[GingerGirl]

Well, I had my post all typed out and my IE crashed. Ok, so I wanted to ask a few questions and figured it would be better to do it here in a new topic.

First, Ginger has these "fits." They are like hyper outbursts of energy and she will become wild, disobedient, running all over, sometimes biting and nipping at us. I feel like they are normal but when she gets like that its kind of scary cause its like she's possessed. Tonight she had one while I was folding laundry. She kept trying to steal socks (she LOVES them) and I kept taking them back. She got pretty aggressive about it, jumping on the bed snatching socks or digging in the clothes basket for them. It was actually pretty funny but once I tried to take it back for like the 4th time, she started barking, running, lunging at me. Sometimes it almost seems like she just wants us to play with her but I just thought I would ask...

Also, how do you keep them out of a litter box? I can't close the door to the utility room or the cat can't get to it...I hate to buy yet another gate but would consider it if all else fails.

How do you get them to let you know that they need to go potty?

How often do you feed/water your basset(s)?

Should I feed our little dog first and make Ginger wait to establish the pecking order or would it even help?

I guess that is good for now. I really appreciate your help and advice...I feel like you guys are the basset professionals and hopefully with all of your experiences I can survive this time of adjustment.

Isn't she the sweetest thing?

 

[Aruuuu]

How old is Ginger? Are you using a crate? It sounds to me like she starts having a FRAP (Frenetic Random Activity Period) and loses it. Charlie used to get this way, too. If he went too far and clearly didn't have a brain in his head, I'd crate him for awhile, similar to giving an overly-rambunctious child a time-out. When he calmed down, I'd let him out and life was good again.

We keep the dogs out of the litter box by not allowing them up to our second floor. Our l.b. is in the bathroom closet, and we installed a cat door in the closet door. The cats can go in and out at will, we can keep the door closed, and should one of the dogs slip upstairs, they can't get to the 'cat cookies' they love so much :blink: .

I trained Charlie to use a bell hanging near the door. Hang the bell, place a little peanut butter on it, the dog will sniff the bell and it will ring, you open the door immediately. Edith Ann and Eloise have learned to use the bell by watching Charlie, and it's a life saver!

I feed my dogs twice a day, and they have water available at all times. For a young pup, I'd remove the water a couple of hours before bed time to make sure the bladder is emptied as much as possible at last outs. I feed everyone at the same time, Charlie in the kitchen with the door closed, Edith Ann and Eloise in their crates. I give them their bowls of food in the same order they came to us, Charlie first, Edith Ann second, Eloise third. They know this routine and wait their turns like good little doobies.

Most of this stuff isn't basset-specific as much as it dog-specific. Training is key, routine and organization a must, just like you do/did with babies! Giving a young pup lots of time at this stage will set both of you up for a life-time of loving companionship.....

 

[murraysmom]

http://www.heatherweb.com/cyberhound/board...mp;hl=litterbox

Here's a tip: if you go to the upper right hand corner, and hit "search", then enter the key word of a question, old threads where that topic was discussed will pop up. For the link above, I typed in "litterbox"- halfway down the page this is discussed-

As far as water, I leave clean, fresh water down at all times. I feed out dogs twice a day as adults- look on the dog food bag to see what they reccommend.

As far as the energy bursts- it sounds like she is playing- at her age she has lots of energy, so she needs to be walked quite a bit- remember, " A tired basset is a good basset"

Potty signals- Murray uses a bell. It's easy to train- put peanut butter on your finger and hold it next to the bell hanging from your door. When she pushes her head forward to get the treat, the bell will ring. Say "out" and take her to her potty place. Do this EVERY time- she'll pick it up faster thatn you think.

Also, get her on a strict potty schedule- first thing in the morning, maybe every 2 hours during the day, and after each play session.

Hope something I said helps- hang in there, bassets are great dogs!

 

[José]

I can relate about the possessed puppy part. José had fits of possession where he would turn into this crazy demon puppy & he lunged at me, biting, truthfully like he was nuts. All I can say is that those fits seem to morph into the Basset 500 at some point. I would sometimes try to hold José down (when he was still small enough) but what seemed to work best was just stay out of his way & make sure there were toys to attack. Then once the fit is over, it's like you can see the devil leaving their body & you have your sweet puppy again!

I focused training him to be a nice boy the OTHER 23+ hours of the day. It ended up working, José got past his puppy years and turned into a wonderful character, complete with his bouts of craziness and OCD bone-carrying.
Lisa