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Morning Tantrum in Crate

Basenji Training
  • 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.

  • 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.

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    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 :)

  • 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!)

  • 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 :)

  • 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...

  • <_>

    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!_

  • @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_

  • 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!

  • 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!

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

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

  • 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.

  • 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...

  • Well, I just experienced a little Basenji owner embarrasment. I work at a church and live next door. My husband and I put Lola in her crate, went to lunch for 1 hour and returned. Apparently, she was making so much noise that a neighbor came over to the church because they thought she was being abused or something was dreadfully wrong. :confused: They could hear her in the church office too. The secratary at our office even let herself into the house to check on her. All she did was say her name to try and calm her down and then she left. Needless to say they weren't happy and I was totally embarassed. I then called my husband who said she peed in the crate.

    Any thougts? I'm not sure why this was a big deal. It makes me wonder if we're not setting up our relationship as the alfa correctly and that obedience class is something we should start asap…even if it's mostly for our education. I mean, I don't think this is about having to pee. She did that earlier this morning and it seems she should be able to hold it longer.

  • Do you usually crate her when you go out? Was this something different in her schedule? If she is not normally crated when you go out then it is something she will need to learn. Dogs do not generalize well so when something changes it is sometimes like training the behavior all over again. Also, I always potty my dogs before going into the crate. It is part of their routine. They go out to potty then come in and get their crate treat in their crates.

  • We've never left her home alone without crating her. My husband is iften home, so we haven't had to crate her much outside of nighttime. We should have taken her out right before. You're right that it's not part of a regular routine. Sometimes we do it for dinner, but I don't think we've ever done it for lunch. Do you give her a treat that she can take a while to eat, like a bone? We just gave her a little jerky treat for getting into the crate.

  • For sure she should have toys in her crate… and maybe a kong filled with goodies for her... and yes of course a walk before the crate would be in order... I would never just expect them to "hold it" because they went earlier in the morning...

  • I'm so glad I found these forums :D I'm embarassed at how little I know, but grateful that you are all so willing to share your wisdom. You know, this is my first dog ever. :o

    All we have are fuzzy toys and we've been waiting for the previous owners to send her other toys. We should probably get her something more interactive or something to chew on. Any suggestions for good crate toys?

    Kongs are new to me too. I'll have to get one of those and fill it with something fun. No peanut butter though…I'm seriously allergic to nuts.

  • I have used various things but stuffed kongs or a stuffed sterilized bones are favorites. You can actually seal the ends with a little cream cheese and have the middle stuffed with their breakfast, lunch, or dinner so they are really just eating their regular meal with a couple of hidden surprises to make it interesting. It is like hidden treasure for them and mine will pull them out of their crates at the end of the day just to check to make sure they got every last bit of flavor out of them.

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9 May 2007, 21:01

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    Basenji Training 27 Apr 2021, 12:02
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    @sanjibasenji said in Crate training: I have much respect for that accumulated knowledge, but, not to sound rude, that does not make that person a certified or licensed trainer. I actually was offended by what you posted. You said you respect the knowledge, but disregard it because they aren't a "certified or licensed trainer"? These are well-intentioned breeders who volunteer to engage with others on the Forum in an attempt to educate and celebrate this amazing dog breed. They share their knowledge. You don't have to agree with them. Offer your opinion and move on. Please don't suggest that their opinion, experience, and education isn't valid because they aren't "certified" or "licensed". Your overall intent screams that you believe yourself to be better than the rest of us: "I'm a scientist with a PhD." Which puts the rest of us beneath you? In education and social stature? You couldn't know about anyone's socioeconomic status, educational achievements, or expertise on any subject. But you deemed to think it was appropriate to put us in our place. And that, was rude. Even the analogy you offered is an indication that you don't value anyone who doesn't have a degree. Frankly, if you are hearing conflicting opinions about the same piece of art, get a third opinion. The person with the degree may have just scraped by with a C+, while the person who devoted decades may have been under the tutelage of a Master Artist. And really, if you are planning to purchase such a prized piece of Art, shouldn't you educate yourself so you can make an intelligent decision instead of allowing others to tell you what to buy? As an aside: The original YouTube link remains, but we certainly do not need her entire catalog of videos. Sharing information is one thing, advertising for someone is another. I would hope that you understand that not everything you see online is true. Including claims to be an expert, certified, trained, Dr., etc., etc. Lots of people in the world are just selling a story.
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    Basenji Training 20 Nov 2010, 15:51
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    @Janneke: Sorry.. but she hates her crate… and she has to be in it for 8 hours a day... And you don't walk her in the morning...? I would start with making sure your dog is tired in the morning before you put her in her crate. And maybe you can try to leave her loose in the house so she can move around? This is not only to you, but I read it so often on this forum that dogs spend entire days in their crates... I just don't understand that people can put their dogs in crates 8+ hours a day (I'm not including nights..) I agree with Janneke here - if she hates her crate, she may pee in it because she gets extremely unhappy there. Not all dogs need to be crated - I've never had a dog who was crated, and the two I have now are loose when we're gone because Shaye, who was 10 weeks when we got her, always hated it, never changed, and started breaking baby teeth on it. When we leave we leave them with a treat to get their immediate attention, and they usually sleep or keep themselves busy, with no damage or upset. Of course, we aren't usually gone more than 6 hours when we leave them.
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    Basenji Training 26 Sept 2009, 19:52
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    When you feed him in the crate and close do you walk away? I had a foster that was terrified of the crate and also suffered terrible anxiety w/peeing in the crate too. So I would feed him in the crate and then close the door and sit right there with him. At first I only closed the door half way, did that way for about a week then was able to close it all the (without latching) for another week. I would sit right next to the crate and praise him for eating his meals. Then I would scoot a few feet back at one meal, move back at the next and do that for a for a few times. Then I would stay at the few feet back. It is a slow process but it really really helped him in his crate training process and getting him over his fear. I was soon able to feed him in his crate and walk away. He was running to his crate and sitting for his meals. He still had his anxiety for long periods w/the peeing problem but we even worked on that were we could leave for short times and he wouldn't pee in his crate
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    Basenji Training 1 Jul 2009, 09:27
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    I have the same story as nobarkus - we moved our first puppy's crate around a few times. Even from a full backyard view to a shared front bay window view (had to make room for B #2), she's always been pretty good. I think as long as the pup understands crate = happy place, you'll be fine with wherever. I used & still use treats. And to my much appreciated surprise, my little crate hater boy has become the model crated B of the 2 - he was soooooo vocal during his first month, but now he just lounges - and now my female is the whiner. :p
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    Basenji Training 15 Feb 2008, 18:55
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    mia only gets water when were there to watch her and take her out about 10-15 minutes later.. whenever shes taken out of the crate she goes straight outside.. and before we put her in we take her out again, whether thats 15 or 20 minutes or an hour. i've quickly learned that water goes RIGHT through them. so taking the water out of the cage should work! she has an occasional accident but not everyday.