Good morning all @ 3AM, Crate Issues!!
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As long as he isn't in his crate for 8-9 hours during the day and then again at night. It is hard on them to be in a crate that long…..it would kind of be like you being in jail for 16 hours a day! I used a heating pad underneath my boy's crate when i was crate training him and that worked very well. As does a hot water bottle. I boiled water before bed and put it in the bottle then made sure to cover the bottle up very well and tucked it underneath all of his blankets, that also works well. B's do not like to be cold and they would prefer to sleep in the 'big bed' with you, but I can understand the need to train him. Hopefully some of these suggestions will alleviate the problem. Maybe give him a bully stick in his crate at night too and that is the only time that he gets it, it would keep his mind busy until he falls asleep.
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As long as he isn't in his crate for 8-9 hours during the day and then again at night. It is hard on them to be in a crate that long…..it would kind of be like you being in jail for 16 hours a day! I used a heating pad underneath my boy's crate when i was crate training him and that worked very well. As does a hot water bottle. I boiled water before bed and put it in the bottle then made sure to cover the bottle up very well and tucked it underneath all of his blankets, that also works well. B's do not like to be cold and they would prefer to sleep in the 'big bed' with you, but I can understand the need to train him. Hopefully some of these suggestions will alleviate the problem. Maybe give him a bully stick in his crate at night too and that is the only time that he gets it, it would keep his mind busy until he falls asleep.
Oh my gosh, I hadn't thought of putting a heating pad under the crate. Annie is COLD at night, and we've been using a space heater, but I don't like that option. Simon still doesn't want to crate up with her; apparently she's annoying :) and at the moment we have a geriatric cat in our own bed at night, so we've been really struggling to get it right for Miss Annie.
What kind of heating pad do you use? One specifically for pets? Or a regular human one?
Sorry to sort of threadjack, but it's a crate problem, so maybe it's not TOO far off topic :)
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listeme….....You can buy actual doggy beds with heating pads in them. They have a little heating pad and the wire going to it is wrapped in metal so that the dogs can't chew through it. I didn't have much luck with it though....as once Tucker found out how to open the zipper all of the foam inside became basenji bait. So after that I used a human heating pad underneath the crate (not inside) and then just set it at the highest setting. That way it could be felt inside the crate. The one I have though has a safety feature that turns it off every couple of hours. But I am a light sleeper and whenever I woke up at night I would just roll over and hit the button again and it would reset for another two hours. Once I started doing that...or the water bottle.....he would'nt make a peep all night.
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I'm totally going to try that. It sounds perfect for our situation. Fingers crossed!
I use these. http://www.khmfg.com/lectro-kennel-heated-pad-and-cover.html
I have used that for years for puppies and whelping and have covered it completely with heavy padding (usually a bully pad as I love them for crate pads). For puppies they can get a bit too hot so years ago we started using a lamp dimmer switch to regulate the heat better.
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This is why I LOVE this forum - so much helpful information. :)
I'm just wondering if there was some sort of noise/activity outside that startled him. People were letting off a lot of firecrackers here on New Year's Eve. I know lots of dogs are terrified of them. I just thought I would throw that out there as a reason. It doesn't give you a suggestion to fix the problem - it just might give further insight.
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Kipawa, not that I recall! Nothing out of the ordinary besides his behavior!
tanza, did you know what size lectro-kennel
Well because I used it in a whelping box (which for me is a 400 size wire "General Cage Model) it was the largest I think. But they have the sizes so you can just measure his crate and find one that fits.
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Be aware that if a Basenji gets really stressed he is well able to chew through the metal covering of the cable of heating pads.
I have never let my Basenjis sleep without making sure they're very warm at nights especially the older ones who aren't always able to maintain their body heat. Some of mine pile up on each other and some sleep with me. I maintain the sleeping area at 70 degrees F for those that sleep in the living room. I hate warm bedrooms myself!
