I agree with Pat. Its best to put the crate in the bedroom where you sleep. It helps if the puppy can see you so they feel safe. In the old days, we used to use a windup alarm clock because the rhythmic ticking reminds the puppy of the mothers heart beat. Of course you do not want to put it in the kennel/crate, but you can put it on top or next to it so the puppy hears the sound. You might be surprised, but another thing that can work is music. I do not mean rock and roll (lol), but soothing soft music can help. You want to make sure the bottom of the crate, towel, pad, or whatever is on the bottom remains dry. A wet cushion, towel, or bottom of crate can put a basenji puppy in distress and will eventually cause them to scream. They do not want to be trapped in the crate if they have an accident.
Peeing in crate during the night
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I also need some "pee in the crate advise"
We have an 18 week old Basenji (mix) and we are crate training her as well. When we first bought the crate, we also purchased a nice cushion that fit the crate perfectly. However, she immediately began chewing on the corner, so we took it away for now until she gets better about chewing and gets past the terrible teething stage. So, she just had the plastic floor to sleep on with her toys.
The first few days we had her she would wake up at 3:30am - we did it a few times and she did go, but then, she'd cry (only for about 10 minutes) when we put her back in her crate.
Our vet told us to stop getting up at 3:30am because if she was going to bed at 10pm, she should be able to hold it until 5am (when we usually hear her whine to get out). So, we stopped and occassionally she will wake that early, but usually just goes back to sleep.
We put towels in her crate one night to start to step her up to a more comfy crate, but she peed on them before we got home the next day. We removed the towels and back to the plastic floor and she's peed twice more.
We are giving her about 7 hours in the crate (always letting her do her business before we put her in it).
Is this normal - just getting used to a schedule since she's a pup? We are trying to do the right things, but don't want to create a situation or make the crate an unpleasant place for her.
Thanks.
IMO, 7 hourse in a crate at her age is way, way to long… I would not expect a puppy before at least 6 months (and more like when teething is done at 8 months or so) to go that long... Now that said, night time is different, IMO.. because it is sleep time and not stressful as when you are not home during the day.. again IMO...
But here is another thought, if I am reading this right, she is created when you are gone during the day and at night?... again, IMO, way to much crate time.
And I am confused by your post that said, "we put towels in the crate to make it comfy, but she peed on them before we got home the next day"? How long was she in the crate? -
Her schedule is as follows:
She is usually put in the crate when we leave for work around 7:30am - someone comes to let her out by 3pm. Then, we come home by 6pm. She's out of the crate to be exercised, fed, played with, etc. until we go to bed between 10pm - 11pm. She's up at 5am, walked/exercised, played with and fed, etc. Then we're off to work again. We both work full time.
She didn't have one accident inthe cate until we put the towels in there.
Our vet told us she should be able to go 7 hours in the crate.
When we have her out of the crate, which is anytime we're home, we take her out every 1 1/2 or 2 hours, or if she gives us a signal she needs to go out before then. We don't take our eyes off her when she's out of the crate for fear of what she might get into. ; )
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Vets are not experts and each pup is different with what they can or can not tollerate… Again, and this is just my opinion, if I had a pup that had to be crated during the day, it would be a bed dog at night.... and again, IMO... 7 to 7 1/2 hrs in the crate is too long during the day.
However, all that said, could very well be the towels in the crate, so in that case, no bedding... and you might find that she will always pee (also known as marking) her bedding. Many dogs of all kinds of breeds and mixes do that sort of thing.
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Thanks for the comments. Our hope is that someday she can have some free roam area, but for now, it's the crate.
We will certainly work on our/her routine and make sure we're not pushing her bladder beyond it limit. Perhaps it's a dog sitter/walker some afternoons.
Jen
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Thanks for the comments. Our hope is that someday she can have some free roam area, but for now, it's the crate.
We will certainly work on our/her routine and make sure we're not pushing her bladder beyond it limit. Perhaps it's a dog sitter/walker some afternoons.
