Sounds like there is WAY too much going on for Sally while she is trying to adjust to her new home.
agreed
How old is your dog?
What the trainer says makes sense.
I am a gardener and collect expensive rare plants. I let my dogs tromp through them and pee on them, without any real killing (except the time my I caught my dog carrying a rare $50 new planting in his mouth) He was so proud helping dad in the garden. I could not be mad at him he was so cute.
Our dogs race through our garden trampling things in their paths- they make paths. We have a large fenced in back yard. If they see a squirrel they are going to go full speed after it regardless what's in their path. If you let you dogs loose in you garden they are going to trample & pees on plants- basenji's do not care what you think. If you punish them it makes them mean.
You seem to be kind of strict, are you sure a basenji is the right dog for you?
They need structure, but as far as being obedient- your in for a battle.
I dont let our dogs near any strangers, small children or other dogs- mine and a lot of other dogs here can't be trusted- your looking for trouble, a law suit or putting your dog down, if she bites someone. Read some of the stories at this site, one person is being sued, another was forced to either put his dogs down or find a new home for his dogs -which is what happened.
I'm not trying to be mean, but basenji's do not really care about anything but food and what they want to do, trying to impose all these rules seems tough with a dog(breed) that does not care about what people think. You have to think of them being like a wild animal in many respects. They do potty house pretty easy, but telling them where they have to go seems pretty rigid to me?
Maybe a basenji is not the best fit for your situation?
Doing business in your own yard is all very good-however, (I've come up against this problem myself as I thought it was a great idea also) I also think you should be aware that if you train only in your yard and no where else you will run into problems. If you need to suddenly board your dog-have it stay at the vet's-go somewhere with your dog- Be Aware that your dog may not go to the washroom elsewhere. I had one dog who held it for about 3 days when I had to board. The end result was not the greatest. This is just food for thought. No offense intended.
Wow…. this has gotten way off track. I fully intend to keep Sally, she is very loved and I have more faith in her than that.
nomrbddgs,
Thanks for the advise, I'll keep that in mind. I understand. I was more frustrated with the neighbors. What did you do to make sure it didn't happen again. We do take her to the dog park at the end of the street.
By the way , she's 2 + years old and has only been at our home for a little over 2 weeks now. Most of that time she was sick.
I always make sure to feed them (I have 3 b's, a boxenji, and a heeler) THEN take them for a walk as soon as they are done eating, or let them outside. This is why feeding (for me) on a schedule is important. Also, I do use the 'go potty' technique as well. And while they're going say 'good girls, potty outside'. I take them whereever I can and always clean up after.
Sally Jo's mommy…do you have invisible fence?
I made sure she ate last night by sitting near her,a nd hand feeding. SHe then went out approx 15 mins later. She didn't go until 45mins later. But she went! we did the good potty potty thing and gave her a treat. She was very happy! We then let her loose in the house with us, as long as we were near her. She then went to her place to sleep, and slept very well.
When she got up we did the same, but she has only pee'd. I'm still waiting for the poop. I've taken her out 3 times now, with no poop. But that may be just her. O'well. I'll just keep her in the tiled area's! hahaha…
No invisible fence. We are putting in a regular split rail with fencing to keep her in and others out. I think she could break through an invisble. Because she is a mix, we think she may have greyhound, or something fast in her. The vet watched her run and felt she was too fast for that. When I say fast, I mean crazy fast! She caught a rabbit. She let it go but it was too fast for me to stop. Too funny! What a good girl.
I have a super scaredy cat as well. My beagle gets spooked when a leaf falls. And you may do this already but what helps with her is that she has a place where she can feel safe. She is afraid of my son. He is loud and moves to fast for her so she generally will be under my feet or upstairs on the landing when he is downstairs. Thats fine with us. We do make her go outside every hour or two just in case. If there are a lot of dogs at the bus stop-your driveway- and that makes her nervous then maybe she should stay inside or at a distance from the other people and dogs.
With feeding, Siss will not eat if Greggy is downstairs so we generally feed them while he is doing his homework -and quiet-. She is coming around. I will warn you that Siss has been this scared since I first saw her at 4 mos. She is very very slowly relaxing but she is 3 now and there has not been much change. I think you need to let her come around on her own. It seems like you are certainly trying your best. She is lucky she found you.
Another thought on the poop thing…the 100% guaranteed way to get Ruby to poop is to give her exercise. Also, Ruby only goes once a day (in the morning) unless something really excites her (like deer running across the road in front of her or a dog chasing her when we do an evening walk).
We have a routine in the morning...first thing after I get up, I take her out...say "Potty Ru", she runs off the step and starts to sniff, I say "potty" a couple more times and she goes. (oh and while she's going, I say "good potty" a few times and follow up with a treat once finished). We have a daylight basement that extends off the porch so there is an overhang that she goes under and will potty no matter how hard it is pouring (takes longer in the rain or when it is windy because of all the noise).
After the potty, then I run her on the bike or walk her (walks happen in light to moderate rain) - usually 1 - 2 miles. If I walk her, she sometimes poops on the walk (usually in one spot by a duck pond which is just about the halfway point of the walk). If I run her on the bike, as soon as we are back to the yard, we go in her dog pen, I say "poop Ru" and she starts doing the crazy run/circle thing and poops (again, I say "good poop" while she's going and give a treat to her when finished).
I bet if you walked her first and then tried to get her to poop, you might have more success as she will have checked for messages from other dogs 
on her walk and gotten all the new scents from those.
