Skip to content

Housetraining Pads… can they chew 'em?

Basenji Training
  • hmmm….I don't know...I dont think I would trust it. The idea behind those pads is to be absorbant, so if the material is ingested, it might absorb liquid in the gut and swell up...not to mention the chemical reaction that might occur in the stomach/intestines.

    I would just keep using lots of paper. We are in the same boat with Ariel...she is our first shredder/eater of all fabric bedding...Querk shreds but doesn't eat....so she is stuck with paper, or cardboard.

  • @Quercus:

    hmmm….I don't know...I dont think I would trust it. The idea behind those pads is to be absorbant, so if the material is ingested, it might absorb liquid in the gut and swell up...not to mention the chemical reaction that might occur in the stomach/intestines.

    I would just keep using lots of paper. We are in the same boat with Ariel...she is our first shredder/eater of all fabric bedding...Querk shreds but doesn't eat....so she is stuck with paper, or cardboard.

    I guess I should add we didn't use it long because it was just as messy as nothing at all. Since he shredded it 2 minutes after we put it in there it wasn't useful for the pee anyway. So I don't exactly have long term use experience. Quercus has a good point. I didn't think about possible swelling.

  • I don't put anything in Daisy's crate with her anymore. She destroys and makes a mess out of everything I have given for her comfort. So I figure she doesn't need these things. She lays on the plastic tray that came with the crate. I do however give her a biscuit and sometimes a kong to chew, but I think she just lays down and sleeps. Later on maybe in the fall/winter, I'll try an old blanket or comforter. She just might appreciate it when the weather becomes colder. I had done the same last year when Duke was Daisy's age (7 months now), and I was surprised that when I did give him a blanket that it mostly stayed in tact. He has a nice comfy dog bed in his crate now. He hasn't tried to de-stuff it . . . yet.

  • I should add that she HAS urinated in the crate a couple times and unfortunately, when I got home, it had dried up. Daisy and the room smelled of urine. :eek: Daisy got a bath. The tray slides out and is easily sprayed off with a hose outside and finished with Lysol disinfectant wipes. This happened only twice. Often, my sister-in-law comes to the house for lunch and lets my dogs outside. Daisy seems to be getting stronger bladder control.

  • Keoki has two cozy pads to sleep on at night, and he doesn't bother them at all. It's just the day time. I take those out and put in a bunch of paper towels.

    Sigh, I guess I'll just keep investing in the paper towel companies. LOL
    I have debated not giving him anything, but they at least absorb some of the pee so he's not splashing around in it.
    I just don't think my kids are going to do a great job cleaning it up, and then his bedding will be put in there at night. ew and ugh.

  • We use lots of newspaper….much cheaper than papertowels...but not quite as absorbant. I have thought about using cardboard boxes....

  • @Quercus:

    We use lots of newspaper….much cheaper than papertowels...but not quite as absorbant. I have thought about using cardboard boxes....

    If they "eat" cardboard can ball up and cause a blockage… have seen it happen.... especially the glued parts....

    Newspaper is good and you can usually go to a print shop and get the ends of rolls of blank paper... then you don't have to put up with the newsprint

  • Yeah, so far she hasn't eaten paper …and I have put in a little cardboard, and she doesn't seem to have eaten that. But, wow, has she eaten and pooped out a lot of fabric! I have never seen a dog eat so many tiny pieces of blanket!

    Good point about the cardboard blockage though....sometimes I forget they aren't gorillas ;)

  • Ahhh, newspaper. Duh @ me. LOL Why didn't I think of that a long, long time ago?

    I may give that a try. Thanks!

  • Poor Daisy gets nothing . . . Hope you all don't think I'm mean, but even if there is urine soaked newspaper or paper towel, there is still an unsanitary mess to clean - right? Wicked puddles would be better than not. I really fear that Daisy would eat the paper towel. I'll try it and see what she does, next time she's crated.

  • <>
    I don't think you're mean :) I just think it is easier to clean up the pee when it has been absorbed some. And there are many, many times were she doesn't pee, and the newspaper offers some comfort to lie on.

  • I'm one of those folks who advises against using puppy wee wee pads in crates, period. The pads are impregnated with a scent to entice the dog to relieve themselves and thus it could teach the dog to relieve itself in the crate. Newspapers are an affordable and relatively safe bedding. You can buy rolls of unprinted newspaper at the newspaper printers. These are solid white and thus do not leave ugly grey all over a Basenji's pretty white feet.

  • I bought a pad today for Keoki that is guaranteed to not be tear-able. If he tears it w/in the first 7 days, we get our money back.

