Anxiousness when alone
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We all know basenjis hate staying alone, but our situation is becoming quite difficult…
Some months ago our basenji lost her best friend, a whippet we had had for 13 years. Since then she has problems with staying alone at home. When alone, she cries a lot, runs around, destroys plants, doors, walls and so on. She is really anxious and can't calm down. We always have to have someone at home with her, and it is almost impossible to arrange.
We are looking for suggestions or concrete advice. Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences.
P?ivi
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This may sound silly, but have you tried leaving a TV or radio on when she is home alone. Also to contain her from being destructive have you thought about a larger indoor pen or possible a couple of baby gates stacked on top of one another across a bathroom or kitchen floor? the reason I said bathroom or kitchen is that ours both have ceramic floors so there is no carpet to chew or get damaged.
Jason
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Thank you very much for all your kind answers.
Our basenji is almost 14 years old and we have her since 1996. She had never been alone before because our two dogs passed all the time together, they were inseparable!
Luckily my partner works at home, so we do not have to leave her alone for a long time. But even if she stays alone for less than an hour, it is too much for her.
Our backyard is not fenced, and our basenji does not like to stay outside for a long time. She loves warm places and often sleeps under the blanket. As to an inside pen, I think it would be a piece of cake for our dog, she would be perfectly able to destroy it in a few minutes…
We have tried to leave radio on when we are away, but as she is almost 14, she does not hear very much any more. We have not tried TV yet, it could be worth trying.
We have been thinking about another dog, but for the time being it is not an option. In fact, we would like to have a "dogless period" after this dog. We both leave far from our home countries and would like to be more free to travel back home.
Please don't give up, we need some more ideas... :)
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I've been giving my B some herbal extract drops that are used specifically to deal with an anxious dog. Azmira's Calm & Relax. I add the drops to his water everyday when I fill up his water dish. It took a few weeks to kick in, but lately he's been very relaxed while I'm away. This could be used as a buffer for the time being for your B to adjust to not having another dog around. Something to consider.
