Skip to content
Basenji Forums
  1. Home
  2. Basenji Training
  3. Crate Time

Crate Time

Basenji Training
  • ShannaniganS

    Allrighty, I've read a few threads in here on this, and I want to share my "crate training plan" with you guys and see if you can catch any problem areas I may have.

    These first two days home, Paco has had me and Chris all to himself at the apartment, because it's the weekend. He stayed in the crate last night, complained a little, was let out at 2 am and 4 am for potty breaks, and today has napped in the crate with it open (yay!). Hopefully he'll be as good tonight in there.

    Tomorrow, I will have to leave at 10am for work, and I plan to leave Paco in the crate with chew bone filled with peanut butter. My brother will come by at 12 and let him out and even play with him (he's a puppy lover) and says he's willing to stay until I get home at 3:30 or so.

    Tuesday, I'll be leaving at 10 again (normally I don't leave until 12, this week is just the first week of a new semester - I teach afternoon classes). Peanut butter bone again, and a friend of ours will be back around 12 or 1 to take him out and let him go potty, but he may not be able to stay around for play, so Paco may wind up back in the crate from 12:30 until 3:30 or so.

    After that, he should only have to be in there from 12 - 3:30 each day. Is this ok for a 9 week old puppy? Eventually, when he is fully potty trained and isn't chewing our carpet, we'd like to let him be loose in the apartment. I'm hoping this time will come before May, as I leave in May to work at a summer camp and Chris works every day from 7:30am until 5pm or later. We found an affordable doggy day care center nearby that we might be able to use on day Chris knows he'll be working long hours, but I know we need to socialize Paco thoroughly first.

    Tips? Problems? Suggestions? The three of us appreciate it! :D

    0
  • tanzaT

    Sounds to me like you have a very good plan. And 12 - 3:30 should not be a problem for a 9wk old. If he gets stressed, he may have accidents, but I think you should do OK. As far as leaving the puppy out by May, I would be very surprised if that works… Usually Basenjis or any puppy is not really reliable enough for large spaces till at least 1 or 2yrs old.... Some of course will be OK, but in general, I would say you could have a problem. You might want to look into an Xpen that would give him a little more room if you are concerned. And doggy day care is an excellent idea

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

    0
  • ShannaniganS

    Thanks, tanza! Do you think it's possible to build something as safe as an xpen with something like chicken wire? If we did something like that, it would probably be in the kitchen and I think we'd need to custom build it ourselves to make it work. Chris is a handyman, so if we knew of safe materials then maybe we could do something like that.

    (Also, Chris is excited about the idea of a doggie door that leads out to our balcony, but I think our balcony is to…escapable. Maybe we could build a pen on the balcony, though, that the door opened to. Hmmm...ideas....)

    0
  • tanzaT

    Something like a doggy door to the deck is a great idea, provided that the deck is really safe and he could not climb and escape…

    I would not use chicken wire... heavier wire would be better... or you can build one out of PCV pipe, which I think would be much safer then chicken wire. Remember however you need a "cover"... Basenjis are great climbers and jumpers.

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

    0
  • AJs HumanA

    I think I's use hog wire rather than chicken wire. The wire is much thicker and has various sizes of mesh from 1/4 inch "squares" on up. Chicken wire is much too puny for the likes of a Basenji and can fray, which can cause all kinds of injuries, not the least of which are eye injuries.

    AJ's Ride:

    0
  • lvossL

    Here is a link to a great crate training article, http://askdryin.com/movies/CrateDogLR.pdf

    0
  • ShannaniganS

    Thanks for the link, Ivoss! And thanks for the wire suggestions, as well guys. Chris is actually a plumber, so we have a surplus of PVC lying around! I'm sure that's going to be Chris' next favorite project; once it gets going I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes. :) Any ideas on what the maximum space between pipes would be? We don't want him wriggling and squeezing his way through.

    This might really help for while I'm away!

