Pottying FAR from home

Basenji Training

  • This is all too funny. It definately must be a basenji thing. Alani will also walk very far away to do her business. She will never pee or poo any where near our building. And she also spins around for about five minutes until she poos and even then she sometimes isn't satisfied with the spot and will have to walk even farther. She won't go where dogs frequent (most people don't clean up after their dogs in my complex, very annoying) so we have to find a, somewhat, unused area.


  • Oh yes, Jazzy usually must spin a few times before she can actually "go".
    I've never had another dog do that.


  • Giz doesn't spin but he sort of seperates the grass with his paw, like he is sifting through it to be sure there isn't anything there before he squats. He has to have his back to us, too. When my hubby and I first started walking both dogs together, we couldn't figure out why he would NOT go. It took us 15 blocks before we caught on that there was someone on both sides of him so he couldn't turn his back to us.:D Poor Gizzy!


  • Oh yes, Jazzy usually must spin a few times before she can actually "go".

    How funny!! Both my B's do the same thing! :D


  • At the wintertime, my dogs will pee near by front door. But won't poop. As you can guess, there is some difficulties about that when it's really cold weather and lot of snow. Temperature might be under -40 c in worst case.


  • Lexi will pee on grass, but prefers pinestraw. She will not poop unless we take her to "her spots" which are at the opposite ends of the earth. We can take her around and around and spend a lot of time– OR we can just go right to her spot and she'll go as soon as we get there. So at least we get to choose: time or distance. hahahahaha...


  • I forgot to mention that today was the first day Lexi has seen snow. We only have a few patches, but she kept going up to each little patch and sniffing it– and then she kept marking on them. I guess she thought they were little while poo piles. It was really cute because she just couldn't quite comprehend what they were!


  • I think Giz would love to be somewhere where there was only a patch here and there. We just got a few inches and Giz just gives us the MOST disgusted look when we take him out in the snow:rolleyes: you just know he's thinking "stupid human, must we do this?"


  • It isn't so bad for us unless it's a blizzard out. The last big snow storm we had she refused to go out in. But when it's just a few inches on the ground she doens't mind. She LOVES the mounds that we have from the last storm. She likes to climb to the top of them like she's queen of the mountain. Find the next one from the top and run down to the next.


  • OMG!! me too me too!!! We had snow for the first time & they looked around like what's the deal with this stuff…I don't think they liked this at all :eek: and this morning they would NOT poop...I'm worried I'll find a present when I get home today. UUUGGHHH!

    Can it really be too cold or snowy to poop??!


  • Joey too will pee in our yard, but NEVER poop! He has his spots which of course are way down the street and are field areas with taller grass! (More privacy you know.) He does the, what I will now call "the B spin", before he poops too. Sometimes it takes him FOREVER though to get the last little tidbit out. I think he thinks his insides have to be super clean too!
    As for snow, he is indifferent. He moves a bit faster as I am sure it is cold on his paws, but doesn't act as anything is too different.


  • Can it really be too cold or snowy to poop??!

    Stormie says yes it can be - and too rainy, as well. Life with b's is always interesting! lol!


  • I am new to the forums. My basenji is 1 yr old and this is our 1st dog. Rocky will not go pee or poop unless he is about 2 blocks from home. When we tie him in the backyard he does not do his business so when we get home we have to walk him to his favorite spots far away. This is ok unless there is a big time crunch. How do I get him to have a fav. spot or area in hte yard?

    When my two were indoor dogs for 3 years in a condo community, we had to walk and poop everyday. I always had to have them poop in specific areas so that the other people living in the community wouldnt get mad.

    Here are the things I did to get them to poop immediately on our walk. I fed them after work. So the routine when like this. I came home. Peed both in the back yard as soon as they were let out of the crate (gigantic). Then they immediately came in to eat. I do not free feed because of Beta's food aggression and my fat cat experiences. Once fed, we immediately went for our walk.

    They both walked together on a splitter leash and I kept the leash short for the first half on the walk. If they pulled, I stopped and stood until they would both sit and look at me. Then we would continue. They recognized early on that walks required them not to be lunatics on the leash at first until they went potty. I didnt let them sniff the grass or pee everywhere. We just walked in the road until they got to the spot I wanted them to use. That was the first grass they touched. I usually could determine where the spot would be based on (please excuse my crassness here ) there ahole. I would call it the eye jokingly with my husband. I think the key with this was not letting them wander in the grass until it was time.