Jen
I am sure it will work out, just keep in mind her age.. and another tip… sometimes during teething they will have "accidents" and seem like they have totally forgotten housetraining 101
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I'm so glad we found this forum because we are really trying our best and some days we have little victories with training on various things and other days we totally feel like she's won all battles. It's tiring at times, but we both know that are diligence will hopefully pay off…although it sounds like this breed is a handful for life - we didnt' know this when we adopted her. We weren't looking for a basenji in particular, just a new member of the family - she found us - hopefully, she will bear with us ; )
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I'm so glad we found this forum because we are really trying our best and some days we have little victories with training on various things and other days we totally feel like she's won all battles. It's tiring at times, but we both know that are diligence will hopefully pay off…although it sounds like this breed is a handful for life - we didnt' know this when we adopted her. We weren't looking for a basenji in particular, just a new member of the family - she found us - hopefully, she will bear with us ; )
What is she a mix with?
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We dont' really know - we adopted her from a no-kill shelter in Franklin, TN. We think some type of terrier (of course, that could mean pit), but our vet doesn't think it was a pit. I'm pretty sure she was the result of a full blooded basenji with something else because she has all the characteristics except the curled tail. I've tried to upload a picture, but it's too big. I'll have to take a few at a smaller size and upload this weekend.
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Just a suggestion about crate bedding. When ever we got a new pup we went to the local Salvation Army or Good Will resale store and purchased multiple baby crib quilts and blankets @ 25 to 50 cents a piece. These are comfy and easily washed. (Crate cushions were never purchased until after house training was accomplished and teething was overDISCLAIMERif you have a "digger" and not a chewer, crate cushions and conventional dog beds are never safe:( )
With our Katie, she also peed in the crate at first, but always in the same corner, so we purchased (at the resale store) some towels, hand towel size, and placed them in the crate, in the corner she used. We immediately replaced a wet towel with a newly bleached–so no scent--towel and cleaned the plastic tray thoroughly so no urine scent was left. We then put the urine soaked towel in the backyard and always pottied her in that area. She's a little slow by Basenji standards
, but she caught on quickly IMO because regression in behavior was immediately addressed. Re-crating during the day with the baby blankets and towels. She HATED not having her free roam priviledges:DThat said, I also have to agree with Tanza's post. 7 hours during the day is a long time for a young 'un. Too much stimuli even when you're not at home. Night time is a totally different situation.
Good luck! Keep us posted
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I have a related question. Do you let your pup tell you when it needs to pee at night (by whining), or do you decide to get them up at a certain time and take them out?
Charlie always slept right through the night, even as a very young pup - he would wake up between 4am and 6am. We didn't crate him back then. He'd sleep in an old laundry basket in our bedroom. We knew he'd be awake because he'd start chewing his bones (or the basket) really loudly, or he'd come over and try to find us. So we'd take him out, and then try to get him to rest a little more. Usually he'd just want to start the day, though. Nowadays, at 15 months, he sleeps in his crate and doesn't wake up till around 8am (though we've been getting him up earlier since we got Lexi).
Lexi - our 14 week old - usually sleeps through the night. She goes to bed (in her crate) around 9pm after a last-minute pee. A few times she has woken up around 2am and whined. She regularly wakes up around 6am and whines. I take her out when I hear the whining - she has to be quiet for me to open the crate door, though. If it's 2am, she goes straight back into the crate after her pee, with no cuddling or anything. If it's 6am, she goes out for her pee and we start the day. I hope that eventually she'll wake up later and later, till she can sleep through the night till around 8am like her brother.
This morning, I found a little pee spot in her bed - clearly not big enough for a full pee - maybe some came out in her excitement to greet me and Charlie? She has also peed in her bed once before, while I was out of the house. Charlie never did this, so I have to admit I'm a bit surprised. I certainly don't want her to get used to peeing in her bed. Should I just see how things evolve and expect that she will wet her bed here and there till she matures? Or should I put her on a schedule at night - e.g. up at 5am for a pee, and then back to bed?