    I put it in for the drive home and Keoki curled right up and went to sleep. Usually he shreds and whines in the car. So maybe…. {or maybe he was just exhausted from his big day}.
    Anyway, we'll see what happens.

  • LOL Got my money back this morning for the "indestructable" crate pad. hee hee Keoki had it torn in three places in the hour it took us to drive back for the second day of the show. ha ha….

  • @JazzysMom:

    LOL Got my money back this morning for the "indestructable" crate pad. hee hee Keoki had it torn in three places in the hour it took us to drive back for the second day of the show. ha ha….

    Ha, ha! I did the same thing many years ago with Querk at a show….we bought it, put it in his crate on the way to the hotel. By the time we got there it was trash...the next day I took it back to the guy and dumped it out on the floor of his booth ;)

  • This guy was really chatty yesterday, showing photos of his dogs {Am. Bull dogs} and making all sorts of small talk.

    Hmmmm, wasn't so happy to see me today. LOL

  • Cairo is 7months now and will unstuff toys (not eat) and will eat pieces of towels if I put them in the crate. I think it is just a stage that they pass through with age.

    I like the gray padding/ bedding that fits the shape of the kennel exactly. If they have an accident, it absorbs in, they can only destuff the edges and cant tear it apart.

    I think the towels are kinda a sucking chewing thing.

    The pads (at Petsmart) are super easy to throw in the washer for the occasional accident.

    Puppy pads have a particular scent which helps puppys know where to go to release themselves. I would not suggest using this in the kennel because you may be working against yourself with potty training.

    Typically my guys may have accidents, but they are usually pretty upset about it when I get home. Almost like they are embarrased.

    Caesar even taught himself to drink less in the morning to stop having accidents while I was at work. He guzzled water as a puppy.

  • Keoki apparently didn't like my being gone last week. He cried a lot at night and tore up his night-time bedding,which is something he NEVER chews {I take it out when we crate him during the day or he will tear it. But he never shreds at bedtime}. My son replaced it, and Keoki tore it up again. The last couple of nights he slept on bits and pieces of fluff and rags.

    I got home Sunday night, went out and bought the same kind of bedding for night-time and we've had no problems. He goes to sleep in his crate just like he should and his bedding is still intact.

    Sigh. I am leaving again Monday through Friday. I expect things will go as they did last time. I've already bought a cheapie little bed that I guess he can tear up while I'm gone.

  • @Duke:

    Poor Daisy gets nothing . . . Hope you all don't think I'm mean, but even if there is urine soaked newspaper or paper towel, there is still an unsanitary mess to clean - right? Wicked puddles would be better than not. I really fear that Daisy would eat the paper towel. I'll try it and see what she does, next time she's crated.

    Since this post, I gave Daisy a washable round bed pad for her crate. It has been over a week and she has not destroyed it, nor has she peed in her crate. I wasn't so much worried about the pee as with destruction. She loves laying on it - as she should because she is used to the sofa when we're home and sleeps on my son's bed at night. You just never know when to give back privileges until the guilt sets in. :o However, when Duke & Daisy are outside, they lie on concrete or hardwood. The plastic crate pan on carpet is much nicer :p but cozier with the pad. Thanks, I got some good info here.

  • Way to go Daisy!! :D

Suggested Topics

  • ~~choo choo!~~ chew chew!

    Basenji Training
    12
    0 Votes
    12 Posts
    6k Views
    G
    @elbrant said in choo choo! chew chew!: @giza1 Joanne, is there a specific Nylabone that works? I've never had a dog who likes them. (shocking, right?) We usually get the bigish ones, there is such a selection of Nylabones now. If your dog doesn't like them at first, try boiling it up in some sort of stock, infuse a little flavour. -Joanne
  • Chewing Problems

    Basenji Training
    3
    0 Votes
    3 Posts
    3k Views
    Buddys PalB
    Go online to see more ways of keeping her occupado….http://k9domain.org/problems.aspxYou should definiately put things up and out of harms way, even if you are home…it only takes a few seconds-I Know!!!! here is an excerpt from Whole Dog Journal that only allows copying if it is for informative purposes:Destructive Chewing- Simple Ways to Prevent and Cure Destructive Chewing One of the basic tenets of positive dog training is that it's much easier to teach the dog what to do rather than what not to do. If you program your dog's chew preferences early in life by consistently directing his attention - and teeth - to appropriate objects and preventing his access to inappropriate ones, you won't have to constantly tell him he's chewing on the wrong things. Interactive toys can help here too. A stuffed Kong suspended just out of your dog's reach can keep him occupied and work off excess energy as he jumps and grabs at the tempting prize. Instead of giving him his bowl of food in the morning, fill the Buster Cube with his kibbles and make him work for his meal by pushing cube around to make the food fall out. He won't have the time, energy, or desire to shred your grandmother's antique afghan if he's out "hunting" for his breakfast! Hope this all will give you something to go on…..
  • Any tips for the 'stay' command?

