Good morning all @ 3AM, Crate Issues!!
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Maybe he needs a bit more attention BEFORE he goes to sleep. I make sure to play with both mine before bedtime to help in tiring them out. My boy loves to get in his crate at night ("time for bed") but probably because I give him 4 or 5 pieces of kibble as a snack in the crate.
Maybe changing the padding will help too. Mine too started out with just a blanket in the crate but his crate is in a cold spot so I put down an old people pillow and covered that with his blanket. He loved being able to create a little "hole" in the pillow and can really snuggle into it. I also cover the crate partly with another fleece blanket both the help cut the drafts and also to create a darker (potentially less stimulating) environment.
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Do you cover the crate to keep out any drafts, especially if the house is cold? That would help keep in his body heat. And you might want to consider having the crate in the bedroom. My kids crates have always been in the bedroom for sleeping.
However, I will say, sounds to me like too much crate time.
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Is there any way you can move the crate into your bedroom? At our house in Washington State, Blaze had been happy in his large crate located in the living room for quite awhile. Then he started whining and/or waking up early (around 5 AM, sometimes before). Once we moved the crate into our bedroom, he was fine.
The same thing happened at our place in Arizona. He was fine in the living room all last winter and for a portion of this winter. Then he started whining again and waking up early. Since the crate that he was staying in was too large to fit in the bedroom (in a fifth wheel), we brought the smaller cage in that we use in the car and put it upstairs. It's plenty big enough for him to sleep in and now he's been sleeping happily until WE'RE ready to get up! ;)
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I should have mentioned that after having this problem all week, we actually did try last night to put the crate in our bedroom (it is typically in the living room and has been all week until last night). The second the lights were out and we were in bed, he started crying as loud as he had been out in the other room. Because of this, I got up and moved the crate back so that we could at least try to ride the storm until he fell asleep. I've never tried draping a fleece over the crate, so I will try that, as well as a space heater. If last night is any telling of whether cold is a problem though, the bedroom is pretty warm and he still cried. Should I have tried to ride out the crying with him in the bedroom instead?
Oh, and I don't think too much crate time could be the problem at all. He is in his crate a max of 4-5 hours throughout a day time, usually broken up into 1 or 2 hour intervals when we are both out.
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As long as he isn't in his crate for 8-9 hours during the day and then again at night. It is hard on them to be in a crate that long…..it would kind of be like you being in jail for 16 hours a day! I used a heating pad underneath my boy's crate when i was crate training him and that worked very well. As does a hot water bottle. I boiled water before bed and put it in the bottle then made sure to cover the bottle up very well and tucked it underneath all of his blankets, that also works well. B's do not like to be cold and they would prefer to sleep in the 'big bed' with you, but I can understand the need to train him. Hopefully some of these suggestions will alleviate the problem. Maybe give him a bully stick in his crate at night too and that is the only time that he gets it, it would keep his mind busy until he falls asleep.
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As long as he isn't in his crate for 8-9 hours during the day and then again at night. It is hard on them to be in a crate that long…..it would kind of be like you being in jail for 16 hours a day! I used a heating pad underneath my boy's crate when i was crate training him and that worked very well. As does a hot water bottle. I boiled water before bed and put it in the bottle then made sure to cover the bottle up very well and tucked it underneath all of his blankets, that also works well. B's do not like to be cold and they would prefer to sleep in the 'big bed' with you, but I can understand the need to train him. Hopefully some of these suggestions will alleviate the problem. Maybe give him a bully stick in his crate at night too and that is the only time that he gets it, it would keep his mind busy until he falls asleep.
Oh my gosh, I hadn't thought of putting a heating pad under the crate. Annie is COLD at night, and we've been using a space heater, but I don't like that option. Simon still doesn't want to crate up with her; apparently she's annoying :) and at the moment we have a geriatric cat in our own bed at night, so we've been really struggling to get it right for Miss Annie.
What kind of heating pad do you use? One specifically for pets? Or a regular human one?
Sorry to sort of threadjack, but it's a crate problem, so maybe it's not TOO far off topic :)
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listeme….....You can buy actual doggy beds with heating pads in them. They have a little heating pad and the wire going to it is wrapped in metal so that the dogs can't chew through it. I didn't have much luck with it though....as once Tucker found out how to open the zipper all of the foam inside became basenji bait. So after that I used a human heating pad underneath the crate (not inside) and then just set it at the highest setting. That way it could be felt inside the crate. The one I have though has a safety feature that turns it off every couple of hours. But I am a light sleeper and whenever I woke up at night I would just roll over and hit the button again and it would reset for another two hours. Once I started doing that...or the water bottle.....he would'nt make a peep all night.
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I'm totally going to try that. It sounds perfect for our situation. Fingers crossed!
I use these. http://www.khmfg.com/lectro-kennel-heated-pad-and-cover.html
I have used that for years for puppies and whelping and have covered it completely with heavy padding (usually a bully pad as I love them for crate pads). For puppies they can get a bit too hot so years ago we started using a lamp dimmer switch to regulate the heat better.
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This is why I LOVE this forum - so much helpful information. :)
I'm just wondering if there was some sort of noise/activity outside that startled him. People were letting off a lot of firecrackers here on New Year's Eve. I know lots of dogs are terrified of them. I just thought I would throw that out there as a reason. It doesn't give you a suggestion to fix the problem - it just might give further insight.
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Kipawa, not that I recall! Nothing out of the ordinary besides his behavior!
tanza, did you know what size lectro-kennel
Well because I used it in a whelping box (which for me is a 400 size wire "General Cage Model) it was the largest I think. But they have the sizes so you can just measure his crate and find one that fits.
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Be aware that if a Basenji gets really stressed he is well able to chew through the metal covering of the cable of heating pads.
I have never let my Basenjis sleep without making sure they're very warm at nights especially the older ones who aren't always able to maintain their body heat. Some of mine pile up on each other and some sleep with me. I maintain the sleeping area at 70 degrees F for those that sleep in the living room. I hate warm bedrooms myself!
