@dana-k actually Dana, I do not believe the trainers say that eventually, they come to like their 'safe place'. Mine now will stay and eat in his crate, when the door is open. If i try to close it, i see the look of a prisoner, and he definitely wants to get away. I would have felt the same, btw. Currently, when i go out i 'crate' him in my salon. Until now, no real damage was done, at least not different from the damage he tries to do (like eat the plants) when i am with him.
Crate training
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So our beautiful Gizmo is joining the family next week and while he will have the run of of the house mostly we do want to crate train.
What size should I be looking to get? He's 5 months old now.
Thank you
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@enquiring_mind I like this one...
https://www.chewy.com/frisco-heavy-duty-fold-carry-double/dp/137163
It's big enough for an adult to stand in no problem. Lie down in fully stretched out. Wire so they can see out of it in all directions. Collapsible so it can easily be stored in a closet. Has a removable bottom tray for easy cleaning. Has two doors which I really love. I transport my dogs in a small hatchback. I can't close the hatch unless the crate is in side ways. The second door on the long side makes it easy for them to get in and out of. It's actually big enough that my two adults can ride together in one crate. My breeder turned me on to it. I keep one in the car and one in the house.
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@jengosmonkey thank you, that's the type I've been looking at. So 30inch is good size?
It's like the three bears, I want it just right
not too big not too small. -
@enquiring_mind Yes. For us it's the perfect size.
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@enquiring_mind A big one. He has to be able to lie out at full stretch, stand up and stretch, and be comfortable. I need to measure mine, I think the one in the car is about 34 inches long by 31 inches tall. I think you are in UK ? I googled it, but its in centimetres and I don't speak metric. Wire, folding, two doors, removeable tray, a coop cup (additional essential extra). Put a piece of carpet under the bedding for extra comfort. 30 inches is a bit small. Except for short car trips.
Mine have a double tray - so anything 'foreign' falls through to the tray beneath. I will try to find it on Amazon.
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@zande - I use ones that are 30 long (@ chewy the Medium one) in the house... perfect for both males and bitched. More then enough room and at night their beds fit perfectly in them. In the SUV I use the next smallest... as a matter of room... fine for trip to shows/lure trials... they curl up and sleep... always the wire crates... one for each Basenji.
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Size is key for crate/potty training, and cover it at night. Small crate or reduce available space of a large one.
At 4.5 months, Sanji is potty trained and now sleeps with us. But sometimes we have to step out and leave him in the crate. Glad we crate trained him at night and crucially, for naps during the day when he was younger and not potty trained.
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I used the next size bigger Med/L (at the time I bought them, the med was not available in this area.)
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@sanjibasenji - Wire crates are better then these............... you can cover them with a blanket, but when I got my first Basenjis 35+ years ago I did use the plastic kennels... hated them... use wire crates ever since. That said crate training for any pup regardless of the breed is an important thing. And if the pup is going to be in a crate at night, it needs to be in the place where you sleep
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Thank you all for the help.
@Zande yes, UK based. Good memory.
I've ordered this one, 30inch, got tray at the bottom and I've ordered a matt to make it soft for sleeping too.
If he grows out of it I'll pass this on to another and get bigger but hopefully this will do at first for the very least.
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@enquiring_mind Mine are 34 inch, but of course, I have two Basenjis, although I have always had this size, just multiple crates.
I wish I could have found mine on Google for you because the double tray is much better. It is like a lining to the tray which, when the tray is slid out, comes out and allows cleaning, but when in place, lifts the dog out of lying in the actual tray. And you can get bedding in Jollyes which fits perfectly.
Don't forget to get a coop cup. A water holder which fits into a ring clipped to the side of the crate and allowing the dog access to fresh water. This is especially necessary in the car for any length of trip.
Make friends with you local Jollyes, you will find loads of things there that you can see before you buy.
Don't forget to let me have the pup's data although it will be in the Breed Record Supplements. They only come in 4 times a year. I probably have all Ilona's information in already though.
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@zande Something like this one perhaps?
https://www.chewy.com/midwest-double-door-collapsible-wire/dp/175770
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@jengosmonkey No, because the lining of the tray sits in the tray and is no higher than the edge of the tray. I need to get out there with a camera. Anyway, it is not a metal tray - heavy duty plastic.
Just noticed something interesting - the number of crates that their adverts claim are useful for puppy training but which are OUT OF STOCK. Is this for the same reason shares in dog-food and dog-supply firms are through the roof ? Pandemic Puppies ?
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@jengosmonkey the dog in that advert is floating
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@tanza
I have both. Use the smaller plastic in the car. The wire is too big and bulky for that. I'm not sure about having the crate where one sleeps until they are potty trained, for two reasons. One, they need to get used to being by themselves for situations that require it, and two, it's convenient at night to have it near the door so the pup doesn't pee or poo in your hands on the way out. The first month is the worst, getting up every couple of hours... -
@sanjibasenji - You should pick them up and carry them out... until they are older and can hold pee/poo, not let them figure out how to get outside. At night I wake them and take them out, carry out and then carry in back to the crate. And yes the first couple of months are the hardest and you miss sleep... but wake them up and carry them out. Don't expect them to hold it and walk outside... puppies are used to getting up and going potty, not holding it. Remember that when with the litter they have Mom to clean up after them...
And honestly I don't agree that at night they should be by themselves... the need to be with their human... -
@enquiring_mind Completely agree. Reminds me more of a rabbit hutch than a dog crate. 
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@tanza said in Crate training:
@sanjibasenji - You should pick them up and carry them out... until they are older and can hold pee/poo, not let them figure out how to get outside. At night I wake them and take them out, carry out and then carry in back to the crate. And yes the first couple of months are the hardest and you miss sleep... but wake them up and carry them out. Don't expect them to hold it and walk outside... puppies are used to getting up and going potty, not holding it. Remember that when with the litter they have Mom to clean up after them...
And honestly I don't agree that at night they should be by themselves... the need to be with their human...I agree with all, except last sentence. If one doesn't teach them to sleep alone at night and during the day, it'll be a problem down the road when they have to be left alone. They may develop separation anxiety. My sense is that the basenji, and some other breeds, don't do well alone. The sooner they learn to spend some time alone, the less difficult it will be for them later when they have to be alone. Our work in this regard I believe has paid off. At first we were catering to him. He was training us. Then we followed the advice of our training pro, and began leaving him in the crate at night down stairs from our room. It was tough at first. But we stuck it out and within a few weeks he was going into his crate voluntarily. If we hadn't, it'd be really hard on him when we have to leave him in there for 2-3 hours when we can't be home.
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@tanza Actually I have never had a puppy pee on me while being carried out to empty. They seem to realise from a very early age where they are headed when woken at dead of night. They hold it until they are outside and then unleash the floodgates.
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@sanjibasenji said in Crate training:
If one doesn't teach them to sleep alone at night and during the day, it'll be a problem down the road when they have to be left alone.
That hasn't been my experience at all. The ones that were always kept close to me at night from the get go never gave me any grief when I left them alone. The two I adopted as adults that had not been close to their humans at night were my separation anxiety dogs......go figure.
"In order to get along with a Basenji, you have to be at least half as smart as the dog!"
