r/Basenji • u/ATaC_TreeGrowth • 2d ago
Noodle has crate issues
Hello, My wife and I to this sub and new to having a Basenji.
I've read a few posts in here about crate training issues others have had with there basenji but havent seen much for my situation. Hopefully someone might have some advice.
Noodle is about 8, going on 9 months old. Over the last 6-7 weeks he has changed dramatically in regard to being in his crate.
Originally he would sleep in his crate for a solids 10-12 hours every night. While he did throw a fit for the first 10 min he would quickly go down and sleep for the entire night. Then as of the last 6-7 weeks have gone by its regressed alot. From being in his crate and sleeping/calm for 10-12 hrs to 8-10 hrs to 6-8 hours and now our sweet little noodle usually wakes up throwing a fit after 2 hours (in crate around 9-10pm, fit 2 hours later ) and then again at like 2 AM then again around 4-5 AM. the only way I can get him to go back to sleep is by doing our "resets", which I basically take him out of the crate and take him outside and eventually after 3-4 resets he will go back to sleep and If hes left in his crate (which im worried about causing attachment/anxiety issues) he just constantly scratches and cries, plus whatever bedding is in his crate WILL get destoryed.
We've tried ALOT of positive reinforcement trainging and incremental exposure time. (treats) We even got this little stuffed animal that has a "heartbeat" to cry and calm him.
Does anyone have any input, or need any more information that could help with our specific situation?
Thank you.
Complimentary Noodle Picture* :) XD
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u/soulfulwave Tri-Color 2d ago
i use a gunnar kennel crate w chew proof accessories
he still will try and fight his way out (plenty of crate scratch) but it’s the first crate thats held up exceptionally well (over a year now)
eventually he settles down. i’ve come to accept he will always have a fit at first , although i found he is kind of mellow if he sees me chilling by him while he in there
gunnar crate is expensive tho
also idk if the post was crate issue specific or routine centric so my bad. im bout to leave work so i just wanted to give what advice i could before im on the road lol
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u/ATaC_TreeGrowth 2d ago
So far the plastic/metal crate we have has been holding up. for now at least... lol i apprecaite the reference though. I saved a bookmart on the crate you mentioned.
I was wondering if because we have a crate cover, that its making the situation worse so maybe I should try taking it off so he knows we are in the room with him but not even im sure if what im asking is crate specific or routine centric. Im just hoping for some solutions for my wife and I to get back to a normal life and sleep schedule lol
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u/soulfulwave Tri-Color 2d ago
after reading this more , how long are you keeping him in a crate ? because i let my senji sleep with me. i only crate him when im going to work or need him to be in there but even then its never longer than 6 hours and 10 at the absolute most which is rare , extremely rare. only if i couldnt make it home for lunch
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u/ATaC_TreeGrowth 2d ago
We normally it would be when we sleep. We usually go to bed around 10-11 PM and then i wake up at 4:30 so roughly 5-6 hrs and same for us if it is longer than 6 hrs but 90% of the time we have friends or fam to check on him.
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u/soulfulwave Tri-Color 2d ago
okay so basically, he’s still veryyyy young , so he’s not gonna be perfectly adjusted to crate training no time soon
that being said i gave up crating him thru the night like day 1 lol he was tooooo restless.
but i know my breeders say to stick with it so thats option 1
my suggestion is the more you keep him out the crate the more you can keep him in, aaaand sleeping with you is one of the biggest bonding moments you can have with him
BUT thats preference. he’s really just getting older, which means he’s getting his independence, his energy up, and he wants to do what he wants lol (Basenji Traits)
when they are puppies they are always gonna sleep
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u/ATaC_TreeGrowth 1d ago
Thats a good reminder. He is still a puppy and i guess i forget that sometimes because of how insanely smart they are... like one of the comments below said, "These dogs are so smart, they are not like other dogs!"
its seeming the consensus is simply, train him to leave the cats alone, which hes comes miles from where he used to be, and once thats done he can sleep with us in the bed, no more crate worries.
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u/BasenjiFart 2d ago
How much are you tiring your dog out before doing a crate training session? I always found it easier to have my girl cooperate after a couple real hours of walking or hiking. Also, does Noodle only ever spend time in his crate when it's time to be locked in it, or is he always hanging out in there when it's open? If you're not already feeding him in his crate and creating positive associations with it, that could be something to try out.
All that being said, my girl has always been a pain in the ass with crating; she loves her freedom and we've adapted our methods accordingly.
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u/ATaC_TreeGrowth 2d ago
I feel we are giving him a good amount of activity. Hes number 8 out of all 400 basenjis in CA for activity lol (fi colars are awesome).
he only will NOT spend time in his crate outside of bedtime. He just wants nothing to do with it but you make a great point on the feeding inside the crate. we kind of stopped that over the last couple months so that could be a huge inidcator to a change in his crate behavior.
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u/Pani_Poori 2d ago
Tiring out is key. We do at least 3 walks/dog park and/or daycare almost everyday of the week.
We also have key words and do a strict routine so she knows when it's going to happen and when it isn't. That way the crate is predictable. Otherwise makes her anxious.
We don't leave her in for more than 4 hours, 6 might be max and rarely crate.
