New Basenji arriving Saturday and a few questions
-
Well it was another night of Kenya crying. I actually think she and in return we got less sleep last night than the first night. She was just whining, crying, and screaming but even when she did settle down as soon as we moved or rolled over in bed she was right back at it. On the positive side she was much better about not having accidents in her crate.
The other area of real success came when we left her alone for the first time. We have two crates, one a travel crate that is just her size and another that a neighbor gave us that is huge because he used it for his rodesian ridgeback. So what we did was place Kenya's crate in the larger crate along with her sod box and her water bowl. We gave her a treat to chew on and walked out the door. She was crying and howling when we left but when we returned about 2 hours later all was quiet. In fact when we open the door she still didn't whine and only looked at us and came to the door of the crate. On top of that she either used the sod box to eliminate or didn't have to because her crate was clean.
That little bit of success has done wonders for our confidence that things will eventually settle down. We plan on trying the same crating method tonight so hopefully we all can get some sleep (This crate is in the dining room rather than our bedroom/ just down the hall). We are also happy because this is the method we plan to use when we have to go to work since we won't be able to be here every two or three hours to let her out of her crate.
-
A tip for keeping your dog relaxed.
Try to make your coming back home very calm.
No happy, excited "we are back" voices.
Just a calm, want to go walkies, and take the puppy outside.
Once the pup goes potty, then its nice to excitement.
It does help. -
-
Again, a calm routine, matter of fact well, its bedtime, go to sleep will make it go faster.
Puppies take a bit of long time to "get it" than rescue dogs, and I am just sharing what I share when someone contacts me with a rescue dog with issues.
Others on this forum will be able to help with this pup's settling in.
We all want you to get everyone settled and happy.
Hugs for doing the right thing for your puppy. -
My own personal opinion is that if you have to crate during the day, at night they can "sleep" in bed with you… IMO... if you are having to crating during the day... and then at night also, that is way too much crate time and not enough people time. If you have an area that they can be indoors and outdoors (as I was able to have the pups in the laundry room during the day... so they got time to move around, play outdoors if they wanted and a small climate control area indoors, I did put a large crate in the laundry room also).. so I didn't feel bad putting them in crates at night...
-
I totally agree with tanza, you have to let them cry it out. Start working on habituating the puppy to you leaving. For example, put her in the crate or whatever situation you are using and walk out the door. Stand outside for five minutes, then come back in a reward her. Work on gradually increasing the time you are gone. As you work on it, make sure that you start to differentiate between rewarding behaviors you do and don't want. You don't want to come in and give her a bunch of treats for howling like a banshee the whole time you were gone, but in the beginning she may need that just to see that you going means you coming home and treats :) You want to associate your return with good thoughts.
You also have to remember that she may see lots of things a rewarding, which will in turn, reinforce her behavior. If she is crying in her crate and you even talk to her, or let her see you, that is rewarding. If she cries and you try to comfort her you are rewarding her crying, she got what she wanted. As you learn how to work with her you will start to learn how to outsmart her, it just takes time and lots of trying different things. See what is most rewarding for her, sometimes it may not actually be a treat, it may be a toy.
Since you live in a condo, you may want to talk to your neighbors if she is making lots of loud noise for a long time. I have heard stories of people calling 911 because they think someone is screaming. Talk to them and let them know ahead of time and they may be more likely to take an issue up with you rather than someone who may take action.
You aren't bad parents, we all went through it. The work required to raise a basenji is significant but it is rewarding. I often liken it to a toddler and people laugh, but when they are involved with us and see how much work it is, they begin to understand.
Good luck! -
My b's chew on your gold!
