Fence jumper!!

[Lindzey]

For my summer job, I'm training this year-old BC mix pup. For now, its just the basics. Not too bad, and I'm getting paid a fair amount of money. Only issue?

 

She's a fence jumper!!

 

I'm training her at the owners house because Daisy, the BC, is a little anxious at being outside her own yard. But she's been crated for about 7 hours a day while her owners are at work. (They come home to feed her and let her out a couple of times, though... I made sure they stuck with this, too!) She's crated because she is able to jump their 5' fence. Clean over. Not even jumping on anything then jumping. She just soars right over it!

 

Part of my job is to get her to stop jumping. So far I've tried screaming "NO NO NO!", keeping her leashed then popping it if she tries to jump, blocking the place where she is jumping from, and, though I hated it, squirting her with a water hose. Nothing has worked!! Any ideas?

 

Other than getting a shock collar (which I am very hesitant about) and having their fence replaced for a higher one, I can't think of what to do! They can afford a better fence, but I'd rather train against the behavior instead of haltering it...

 

I'm in desperate need of help. Its almost summer, and I really would like Daisy to play out in her backyard witout supervision, sometimes. Thanks!

 

~Lindzey

[Shawna]

This is supposed to work, never tried it myself.

 

Take a largish wooden ball on the end of a rope. Attach the rope to the collar so the ball is about four inches or so above the ground. The ball should be big enough to off balance her slightly so jumping is not so easy or fun, but not so big she hurts herself on it. I'm told most dogs won't even attempt to jump with it on.

 

After she wears it for about a week (please supervise so that if she does jump the fence she doesn't get hung up) you either use a slightly smaller ball on the end or have someone grind the larger one down a bit. Go another week and repeat until the ball is basically gone.

 

The reason this works is because by the time the ball is no longer a weight on the rope and the rope can be removed, the dog has been taught that it can't jump the fence and so they no longer try. This eliminates you having to hide and catch her as she goes over or throw shake cans or shout at her. The wooden ball will teach her.

 

I've been told this really works great. I would have liked to have tried it myself but I haven't had to deal with any really serious fence jumpers.

[Barb Scott]

Sooo...where do you get a largish wooden ball?

Barb S

[Lindzey]

Thanks for the great suggestion, Shawna!!

 

I also have to agree with Barb, though! Is there any substitute that I could possibly find?

 

And please don't think I'm making excuses, but the family was hoping to train Daisy as an agility dog. She is great at jumping (jumps VERY high) and I just want her to stop jumping the fence.

 

What is everyone's opinion on a shock collar, anyway? What if its Humane Society approved?

[Shawna]

Some craft stores sell wooden balls. You could probably use a wooden egg, I've seen those in craft stores too. Just drill a hole and slide the rope through.

 

If you know someone with a lathe they could turn one for you. I know several people with lathes so ask around there's bound to be someone.

 

Teaching her not to jump the fence this way won't stop her from jumping in agility. She'll associate the inability with the fence. The possibility does exist though, that after Daisy starts agility she may consider trying the fence again and need a reminder with the ball, it depends on Daisy and how she thinks.

 

What kind of "shock collar" are you talking about; a hand held sender or one that is used with underground fencing?

 

The kind where you push the button on the sender demands excellent timing which most people don't have; and aren't really something I would recommend. Also border collies tend to be very sensitive; depending on the collar I would be very concerned that the shock would be too much.

 

I've never used one that works with underground fencing but I've heard some good things and some bad things. Maybe other people here could tell you more about them.

[Shawna]

I'll try to think what might work as a substitute in case you can't find a ball or someone to make one for you. But the "ball" part has to be of such a weight that it isn't going to be too heavy on her neck and it has to be something that could gradually be made smaller so that would be tricky.

 

I suppose if all else fails you could get someone to cut the end off of a four by four and sand off the sharp corners. That would probably work fine.

[Lindzey]

Thank you a ton, Shawna. Its helped incredibly much. I'll go to Wal*Mart after church tomorrow and see if I can't find anything.

