Very bad behavior

[basenjiprince]

like i said we have only been there for 2 weeks and i work excess of 64 hours a week. I have walked around it but see no where for him to get out. from what i can tell the fence is buried… he was getting out of the gate until we bunjee corded that together so he cant wiggle and push his way thru. if we are out there he is fine but as soon as he cant see us walking past the windows, he is gone. I am off this weekend so hopefully we can get it fixed but just didnt know if any one has ever had these problems. someone also told me to get a natural drop called relief remedy for pets to have a calming effect for anxiety. would anything like that work? he is so finnicky about things wasnt sure i could give him something like that?

[renaultf1]

Boy, to me it sounds like he crate phobic or has separation anxiety or both - especially since you say he has been doing this for 5 years. Their are some people on here that can maybe give you pointers on what to do in this case - in particular, Quercus, as she is a trainer.

To me, it doesn't sound like you have a crate that is too small - although if he is crate phobic, I don't really know. They don't require a big crate and of my 3 basenjis - 2 prefer a smaller crate. My girl Ruby used to have accidents in her bigger crate (36x23x26) and when I switched her to the next size down (sounds similar to your size - mine are 30x19x22), the accidents stopped. And since your dog stopped pooping in the crate, it sound like you made the right move going down a size. Have you ever tried one of the plastic vari-kennel types? One of mine prefers that over the wire crates (I use the blue & white medium size).

Have you ever tried leaving him uncrated in the bathroom with everything up out of reach - has he ever destroyed any woodwork or anything like that? And what about moving him back into the kitchen in this new house and gate him off the kitchen from the rest of the house?

The only other thing I would add, is when I was having separation anxiety issues with my girl Ruby, I ran her on my bike everyday before I left and I would also walk her to make sure she was really tired by the time I crated her - it did seem to help - although it didn't help every day.

I would definitely not recommend leaving him out for 5 hours with no one around - especially if it is separation anxiety as he could end up digging out of your enclosure. I know there are some on here that do it - but I think they have doggy doors.

[mauigirl]

This might be totally off the mark and crazy, but do you think his stress has anything to do with being in the bathroom? Because he probably associates that space with bathtime (I'm assuming that being a basenji he isn't a big fan of getting wet). Have you experimented with keeping his crate somewhere else? Is there anything like water proof you can put under and around his crate so he doesn't ruin the floor? Has he ever been potty trained?

[renaultf1]

@basenjiprince:

someone also told me to get a natural drop called relief remedy for pets to have a calming effect for anxiety. would anything like that work? he is so finnicky about things wasnt sure i could give him something like that?

I think you mean rescue remedy - I'd be careful of that as I believe it has alcohol in it. There are some folks on here that have used a DAP defuser (aka Comfort Zone @ petedge.com) with some success - you plug it in.

[basenjiprince]

well if i leave him in kitchen he will still pee on floor bc he gets mad (i think) when we leave. i dont want to put gate up bc he would chew thru it or jump it. last time he was out and about in the house he was fine in am, bc he slept very lazy in morning! but in the afternoon he ate every wire behind my computer and the refrigerator!! i havent been walking him in the morning bc i am tired from working 7 am to 10 pm the day before but i guess i need to quit being lazy and go for about 30 minutes or so… just to give him more time! he plays hard when he is outside... we chase each other and he does the B 500 over and over and over again. But never in the am. I also use the medium blue and white crate with all the c- clamps and vice grips on it bc he breaks it apart. the one he had yesterday now has and softball size hole where he chewed the break the clip on the side.

[basenjiprince]

he has been trained and never makes a mess in the house until he is shut out of something or a room that he wants to be involved in. one time we had the door shut for some adult private time and he whined and cried then pooped outside of the door….

[renaultf1]

Yeah, to me it sounds like separation anxiety. One thing that I did with Ruby was put the smaller wire crate in an xpen (exercise pen) with a top on it in my bedroom. So she had expanded space. That seemed to help as her crying was significantly less when I set that up - as well she wouldn't watch me leave - instead she would dig into her treats. The only things about xpens are the wires aren't heavy gauge so you'd probably want to give it a test.

Oh, and put really high value treats - have you tried things like frozen marrow bones…something that will hold his interest for a long time.

And I hear you about the exercise thing - after a long day/night, the last thing you want to do is get up early - but in my case it really helped with Ruby as it took the edge off her.

[nobarkus]

@basenjiprince:

like i said we have only been there for 2 weeks and i work excess of 64 hours a week. I have walked around it but see no where for him to get out. from what i can tell the fence is buried… he was getting out of the gate until we bunjee corded that together so he cant wiggle and push his way thru. if we are out there he is fine but as soon as he cant see us walking past the windows, he is gone. I am off this weekend so hopefully we can get it fixed but just didnt know if any one has ever had these problems. someone also told me to get a natural drop called relief remedy for pets to have a calming effect for anxiety. would anything like that work? he is so finnicky about things wasnt sure i could give him something like that?

OK, what about a vet check up? When was the last time? How about a full blood work up?

[basenjiprince]

well sept is time for check up so i guess i will get that in the works…. i have to put a muzzle on him at the vet bc he doesnt know them well enough. i love him and his personality to death but i just want to cry!

[nobarkus]

@basenjiprince:

well sept is time for check up so i guess i will get that in the works…. i have to put a muzzle on him at the vet bc he doesnt know them well enough. i love him and his personality to death but i just want to cry!