    0

Suggested Topics

  • pennypenP

    Peeing in the crate

    Basenji Training
    76
    0 Votes
    76 Posts
    26k Views
    Shaye's MomS
    @Janneke: Sorry.. but she hates her crate… and she has to be in it for 8 hours a day... And you don't walk her in the morning...? I would start with making sure your dog is tired in the morning before you put her in her crate. And maybe you can try to leave her loose in the house so she can move around? This is not only to you, but I read it so often on this forum that dogs spend entire days in their crates... I just don't understand that people can put their dogs in crates 8+ hours a day (I'm not including nights..) I agree with Janneke here - if she hates her crate, she may pee in it because she gets extremely unhappy there. Not all dogs need to be crated - I've never had a dog who was crated, and the two I have now are loose when we're gone because Shaye, who was 10 weeks when we got her, always hated it, never changed, and started breaking baby teeth on it. When we leave we leave them with a treat to get their immediate attention, and they usually sleep or keep themselves busy, with no damage or upset. Of course, we aren't usually gone more than 6 hours when we leave them.
  • cazC

    Crate training

    Basenji Training
    8
    0 Votes
    8 Posts
    4k Views
    basenji_fanB
    When you feed him in the crate and close do you walk away? I had a foster that was terrified of the crate and also suffered terrible anxiety w/peeing in the crate too. So I would feed him in the crate and then close the door and sit right there with him. At first I only closed the door half way, did that way for about a week then was able to close it all the (without latching) for another week. I would sit right next to the crate and praise him for eating his meals. Then I would scoot a few feet back at one meal, move back at the next and do that for a for a few times. Then I would stay at the few feet back. It is a slow process but it really really helped him in his crate training process and getting him over his fear. I was soon able to feed him in his crate and walk away. He was running to his crate and sitting for his meals. He still had his anxiety for long periods w/the peeing problem but we even worked on that were we could leave for short times and he wouldn't pee in his crate
  • AnnA

    Crate Guilt

    Basenji Training
    23
    0 Votes
    23 Posts
    8k Views
    nobarkusN
    @Ann: Hi Dan. Thanks for your feedback. Noel will be 5 in November. (I don't know how she spent her first 4 years.) Our fence is 6' so other dogs can't get in…it's her reaction to them that could cause problems. I'm sort of a hyper worrier since Noel has a weak front leg. It was badly broken in December and, when there's squirrel/dog activity around the yard or in the alley behind us, she forgets about her leg and goes into a full run and jump mode. It's great to see her fly over our 2' stone ledge and run the periphery of yard like a guard dog or chase a squirrel back to its tree, but if left outside alone all day there's the potential that she'll overdo it and tire out her leg to the point of pain. I know I'm sounding over-protective...The vet recommends plenty of exercise but in small doses to avoid the fatigue thing. (I'll be posting some queries soon in relation to this!) OK Ann, now I see your dilemma here. This is a tuff one keeping a Basenji still or low activity especially when you're not there. The only other thing you could do is set up a kennel run or large dog pen to reduce the area. see this picture. http://www.seefido.com/html/dog_kennel_runs_pen_fence_.htm
  • J

    Pooping in crate - why?

    Basenji Training
    9
    0 Votes
    9 Posts
    3k Views
    bellabasenjiB
    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:
  • DiegosMomD

    Pooping in crate!

    Basenji Training
    47
    0 Votes
    47 Posts
    20k Views
    wrx227wrcW
    Piggy only has problems pooping when she gets panicky too. For example if we leave her home in a crate and someone comes in the house but doesn't come down to see her or let her out she will do it. We can't put anything in her crate or she shreds it, we tried everything. For a while I was even buying fleece baby blankets at the dollar store and tossing them if she pooped. We gave up on that after a while. The mess was terrible, so I can relate to hours of cleanup… by the time you get her cleaned up and the crate. We did some desensitizing and left for short periods like I described before, and that helped a lot. My friend that has a B went to the vet about her anxiety, hers would cry incessantly, and they actually gave her meds, prozac I think, for it. I think she tried it, but didn't think it worked enough to do it. Sounded crazy to me. It hasn't happened in a while so we have been lucky. She has come to terms with her crate now and will once in a while go hang out in it by choice, so I know she doesn't hate it. Have you tried one of those snuggle buddy things? I wonder if you could find some way to protect it if Darwin had an accident. Best of luck and lots of patience!
  • Mark1491M

    Pooping in the crate

    Basenji Training
    10
    0 Votes
    10 Posts
    6k Views
    tanzaT
    You might also try a small crate… if the crate is too large, then they can poop or pee in one part and still have a clean area in another...