Holy crap Kip, that's a long commute:eek:. How long will the pup be in the crate during the day?
Tips on crates/crate training abound here. Try the 'search' feature. Wish I could help with the info you seek but my 2 came to me from breeders that had the pups in the kitchen in an x-pen when they weren't running wild in the house.
I live in the Vancouver, British Columbia area and am looking towards a breeder in the Pacific Northwest area of the United States (Washington state). So driving would be 3 hours or a little more. 
In this situation, would transport by plane be better for the puppy? It would be about a 40 minutes by air, and at least I would have the puppy with me under the seat. Any other ideas for transport? Dumb question - I guess it is limited!
Oh, forgot to say, I am home all day, with no kids, so the puppy will be crated when he needs his alone time - the door to his crate will be open. He will be a true family (my husband and I) member.
I have sent puppies home that have long drives and they do fine once they settle down. The thing I have found is no matter how much of start they get with their crate training, leaving their family is a whole other thing. So they tend to whine, cry, and sometimes outright scream for about the first 15 miles then usually they settle down.
Sorry, I misunderstood your post. I thought you were saying that your daily commute to work was 3 hours, not just the trip to pick up your pup:o.
I agree with lvoss, it will usually be stressful for the first 1/2 hour or so, if you can take something that has the smells from the litter with you for the crate, that will help… but they usually do settle down and sleep. I do not suggest stopping or trying to walk them along the way, just let them sleep. And the more he/she is kept awake before you leave, the more likely that he/she will be really tired and sleep. When I fly with puppies, I usually try and keep them up for 3 hours before the flight and they are pretty ready to just sleep their way home... and the flights have been up to 5/6 hours
No job would be worth a 3 hour commute 
but a new basenji puppy is definitely worth a 3 hour drive. I would have my sister or my husband with me, so puppy would be in a crate in the backseat with me. I wouldn't feel comfortable just holding him in a blanket (loose). Safety first. And sorry, I could have made my initial post a little more explicit. Reading it back, I see how it could be mis-read.
We had a 14 hour drive back when we picked up Tillo, although before leaving he did stay with us for two days, so he already 'forgot' about his mom and littermates.
Tillo did perfect in his crate. We let him out every few hours for a walk and some playtime, and then back in the crate, and back to sleep
I think your pup will do fine in the crate for 3 hours. As long as it's tired enough 
When I brought my pup Liyah home at 11wks, I had a 3 hr drive home. She wimpered for the first 15 minutes and then slept for most of the rest of the ride. When she did briefly wake up she didn't make a peep. I never stopped to let her out on the drive home - her breeder had recommended against it, even if she made a mess.
I will say that in my case I visited her every week after she was born so she already knew me. That said, even though she knew me, she was suddenly away from her brothers and sisters - so I'm sure that was why she wimpered in her crate. Be sure to have the breeder give you one of the toys your pup played with at their house - Liyah still has hers in her crate 15 months later.
Oh, one last thing. Liyah's breeder had already started the crate training before I took her home. I think that is pretty normal with responsible breeders.
I think most quality breeder do some crate training, don't they?
I travelled almost 10 hours one way to bring Zest home. She was around 12 weeks, I think, and used to a crate. I think the thing to do is ask your breeder what she does about crates and what kind of crates (wire or plastic).
All my puppies leave crate trained.
Unfortunately, it is usually the puppy owners that UN-train them.
You shouldn't have any issues if the breeder DOES do this…
though I can tell you that I know that lots keep them in ex-pens until they leave.
Mine are in ex-pens until they are about 5 wks old... then they move to a crate. They alternate a plastic crate and wire crate so they are used to both before they leave my house.
You must be religous about the crating, otherwise you will have a devil-child on your hands.
Good luck to you!
Malaika travelled for two hours in her crate to get home, my son sat in the back with her and chatted to her . She looked a little puzzled but was actualy fine. We had visited her twice and left a blanket with the breeder so it would pick up scents. She was also given a soft toy to bring home.
It is so true what Kathy says about owners un training pups. Malaika is crate trained but has discovered she would much prefer to sleep on our knees, it's lovely to cuddle her and we want her to be affectionate but we have to remind ourselves to put her in her crate sometimes because we realise she could so easily become un crate trained.
I would think that since there is a lot of emotional turmoil with being confined in a crate, any responsible breeder would definitely aid in crate training before they are placed in a home.
This is great advice, and another thing to put down on my checklist when I am ready to get my basenji. That is such a good idea of having a breeder crate train with both styles of crates, but it might be a lot of work. Hopefully I can tell the breeder what kind of crate we will use, and then they might crate train according to our wishes.
I start my pups in crates but I have no control over what happens once they leave my home. As Khanis mentioned, pups can get un-trained very quickly. As tempting as it is to let the pup sleep on your lap you must use the crate from the start. If the pup doesn't know it can be elsewhere to sleep it doesn't put up much of a fuss in the crate.
Crate trained or not, any pup may freak out a bit on the trip home and/or the first days/nights crated away from litter mates and in a strange environment.
Crate trained or not, any pup may freak out a bit on the trip home and/or the first days/nights crated away from litter mates and in a strange environment.
Very true JazzysMom.
No one should expect a baby puppy to be 100% crate trained when they get it. It takes time, patience, and consistency to get a puppy to be comfortable and clean in a crate and some Basenjis are very resistant to the whole process. And there are still some that never adapt to being crated.
I had to drive 4 hours to pick up Zoni. She screamed bloody murder after I put her in the crate for about 20 minutes and went to sleep after that. She screamed again a few times but only lasted a few minutes. I don't blame her since she was ripped away from her siblings and going home with some strange people. It will be fine, you may just have to turn up the radio. 
