Expert: Have4Paws - 7/8/2010

Question
i have a 3month old basset who refuses to sleep in her kennel at night.  she wants to be inside the house and close to us.  she has blankets, pillows and a soft bed to sleep on inside her kennel.  after the loud crying and tantrums she gets inside the house but refuses to sleep in the bathroom by herself.  she wants to be with us on the bed every night.  how can i change this so she sleeps outside in her kennel.  please help.

Answer
Hi thanks for writing to me. Your dog is not a beagle but I am going to answer anyway as it is more of general question and bassets are pretty similar to beagles in that they are hounds and what we call "pack animals". This means that it is inherantly bred into them to be in a pack and that they do not do well alone and need the company of other dogs or will readily adapt to humans as their pack. You did not pick a good dog if you are going to leave it outside. Personally I don't believe in doing this with any dog but pack animals especially have difficulty with this, they are bred to be in a pack and they actually crave companionship.You cannot train this out of your dog, even if you can get her used to it she will turn to detructive behaviors as an alternative. My best suggestion for you is to allow her to sleep in the house and if you do not want her on the bed put her crate in your room at least so she knows she is near to you. I am also not a big believer in crate training only because I think that dogs can be taught boundaries without the use of a cage but there is nothing horrible about crate use if you do it correctly. I am not on expert on it because I don't do it however so I wont be able to help you much with successfuly training her in the crate. Another part of the problem is that you given in to her apparently many times so she knows she can get her way but once again I do not think this is the kind of dog to isolate at night or any other time. Sorry I cannot be more helpful but at least maybe you understand a bit more about the instincts of a hound and a pack animal. Also please try to remember that 12 weeks is a BABY......