    The rest of our walk (a circle) was long leash the whole way back to the condo. They understood that business came first, and then free range sniffing because I wouldnt have to worry about them going in someone's yard.

    Plus! Coordinating poop pickup by yourself with two basenjis on a spliter leash should really be considered an art form!

    Doing this with my kids made it much easier on me and I enjoyed our walks together.

    Caesar always likes to walk it out a bit when he is preparing to go. I found early on that a slight tug when he is preparing will turn him around and change his direction. If I give him a slight tug each time he turns, he will poop closer to me than far away. Beta would just unleash her business when it was time without any need for pacing.

    So what do you think about that? It was my routine. I never let them pee in our front yard because the other dogs in the neighborhood would try to mark their scents. I used stinky plants and flowers in our beds to keep animals away from the yard. What are those flowers called? The little yellow and orange hearty small round flowers contruction people use in landscaping? They are also used to line gardens to keep rabbits out? Anyone know what I am talking about? Chresanthemum? Is that it?


  • I used stinky plants and flowers in our beds to keep animals away from the yard. What are those flowers called? The little yellow and orange hearty small round flowers contruction people use in landscaping? They are also used to line gardens to keep rabbits out? Anyone know what I am talking about? Chresanthemum? Is that it?

    Marigolds maybe? I use them around the border of the veggie garden to make it semi-bunny proof.


  • thats it,marigolds!


  • I had the same problem with my guys, but I cannot walk them here, we have no safe areas, and I live in the suburbs. We have screaming neighbors, coyotes ready to snark you or the dog, and also the occasional loose dog.
    So I would wait till Angel, a mix who hates everything,had to go so bad when I got her to where I wanted her to poo, she was ready!! I also keep a small lower, cement floored hall; paper covered! Samuel even if he is in emergency mode, to do stuff, seldom goes inside, he runs out does business and runs in! gg No sniffs if he has to go!! I just picked a good spot close to house, picked up a poo on the paper, put it out there and Angel went there. Its hard to get them to do what they do not want too do!! ggg Carol


  • I am so relieved to read about the Basenji spin, I was at first worried that Beeji had a twist in his guts or was just having a fit, but then realized he just has to spin. I can tell when he is going to poo since he spins but he hasn't exactly picked one spot to go. We have about four places that he will use but all at different times. Go figure.

    I too believe in the poop and scoop and though it is not fun, I do it. Lots of folks here in the neighborhood don't do it and some even look at me like I am nuts for picking up. I sometimes wonder what they are thinking!!

    The only challenge I have with the spinning is that the poo doesn't wind up in a single pile but layed out in a circle so I have to stretch a bit.

    I have taught Beeji to stand still once he is done. I wait till he finishes and does his kicking thing. (do all Basenjis do that? He kicks dirt and grass etc up with his back feet sort of in the general direction of where pooed. He also does this when he pees.) Anyway after the cat kick as I call it, I tell him to stand and then I slip the lead around my wrist, get the plastic bag and do my part! Then off we go.

    I like the idea of a short tight lead till he actually gets to the business of pooing. I will try that in the morning.

    What a hoot a Basenji is. Even my mix can make me wonder so I can't imagine a full blooded B and me!!! But it might be fun. After all, I'm finding with Beeji, he is sort of like chips, you have a hard time stopping with just one!!!

    Aloha,


  • @Cherylwordweaver:

    The only challenge I have with the spinning is that the poo doesn't wind up in a single pile but layed out in a circle so I have to stretch a bit.

    Since Max often had loose stools due to inflammatory bowel disease, I would take paper plates in a plastic bag on our walks. When he would start the basenji spin, I would reach down with a plate. I got pretty darned good at catching everything :) Of course, sometimes the neighbors would look at me funny. But that was easier than trying to get it up off the ground if it wasn't firm. One time, a young boy was with his dad who was doing some construction on a house by me, and he had his dad's megaphone he was playing with. He started giving a blow by blow description over the megaphone of me following behind Max trying to catch his poop. Now that was a little much :eek:


  • Jazz doesn't spin while she goes, but before. She remains still to poo, which makes clean up nice and easy.

    That's also how she lets me know she needs out to poo. If she only needs to pee she just runs to me and acts very restless, but if she has to poo she stands in front of me and spins.


  • When I first adopted Beta as a rescue, she would walk or pace and poop becuase she was scared of the area around her because it was unfamiliar.

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