[afauth]

We have a 6 1/2 month old who I've posted many threads on. We are currently having an issue with him being uncomfortable in our basement and we can't figure out why. Our basement is really big so there is plenty of room for him, we sometimes even play fetch down there. We have a blanket on the couch for him to lay on and chew on his toys but if my hubby & I are sitting on the couch he's usually in between us or on my lap. : The problem is is we have to pretty much convince him to go down there and stay down there. Our basement is our family area, we have the big screen TV and it's where we go nightly and on weekends to relax, etc. We really want him to be downstairs with us and spending time with us. We have 3 ideas of why he maybe doesn't like it a) he smells something we don't b)he hears something we don't (it's partially underground or c) it's dimly lit, we just put one lamp on and the 1 window doesn't give much natural light.

Any thoughts as to why he may be uncomfortable downstairs? And how can we change his mind. Sometimes he stays down here and either sleeps or chews on his toys. But right now as I type he's upstairs on the couch laying there and it bums me out. Maybe I'm being too emotional about it.

 

[coppers-mom]

Maybe give him a "most special" treat that he only gets down there. One of my rescues had some phobia issues and he got pieces of boiled chicken in certain situations. He got over most of his worries that way.

You could also try this fill a Kong with low fat peanut butter then freeze it. He gets this only when in the basement too. It should last a long time if frozen.

Good luck with your pup.

 

[fostermom]

Okay, this might be way off base, but have you had a radon test done in your basement? You may be right, he may be smelling something you aren't and that's why he doesn't want to be down there.

 

[Debles]

I agree about having things checked out. gas leak, carbon monoxide, radon. Dogs are smart about smells.

Also my boys don't stay in our downstairs either. We aren't down there much but when we are they come back upstairs. I think they like to be upstairs so they know what's going on. They can hear better etc. They are good watch dogs. : )

 

[DNL2448]

I'll bet it is something he smells! But since you can't smell it, the special treat idea is a good one. Along the Radon suggestion, do you have a CO detector in the basement somewhere?

 

[afauth]

These are all good ideas. We have stuffed a large milkbone in his kong and that keeps him distracted ALL night cuz it won't budge so he is basically licking it down small enough to fall out! Haha. We're always amazed at how quiet it is. Our house is new (less than a year) and we just had a radon test before we could move in and get our loan. We don't have a CO tester down here though, which we will go get.....it's a good thing to have them and we keep forgetting to get some. He has this big "log"/stick that he picked up on a walk and that is about the only thing that keeps him busy. Some nights he's perfectly fine down here, others it's a battle. It'd be fine if I knew he wouldn't get into stuff upstairs unsupervised. He likes to counter surf! And he eats everything......I mean everything goes in his mouth. So we're always on watch. He hears 'no' and 'leave it' a lot!

 

[afauth]

Ok so I'll be off to get CO2 detectors on Tuesday but we went to petsmart today and got some "bully sticks". I got him one a week ago and he loved it so I thought this would be a great treat to get him to stay downstairs. Well it did work however he ate the whole thing already! It was one of those really long thick ones, about 2-2 1/2 feet long. And they are expensive! I'm guessing he probably shouldn't have a whole one every day? Is it normal of goldens to be able to chew through a whole one of those in a matter of minutes basically? We gave it to him this afternoon and he had half of it gone within an hour, the 2nd half tonight and it was gone in 20 minutes. He is an aggressive chewer to say the least.