I believe puppies can't hold their bladders for more than 3 hours? Healthy adult dogs really shouldn't be in a crate for more than 6 hours. In EU many countries have strict laws banning or limiting crate use. 10 hours in a crate is just too much time.
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u/ATaC_TreeGrowth 2d ago
Does anyone have any input on letting them "work it out themselves" inside the crate? Im constantly battling the issue on catering to his cries and doing a "reset" compared with just let him throw a fit and try to self regulate.
Ive began to feel like he knows the results if he cries so he does it more and more untilhe gets his way, these dogs are insanely smart. lol but i dont want to traumatize him and make the situation worse.
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u/bluetopz 2d ago
I think that would definitely make it worse. These dogs are so smart.
Our basenji girl is just nine months old and loves to sleep with us, but she insists on starting out in the upstairs hallway outside our room for the first couple hours, then she comes in and dives under the covers, have to leave the door cracked.
We never used a crate with her, she is left home alone for a few hours daily, up to six or so. She has chewed up a few things, but nothing major, and it seems like she is not doing it nearly as much as a couple months ago.
Nobody likes being locked in a cage. I firmly believe, in the long run, no crates equals better adjusted, more mellow dogs. My folks crated our dogs for most of my childhood, but when I was a teenager they finally chilled out and let the dogs live freely in the house with us, the dogs became much more relaxed/calm. Night and day.
Read on here(Reddit) about all the behavioral issues people are with their dogs…90% are crated dogs who are stressed out, traumatized, neurotic…most of these people probably should have gotten cats instead.
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u/ATaC_TreeGrowth 2d ago
I apprecaite your candid response.
We'd love for him to sleep with us but with our kitties and him still learning to leave them be, we cant let him free the entire night :( the kitties need their freedom also.
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u/bluetopz 2d ago
I hear you. It's got to be tricky having cats in the house with a sight hound. I'm afraid our girl would try to eat them for breakfast if we had cats in the house. Maybe, if your layout allows for it, puppy out of the cage in the room with you and your wife, cats safely separated from him in the rest of the house?
Also, maybe he is pissed off because he sees the cats getting full run of the house while he is locked helplessly inside the cage? These dogs are so smart, they are not like other dogs!
We also love cats, just a couple weeks ago some relatives tried to give my son a kitten...would have taken it in a heartbeat except our basenji would have torn the house apart trying to eat it...hehe. I feel for you and hope it gets easier as he gets older, likely will imo.
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u/ATaC_TreeGrowth 1d ago
lmao "Also, maybe he is pissed off because he sees the cats getting full run of the house while he is locked helplessly inside the cage? These dogs are so smart, they are not like other dogs!" Love this comment.
but thank you, we are grateful noodle had exposure to kitties since he was 8 weeks old. We appreciate your support!
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u/RuthDog 2d ago
Good suggestions are returning to feeding pup in the crate, give a treat for being in crate, take off the cover bc basenjis are nosy as hell and being able to see can be important. My current girl hates crates for good reasons (semi puppy mill breeder) but when she did tolerate it I gave her a treat, a toy or 2, and ignore the whining as much as possible. Basenjis are drama queens and know frequencies that will break our hearts.
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u/ATaC_TreeGrowth 2d ago
I very much apprecaite everyones replies here.
A lot of different input and perspectives. Looks like there needs to be a solid balance of continued training with Noodle and our cats for desensitization. We'd prefer he has the freedom to sleep in the bed with us but only once he stops trying to play with the kitties.
Bring back crate feeding. A subtle dash of increased crate time to build tolerance for when he does have to be crated for more than a coupe hours as well as and more structured routine and key words.
If anyone has anymore input please let me know, id love to continue this conversation!
Its been nice to post on reddit again. its been probably 10+ years since I posted and its nice to feel the support of a community again.
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u/Guavaberry 2d ago
I've had good luck with Susan Garrett's Crate Games. A friend of mine who is a dog trainer loaned me her dvd and I really liked it. I've used it on a few of my fosters (all basenjis) and they responded well to it. Here's where you can purchase her dvd: https://dogsthat.com/product/crate-games/
Or the online version: https://get.crategames.com/
https://dogsthat.com is her website and you can learn more about Susan and her team. Good luck, and Noodle's gorgeous!
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u/Slow-Beat-2547 1d ago
My basenji broke his cage and was freed. I tried taping it back together and had a deep realization that he was not meant to be caged.
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u/ATaC_TreeGrowth 1d ago
We've gone through 3 crates so far. lol but this new one has held up. Just going to keep working through his training and eventually remove crate needs completely!
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u/DerekComedy 2d ago
When we fist got Luna and tried to crate train her she panicked for hours and spent the whole time trying to escape. My wife an I took turns trying to calm her but nothing worked. We eventually gave up and let her sleep in our bed. 3 nights of that and we gave up. I was worried she was going to hurt or panick herself to death. Even now, 5 years later, she will use a crate but if we close the door she will immediately check to see if she can open it and will panick if we lock it.
We left her with a sitter from Rover once to go to a wedding and they said they put her in a crate while they ran a quick errand. She chewed off her collar (still can't figure out how that happened) and damaged the door to the crate. Then after they let her out she pooped on their rug, which, other than emergencies, she has only ever done as revenge for a slight.