Skip to content

First Night With 8 Month Old

Basenji Training
  • Hi all - I'm new to the forums and to the Basenji breed. Today my family adopted an 8 month old Basenji mix from the local HS, and I have a couple questions:
    I plan to sleep beside the crate for the next 2/3 nights (or more) to hopefully assist with any night-time issues. After all the reading I've done, it seems as though Basenjis and towels etc do not mix - so is it safe to place a towel or 2 into the crate for her? She will also have some chew toys.
    Also, any recommendations on proper beds for her? As in, ones she won't eat?
    TIA

  • Our pretty much tore up or soiled all bedding till they get trained. Start off only short times in the crate and always make it a positive as possible experience.

  • To answer your question regarding bedding; no, towels are not a good choice, they can turn out to be a dangerous thing for a dog to chew up and ingest. Polar fleece is a much safer choice.
    -Joanne

  • Sleeping next to her is a good idea, and fun too. Some experts do it for more than a week.
    Fleece is good.
    I would't put chews or toys in her crate, you never knows what happens when you are sleeping deeply.
    The longer/better the walks, the more tired she is, the less she will destroy your house. If she doesn't get enough running time (and I mean EVERY DAY), you're in for a hard time.
    Emjoy!

  • Polar Fleece is a better choice, I agree… or sturdy beds/mats for the crate... you really need to see how she does with bedding, none of my Basenjis were bedding killers. And the crate should be in the room where you sleep, next to your bed.... then you are right there to deal with any issues.

Suggested Topics

  • Puppy training at night

    Basenji Training
    4
    0 Votes
    4 Posts
    3k Views
    Baba BamideleB
    The rule of thumb I was taught is that a puppy can only wait an amount of time equal to their age in months plus one. So, at eight weeks old (two months), your pup can hold it three hours tops (1 month + 1 month + 1). You should probably schedule a couple of potty visits outside during the night, even though it will be a pain. When we got Cosette, my wife and set a timer for three hours and three hours beyond that. We took turns taking her outside. At twelve weeks old, we were able to lengthen the time between breaks to 4 hours, then 5 hours at sixteen weeks, etc. It's tough, but it will keep your home (and her crate) clean!
  • The puppies first practice

    Basenji Training
    7
    0 Votes
    7 Posts
    4k Views
    BasenjimammaB
    Lisa..we will have to be there…I live in Waller-ish...about 10 minutes or so away..too cool.
  • First Points!

    Basenji Training
    14
    0 Votes
    14 Posts
    5k Views
    JannekeJ
    Yay! Congrats again!!
  • First Time…

    Basenji Training
    5
    0 Votes
    5 Posts
    2k Views
    S
    I love to see the b's running and smiling. This is a great photo…thanks for sharing.
  • Peeing in crate during the night

    Basenji Training
    26
    0 Votes
    26 Posts
    14k Views
    D
    We have really good luck with our little 9 week old at night now (wish I could say that about daytime)… He falls asleep on one of our laps typically around 9:30pm (usually my fiance' is watching tv) and then we wake him back up once he is good and asleep and WARM, and take him outside to pee, this way he does it very fast and wants to go back to sleep, so then we put him in his dog bed. After he is asleep we move the whole dog bed into his small crate in our bedroom. Mind you we won't use the crate once we can TRUST HIM. Our bedroom has brand new carpet and new paint and all new very expensive furniture (basically we did that right before we decided to get a Basenji :P) So then if he wakes up and whines, I get up and rush right to him and immediately take him outside on the leash, he goes immediately, then I give him half a treat and he lays next to me on the bed to fall asleep (he will NOT go back to sleep if I put him in the crate and my fiance' can't handle the screaming (she needs her sleep as she commutes a LONG drive every day)) so then if he falls asleep before I do, I move him back to the crate. Obviously the downfall to this is that sometimes I fall asleep first and then he gets to sleep in my bed... but he always wakes me up if he has to go (I keep my arm around him). But we started this method about a week and a half ago and only had an incident in our bed the first night, since then its been better and better every night! Now he only has to get up one time per night, which is usually around 3:30am now, it used to be 2, then 2:30, etc... so he is getting better. However I have learned to give up on the idea of getting him to fall back asleep after my fiance' gets up for work, he will just fight me the whole time. I sure wish I had the ability to be home all day to not have to crate my dog, but it is not an option, people have to work. So a lot of dogs will have to be crated for long periods of time. Hopefully eventually they get used to it. :)
  • A night with Bandit

    Basenji Training
    14
    0 Votes
    14 Posts
    6k Views
    ChaseandZahrasmomC
    Angee, You are so right about the good feeling you get when you wake up to those happy wagging tails. When my husband is deployed it really makes waking up in the morning bareable! It is great when I get home from work too. I dropped them off at a kennel today because we are going on a few days vacation before my husband deploys, we are leaving tomorrow but dropped them off today so we could get some running around done. It is so quiet sitting here right now without them. I don't think I could handle this house alone without the dogs! Jenn