Doggie Escape

Ken C.

Ken C.

Jack of all trades, master of none.
Staff member
Super Mod
Joined
Jun 14, 2000
Messages
15,401
My chocolate lab got out again yesterday. My 3 y/o opened the door while my wife was in the kitchen and he slipped out. I was at mt EMT orientation for Chilton Hospital (I got hired!) Luckily he had his tags. Unfortunately he got whacked by a car again. Luckily he is fine with just a minor scratch on his ear. These occurrences are leading me to explore options for containing him to the yard should he get out and possibly chipping him should he get loose without this collar. Any suggestions on an invisible barrier and chipping advice would be most welcome.
 
Chipping is a must.

Also, what is the dog doing without his collar? Keep the collar on. Not only will the dog accept it, but will come to want it.

All of our Springers wanted their collars on. Off meant that you were in danger of a bath at any moment.

As for the invisible fence, they're not suitable for a dog that bolts. He'll bolt right over the line and the momentary shock as he passes the line won't stop him. Momentum will carry him right over. You need a real fence.
 
The chip is pretty easy. It'll cost you $30 or so for it and for the vet to place it. You'll have to pony up another $30 or so to register your dog with the company database. I think Avid is probably the most widely used.
Regarding the invisible fence, it can be suitable for most dogs. There are many options from home to professional installation. Regardless, I would advise you seek the help of a dog training professional to condition your dog to the fence. I think the reason most dogs defeat the invisible fence is because the are not introduced to it properly. If you have an Invisible Fence franchise in your area, they are usually pretty thorough in this regard.
 
This will keep the blighter in

razor_mesh3.jpg


:D

Seriousley though, I've only ever owned border collies they were reasonably un excitable and particularly intelligent for a dog. From what I've seen of people who own other pedigree breeds a big fence or hedge and a couple of layers of gates on the way out of the property is the way to go...
 
Gollnick said:
Chipping is a must.

Also, what is the dog doing without his collar? Keep the collar on. Not only will the dog accept it, but will come to want it.

All of our Springers wanted their collars on. Off meant that you were in danger of a bath at any moment.

As for the invisible fence, they're not suitable for a dog that bolts. He'll bolt right over the line and the momentary shock as he passes the line won't stop him. Momentum will carry him right over. You need a real fence.
Click to expand...

He doesn't bolt. He casually wanders off. There was only one instance where he got out with out his collar after a bath. The collar is on him at at all times.
 
Chip him at your local humane society and I think that you will be automatically registered in a nationwide humane society data base. They use Avid where I live. Also, see about using a gentle lead harness. But a fence is your very best bet.
 
Anything short of some kind of fencing, chainlink or privacy, seems risky to me and treating the symtom rather then the cause.

A chip won't keep him from getting killed by a car.
 
Dogs are very intelligent and, being territorial, have an instinctive understanding of territory and borders. So why don't you just train him not to leave your property?
 
He sounds like a normal curious 3 year old to me. I took mine in the back yard when I cut grass, etc. with a milkbone in my pocket. She could smell it and I was her best buddy in the whole world until I gave it to her. This was sometimes hours later. She learned if she stuck around she got a goodie. Of course we would rassle and go for walks but she had plenty around the house to occupy her very creative and curious mind. The only time she left the house was when some guys were fixing the front door and making lots of banging noise. She marched next door and laid down on their stoop until all the racket was finished. Maybe being a male he is attempting to get lucky?
 
mycroftt said:
Dogs are very intelligent and, being territorial, have an instinctive understanding of territory and borders. So why don't you just train him not to leave your property?
Click to expand...

Dogs are also just that...dogs. No matter how human like we may think they are, they sometimes go all dog-like on you. I've never seen the best training available be able to overcome a bitch in heat w/o some sort of physical restraint...something about that animal instinct...
Really though, I think you'd be wise to go with some sort of barrier, whether it be invisible or perceptable(sp?).
 
My property is huge and fencing it all in would be way too expensive (in the thousands of dollars). I can fence off part of the backyard but it would cut it in half and my wife would freak if I did that. For now I may have to go with an invisible fence. Any recommendations?
 
chipping is easy. All three of my cats were done for their pet passport. The chip and needle came in a blister pack, and the vet just held them by the scruff of the neck and it was done in seconds. One cat yelped a bit, but the needle is pretty big. They are registered worldwide wherever they are found.