    Basenji Training
    9
    0 Votes
    9 Posts
    3k Views
    T
    For a teenage boy to be 80% with distractions is great. We're very proud of him and his Mom for doing such a great job with him. His little sisters Olive (aka Fina) and Scarlett will be coming to visit us next week. I hear they are also doing well, in fact I could hear Scarlett barrooing at her dad when he called to tell us they were coming for a visit. The bending thing is a mistake I make frequently so I have to remind myself all the time to watch my posture. Therese
  • Moving From Puppy Pads to Outside

    Basenji Training
    11
    0 Votes
    11 Posts
    4k Views
    D
    Our rescue, Kell was so easy, he trained us. He has slept in bed with us from the first night. he would wake up to potty a couple of times a night at first. He would arf, and continue to arf louder & louder until one of us woke up and got up, took him outside, praised him while he pottied, and then we would go back to bed. He never had an accident in the bed. That has dwindled down to not going until my husband gets up to go to work around 5:45.
  • Halti's

    Basenji Training
    16
    0 Votes
    16 Posts
    5k Views
    LyshL
    @CanisBasenjius: Lysh, You didn't say why the trainer suggested a Halti. To what end? I normally only recommend the Halti to owners of large dogs who are having serious pulling or reactivity problems. If Hope pulls, I prefer the Sense-ation or Wonder Walker to the Easy Walk, as I do not like the martingale effect on the EW and feel it gives less clear feed back and they seem to require more frequent adjusting for fit. WRT spitting out treats I have two thoughts: Try higher value (think real food, like boiled chicken) She may be slightly anxious and unable to accept food One of my dogs is an anxious fellow and usually cannot accept food in certain environments because he is too "on". It took roughly 2 years of living in our new neighborhood before he could accept food on our walks. Just a thought there. It took me a long time to realize that's what was going on with him. She has a lovely play style. Lots of give and take. Love that! Hi Thanks for the information. I agree with you and wasnt too interested in using a Halti on her and would prefer the easy walker etc. The reasoning she suggested we try the halti is because she wouldnt settle down and was basically like a fire cracker on the end of the lead no matter what you did and no matter the treat value, her food, liver treats, meat etc. But i took into consideration that it was a new place, other puppies and her 2nd outing and that shes a basenji, possibly even that she was bored. (maybe the trainer hadnt as all the other puppies where much more "easier" to calm down?) I think she was overwhelmed by everything as-well because by the next lesson, she was top of the class and even demo dog. She was calm and happy and vocal when she wanted to be. She done everything to a T. So we did not bother with the halti. Now that she is fully vaccinated and we have been out and about i walk her in a harness and she is a perfect little puppy apart for the occasional "omg its a bird" … yank! she even does anything strangers ask of her (sit, drop, stay etc). She accepts food whenever we are out and gladly ate her lunch at our recent fundraiser pet markets event for the RSPCA (attached some pics) Im very happy with her progress and we are starting puppy primary school for 6wks next month and then we are beginning agility and obedience classes. :) [image: attachment_p_120540_0_hope.jpg] [image: attachment_p_120540_1_pig-ear.jpg] [image: attachment_p_120540_2_poser.jpg]
  • How can i housebreak my basenji

    Basenji Training
    4
    0 Votes
    4 Posts
    3k Views
    M
    I got my pup when he was 7 months and he was sort of house broken. When I took him to the vet I found out that part of his house breaking issues was that he had a bladder infection. If you continually have problems house breaking (like very frequent urination or peeing in the crate) you may want to have your vet test for a bladder infection just to make sure. Another problem I discovered was that he didn't know how to tell me he had to pee. I hung bells on the door and by having him ring them every time we went out I taught him to tell me when has to pee. It has been great. Some times he rings them just to go out and play, but mostly he rings them when he really has to go out. Now the only "accidents" he's had is when I ignore the bells b/c I am busy. (he literally peed all over the living room the other night because I ignored him) One other suggestion, make sure you use an enzyme cleaner on any "accident" spots. These really eat away the reminants of the feces/pee so that your b will not recognize the area as an ok place to go to the bathroom Other helpful tips I got was to be sure you use the same door when you take your b out and take it to the same part of the yard. Give your b LOTS of praise for going outside (and a treat if it is food motivated).