That's great that you were able to come home to no problems! Tosca surprised us too, once. My husband I had our grad classes after work one day, so we were going to be gone from 7am-9pm, WAY too long for Tosca to be in her crate without a break. So, even though we knew it would be a long day, we asked our aunt to come and let her out and feed her around suppertime, then put her back, so at least she would get a break. We threw around the idea of leaving her out, but I didn't quite trust it, so I said she should go back in the crate. Well, somehow communication got confused, and she left her out. She called me at class to tell me, so of course for the last 2 hours I am afraid of what I will come home to! Luckily when we got home, nothing seemed out of place, and Tosca seemed happy. The only weird thing I noticed, don't know if it was coincidence or if something happened, but the next day she could not lift her tail, and cried out when we touched it. She otherwise had energy and was eating, so she was not sick, it was just injured. The vet said that she may have strained something and for her to just lay low for awhile. Luckily the next day afterward she was fine, so who knows what that was…that was the longest time she has ever been out of the crate!
In the past, I did what you described, and did little tests to see if she would be ok, I would go away on short trips, and put up ANYTHING valuable that she could destroy. However, this was before she developed the unfortunate habit of chewing remotes, DVD's, laptops, and sometimes even cords. Since I cannot put all these things away, I no longer trust leaving her alone, more for her own safety than anything else, since she could easily eat something that would get blocked in her system.
If you must crate her, don't worry about it being too long. Tosca is in the crate from 7-4 every school day (we are both teachers) without a problem. I just try to take her for a LONG walk most days, and my husband is good at playing/wrestling with her inside to get out energy. Its not ideal, but Tosca does fine with it, and at least she gets a break over holidays and the summer.
As for chew toys, I would strongly advise against rawhide. Before I knew much about it, I would give Tosca rawhide in her crate while we were gone. Then, as I was buying it once in the pet store, the salesperson warned me about the possible choking dangers. She said to make sure to supervise them at all times. Well, sure enough, that night Tosca was chewing rawhide and began choking, my husband had to reach in her throat and get it out...scary! So now she still occasionally gets rawhide, but since she has started to choke several times, she ONLY gets it when we are right next to her, and I take it away IMMEDIATELY if she gets any large piece off...we just trade for a treat and that works good. Since then (about a year now) we have had no choking problems.
Sorry this is so long...hope it helps!
We crated Booger until about 8 months, but he was very aggressive when being put in the crate. We tried putting high value treats in there & making it more comfortable, etc etc but he just hated it. HATED it. He got to the point where he shredded the plastic pan in the bottom. Asking a former basenji owner for advice, I was told her dad had basenji proofed their kitchen for their childhood b. They secured the doors with floor bolts & he stayed in the kitchen while they were gone.
We started by putting up a baby gate to a bedroom (so the cats could still have full access to the house) & leaving him in there for short trips only (15-30 minutes… still very scary!)
We increased to full days (8 hours or so while at work) & have never once had a problem. One day we forgot to put the gate up, and he behaved. So we stopped putting the gate up. He now has free access to the entire house (except the cats' areas) & he never abuses it. He seems to "know" that its a special privelage & knows if he destroys anything he'll go back to crating.
However, Booger is a special dog... very laid back for a basenji & we do allow him to destroy any paper we accidently (or purposely) leave around. That's the only thing he'll touch. So I think we just got lucky.
Lola is a chew monster. She gets crated anytime we can't be in the same room with her (even for short showers). We tried the bedroom experiment with her this week & came back to find a 2 foot diameter hole in my very expensive sheet :eek: 
grr
I did the same kind of thing Andrew did - gradually getting my dog used to the house - opening up a room one day at a time. There are plenty of toys around and the only treats I leave for him are the biscuit types (I only give small size) or maybe a few pieces of kibble - never rawhide or pizzle sticks or anything of that sort. I do make sure no plastic bags or packages are near the edges of tables or on the floor (what is it about plastic that dogs like) and he can't really get to any of the windows except the patio door (and I leave the blinds down on that one). I always always make sure he gets first attention as soon as I walk in the door - in addition to pets and hugs he gets let out into the yard immediately and we go for a walk as soon as I can change my shoes (well sometimes I might have to delay until I can get the ice cream in the freezer :)).
When we had just our boy he was always crated…..and honestly he still loves his crate and will go in on his own. After we adopted our two girls from BRAT we started having problems with the oldest girl. She actually destroys crates and escapes in the process. Now they are all loose when we leave and do pretty good. Once in a while something small gets ripped up. Usually something the two legged kids leave out!!!! I do have a blind in the front of the house they have messed up from looking out the window.
Dash has had free reign for about a year now. He has been an angel. I think he sleeps all day. I don't give him rawhide when we are not there to watch him. He has a toy basket but tends to chew the basket instead. We planned on gradually letting him out but he had other plans. He kept escaping from the expen so we just left him out. The cats stay in the basement during the day so we don't have to worry about them.
The doggie door has been a lifesaver and we don't stress if we can't get home in time. When we had a foster we blocked off the kitchen so the foster couldnt' get out into the house but Dash could go wherever he wanted.
Good luck.
so, per everyones advice i have tried to do small tests with kiro to let her out…
Every time i ran out this weekend she goes in her crate, I push the door close and dont lock it..... i proof the house and close doors and place treats everywhere to keep her entertained. then i leave and pray that its okay.
upon my return i get so excited/nervous to see what happened.... out of the 10 times ive tried this.... she wont come out!!!!!!
