Let me in or I'll poop

Basenji Training

  • YAY you go little B :D :D :D


  • Yes well like I said one day at at time because yesturday was a different story. My daughter came home from school and as usual he had peeped and pooped but on the wee wee pads, no big deal we are used to that. But then he started nipping my daughter pretty hard, she almost cried so she went into her room. When I got home this little brat had pooped in the living room and peeded in the hallway right in front of my daughter's room. AGHHHHH!!!! I was so upset. Anyway I took Champ to the park and met up with some owners and I wanted to get input on the crate thing. See the thing is that we like Champ to walk around the house sit with us on the couch and sleep in his bed next to us and this seems to have to change if we start crate training him. I just want him to stop pooping and peeing inside the house. He only does this when he's alone. He hasn't had any accidents while we are home for a few days. My other concern is the nipping. I swear we have tried all your suggestions, but nothing works. Wait the walking worked because after we came back from our 1 1/2 hour park trip he was such a little angel. Anyway I got the crate suggestion but was told he had to sleep in there which I don't like (will he?)and then I was told to punish when he did his messes by rubing his nose on the pee and then isolated him from the family. This used to work with my toy poodle, but he was pretty much trained and not so hyper. The trainer is coming this Sat. so I'm sure he will help with the nipping and he already mentioned the crate…I need some feedback please my mind is running in circles with this whole crate, potty business.


  • punish when he did his messes by rubing his nose on the pee and then isolated him from the family. This used to work with my toy poodle, but he was pretty much trained and not so hyper.

    I'm not sure who shared this information with you but IMO it's terribly wrong & may actually make things worse. This will scare the little guy & somtimes the smells stays on their nose if done harshly & they'll pee ALLLLL over the place :eek: I'm sure you don't want that. Try to get into the mind set that dogs will want to do things that make him feel good. If I don't nip…I get a FABULOUS treat :) If I don't pee I get such wonderful praises AND a FABULOUS treat.

    With the nipping try what they call "replacing the behavior" so when he starts to nip give him something to do IMMEDIATELY (and timing is everything with this exercise) that he can't possibly nip & do the new behavior at the same time...for example..Step 1-nips=chew toy IMMEDIATELY Step 2-if he gets distracted with the chew toy then you treat him with some yummy food & good praises!! Using a nice happy voice!!

    Andrea once used this analogy that has stuck with me....if they had a law that all those that DON'T speed get a new car :D wouldn't you NOT speed :) well same idea with dogs.

    With the peeing around the house you may need to keep the little guy on a leash meaning with you at ALLLL times. Tie the leash around your waist so you can watch his every move...if starts looking like he's going to pee (and you MUST watch & learn the signs because there aremany) you pick him up quickly saying "Potty Potty Potty" and take him outside or wherever you want him to pee. If you can't keep an eye on him then he belongs in his crate with the most delicious treat possible or a fun chew toy!

    I can't emphasize enough that you need to do these exercises every single time every single day...it does work but the commitment needs to be there.

    We have some issues with other dogs & I've been teaching "Watch" to my dogs for what seems like forever!!! :eek: and it's taken them about 3 months to figure it out...but it's every day & the precise time.


  • Can I potty train him with the crate when we are not home but give him free use of the house when we are, including letting him sleep during the night out of his crate? This is the only reason y we have not crated him. O.k about the nipping thing, we are all going to have to strap ourselves like cowboys to a chewing toy and maybe a squirt water bottle for back up.


  • I don't know about crate/potty training but our B is only in the crate when we are away. She sleeps with us durring the night. Does your B pee or poop in the house at night? If not, I wouldn't think that you would need to crate to help with potty training at night.


  • No, Champ only does this when we are not home. During the night he sleeps straight through. He pretty much just has this issue when he is left home alone or when for example we are in the bathroom or my daughter is in her room and he is not allowed in.


  • You should try the advice that some gave on this thread to potty train while you're out of the house. You can fence him in an area so that he doesn't pee all over the house but is in a confined space where he also has his crate & some wee pads that he can use to go when he needs to.

    http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?t=1119

    Also check out the thread discussions in the Training Section of the forum. There's lots of good advice there about potty training AND lots of info about crates & why it's a good idea.

