Have had a basenji rescue for about 10 years. Got him as a rescue when he was about 10 months old, and crate trained him.
Until recently he spent half his nights in the crate and half upstairs on his bed at the foot of our bed.
About a month ago he started throwing absolute fits in his crate… cried, whined, tore up his blankets, bumped and crashed around. He did this a few nights over about a week. Then I stuck him in his crate in the garage [we're in a very warm climate] and my wife couldn't take it and we brought him upstairs.
I poked around in his crate several times to see if there was something in it getting at him [bugs, a spider?] and nothing.
We've gone through about 2 bouts of this on a much lesser scale in the past 7 years. He spends just a bit too much time upstairs at night and then whines a bit when stuck in his crate. But in those instances he's quieted down pretty quickly and gotten used to his crate. This time seems to be different and his acting out is way off the charts for him.
Trying to figure out what is going on here. Anyone have this happen to them when an older basenji who previously likes his crate decides it isn't for him any more? It has typically been his safe place… he goes in there when he doesn't want to be bugged by us [e.g. me playing my acoustic guitar too much] or when he knows it is time for a bath…
Also trying to figure out of he deserves to spend the last few years of his life upstairs on his bed at night rather than downstairs in his crate? Any votes? He has been and is generally a great dog and an especially great rescue.
Curtis
