It's a shame the dogs are in the basement. Isolating them like that causes real problems. I know somebody that keeps his 2 dogs in his basement, cement floor and I supplied the rug b/c he wouldn't. The dogs are uncontrollable. They don't stop jumping, they nip at you, they're just so excited when they see somebody they go nuts. They thrive for attention. It's terrible when people do this. I don't know why they have dogs in the first place if they're not treated like family members and kept in the house. I've seen the dispositions of dogs go in a downward spiral when in a house at first, then either put downstairs or outside. My advice would be to put them back in the house and work with them - and yes - you probably will need that behaviorist. Dogs shouldn't be treated like that. They're family.