    My dogs are adults and we crate them any time we can not supervise them. And they get crated at night to sleep. They are den animals & I assure you they do like a safe confined space that they can go to feel "safe" and also just a place they can rest in.


  • Thanks everyone is alsways offering such wonderful information and it's great to hear that they are den animals and he might feel even better ebing in a crate. That will definetly help me sleep at night. Hopefully after some adjustments are made during the weekend I will come back with some good news. I know it takes time and I will be patient with my B.


  • @luzmery928:

    Can I potty train him with the crate when we are not home but give him free use of the house when we are, including letting him sleep during the night out of his crate? This is the only reason y we have not crated him. O.k about the nipping thing, we are all going to have to strap ourselves like cowboys to a chewing toy and maybe a squirt water bottle for back up.

    You can do whatever you want with him, as long as you can keep your eye on him every single second. During the day, you make it so he can't leave the room you are in…or tether him to you....while you are sleeping, you are unlikely to be able to watch him, so I would crate him. The only exception to that, imo, is if he is sleeping in your bed, and you wake up when he starts to move around. That is how we night trained several of our dogs. As soon as the puppy starts moving around, we take them outside.

    We have a puppy right now too...so I totally understand what you are going thru. But I know if I walk away from the puppy, I will most likely find a puddle when I come back. I clean it up, and go on....I know if I leave her in her crate for more than three hours, I will be cleaning up pee, and probably poop. I put newspaper on the floor of the crate, and an absorbent blanket, and be prepared to clean when I come back. The responsiblity is all on ME to set her up for success...if I can't do that, then I take responsiblity for not actually training her.

    For the biting, try standing up and leaving the play when it gets too rough. Usually our puppy bites when she is either on my lap, or if we are holding her..I immediately put her down (unless she is struggling to *get down, and that is a different story). Game over. You can also try spraying your hands and arms with Bitter Apple. That is the only thing that worked when Querk was a puppy.

    House training sometimes takes a long time. You KNOW that he will poop when somebody walks away (separates themselves) from him.... so set him up so that can't happen. If your daughter needs a break from him, put him in the crate, and she goes off to her room. Give him something fun do in there, so it isn't a puninshment. Or she says 'mom, watch the puppy, I can't deal with him right now'.

    You were meeting with a trainer, right? Has that happened yet? Hopefully he or she will have some good ideas for you.


  • @jys1011:

    With the nipping try what they call "replacing the behavior" so when he starts to nip give him something to do IMMEDIATELY (and timing is everything with this exercise) that he can't possibly nip & do the new behavior at the same time…for example..Step 1-nips=chew toy IMMEDIATELY Step 2-if he gets distracted with the chew toy then you treat him with some yummy food & good praises!! Using a nice happy voice!!

    Andrea once used this analogy that has stuck with me....if they had a law that all those that DON'T speed get a new car :D wouldn't you NOT speed :) well same idea with dogs.

    .

    Great advice about the nipping…and I am glad you liked my speeding analogy :)


  • Yeah the trainer is coming this weekend. During the night is not a problem, when he sees we are going to bed he goes to bed too and does't wakw up before 5…We walk away when he nips but believe it or not he kind of likes it, it's like he's playing catch and nip. He does behave when we take him for a long walk so I do believe it's just alot of energy. I started telling my daughter that she needs to spend more time with him by playing with him. I do think he might nip at her the most because she's dosen't spend that much time with him. He is persistant and wow his nips can hurt. I tried ignoring him yesturday but when he starts nothing stops him, well he dosen't like the spray bottle to I think we're gonna get more persistant with that.


  • The spray bottle may wind him up more. Try the Bitter Apple on your hands. we have found that sometimes when the puppy is too tired (yes, it can happen) they are more mouthy. Sometimes just putting the puppy in the crate for a nap works wonders!


  • is that like the spray on scents or do I get this at a pet store?


  • It is available at pet stores and is a chewing deterrent formulated for pets so it is nasty but non-toxic. I've heard of some dogs that aren't phased by it, but my B gives me dirty looks when I open the cabinet the bitter apple is in :D


  • Andrea..hey if I ask for advice I absolutely take it to heart :) especally the good stuff :D :D

    Thanks for the compliment..I've been doing quite a bit of reading! And practicing!!


