Posted by SarahBeth_CA on 12/9/05 11:21am
Msg #81430

OT- dog dilema

Well this morning I learned that my dog can jump the fence. She's a German Shorthair Pointer, a lovely dog. Whenever the neighborhood cats come by she just loses it. Paws up on the fence, making a crying, quick whimpering noise. So this morning here came the cat, Dotty (my dog) just starts crying and falling apart. As I get my youngest on the bus the other kids say "your dog just hopped over the fence". So now the dog knows that she can and I've got to figure out what to do. Kennel, dog run, chain? I hate chaining up dogs. I have to ask the city if they allow a kennel or dog run because they won't allow the fence to be any higher than it it already. I'm so upset. I just know my hubby is gonna do nothing but piss and moan about having to spend a cent on this one. Oh and I did research the breed prior to getting the dog and didn't find anything about fence hieght suggestions.

Reply by Elva_oh on 12/9/05 11:33am
Msg #81434

SarahBeth
I have an undergroung fence and it works great. You have to spend about 30 days training the dog. But it is low voltage and my dogs know that when they hear their collar beeping that they are getting close to the boundry and they do not cross it. I cost us about $200 for the installation kit with wire, flags and collar and the rental for the tool to go around the yard - dig the ditch, lay the wire and cover it. It took us about 3 hours - but we have 2 acres. Just something to consider.
Elva - another animal lover

Reply by ColleenCA on 12/9/05 11:34am
Msg #81435

Home Depot sells a very nice kennel for under $100.00. I'm not sure of the size of it, but a friend bought one and she says it is great. Also, maybe you could install a piece of lattice to the top of your fence to bring the height up, and then if the city says anything you could take it down easily.

Reply by SarahBeth_CA on 12/9/05 11:44am
Msg #81444

I'm sure the city would be out here in a heartbeat if our fence were higher, so the lattice idea is out. I'm waiting for the city to call back on the electrical thing. I'm sure it will be a no, but it doesn't hurt to ask. It would be nice to get a yes because it not only would keep the dog in but would also give a zap to any jerk who would walk by and tease her (it happens alot, the people around here have no concept of courtesy, they are idiots).

Reply by Charles_Ca on 12/9/05 11:59am
Msg #81451

Re: OT- dog dilema - the electrical should be no problem

It is a low voltage system and only triggers the collar whic beepas a warning and then may give the dog a little jolt. Unfortunately it wouldn't jolt people not wearing the collar. My SoCal home is across the street from an Elementary school and I swear the parents have less brainsa and consideration thatn the kids. I have a Chow and they are not the friendliest dogs and I constantly have to warn parents not to let their kids run up and pet the "cute fuzzy puppy" for some reason she doesn't like anyone running up to her. I usualy get berated for not training my dog to be friendly to kids. I think the electronic fence might just be the answer.

Reply by SarahBeth_CA on 12/9/05 1:04pm
Msg #81474

Re: OT- dog dilema - the electrical should be no problem

Charles I think I would tell the idiot parent to stick it where the sun don't shine. Parents must teach thier kids that it is possible for the dog to strike. The collar thingie sounds great. I can't really do an electrical fence since I've got small children. My dog wants to go out and play right now and I can't let her unless I go out also. Been in and out 4 times in the last hour.

Reply by Charles_Ca on 12/9/05 11:38am
Msg #81439

Re: OT- dog dilemma

That's a tough one. I used to have twin dalmatians when I lived in Fullerton and I swear that those dogs had springs on their hind legs. The unfortunate thing is the potential liability that you get exposed to as a result of that. My dalmatians weren't mean or anything but they were destructive sometimes and loved to dig.

I don't like chaining dogs either. Depending o the type of fencing you have you can add a guard at the top of the fence facing into your yard to make the apparent width of the fence greater. Chain link fences have that type of guard readily attached but some of the other types you might have a problem with. Another solution would be to have a fence within a fence again making the jump impossible because of the width. Then there are dog runs an kennels.

Another solution might be one of those electronic fences buried a couple of feet away from the fence inside your yard. Again it would increase the width that your dog had to jump to get across the fence and the shock might just make it stop and think twice before attempting to make the jump. Good luck!

Reply by Charles_Ca on 12/9/05 11:38am
Msg #81440

Re: OT- dog dilemma

That's a tough one. I used to have twin dalmatians when I lived in Fullerton and I swear that those dogs had springs on their hind legs. The unfortunate thing is the potential liability that you get exposed to as a result of that. My dalmatians weren't mean or anything but they were destructive sometimes and loved to dig.

