Hungry Dog

[lvoss]

I agree that you will need to work on manners with your dog and that you will also need to find a way to keep you dog from practicing the bad behavior while you work on the better manners. Here is a brochure on crate training that I recommend. It sounds like your dog doesn't view its crate a a great place to be yet and this brochure might help with that.

http://www.askdryin.com/movies/CrateDogLR.pdf

I am a big fan of using the Kong as a positive way to keep the dog out of trouble. I have several recipes that I use to stuff my Kongs and then I freeze them so they take 30-60 minutes to unstuff. I would recommend starting a routine in your house that when it is meal time for the humans it is also mealtime for the dog. Give your dog it meal in its crate in a Kong so you can enjoy your meal while you dog enjoys its meal.

Also make sure you dog is getting enough exercise and interaction. If the dog has been crated all day it probably has a lot of pent up energy that it needs to expend before it will be ready to settle down for dinner time.

[Rita Jean]

Sorry Tanza I myself tried to say feed the dog in there crate when they eat and if it be were it can see them IMO is not bad maybe will understnad this is your food and this is ours not yours.

Rita Jean

[HaloLover]

@nobarkus:

You give her CHEEZE WIZ? I wouldn't recommend that. There's healthy treats you can put in the kong. That's pretty junkie stuff.

Vet recommended b/c of loose stools… Not our choice

[HaloLover]

@tanza:

Typically once they start sleeping in bed with a "human" rarely will they get up in the night… mine never did and still do not unless they have a problem... at 8 months she can certainly hold it all night... You might have to keep an eye on her for the first couple of nights to see how it goes.

What do you know about where she came from? Did she come from a breeder or is she a rescue?

THANKS AGAIN! She came from a home where she was crated all day every day which is why they decided to pass her onto a home where she would have a lot more attention and exercise (I work from home and can take her on multiple walks, and our two boys and my husband and I have already been to multiple dog-friendly locations with her in 10 days). She slept in a crate all night there too… Tonight at dinner we tried sit/stay for treats, and it worked, until we were done-- then back up to lick the table dry (or wet!). Then what?

[tanza]

Well at least you were done with dinner…ggg you have to be consistant with training... it is not going to change overnight... You have to work at it... and keep up with the sit/stay until you clear the table... if you catch her in the act of getting on the table a sharp "no"... and remove her from the table. Back on the floor... when she stays on the floor praise her.... but again, the behavior is not going to change overnight... baby steps...

[dash]

Our boy did the same thing. It didn't help that when we went to the inlaws they fed him from the table. My reccomendation would be for 1 adult to keep the dog on lead during dinner. If the kids are at the table and you are cooking, tie the leash to your belt so he can't get at the kids food. As you are eating, I would give him a treat to work on. Since he is on lead you have control. If he jumps up, you correct him with "NO!" "off!" and then praise the second he gets back down. The first couple times you may have to swoop his back legs from under him. You will probably repeat this a bazillion times the first few days, but eventually if you are consistant he will get it. Our dog occasionally will have a brain fart and put his front feet on our legs but then we just have to look at him and he sits politely. However, we still have to leash him when the in-laws are there because they still feed him from their plate.

[wizard]

You've only had the pup for a short time so a lot of patience is in order while you train her. I feed mine at the same time as my dinner but she gets fed in her crate (so it has become a place where she wants to go). If the sit/stay worked well then keep that up The next step is to prevent her from getting on the table. I would suggest that as soon as dinner is done, the table be cleared as people are moving away. One person (adult) watch the dog for signs that she is going to leap (she starts to put weight on her hind legs for example) and stop her at that point - it can be a "no" or some treat to distract her or simply putting an arm up in front of her to change her path. Then immediately do something with her that she likes as a treat for not jumping (a belly rub even). You could also try put boxes on the table as people leave so she can't get up there.

[Basenjimamma]

I have a pretty unconventional way that worked on our westie in the past that would get on the tables. We put out lots of mouse traps all over the table, set ready to go off, and then we carefully covered the mousetraps and table with a thin sheet or the like, the next time Bogus got on that table, he got a scare unlike anything else, that did the trick for him. A basenji might need this done several times, I don't know. We tried everything with him, and nothing bothered him and he was stubborn as mule.
Otis' biggest problem, or I guess our biggest problem with Otis is the counter surfing..last night, while we were eating dinner, he once again stole something I didn't even think of as interesting and tore it in a million pieces, so powder went allover him and the kitchen..what you might ask..a brand new, unopened package of Alfredo sauce mix..I never would've thought of him getting that..He got it into his nose and allover his body..He got this huge sneeze attack and looked pretty puny after that..

[nobarkus]

@Basenjimamma:

I have a pretty unconventional way that worked on our westie in the past that would get on the tables. We put out lots of mouse traps all over the table, set ready to go off, and then we carefully covered the mousetraps and table with a thin sheet or the like, the next time Bogus got on that table, he got a scare unlike anything else, that did the trick for him. A basenji might need this done several times, I don't know. We tried everything with him, and nothing bothered him and he was stubborn as mule.
Otis' biggest problem, or I guess our biggest problem with Otis is the counter surfing..last night, while we were eating dinner, he once again stole something I didn't even think of as interesting and tore it in a million pieces, so powder went allover him and the kitchen..what you might ask..a brand new, unopened package of Alfredo sauce mix..I never would've thought of him getting that..He got it into his nose and allover his body..He got this huge sneeze attack and looked pretty puny after that..