2 times she even had the door opened some and still stayed in!!! do you think shes scared? or just dosent understand the concept that im letting her out... I cant figure out why she would be such a good girl and stay in the crate. But i certainly dont know how to leave the house with her out of the crate. i think she would get nervous unless she lets herself out. 
please advise, what do you think of this? why isnt she coming out? Its almost like she wants to stay in, butthen again shes escaped before (unplanned) hmmmmm...
we will see today what happened. today we are gone for a long time and didnt lock it up soooooooo....
She's probably just conditioned to staying in the crate now. Try leaving her in the crate with the door open and take some short trips and see if she explores on her own that way. I wouldn't worry - she sounds like she'll be okay.
that is funny that she stayed in her crate! Does she ever go in there on her own when you are at home? I like the previous suggestion of trying to leave her in the crate but with the door open. I am not sure, but I would worry that if I closed the door and didn't lock it, and she finally realized she can open it, that she might have problems if you ever DO have to lock her in it, and she tries to get out and it won't open. Maybe not, just something that crossed my mind…good luck!
I would say that she is "happy" in her crate…. but I would try just leaving the crate door open... as noted by Jully18.....
We use to crate Shelby while we gone during the day. We felt guilty and started giving her trial periods outside her kennel. I guess we always thought "what if"? What if she's really good and we never give her a chance? It has had it's ups and downs. For the most part she is great. But there have been occassional times she's chewed on the couch and she chewed some drywall off by the door and she loves to chew the stuffing out of our pillows. So 90% of the time she's an angel and the rest we just deal with.
On the flip side, Indi LOVES his crate. Its his spot where no one else can go. He goes in willingly when I have to go to work and is just chillin when I come home. There is actually a certain amount of time he wants to be there. For instance when I am home all day and don't put him in the kennel he will go in and sleep there at night. If I put him in his kennel for the day he will sleep outside with me. Sooo just the other side of the coin.
rnasto, that is what crates should be…a wonderful place for the dogs to be.
Sadly, many times, the dogs are left too long in the crates, and they find it more of a prison than a retreat.
Hugs for getting it right!
rnasto, that is what crates should be…a wonderful place for the dogs to be.
Sadly, many times, the dogs are left too long in the crates, and they find it more of a prison than a retreat.
Hugs for getting it right!
Exactly… the crate for those that accept it.. (and yes there are some that will never accept) it is a great tool.... I for one use it especially when we are having work around the house... I never have to worry about a door being opened, a gate left open... it is a safe haven for them.. and me too...
I used to crate Banshee for a while, when we had to leave home without the dogs. But she was in the same room with the others so she did not feel alone. She chewed electric cables, therefore it was necessary to have her on the safe side.
Now, after we have moved to Denmark, we have a own dogs room in the house, where they are safe: all electric plugs have been removed. There are no cables in there. They have a floor heating and some old sofas there. Water, toys or chewies are obligatory. They have a good sized window to check the garden (which is quite boring during the daytime).
And as I do own 5 dogs, I do not have all of them in the dogs room, but the ones which are in "danger" to have a destruction purpose. This works out really fine and as I also use this room for reading or grooming the dogs, it is not like a "prison" for them, but like a regular room…
Regards,
Esther
Shango doesn't go in a crate either. He behaves perfectly fine when I leave him out. He has his toys, he has access to his water and I usually just find him asleep on my bed when I come home.
I know, it's improper training, but his previous owner abused him with a crate so he doesn't go in. We've bonded quite strongly though, and he's a good boy for me.
I don't crate my dog either.
We just deal with "issues" when they crop up.
Mostly, the 2 b's sleep…
BUT hubby gives them a long walk in the am before we leave for work.
I only use the crate at home for training when they're puppies. Once they're potty trained I leave them out for short periods of time while I leave and once I know they can be trusted..I don't use them anymore. The house just isn't big enough. I rarely have any problems and when I do it's mostly my vizsla counter surfing…while Apache and Chey cheer him on I'm sure. I do have one up now that Apache eats in but the door is always open and that's the only time it's used.
No crating here, either. We tried, but She-Ra wasn't having it.
As long as we don't do anything stupid (leave a game controller or a remote or book out) we usually come back to no problems. There's always the occasional flareup, but mostly she curls up in her "nest" at the top of our couch where she sleeps.
I only use the crate at home for training when they're puppies. Once they're potty trained I leave them out for short periods of time while I leave and once I know they can be trusted..I don't use them anymore. I rarely have any problems and when I do it's mostly my vizsla counter surfing….
Ditto here (partial quote). Great post!!
BTW, my sister has 2 Vizsla and she claims they're just big Basenjis behavior wise. She's across the country but we have hiked, rock hopped, and camped together with the dogs, and they seem to be VERY similar.
Her 14 year old V refuses to go out to pee if it's raining or if there is a heavy dew on the grass. Licks to clean pads, feet, legs, and body in an obsessive manner if wet (humans and dog pals alike, not even necessarily a family pack member). Will run the V500 without provocation. Stands on hind legs and will "kangroo box" while playing. Sometimes, when pique is aroused, will even reach out and b##ch slap you, or another dog, up side the head for some perceived injustice that the rest of us have no clue about.:D
Do your V's do this also??
Shadow is now 5 and hasn't been crated since he was about a year old. He has had no destruction issues. Sugar is 3 and has not been crated since she was very young. She has always had crate issues. I'll leave a pee pad down and if she really, REALLY needs to go she will go on that, but that is few and far between. And is usually caused by her anal glands bothering her-I give her cornmeal and carrots and she's fine in a few days. No destruction from her either. I will not leave Damisi out, (she's a different line) because destruction is her middle name!
