Does your Basenji…

[tlbuddy]

Cry or whine when you are leaving for work or to go somewhere else. Cali never used to cry or whine when I would leave for work in the morning with the exception of one day soon after I got her and it was storming and the power went out. My neighbor told me the Cali was screaming and crying. She thought that it was a baby crying.
Well yesterday and today no sooner than I left the house I could hear her whining and yelping when I was getting in my car. She was screaming like a banshee! :eek: I live in a condo and my neighbor informed me when I got home that Cali cried and screamed for about an hour after I left. Today my neighbor told me that she cried for about 15 minutes. I have had Cali for 3 months so I wouldnt think she would be suffering from separation anxiety. She is kept in a crate when I am not at home because she can be very destructive. This is so odd for her to suddenly be acting like this because she hasnt been crying/screaming when I leave. One of my neighbors didnt even know that I had a dog until he saw me out walking her. He commented that he never hears her bark or cry indoors. Outdoors is a completely different story as I have written on some of my previous posts.
Any ideas as to why she might be doing this again out of the blue? I had actually left a recorder the first few weeks that I had her to see if she cried after I left for work and she didnt make a sound after the first couple of days. One of my neighbors that is at home all day also commented to me that she has never heard Cali cry/yelp after I leave the house before yesterday.
tlbuddy

[youngandtired]

Sahara does it also, and she didn't in the beginning. I think they get used to being out of their crate, and they love us more than in the beginning. They want to be with us, Sahara can't stand it hardly if one of us is out of the car, even though I might be sitting with her in the car, or my husband. Whoever is outside Sahara will cry and whine for. I told my husband we should have named her Shadow, b/c she is always near, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

[Ambered]

poor fender cries if i take the garbage out. he wants to be with me constantly. they just can be very loyal dogs. he hasnt stopped whining in his crate yet. it doesnt last as long as it used to. you just cant give in…no matter how pathetic they sound! btw someone jumped on top of the table tonight and helped himself to a piece of pizza. i hope it gives him heartburn.

[RHicks]

My 1 yr old started to do this after being kenneled for 5 days during Christmas… I guess he heard all the other dogs making noises and figured that he should learn how to cry also! It is pitiful.

[MaxBooBooBear]

Is Cali being left alone in her crate while you are at work all day? My Max suffered from a "mild case" of separation anxiety as his psychiatrist diagnosed (not really a psych–but I took him to see an animal behaviorist at UC Davis in CA after his lifetime companion had to be euthanized because I knew from a neighbor that he howled alllllll day long when he was left alone). Betsey mentioned in an earlier post that she thought basenjis are better with companions--and I think that is true of a lot of them. The vet at Davis told me what to do when I left the house to minimize his anxiety. I tried to bring in another companion for him on two separate occasions--but he would not accept another dog in our home--so it was difficult the last few years of his life after Pepper was gone. One of the Colorado rescue people that I talked to recently mentioned that she thought the destructive behavior of a basenji might often times be more due to separation anxiety than anything else. I know Max was only really destructive when he was confined by himself.

[tlbuddy]

Cali is crated while I am at work and once I get home she is out for the rest of the day and night. Lately she has been doing better because I have allowed some extra time to play with her before I leave for work. When the weather was nicer I would take her for a walk before I went to work. Now I leave her Kong stuffed with treats inside the kennel with her and I just leave the house without making a big deal of it. Before I used to say goodbye and keep looking back at her before I walked out the door, but I think this made things worse. My neigbor says she hasnt heard Cali raise a fuss after I leave lately. I have been thinking about getting a Basenji sometime in the future so she can have a playmate.

[Vegas]

2 basenjis are easier than 1, I think.

Also, when you leave, DO NOT make an "event" of it. NO SYMPATHY. It's all business. If you show concern, they'll pick up on it, and they'll worry too.

Vegas

[yonae12]

My girl used to cry alot and had seperation issues when we had to do our own thing at work or school. I had to beg my parents to keep her because the behavioural issues got out of hand ie. chewing curtains and longues, underpants, garbage strewn throughout the house. I made my stand and I am glad I did because for most of the years we had her she has been manageable after about the 5 year mark.

[Capt_Jack_our_Basenji]

OMG, TRUST me…its not only ur baby, Jack has some seporation anxiety, i mean, we rescued him so that may be why, but i Always feel so sad when we leave him, he runs to the window and crys when we leave, but i KNOW it wonly lasts until he cant see us anymore (driving away) my neighbor watched for me. but SOMETIMES he does get into things when we leave for too long. like the other day, when he ate my betta fish food...grr...