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Pooping in crate - why?

Basenji Training
  • J

    Our basenji mix (Sophie) is 7 months old. She is crate trained and stays in the crate when we are not at home. She sleeps on a dog bed in our room at night.

    Since we put up our Christmas tree yesterday and moved her crate about 15 feet to the other end of the room, she has pooped in her crate the last two times we have left for 4-5 hour periods. Before we left, we took her out to do her business and she is on a normal eating schedule. No new toys or blankets in the crate either - only change is the location of the crate.

    We have come home and had to do the whole bath and crate cleaning thing. It's odd - she's only pooped one other time in her crate and only a couple of isolated incidences in the house at all - I would say she is 99% house trained.

    No other pets or children in the home. Just us two.

    Any ideas…? We are hoping this isn't a trend and if it is we want to nip it in the bud quickly!

    :confused:

    Thanks.

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  • S

    Have you tried moving the crate back to the original spot to see if this pooing stops?

    Sharron Hurlbut

    BRAT, basenji rescue

    Evergreen basenji club

    Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue

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  • T

    Since this started when you moved the crate, I would say this certainly has something to do with it….

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

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  • J

    It is back in its original location and the christmas tree is blocking the front door. We shall see if this does the trick. We will give an update later tonight. Thanks!!!

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  • J

    She spent four hours in the crate and no accidents. Who knew that 15 feet would cause such stress???

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  • J

    my dog was just as picky once upon a time. first we tried the crate in our 4-season porch… no. then we tried livingroom... no. then we tried dining room... no. finally we had a winning location.. smack dab in the middle of the kitchen. lol. I put a nice piece of wood on top and viola... a table. beggars can't be choosers, right? I say if you have a happily crate trained B, let the crate be where it needs to be. glad to hear moving it back solved the problem!

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  • S

    @jessi76:

    my dog was just as picky once upon a time. first we tried the crate in our 4-season porch… no. then we tried livingroom... no. then we tried dining room... no. finally we had a winning location.. smack dab in the middle of the kitchen. lol. I put a nice piece of wood on top and viola... a table. beggars can't be choosers, right? I say if you have a happily crate trained B, let the crate be where it needs to be. glad to hear moving it back solved the problem!

    OMG!! I'm laughing my butt off…re: "viola... a table". We do what we have to do for these brats!!

    Thanks for the laugh!!

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  • J

    Today was a "green light" as well - no poop while we were at work. Woo Hoo!

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  • B

    Congrats… Now you have a happy Basenji and a tree smack dab in front of your front door!!! LOL What we do for these little beasties...:rolleyes:

    _**Lisa Lynn ![](images/smilies/smile.png "Smile")

    BRAT Basenji Rescue, &

    Mid-Atlantic Basenji Club**_

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7 Dec 2008, 19:51

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    How exciting! Caesar never had training problems, but Beta was a wreck. She was an angel the first 6 months and then she began peeing in any room that i wasnt in. At the time i had a townhome where the bedrooms were all upstairs. I had the stairs gated and my basenjis had full roaming of the living room dining room and the kitchen which was visually blocked by the kitchen countertop from the living area. Once Beta hit 6 months she began changing or adjusting to the home and the other animals (Caesar and the 4 cats). She became snarfy, she became food aggressive, and she started to sneak out of my sight to pee on the kitchen floor or in Caesar's bed. The downstairs wasnt huge, so I didnt understand that the area was too big for her. In her case, she was asserting herself as alpha to the other pets in the house. Beta had a very difficult life before I adopted her and it took me 2 years to finally teach her that you pee only on grass. I am not saying that your pup is pooping for the same alpha reason, but here is what I had to do to get her to stop. I was so frustrated and knew that she was no where near ready for basic training. I knew she was adjusting. I understood that what she was doing was behavioral not physical. I brought in a trainer who becan to work with her because I was out of ideas. He suggested that the area she had to roam in was too large even though it seemed incredibly small to me. He told me to keep her harness and leash on inside the house. This made Beta aware that I was on top of her. If she went into the kitchen, I was there holding the leash. If she was in the living room sitting, I was there. Sometimes I just attached the leash to my pants to make it easier. She never peed in front of me and basically stopped the behavior because I was with her. The other major thing I found that helped Beta with settling down was exercise. She required a lot more exercise than Caesar. When I moved to a place with a fenced yard or took her to the dog park she could just burn that energy off. I found with Beta, that treat training would just not work for her. She would get extremely excited about treats, but her behavioral problems were mostly affected by my actions and attention. Food didnt matter. Caesar was really easy with training because I adopted him as a puppy. I could use the crate for time outs and he understood and would improve. Beta lived in a cage for over 1year and a half straight which was too small and in her own filth. I couldnt and wouldnt use the crate as time out for her. She liked going to the crate, and going to the bathroom in her crate was easier for her because it was her environment for so long. Her problem was adjusting to the world outside. So, restrict the area and keep a leash on her. She may be getting too much free roaming space too soon. Can't hurt to try it. She will soon forget what she was doing. And dont forget to get that Natural's Magic (I think that is the name) for pet smells in the carpet at your pet store. This should keep her from revisiting the same spot if she is doing that.