@eeeefarm She mostly only quits when I come home. There are some instances where she tires herself out and so sleeps, I think.

That's a good suggestion to put something she wants in the crate before I leave, but locking her out so she can go in there. I will try that and see how it goes.

When you leave yours, what do you do?

@jkent Thanks for the link - that's very helpful. How long did it take to enjoy being in there with the door open?

At this point, if you have to leave the house, do you leave your 9 month old in her crate?

Thank you all for all of these suggestions!

I have a white plastic crate that mimics a metal bar crate. It is a bit on the bigger side, but I padded it with an anti anxiety bed, blankets, etc.

Curious if 9 weeks is too young to crate train? Or fine?

I've got a sweet, headstrong 9-week old girl, and we are working on crate training. She's been here for 1.5 weeks, and while I work from home, from what I've read, it suggests beginning crate training early — especially for the moments when I have to leave my apartment.

I've got a crate in my bedroom (where she sleeps, fine, during the night, as long as the crate door remains open). It's super cozy with pillows, blankets, her favorite stuffed toys. When I'm about to leave, I put some favorite treats in there, speak to her in a kind, upbeat voice, let her know I'll be back.

When I'm away, once she's done eating her treat, she goes ballistic. Scratching the crate walls, crying, oscillating between these fits and laying down. It lasts for up to 45 minutes (I have a camera to watch). I've never been away for more than an hour yet. When I come home, I calmly let her out, greet her, and give her more treats.

This is maybe day 3 of trying this out. Has anyone else tried this? Should I just keep persisting and it gets better? How long? Is now a right time to crate train her, at this age, and for how long she's been with me?

I'm worried that at this rate, I won't have the ability leave my house... ever 😆 . Anyone else have suggestions/similar experiences?

@elbrant thank you so much your response is so helpful!

I love framing the crazy as “design decisions”. Fantastic reframe and way to adjust expectations.

Curious if, when your girl was a puppy, did you initially crate her? How did you get her to appreciate your verbal cues? Sounds a bit like the faconian method leaving and always coming back. How long would you say it took for her to get comfortable with that?

Thank you for your wise and encouraging words!

Curious if anyone on here has a basenji 6 months or older who is fine being left alone for 2-5 hours a day?

I’ve been reading the forum and it seems being left alone is an issue for most basenjis, no matter the amount of time or age. Or, that most owners need to go to great lengths to make it comfortable with you leaving (I.e. crate training, treats, music, etc).

This all seems quite high maintenance. Is this the experience for most on this forum? It’s interesting because I read multiple articles that say basenjis are a good, independent breed who can be home alone for periods of time as long as they get their exercise. But after reading the forum, I’m not so sure.

Curious to hear people’s’ experiences?