I understand so let's try to be patient and we'll try to help you. I just got my 4th Basenji named Buddy. He's 9 months old. Anyway let's keep this tread going because there's more people here that can offer suggestions and help as well. We want to help you solve this and not get rid of Buddi. OK?

[basenjiprince]

thanks i really appreciate it. I am going to get new treats and start working with him more. show him more attention. try to get up and play with him outside in mornings to calm him down… we will see how it goes. In the mean time any other comments or suggestions would be wonderful!!! i appreciate everyone who has commented so far!

[tanza]

So, I am a bit confused… Are you saying you have had him for 5 yrs and he has been doing this for 5yrs? Or did I get something mixed up?

[Schouiffy]

FIRST: Nobarkus is spot on, take him to the vet and get a full blood panel - it could be a thyroid problem. There are a few threads explaining this on the forum

IT sounds like there are some serious training mishaps that happened along the way with this dog. Remember that your stress about the situation does transfer to the dog, so if you want to make significant changes in his behavior you need to sit down and see how you guys have molded him the past 5 years. For example: When he was growing up, did you allow him to always sleep in the bed with you and never sleep alone?? If so, you can't fault him for eliminating all over the floor because he wasn't trained to sleep with out you two. That's not fair, and he will not understand why you are angry at his actions because in his mind, all his past history tells him he sleeps with the pack, not being with the pack all of a sudden is scary, even for one night. Finding solutions to your dog problems usually needs to start with reflection on how he learned the behavior - when did it start, what is happening when the dog does something you don't like etc.

At 5 years old, I'm certain you could ease the anxiety but I would be very surprised if you could make it go away completely. He sounds like he needs to be re-crate trained, but keep in mind some Basenjis never accept crating later on in life and need other accommodations (ie, an x pen, or doggie daycare)A DAP defuser or collar could help, you can order them online or ask your vet. I completely agree that exercise can GREATLY reduce the stress your dog feels when he is alone, primarily because he is tired. If you have the time and the resources you might consider adopting a female buddy for him to play with him and keep him company. Go and get "I'll be Home Soon" a book about separation anxiety - in fact brushing up on some dog behavior literature works wonders in communicating with your dog and modifying his behavior because you BOTH understand each other better (Patricia B. McConnell has many excellent books).

[basenjiprince]

no he peeid and was a bit destructive but it has gotten really bad in the last few months. its like he gets mad that we leave him. before i could just talk to him and tell him i would be back soon and he wouldnt pee. now it doesnt matter what i say he bites the cage door and growls at me. and i am the one who always puts him up bc my husband is gone by that time. so i put him up in the morning, let him out on lunch put him back up then my husband lets him out in the afternoon.

[Kananga]

@tanza:

So, I am a bit confused… Are you saying you have had him for 5 yrs and he has been doing this for 5yrs? Or did I get something mixed up?

That's what I was wondering.

If this has been going on for 5 years, that is some impressive tolerance. :eek:

DAP Diffuser might be worth trying. It has helped my B at times, but he still occasionally chews on furniture while I'm gone. I wouldn't dare crate him during the day. I can place the wire crate on the granite floors (the only thing that is indestructible when it comes to Basenjis :D), but he takes his frustration out by trying to chew on the wire crate and I worry he will break/chip a tooth.

[jonny b.]

We have to b's that hate their crates. Jonny came in january. chewed holes in the crate but had almost stopped. then we got hansel in may and he HATES his crate. at the moment, they have both eaten 3 of the 4 crates we have. so we took the small crates we have and put them inside the larger crates we have. they are both DOUBLE crated. so the holes in the smaller crates dont match up with the holes in the larger ones. Jonny started chewing again i think because hansel gets so worked up he bothers jonny. but the vet put hansel on anxiety meds. He thought hansel was way beyond the dap. so he started out on 3 pills a day,and that was toooo much. 2 worked better and now we are down to 1. they are about 20 cents each. pretty cheap. i also put a bone called CHEW LOTTA . got it at walmart. both dogs get diarehha very easy (which i give them 7.5 ml at a time for as per the vet.)these bones dont seem to cause them much tummy upset and the take forever to chew up. THEY LOVE THEM. just know you are not alone and we have experienced the same things, maybe just not as sever or as long. we also just built a 10x10x6 out door kennel with roof of 4x2 wire and cement blocks around the bottom to make it escape proof. and the lock is at the top. boy, we must love our dogs. you ARE NOT alone.

[nobarkus]

@tanza:

So, I am a bit confused… Are you saying you have had him for 5 yrs and he has been doing this for 5yrs? Or did I get something mixed up?

Something wrong here as she said 5 years but he's only 2.

[basenjiprince]

no he will be 5 in dec, Dec 16th… so almost 5 years we have dealt with the crate issue. I havent been to this site in a long time so none of my info had been update... that info was from 2006. sorry

[nobarkus]

@basenjiprince:

no he will be 5 in dec, Dec 16th… so almost 5 years we have dealt with the crate issue.

Wow 5 years! OK, first I would get the blood work up done and a physical. You know getting the thyroid checked is tricky as a regular vet may not do a complete test and say everything is OK when it's not. The best thing to do is send a sample to Dr Dodds as she is very through and knows the Basenji.

http://www.apubasenjis.com/bhealth.html

[agilebasenji]

I think you need to find a behaviorist DVM and ask about some anti-anxiety drugs. It sounds like this is a bigger problem than rescue remedy or DAP will/can address. Once he's feeling better, you can start re-training him. For crate issues, try the dvd Crate Games, but if he's crate phobic, you'll need the drugs BEFORE you start the training program. Otherwise, you may want to look into a doggie-daycare.