that sounds like it would be worth a try, I will look into those. Thanks!

I recently got my basenji an indoor dog potty from www.ugodog.net. She is 7 years old & has fanconi, so she pees a lot now & I imagine it could even increase in the future. Also, she hates snow & rain (big surprise there), so with winter coming up I wanted to work on an indoor option for her. She does have a doggie door, but when I am not home I believe she rarely goes any farther out than the deck.

I am wondering if anyone here can offer any tips on how to get Cleo to use the indoor potty. I expect it to be a bit of a challenge considering she has been effectively house trained for almost seven years. I have tried collecting a specimen & putting it in there & she will smell it but when I tell her to "go potty" she looks at me like I'm crazy & then starts running for the back door. Any advice that anyone can offer would be appreciated!!

Sarah

my basenji is 6 years old & has done this for as long as I can remember. It usually appears that she is attempting to make some kind of "nest" to lay down in. She scratches/digs on the carpet (particularly in a streak of sunshine), on the bed, on the kitchen rug in front of the heat register, etc, etc. Then she always circles a few times & lays down. I've heard that they do this in the wild to dig down into the ground where it is a little cooler for a nice spot to nap.

She also occasionally tries to dig & "bury" her treats or bones, usually in the corner of the couch. She even uses her nose to push (non-existent) dirt over the top of something to bury it. It is quite funny to watch. Funny how, even though she has always been a house dog, she has these behaviors that are so much like the instinctive behaviors of "wild" dogs.

Taz has been in foster care through the Midwest Dog Resuce Network since he was turned over by the breeder (I believe around 8 months old). He had two sisters in foster care with him for a short time but they were adopted quickly. They were all shown on the BRAT website but were not evaluated by, or in the care of BRAT. He is such a handsome boy, I had given some serious thought to adopting him until they updated his profile to say that "he likes to be the boss". My female B absolutely has to be the boss of all other dogs (!) so I knew this combo wouldn't work out
Here is the link to the organization caring for him:
http://midwestdogrescuenetwork.com/default.aspx

so sorry to hear this sad news for you & Isis. hugs & prayers to you all during a difficult time.

My Cleo does the yoga moves everytime she wakes up too. We also frequently have the B500 at our house; and she loves to bounce off the back of the furniture while running. One time she tried this on the rocker/recliner chair and actually knocked it over!

Does anyone's B have an obsession with hiding things like mine does? Anytime I gave her a treat she walks around the house looking for a place to "bury" it. She tries to "dig" in my furniture or basket of clean laundry, and then she uses her nose like she is pushing something over it to "bury" it!! Yesterday I gave her a busybone and she could not find a good place for it so she just followed me around the house, carrying it in her mouth and whining!:p

These dogs do some of the strangest things, but they sure are entertaining & they keep life interesting!

Just wondering if anyone else has problems with their basenji being particularly aggressive while on the leash?

When I walk Cleo she goes absolutely crazy at the site of any other dog and either tries to pull my arm off to get to it, or crouches down like she is waiting to attack when it gets close enough. In the past when I have let her approach other dogs she is at first very apprehensive, stands totally still with hackles up, and then she suddenly just jumps on them! Pulling on the leash to get her off just makes her more mad, and if the other dog doesn't back down it will turn in to a full blown fight. When Cleo is not on the leash she is still a little apprehensive and will sometimes growl and nip a little to show others that she must be the boss;) , but it is nowhere near as bad as when she is on the leash. Since Cleo has no other dogs at home to play with I would like for her to be able to socialize with some other dogs in the neighborhood, but I can't take the risk of her attacking and hurting someone else's dog.

Cleo was fairly well socialized with other dogs as a pup, and we did go to obedience classes where she was required to be on a leash and interact with other dogs, so I don't think it is an issue of socialization; it seems to be more related to the leash somehow.

Anyone have any experience with this issue? Any suggestions??

@Quercus:

I would definitely try a closed off room. Make it completely basenji proofed…unplug wire he could possibly chew on. You might make a game of it. Close him in there with a chewie, then if he is quiet for five minutes walk in with some treats. Do it for 10, do it for 20, leave the house for 20 , leave the house for 30.

THis is similar to what I tried with Cleo. I closed all doors to the bedrooms & bathrooms, made sure nothing was near the edge of the kitchen counters, & unpluged any cords I thought she may be tempted to chew. Then I started leaving her loose in the house while I made short trips, only 10-15 mins, to the bank, post office, etc. One afternoon while I was working my sister came over to walk Cleo and did not latch her crate properly, so when I came home from work I was very surprised when Cleo met me at the front door!:eek: Thankfully she had not touched a thing in the house & ever since then she has not been crated & we have had no problems.

All this happened just after Cleo turned 4, but I wish I had been brave enough to try sooner, because she was always terrible with the crate too. When she was a pup she would scream all night long, so she has slept in bed with me from a very young age. She also soiled her bedding many times, and tore up everything that was put in there with her.

During the day she learned very quickly what activites we do before leaving the house, and that this meant she would be going into her crate. If we told her "kennel" she would run away so fast and find a place to hide; and if you tried to pick her up & put her in there she would growl & try to bite!! These behaviors actually got worse as she got older so finally I decided we better try something different. Ironically, the kennel is now one of her favorite places to go nap!

I think it is very possible that some dogs just can't be crated, I don't think it hurts to try something different as long as you can provide a safe environment for your dog. Hopefully you will be pleasantly surprised like I was!

Hi all! I'm Sarah and I live in Lincoln, NE with my 4 year old basenji, Cleo. I've had Cleo since she was a puppy, which I remember to be a very stressful time - I'm sure many of you can understand that! Now that she is all grown up, I couldn't ask for a better dog! Except of course for the occassional mess made of the TP or tissues, but I guess that is to be expected from a basenji