Screaming must stop!

[JENGOSMonkey]

@eeeefarm Shelties are the best! We bred Sables, Mahoganies, and Tris. I remember when we had three bitches all whelping at the same time. There were puppies everywhere. After about week three or four we'd crawl in the whelping boxes to hold pups and let them crawl on us. By weeks six, seven and eight... that was really fun because now they had teeth. Having one bite you everywhere is one thing. Try six attached to hands, feet clothing, hair, ears, nose. My favorite puppy of all time was a tri that I named Tar. I was in grade school and had a once a week paper route. Small paper. Tar learned to fetch and return a paper... at eight weeks old! I was crushed when Mom sold him. She had good reasons why we couldn't keep him, but being a kid... I wanted to scream when I came home and he was gone. Dogs can't sleep in the bed, can't have the dog I want, can't have a Blue Merle... all I get to do is pick up poop. :disappointed_but_relieved_face: I got over it. Mom certainly instilled in me a lifetime love of dogs and for that I'll always be grateful. Definitely Basenjis from now on though.

[tanza]

@jengosmonkey - Have to say, at one time I had 5 in bed with me... have to say it was a wee bit crowded... LOL.... I am very glad that my current Basenjis prefer their crates (which are in the bedroom) to the bed. They only time they come to sleep in bed is when they are not feeling well...and if only one is not feeling well 90% of the time the rest follow...sigh...! LOL... not bad in the winter but in the summer... way, way to hot, like having hot water bottles in bed with you!
very easy to tell when something is going on with them... and while is it fine for a couple of nights, I am very happy when they decide to go back to their crates! LOL

[mikesull]

After two horrendous episodes of crate defecating and pacing in it...... my 11 year old son talked me into taking our 11 week old Felix jumping in bed with him. I set the alarm for every few hours but was sure there was going to be an accident. Nope. Felix peed outside within 10 seconds each time i woke him up and each time was rewarded back in with son. We all had wonderful sleep. Son told me doesn’t care if Felix poops the bed he loves him so much. There goes crate training lol. We’ll see. What a ride.

[JENGOSMonkey]

@mikesull Ya know... I always tell my kid. Son, when you're grown up, got a job, are payin' all your own bills and have some left in you wallet for a hobby... find one. And don't let anyone give you grief about it. You're carrying your own weight. So, I don't care if you want your dog to sleep in a crate or on a bed. Your choice. That said... I admit to having a big ol' smile knowing that Felix is bunking with your 11yo. High Five!

I was never a crate fan till I got the two I have now that had been crate trained. OMG! Car travel is no longer a constant frantic drama scramble from one end the car the other the way it was for my first Basenji. I would encourage you not to give up crate training altogether. As I've leaned... It has it's place.

[tanza]

@mikesull - You can still crate train, feed him in the crate, give him treats in the crate and in the car for sure have him in a crate especially for safety. Think of it like your son being loose in a car and you have to slam on the brakes or in an accident... they would be flying all over the car... not safe for a human child or an animal.... period

[JKent]

@tanza 5!

[ChanningsMom]

Why did your breeder sell the dog to you that young? I thought most pups didn’t go to their new homes until 12-15 weeks old...

[JKent]

@mikesull glad you have found a solution that works for your family and gets everyone the most sleep! As others have said you can still continue to develop positive associations with the crate. My 9 month old starts the night in her bed next to ours and joins us in our bed at 4am. Although she prefer the back of the sofa in the day, she often chooses to sleep in her crate (door open) and runs to it to eat any highly prized treats!

[Zande]

@mikesull And you will find that by feeding him around 6 and not giving him anything more to eat before bedtime, he will gradually go for longer. Kito sleeps with me and Mku, and for the first bit I carried him down to the garden every time he got restless. He pee-d instantly every time.

But one night I just slept through - and so did he !

So by 11 weeks I was only carrying him downstairs about 6.30 when I collect the (delivered) newspapers. Instant unleashing of the flood gates outside the back door ! And back to bed to read the papers.

These days he just follows me down when I pick them up, no need to carry him.

And absolutely no worries about accidents for the last month or so. He is 16 weeks today.

[tanza]

@channingsmom - Depends on the situation as to the age pups are sent home. I use 10wks as the normal, but if they have had Basenji experience or have an adult Basenji or another breed will do 9wks. I do 1st shots at 9wks and also eye exams before sending them home. But again that can change depending on the situations.

[mikesull]

Quick update - Felix (now 12 weeks) slept in gated kitchen two nights in a row with zero - zero whimpers or complaints. Transferred from couch around 9pm to kitchen dog bed. Peed on newspapers only. I have a bed set up along with a dog carrier “den” that is not zipped shut. He seems to use them both throughout evening. He is getting tons of exercise daily. I think the reality is simply 8 weeks was just too young to do anything. The metal crate has been packed away.

