Skip to content
Basenji Forums
  1. Home
  2. Behavioral Issues
  3. Crate stuff

Crate stuff

Behavioral Issues
  • listemeL

    Simon and Annie are both doing great. It's been busy and chaotic (and I still haven't posted pics!) But I will :)

    Annie has not yet decided to love the crate. I think she'd be happy if I crated her with Simon, but Simon's not thrilled with that idea, so I have not pushed it. She's at an obnoxious age and she wants to chomp on him or step on his head, so I don't blame him. (But maybe there's a way to speed up the process of persuading him?)

    I've had pretty easy crate puppies in the past, so I don't have a whole bag of tricks up my sleeve! Last night she gave me a scare by getting so revved that she ended up getting her foot badly twisted in the crate blanket. She is fine, limping a little, but no more blankets for her! (Suggestions for blanket substitutes??)

    I know that calm and easy is the way to go. She settles down eventually, but she's quite the loud girl :D. My stepdaughter is getting married at the end of the month and we're supposed to stay in a hotel for two nights. If it were today, I think she'd be too loud for a hotel. My backup plan is to board her at my vet, and I would rather do that than "rush" the crate program we're on. We got DAP spray and we put the crates next to each other and I figure we just have to keep it going.

    I'd probably use the kitchen gated off if she weren't a superhero jumper/climber! She can jump to the counter from the floor. And does.

    Anyway, we're not frazzled and we have a backup plan for the wedding hotel, but I thought I would put the blanket question and the "any other thoughts?" question out to the group basenji mind. Thanks!

    0
  • tanzaT

    Did she get her foot twisted up in the blanket because she ripped or put holes in it? You might want to just try a crate pad. I love the Bully Pads, http://www.upco.com and then seach for Bully Pads. Not to say that she will not be able to destroy it, but they hold up pretty well.

    And I had to laugh… she is a Tri, right??? Otherwise known as "flying monkeys"!!!! and I can relate since she is related to C-Me (the Tri Mountain Goat).....

    Pat Fragassi

    Tanza Basenjis

    www.tanzabasenjis.net

    0
  • listemeL

    Haha, yeah, I think she's a goat! She hops up on the counter and then looks at you like, "hi, I was looking for treats up here." She clearly sees the world three dimensionally. I'm pretty sure she thinks she could get airplanes if she just tried harder.

    Yeah, we think she put a hole in it and then wound herself around. It scared the crap out of me, to be honest. She is forever banned from crate blankets!

    I'll look at the bully pads today.

    0
  • listemeL

    Bully pads ordered :)

    I've upped the ante with crate games (really good drippy treats and more frequent games). I have Simon's crate open in here in my office and basically I'm watching and treating whenever either of them go in. I'm jackpotting when they are both in at the same time.

    Wheels are turning in little basenji skulls.

    0
  • NemoN

    I love bully pads, they hold up really well. I got them based on suggestions from the forum. I really like crate pads that are only one piece like this (versus the kind with a zipper cover) for cleaning.

    Thought I'd share an interesting observation I made after some mat or "go to place" training with Zoni. After I did that for only a short period of time she seemed to generalize it quickly to crates. She has been fine in crates in the car previously (typical show dog behavior I guess) but not so much in the house (she normally stays in a kennel in the basement). After this observation, I was having a hard time getting her out of the crate sometimes and she would just fly into it whenever we went by one in the house. Kinda funny and pretty fortuitous since she has needed to sleep in a crate recently.

    Edit: And the relaxation protocol mentioned on the forum previously may help as well.

    Connect with the Basenji Club of America on Facebook

    http://www.facebook.com/basenji.org

    0
  • KipawaK

    I sent UPCO a message about the strength of the bully pad because Kipawa is a real chewer! Here is their response and my message below that:
    It probably will not last.
    On Wed, May 11, 2011 at 4:12 PM,

    Fran Harder, BAB

    With Barney in my heart

    0

Suggested Topics

  • T

    Crying in Crate

    Behavioral Issues
    1
    0 Votes
    1 Posts
    2k Views
    No one has replied
  • I

    Crate Problem

    Behavioral Issues
    13
    0 Votes
    13 Posts
    7k Views
    S
    Yesterday it was three poops on the morning walk :-)
  • K

    Help - Seperation Anxiety and Crate!

    Behavioral Issues
    16
    0 Votes
    16 Posts
    6k Views
    wizardW
    I had a foster male one time who had severe separation anxiety (his previous owners were retired during his whole life so they were always with him) and even having another dog around didn't help - they rarely played together. He was in his crate while I went to work - toys galore, special treats in a kong, calming sprays, etc. - and I did the "you must calm down before being let out of the crate" routine when I came home. My other dog was in a nearby crate so they could see and talk to each other. But he continued to try and chew his way out of the crate (I can't rebend the steel bars that he bent with his teeth and he was already 11 years old!). I tried to disappear for longer and longer periods of time to try and get him acclimated to being loose in the house but if I was gone more than 20 minutes he would start clawing at the doors trying to get out, he tore down the blinds on the patio doors, he toppled lamps trying to get out of the window. I spent money on a behaviorist - who told me to do exactly what I was doing (a waste of money she was) and after several months he started biting me if I tried to put him in the crate. He was wonderful as long as I was around but the biting became too serious an issue. I cried when I took him back to the breeder (he ended up living out his days at her kennel) but I think that there are just some dogs and people combinations that simply don't work. If after several months things don't improve (and proper training has to be a component) one needs to reconsider the situation. In this case KMac I think you are doing the right thing by seeking experienced help and things do sound better. In your case some of the problems are simply puppy behavior so maybe if you have the time and money an obedience class might be in order to help give him some structure. You might also try getting a bigger crate so he has more crate room or maybe an exercise pen so he can more around a bit more and chase his toys and release some energy.
  • S

    Peeing in the crate!

    Behavioral Issues
    11
    0 Votes
    11 Posts
    4k Views
    tanzaT
    Many puppies will totally forget about house training when they really start to teeth…. so just always go back to housetraining 101
  • V

    Peeing in Crate

    Behavioral Issues
    2
    0 Votes
    2 Posts
    1k Views
    tanzaT
    Because she spent so much of her young life in a crate.. it will be a struggle, IMO, for her to get the idea that it is not an acceptable place for pee/poop… time, I think will reverse the behavior, but I would also say that she will "never" be trustworthy in a crate.....
  • BDawgB

    Peeing in the Crate-Help!

    Behavioral Issues
    18
    0 Votes
    18 Posts
    6k Views
    QuercusQ
    Sometimes peeing while turning in a circle is a form of territory marking. It does sound like as he gets more comfortable with the situation, this behavior will stop.