LOL!! Sorry Petra but Otis' thievery cracks me up. Does he jump up on your counter? I guess I'm lucky as Buddy does not jump on any tables or counters. He will jump up with front paws on the counter and sniff but not up on it. He doesn't even try to jump over the pickett fence around the front yard. When I'm eating he patiently sits and waits, he doesn't even paw me or make a sound.

[Basenjimamma]

Does he jump up on your counter? I guess I'm lucky as Buddy does not jump on any tables or counters

No, he just stands at the counter with his front paws on it, firmly grounded and puts his head to the side, puts one of his front paws on the counter surface and swipes it like an automated arm..even if we put things in about a foot or so on the counter he reaches it somehow..If he were to jump up, I would loose it..no way.

[nobarkus]

@Basenjimamma:

No, he just stands at the counter with his front paws on it, firmly grounded and puts his head to the side, puts one of his front paws on the counter surface and swipes it like an automated arm..even if we put things in about a foot or so on the counter he reaches it somehow..If he were to jump up, I would loose it..no way.

OK, got it. Buddy hasn't done the automated arm thing yet. He's a large male with long legs so that would be a problem.

[Basenjimamma]

Yes Otis is large as well, when he stands on his backpaws he is at chest level with the counter or table..

[Shaye's Mom]

My girl slept through the night without peeing or pooing right from the start. If you are crating her normallly during the day, then putting her there while you're eating should not feel like punishment to her. They sell "ziggies" that you can put into her Kong - they last a lot longer than filling it with stuff. Incidentally, cheeze whiz is not a good snack - peanut butter in there is good, and they also have stuff specifically made for squirting into the Kong. We have also given Shaye the chicken hardpressed bones by Nylabone, and when we have company over to play dominoes or something, one of those will keep Shaye busy long enough to get to her quiet time anyway. We've found that once Shaye is down for the night, she is down to stay. Most others I've spoken to agree sleeping outside the crate won't hurt anything, and makes crating easier - saying that, Shaye was never crateable, and we tried everything out there. Confinement and separation issues.

[lvoss]

@Basenjimamma:

No, he just stands at the counter with his front paws on it, firmly grounded and puts his head to the side, puts one of his front paws on the counter surface and swipes it like an automated arm..even if we put things in about a foot or so on the counter he reaches it somehow..If he were to jump up, I would loose it..no way.

This is Nicky's method of choice. We joke that he is made of rubber because it seems he can stretch his arm way further back than seems possible for a dog his size. He is capable of jumping up on the table and counter but learned at a young age that it is inadvisable to leap where you cannot look. He jumped into a chocolate cake which required an immediate bath and then into a large bowl of water that was soaking in the sink. Now he won't jump anywhere he can't get a good view of first. The great thing is that he seems to have taught all my other basenjis not to leap where you cannot look. My mom's basenjis on the other hand learned from "The Interloper" that you can indeed leap where you cannot look and now all of hers will jump on the table if they think no one is watching. "The Red Devil" is the worst though because she jumps up there and has stolen and chewed my mom's cell phone and one of the trophies for the SCBF's Puppy Match next weekend.

[Basenjimamma]

We joke that he is made of rubber because it seems he can stretch his arm way further back than seems possible for a dog his size

We sometimes call Otis Gumby, like the rubber guy, remember? You are right though, it is sort of amazing how far and well they stretch their legs to reach something..after all that effort, you almost (I said almost) think they deserve the thing they stole..

[nobarkus]

The cats that I used to have at one point lived on a covered table because the Basnejis would chase them. My rw, Ringo would just pull the cover and everything including the food would go on the floor for eating. After he ate their food he would chew up their furry mouse cat toy.

[GenJMar]

My cody is also a very tall boy. He never jumps on the countertops or the table but with is long legs he can reach very far. Not much stands in his way. He once knocked off a bottle of liquor that I had though was far enough back on to the ceramic tile of my kitchen floor. When I got home he was very tipsy. Luckly no injury from the broken glass.He has also knocked over an entire bag of flour while I was baking. It looked like it snowed in my house.

[MacPack]

Yes! Topper also does the 1-armed stretch, raking anything on the counter off onto the floor. He will get into my shelves and cupboards as well, once got a 5-lb bag of powdered sugar and what a fine mess that was! I keep bungee cords on all my lower cabinets!

[Basenjimamma]

MacPack, I am so glad that was in your house and not mine..

[nobarkus]

One time Ringo stole a bag of ground coffee off my dresser, ripped it open and spread it all over the queen size bed rolling around in it. There was coffee all over the bed and him. He loved anything with a strong smell. When I went in the room to see what all the wrestling around was he just looked up at me with a "what"? on his face. He made me laugh despite the mess!