Also, I don't want her to get used to whining for my attention. Though, at the same time, I'm happy that she can tell me when she needs to go out!
Any thoughts?
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IMO… the correct thing to do, if they wake up and whine, out they go, then immediately back in the crate. If they are waking up for your attention and not really having to pee, they get the message if they go out and straight back to the crate. IMO it is a mistake NOT to react to their whine.....
I usually will not wake a "sleeping" pup up to go out, but wait till they tell me it is time to go out....
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Hello Tanza, I have read many sites regarding whining. Most recommend ignoring it completely. We have two whiners. One has separation issues that we are working on, the other will whine most every morning at about 6~6:30AM. Their crates are located in our bed room. My feeling is that the little one now 10mo's old whines as they want to join their pack leaders in bed vs. going out to pee first thing in the morning… So your suggestion here is to take them out to do their morning job, and then back in bed? And if they whine again, back out... until they break the habit? I can see the advantage that they might equate whining with being let out. Any help would help.
IMO… the correct thing to do, if they wake up and whine, out they go, then immediately back in the crate. If they are waking up for your attention and not really having to pee, they get the message if they go out and straight back to the crate. IMO it is a mistake NOT to react to their whine.....
I usually will not wake a "sleeping" pup up to go out, but wait till they tell me it is time to go out....
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Same problem with my little one peeing in her crate. She has lived with me for less than a week, so I hope the problem will resolve itself soon.
I've been getting up every three hours to take my new adopted girl outside to pee. She lived at a vet clinic for six weeks in a pen, so wasn't always able to go out when she needed to pee and pooh. Cami seems to understand outside is where she is suppose to go, but can't hold it all night.
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Hello Tanza, I have read many sites regarding whining. Most recommend ignoring it completely. We have two whiners. One has separation issues that we are working on, the other will whine most every morning at about 6~6:30AM. Their crates are located in our bed room. My feeling is that the little one now 10mo's old whines as they want to join their pack leaders in bed vs. going out to pee first thing in the morning… So your suggestion here is to take them out to do their morning job, and then back in bed? And if they whine again, back out... until they break the habit? I can see the advantage that they might equate whining with being let out. Any help would help.
And being put right back in the crate again… however mostly I was talking about in the middle of the night, if they whine to go pee...
My crates are in the bedroom too... and honestly after morning pee I take them back to bed with us.... that is a reward for sleeping all night in the crate and peeing outside...
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Hello Vicki, I would suggest limiting water intake especially well prior to bed. Perhaps an ice cube. The other thing is to limit the size of her crate to just enough so she can stretch and turn around. We had similar problems with our second male basenji. He but quickly grew out of it. Around the house was all together different though. Keeping to a strict routine and keeping track of time between an accident in the house and last meal/water offering was very important. Remember, 1 hour per month is the most she/he should be expected to hold.
Hope this helps
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Since Cami is over a year old, and really should be able to hold it through the night, my first question, has she been tested for a UTI? If she has a UTI, that would explain her need to go so frequently and things should get better once she is on antibiotics.
If she does not have a UTI, then it may be a learned behavior from being at the vet and not being able to go out when she needed to. If this is the case it can be much harder to break. But you will want to limit water intake before bed, create a schedule so you can take her out before she needs to go and hopefully once you are having no accidents in the crate, start lengthening the time between taking her out.
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Yes, the vet tested her for UTI. Living at the clinic, Cami received good vetting.
Thank you for the information. Last night, Cami didn't pee in her crate. She received lots of praise. Altho, she did when I left for an hour this morning, but she did hold her pooh!!
I haven't had Cami for a full week, so the other dogs and I are adjusting to her quirky ways. Being homeless, than living in a pen, Cami doesn't know for sure what is right or wrong. She is learning by watching the other dogs.
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Being homeless, than living in a pen, Cami doesn't know for sure what is right or wrong. She is learning by watching the other dogs.
Often that is the best training for a dog, to just see how other dogs in the household/pack behave. Glad to hear she is trying to learn where she needs to go and where she needs to hold it.
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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.