[Zande]

@mikesull Great news - But there is one thing I would warn you about. The reason we use metal crates is because Basenjis tend to shred fabric ones !

There is probably (definitely !) a great deal of difference in the way breeders rear their pups in the first few weeks. Mine got their first shot at 8 weeks and went to their new homes at 8.5 weeks. But by then they were crate trained, almost totally potty-trained and certainly collar and lead trained. And born in the kitchen alongside the Aga, they were accustomed to noises - dropped pans, oven doors slamming, radio.

You have done extremely well, given the frustrating start.

[yahtzee92]

@jkent said in Screaming must stop!:

I have a 9 month old who wanted to follow us everywhere at first. It was a lot easier once she was old enough to safely climb the stairs.

As she has matured we are finding that she often chooses to stay in the other room or in her (open) crate as long as the door isn't closed and she can come and find us if she needs us.

Looking back it was quite a short space of time that she had this intense need, but it was hard not knowing when it would end. Letting go and allowing her to follow us made it a lot less stressful.

Interesting.. my B seems to go for anything and everything. The couch, walls, tv console (lol), etc. I can't imagine ever being able to leave him alone anywhere.

Right now I believe a big reason why he can be destructive is I can't exercise him properly since he isn't fully vaccinated. Very excited for that day (9 days~) so I can get this little dude a proper workout.

[tanza]

@yahtzee92 - After the first shot, you can exercise him.... you just need to use some common sense. Do not let him sniff other dogs poop, stay away from dog parks, keep mostly to the sidewalk or road...go to pet store, home depot, Lowes, etc.... lots of isles to wander in, meet and greet. Many make that mistake on socialization at critical ages.

[Zande]

@tanza Vets seem to vary over here in the advice they give. Some insist on not leaving the premises until the final jab - but of how many - two or these days it seems to be three ?

My vet says a couple of days after the 2nd jab is OK but some of Kito's siblings have been told to wait for the third. Others say ok after the first.

Personally, I think its OK to be careful after they have some protection and would agree with @tanza. No dog parks or heavily frequented areas, no sniffing dog's poo - somewhere quiet where the pup and you can relax.

As for socialising - I have an excellent sling and mine have gone out with the older dogs, carried around my shoulders and not touching the ground but meeting all kinds of strange looking critturs including horses !

[tanza]

@zande - Also you need to work their minds, not just the body.... sit, down, stay, fetch, etc. And yes Zande, Vets here say the same not till after the 3rd shot... When I first got my Basenjis in the 70's I followed their advise. They got sick all the time... after that it was after the 1st shot we would go out... they need to be out to build up Immunity... never had an issue nor did they rarely get sick.

[yahtzee92]

@zande said in Screaming must stop!:

@tanza Vets seem to vary over here in the advice they give. Some insist on not leaving the premises until the final jab - but of how many - two or these days it seems to be three ?

My vet says a couple of days after the 2nd jab is OK but some of Kito's siblings have been told to wait for the third. Others say ok after the first.

Personally, I think its OK to be careful after they have some protection and would agree with @tanza. No dog parks or heavily frequented areas, no sniffing dog's poo - somewhere quiet where the pup and you can relax.

As for socialising - I have an excellent sling and mine have gone out with the older dogs, carried around my shoulders and not touching the ground but meeting all kinds of strange looking critturs including horses !

Been using a sling which has been great.. brought him to a bunch of places in it already.

Finding a area people don't frequent in LA? Ha.. I did let him out to eliminate on a hike in areas "off the path" which I felt were acceptable.

Anyways, he gets his last jab in a week. I've been careful so far so I can wait the extra 7 days to start walking him properly.

@tanza My vet strongly advised to wait til the 3rd jab so I'm erring on the side of caution. LA is just too heavily trafficked and everyone seems to have a dog these days.

[mikesull]

Hi all - just an update on Felix and the “non-crating”. He is doing sooooo well being gated in kitchen now. Zero whimpers or complaints when transferring from couch with me (he is always zonked) to his dog bed. Now that he is 3 months he is having less and less pee/poops on newspapers. I wake up two times during night and he goes outside for a minute to pee. So the crate is gone forever. What a difference.

Other thing is I am getting him tons of exercise and maybe should scale back? He is limping today. Seems fine but maybe 3 months too early for so much action. The limp seems minor. Limps a bit and then i see him put weight on it 2 mins later. Might be nails as i clipped them yday. He snoozed all night long and after eating this morn he is out cold again lol. Have exercise in store for today but maybe scale back and get this little one some rest?

[Zande]

@mikesull That is brilliant news - He will soon be totally clean at night. Yes, it is entirely possible you are over-doing the exercise. He needs to grow stronger and mature before you overwork those wee leg muscles. They are so keen and eager, it is easy to do but try to scale it back a bit for another couple of months or so.