Can't you just fence the part of your house to your front boundaries, ie. house to neighbour on both sides? Just to keep the dog away from the road and give you some time to catch him. Not knowing where or how you live might make this a ridiculous suggestion if you are out in the countryside.
 
wsyocum said:
Dogs are also just that...dogs. No matter how human like we may think they are, they sometimes go all dog-like on you. I've never seen the best training available be able to overcome a bitch in heat w/o some sort of physical restraint...something about that animal instinct...
Really though, I think you'd be wise to go with some sort of barrier, whether it be invisible or perceptable(sp?).
Click to expand...


No doubt, but I've also seen dogs scale chain link fences and burrow under other fences. They do that sometimes, being dogs and all. If you aren't teaching your dog what is proper behavior and what isn't you probably shouldn't have a dog.

That all having been said, it seems like there's no perfect solution but a combination of training and physical barriers is probably a winner. Just don't tie a dog to a tree by its neck, at least until you have tied yourself there and tried it out for a couple of weeks.
 
If he's a casual traveller, the underground fence will work very very well. If he's a dedicated bolter, not so well. My Rhodesian will bolt through about 3-4 times per year, which isn't so great, but the other thousand times she goes outside she's fine. My shepard, a low keyed dog if there ever was, never once went outside the line when he was wearing his battery collar. Its been reliable. In 9 years, its gone down maybe three or four times, usually after a power outage or electrical storm.

One real downside, if they do get out, they ain't coming back on their own, because it hurts just as much trying to get inside as outside the fence.

I used "Invisible Fence" I think, which was pretty expensive. If you're kind of handy, check out the Drs. Foster & Smith catalogue that has underground fencing options for your own installation. None of them are cheap, but actually are cheaper than an equivalent sized "real" fence.
 
i have an invisible fence that was installed by the previous homeowner. lot sizes are pretty big where i live and i say 80-90% of homeowners here use the invisible fence brand

it works very well at containing our golden retriever. we had a wooden picket fence at our old property and he made the transition well. the company came out and sold us an appropriate size collar (expensive) and trained the dog. the training was quite effective. the downside is that the receiver uses a proprietary battery and they are super expensive.

my old neighbor put in an invisible fence from lowes for his chocolate lab. it worked well but the wiring was thin and it regularly broke/came apart.

his dog ended up in our backyard a lot...my kids loved that though

it is worth getting a quote from the invisible fence people
 
We have two escape artists, who have only been contained by invisible fence paired with a four foot chain link fence. I installed both prior to letting them into the backyard when we moved in, so they have never been able to get close enough to figure out that they could easily jump the fence.

One of them will bolt through the gate, taking the shock, if I leave the gate open. One option might be the wireless invisible fence. I think that it is made by Petsafe, and has a radio transmitter, which creates a circular perimeter around the device. When the dog reaches the edge of the reception perimeter, they get the warning tone, then start being shocked (corrected) until they come closer to the transmitter. I think that the distance is adjustable.

Another recommendation on the chipping, but be careful after the chip is injected - one of ours migrated to just under the skin on the shoulder.

AN
 
IIRC there is nothing you can do about the migrating chips - they either will or will not migrate but they will still work nonetheless. They are typically injected into the scruff between the shoulder blades. It is not uncommon for the chip to migrate along the shoulders and even down the leg a bit.

To that end, Humane Society workers and animal control always scan the area up and down the legs in addition to the entire shoulder/back area.

I worked with the Humane Society as a cruelty investigator back in college - we chipped every dog/cat that we "adopted" out of the shelter and every dog/cat that came through intake.

Like you said, a chip won't keep him from getting hit by a car. You've gotten good suggestions so far with invisible fencing and the like. Another consideration is a wireless training collar. You can train him to fear heading out the door without being on a lead by giving him the opportunity and correct (shock the bejeezus out of) him every time he heads toward the open door without being on a leash. Correction by remote control... I sometimes think it's a shame we can't use these methods on the kids! :o

fathersday.jpg
 
Invisible Fence at another house I owned was the best thing I ever did. You HAVE to train the dog properly and carefully to make it effective (other than just scaring the crap out of him and hurting him with the zap), but once he knows where the borders are, gets a couple of reminders, and knows the commands for being on the shock collar and off (so it's free to go for a walk, drive, etc), he'll stay put really nicely.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top