While I had my heart set on a cool little Mercedes convertible, my wife decided we needed a a vehicle to transport Dolce to shows and lure coursing, so behold the new Basenji mobile!

Not to question your ability, but if you can't afford another $300 to get a puppy from a reputable breeder, do you have the means to give the dog the proper care it will need. If I look at what we have spent on the puppy since we got her from our breeder we have probably paid an additional $400 (Vet bills, shots, crate, food, treats, obedience class, sweaters, toys, collars, etc.). Dogs can be an expensive proposition you should really think about the total yearly costs to care for the dog not just the acquisition price. I see the BRAT rescue as a great alternative if you are cash strapped right now.

We had a Dalmatian that started having these issues at the same age as your B. Vestibular disease got worse causing her to lose her balance and fall when walking, loss of strength in her hindquarters and incontinence. I am not aware of any treatments for the VD, but there are a number of human treatments for strokes that might be able to be used in dogs.

I am very sad to hear about your loss.

Update:

We reintroduced her to the crate in the den about a month ago and she has slept through the night all but one night during the first week back. She has even stayed quiet in the morning when I get up and make coffee, turn on the TV and then I open up her door. Its good to have things back to normal, thanks to all for the advice during this very trying time!

Thanks for the suggestions, we are baffled as well. She slept through the night with no issues for about a week and now it has started all over again. Weirdly during the week of silence my wife was out of town, Since my wife has been sick the last few days she slept on the couch next to the crate and the dog started trying to get out of the crate at 3:15 each morning . My wife was not aware of anything in the room that could have set her off. She tried a radio next to the crate, but that was no help. After throwing herself against the crate for 3 straight hours this morning after her walk, she crawled right back into the crate and slept their quietly till noon. It's just plain crazy and is getting very frustrating as we do not have the luxury of crawling back into bed till noon to catch up on our lost sleep!

Our B has been having issues staying in her crate at night. LIke most B's she struggled with early crate training, but eventually came to love sleeping in there at night. It is very comfortable, with a soft cushion on the bottom, tons of blankets to lay on/in, food, water and toys. The crate is covered at night with a blanket to keep it dark. When she comes in from doing her last business of the night she usually walks right into the crate and stays there quietly until morning. Most mornings when we open the door to the crate she will stay in there for 30-minutes- 2 hours before coming out and doing a big stretch. That's the way its been for the last 4-years, no sleeping issues.

About 2-weeks ago she started screaming and beating on the crate to get out at about 4:00 AM so we jumped up and threw here outside thinking she had to do business or might be sick. She wouldn't go out and was wandering around hysterically whining for no apparent reason. We checked her bed and found nothing in there and checked her for ticks, a common problem where we live, and nothing. We let her sleep out the rest of the morning and she was asleep till 9:00 AM.

The next night and every night since she has done the same thing. Knowing she doesn't have to go out we have let her stay in there and cry hoping she will eventually give up, but she does not. She has chewed all the blankets on her bed and shredded them, even pulling blankets outside the crate in there to shred. When we let her out she is hysterical for about an hour and then ultimately crashes and sleeps for 4-5 hours.

We tried moving her crate into another room to see if that would help, it did not. We tried a smaller crate and that did not help either. We turned up the heat thinking she was cold, put a sweater on her but still hysterics at 3:30-4:30 each morning. We thought perhaps she was not getting enough exercise so over the weekend she went for 3-walks each day, went for two 4-mile runs and every time she went to lay down we would wake her up and make her play, but no change.

If we let her sleep out of the crate she is fine, but at some point during the evening will wake up and try to find us and we have a house rule of no dogs in our master bedroom or closet. I get that many will say just let her sleep with you, but my house my rules. Besides we have invested no less than $2,000 in beds and crates that are littered through out our home for her to sleep in and on.

So besides the obvious answer of just let in your bed, ain't happening, does anyone have any suggestion for helping her get through the night in her crate which she has loved for the last 4-years and still walks in there at night on her own?

Sorry for the novel, but I wanted to make sure I gave a comprehensive background of the issues and clearly articulated what we have tried so far.

Thanks
MDS

OMG! She is so adorable!!! I love the pic of her sitting on your lap with her front paws on your hand, too cute!

That third picture is poster material!

OMG yes! We will be watching TV when she starts and her volume slowly escalates. We mute the TV and look at her and realize how lucky we are to have such a great B!

Love it! I would not even dream of putting Dolce on the back of my bike. Firstly she hates when any wind blows in her face and freaks out when the windows are down in the car. Second, she is such a squirmer I fear she would wiggle herself right off the bike.

Sorry, but the constant cut in and cut out of the video made it unwatchable for me.