in case a new family has to be found.

Yeah, we'll have to figure some things out over time. My husband said the same thing.

[Quercus]

<>
Well, that absolutely makes sense. If it doesn't work out for Lola in your home, you definitely wouldn't want to make it difficult for the breeder or the next family to have her settle into a new routine.
Sounds like she is going to work out though

[LovingLola]

Ooops, forgot to answer your question about what breeder we used. We got Lola from Taji Basenjis (Katie Campbell), here in WA. She's been really great and I know she has Lola's best interests at heart. I have NO intention of giving her up, but Katie probably wants to make sure she can more easily find a new home. Especially since this is already her second home and I said I have allergies. I've had zero problems with allergies, by the way. (Yeay!)

[Quercus]

GREAT! Katie is the breeder of two of our dogs as well. Blondie and Bella; you can see their pics in the photo albums. Bella is the one in my avatar

[tanza]

Having them sleep in a crate till morning (regardless if it is their morning or yours) is crate training… and honestly if they wake up after 6 or 7 hours, regardless if you withhold water, they will still need to pee most likely... Sounds to me like that might have been her regular wake up time...

I would say let her go pee and all go back to bed...ggg... that is what I always did.... that became their special time...

[Quercus]

<_>

We have done that before too Two always sleep in the bed with us, but we have done a morning switch...before Ethan came along.....the little early riser that he is...I haven't gone back to bed in almost four years!_

[tanza]

@Quercus:

<_>

We have done that before too Two always sleep in the bed with us, but we have done a morning switch...before Ethan came along.....the little early riser that he is...I haven't gone back to bed in almost four years!_

_
LOL…. yes for some reason those human children just don't get the cuddle under the covers...like a Basenji... ggggg_

[jys1011]

before Ethan came along…..the little early riser that he is...I haven't gone back to bed in almost four years!

Andrea that's a scary thought :eek: I'm already up at 6am all week & no going back to bed for us :eek: :eek: I can't imagine doing this even earlier..uuuughhh lol

BTW-mine usually have to go pee as soon as they wake up too!

[LovingLola]

Well, this morning was a complete turn around. At about 6am, Lola woke up. I could hear her, but she wasn't in tantrum mode yet. I took her outside where she peed right away. Then we went in and she curled up and slept in the bed with us for another hour. The rest of the morning was easier too, because she stayed on the bed for a while with my husband while I got ready for the day. It was a real treat. Thanks for the advice!

[tanza]

Super, glad that it worked out….. I am sure she loved her special treat of sleeping in bed with you guys!

[jys1011]

HA!! Bingo…we have a winner! I luv when we find things that just work for these little guys.

[LovingLola]

Boy, did she ever love it! We loved it too! An actual quiet morning and snuggling with Lola…what could be more perfect than that?

In fact, when we went to bed last night, she expected to sleep in the bed with us right away. She put up a little fuss when we crated her, but calmed down pretty quickly. I'm a little worried about her continuing to put up a fuss and always wanting to be on the bed, but I'm hoping she'll just get used to the drill.

I want to get some steps for her too, because the bed is a little high for her. I've heard that can be bad for the joints in the long run.

[tanza]

I wouldn't think that the bed is too high and being young (15 months), should never be a problem for a Basenji…. and I am sure she will get used to the drill.... she might always fuss a little just to see if "maybe" she can go to bed with you... but sounds to me like she understands...