I don't like chaining dogs either. Depending o the type of fencing you have you can add a guard at the top of the fence facing into your yard to make the apparent width of the fence greater. Chain link fences have that type of guard readily attached but some of the other types you might have a problem with. Another solution would be to have a fence within a fence again making the jump impossible because of the width. Then there are dog runs an kennels.

Another solution might be one of those electronic fences buried a couple of feet away from the fence inside your yard. Again it would increase the width that your dog had to jump to get across the fence and the shock might just make it stop and think twice before attempting to make the jump. Good luck!

Reply by Adams Notaries - Alicia and Ken Adams on 12/9/05 12:10pm
Msg #81455

I have a doberman that doesn't know he could jump an 18-inch baby gate, much less a 6 ft. fence. I made a point of never telling him, either. :o) My mom, however, has three Goldens who constantly tested their boundaries. She had complete success with the electric fence. They won't go within three feet of it now.

Reply by eXpedN_TX on 12/9/05 1:41pm
Msg #81484

I added a pulsating electric current to my fence very inexpensivley (about 50$) when my yellow lab was a pup. You can buy the small black box with the current at Home Depot and by pvc tubing, screws, and wire. I cut the pvc tubing in to 3 inch pieces and drilled holes throught the middle and top. I connected the tubing in to the fence with a screw through the middle hole I drilled and then ran the wire though the hole I drilled in the top of the tubing. The reason for this is so you can keep the current flowing without grounding it. The yard I had was huge, but this still worked great. There were some kids who would tease my dog, but once I added signs that said stay away from fence, electric current, they stayed back. You can check with your city to see if this is ok, and at the same time, make sure you alert people that your fence is electric. This option is not only inexpensive, but it is neat, you don't have to dig in to your yard and such. You just have to make sure dead branches and the like don't fall on the fence because it could ground it. You can install this further out from the fence as well as on the fence for added safety. The wire I used was very long and the current was strong. I tested it myself to make sure it worked...ouch!!! At least it kept my dog safe. Good luck!!!

Reply by Marlene_USNA on 12/9/05 2:35pm
Msg #81490

Spend some money on a professional trainer - then follow up yourself with constant reinforcement. This will come in handy when your dog also discovers she can quickly bite people's backsides as they jog past her when you're walking her.

I speak from experience on that issue, but Bob is a perfect gentleman on his walks now and in all other situations as well.

Reply by SarahBeth_CA on 12/9/05 3:54pm
Msg #81516

The dog is trained. The thing is we are talking about a behavior that is instinct for her. So training her against what is bred into her is probably not a good idea. I think I'm going to do the collar fence thing.

Reply by JM_NY on 12/9/05 4:24pm
Msg #81518

I have the invisible fence for my Lab. As long as she is wearing her collar I don't worry. She stays on my property and I can let her roam freely. Definately would reccomend it.

Reply by Marlene_USNA on 12/12/05 10:02am
Msg #81906

It's also instinct for a dog to chase running animals (humans, too! don't know about the biting-the-butts part). I just decided to learn training for my dog in one situation that could then be applied to all, and it worked! Bob moved on from joggers to delivery trucks, but one word from me and he got back on track.

A woman I work with has a lab/beagle mix trained to an electric fence and never has a problem with Sydney leaving the yard. She said it took about 6 weeks before it "took" with Sydney. I looked into that for Bob, too, but decided on a fence (a 4 1/2-footer) instead. Now maybe I should think of an electric fence so he can be out in the front yard, looking longingly at joggers and delivery trucks.

Reply by Mitch_MD on 12/9/05 9:18pm
Msg #81579

Can't speak for German Shorthair Pointers, but I can for Borzoi (Russian Wolfhounds). Once saw a small female sitting on her haunches in front of an 8 foot chain link fence. She saw us, and being real friendly, she decided to come and say hi. It was a thing of beauty; she just *leaped* without a run of any kind, tapped the top of the chain link with her rear paws on the way over and came right to us. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

The Borzoi breeder we dealt with liked to tell of a number of her dogs being so stubborn that a shock collar and invisible fence wouldn't keep them in place; they'd sit in range of the signal, getting shocked and wimpering until they wore out the batteries in the collar, then go adventuring wherever they wanted. Her best solution was to use chainlink with the top angled-in toward the dogs.

The other solution I saw was with a German Shepard police dog that a K-9 police neighbor had. The dog was contained within a completely enclosed cage; the floor was concrete so it couldn't dig under the fence and the sides and top were hardened chainlink so it couldn't climb or jump out.