  • O.k here's the update on the trainer..Well he's not really a trainer but knows alot about dogs. (he was referred to us by the rescue agency) Anyway he thinks Champ is unusually imature for his age and feels the excessive nipping and the nipping in his favorite area-bobbies, is due to him maybe being seperated from his mom too early. He wants us to crate train him but he says to put him in the crate with no toys, blankets bed or anything. (This I find very harsh). Also he says we should keep him crated when pple come over the house. (I'm not happy about that either). That' sll for the potty training. Now for the nipping, he suggests a citruis collar. It is like a shock collar but instead of shocking, it realeases a strong smell that the gods dont' like.
    O.k I was unable to sleep last night just thinking of these methods and would really like some feedback concerning these trainng methods. I don't want to do the wrong thing and cause any probelems for our B


  • Hmmmm - lots of times you have nipping puppies because they were removed from mom too early and she would have corrected that kind of behavior. So what would mom do if she were nipped by her puppy.

    Growl at puppy and probably mouth the puppies head. Now I'm not recommending biting your dogs head but a firm hand on the head with a growly noise from whomever is getting nibbled on is probaly a good idea.

    I always recommend keeping a dog especially puppy crated or away when lots of people come over for a variety of reasons:

    1 - if they don't close the door quick enough the pup could be gone.
    2 - not everyone is a dog person and may have different expectations of what a dog should be doing and correct the dog in a different way that would be appropriate.
    3 - too much stress


  • yeah that sounds right, now what about being left in the crate without any toys, bed, blankets, etc?


  • I've only heard of citrus collars that are used to control barking; the barking sets off the shot of citrus. Are there ones that can be remote-controlled? In other words, how does the nipping set off the citrus blast?

    I'm not sure of his reasoning in leaving the pup in a bare crate. Did he explain why he thought it was a good idea?


  • No. I will ask him but I'm not sure a bare crate will help. How will he want to be inside if I don't keep him comfortable. The collar is remote control

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    How exciting! Caesar never had training problems, but Beta was a wreck. She was an angel the first 6 months and then she began peeing in any room that i wasnt in. At the time i had a townhome where the bedrooms were all upstairs. I had the stairs gated and my basenjis had full roaming of the living room dining room and the kitchen which was visually blocked by the kitchen countertop from the living area. Once Beta hit 6 months she began changing or adjusting to the home and the other animals (Caesar and the 4 cats). She became snarfy, she became food aggressive, and she started to sneak out of my sight to pee on the kitchen floor or in Caesar's bed. The downstairs wasnt huge, so I didnt understand that the area was too big for her. In her case, she was asserting herself as alpha to the other pets in the house. Beta had a very difficult life before I adopted her and it took me 2 years to finally teach her that you pee only on grass. I am not saying that your pup is pooping for the same alpha reason, but here is what I had to do to get her to stop. I was so frustrated and knew that she was no where near ready for basic training. I knew she was adjusting. I understood that what she was doing was behavioral not physical. I brought in a trainer who becan to work with her because I was out of ideas. He suggested that the area she had to roam in was too large even though it seemed incredibly small to me. He told me to keep her harness and leash on inside the house. This made Beta aware that I was on top of her. If she went into the kitchen, I was there holding the leash. If she was in the living room sitting, I was there. Sometimes I just attached the leash to my pants to make it easier. She never peed in front of me and basically stopped the behavior because I was with her. The other major thing I found that helped Beta with settling down was exercise. She required a lot more exercise than Caesar. When I moved to a place with a fenced yard or took her to the dog park she could just burn that energy off. I found with Beta, that treat training would just not work for her. She would get extremely excited about treats, but her behavioral problems were mostly affected by my actions and attention. Food didnt matter. Caesar was really easy with training because I adopted him as a puppy. I could use the crate for time outs and he understood and would improve. Beta lived in a cage for over 1year and a half straight which was too small and in her own filth. I couldnt and wouldnt use the crate as time out for her. She liked going to the crate, and going to the bathroom in her crate was easier for her because it was her environment for so long. Her problem was adjusting to the world outside. So, restrict the area and keep a leash on her. She may be getting too much free roaming space too soon. Can't hurt to try it. She will soon forget what she was doing. And dont forget to get that Natural's Magic (I think that is the name) for pet smells in the carpet at your pet store. This should keep her from revisiting the same spot if she is doing that.