 

And as far as the shock collar, it would be a hand-held remote control. I understand that some don't have incredible reflexes. I feel that I do. We're looking at some on Ebay right now, and the two we have in mind have 8 different levels of 'shockage', so hopefully those will really make adifference. If we find one in the store, I'll see if I can't test it on myself. If its too much for me, I won't dare use it on Daisy (much less my own dogs).

 

I've got the weekends off (as far as the training goes) so it'll be Monday before I can do anything with Daisy. Hopefully I'll be able to find some good sized ball of somesort that'll work.

 

Thanks you again, you have been a major help!!

~Lindzey

[Jack & Co.]

I am a huge fan of Invisible Fence. We actually got it 4 or 5 years ago to keep our CATS on our property. My always-unhappy, unpleasant neighbors complained that my cats were eating their chipmunks. (Pesky rodents that will turn your yard into a minefield of holes.) We were afraid they would do something to harm our cats, but on the other hand, we needed to be good neighbors and considerate pet owners, so we had IF installed. It is expensive, but the peace of mind is wonderful. You must follow their training program and it did involve walking the cats on leashes to teach them the boundaries, but they were quick learners and, surprisingly, received only a few corrections for getting too close to the line. The franchise I deal with here has excellent customer service.

 

Jack has done very well learning IF and he is still at the lowest setting for a correction. (They can adjust the level of correction to deal with breaking through the fence.) He received several corrections in the beginning because he found the sight of "his" boys coming up the street from school just too wonderful to resist. He's been on it for 4 months and he is very clear on his boundaries now. The only downside is that he is so clear on his boundaries that when we walk around the neighborhood, we have to pick him up and carry him down the driveway because he is worried that he will get a correction. With Jack now weighing in at 33 pounds, I'm very glad we don't have a longer driveway.

[Shawna]

And as far as the shock collar, it would be a hand-held remote control. I understand that some don't have incredible reflexes. I feel that I do. We're looking at some on Ebay right now, and the two we have in mind have 8 different levels of 'shockage', so hopefully those will really make adifference. If we find one in the store, I'll see if I can't test it on myself. If its too much for me, I won't dare use it on Daisy (much less my own dogs).

Something I want you to think about: A dog trainer in a town not too far from here wanted to try a shock collar on her dog, a german shorthaired pointer. These dogs can be very tough skinned. This woman borrowed a shock collar from my aunts friend who took her out to help her with it. He told my aunt that the trainer, who should have had very good timing, couldn't at all hit the button fast enough and confused her dog frightfully. He took the collar away on her and hoped she'd never try another one.

 

Like I said, I really don't recommend using one, especially on someone elses dog.

 

This isn't a critisizm, I just want you to fully understand just how "good" you have to be.

 

The shock collar doesn't cause pain, it causes an adrenaline rush like a fear reaction. When the animal receives the shock you are in essence producing a phobia response - an unnatural fear of something. So in the case of the invisible fencing the animals develope a phobic reaction to crossing that invisible line. The collars warn them where the line is so they can avoid it which is only fair.

 

With the hand held sender you have to time your reaction perfectly with the EXACT thing they are THINKING of doing. This means you have to be able to read the dog perfectly and respond instantly. If you mess up the dog could develop a fear of something that you don't want; if you mess up more than once you confuse the dog and could potentially create anxiety problems. Since border collies are known for developing these problems without any help from us, I don't think a shock collar is a very good idea.

 

If the ball thing doesn't work (please let me know how things go if you try it) you can do set ups; much more time consuming and requires two people, but it's not impossible. I was told the ball thing was more reliable and certainly easier.

[Allie+Tess&Kipp]

There is also a collar that has a hand-held sender but instead of a shock, it is a spray of citronella stuff. That would be far less traumatizing to the dog (though maybe not enough deterrent to keep it from jumping the fence). I would recommend that before you try a shock collar. They also make a fence thing that does the spray collar. The company's web site is http://www.animalbehaviorsystems.com/

 

I really think the wooden ball thing would be the best idea. Then you are training the dog instead of scaring it.

 

I have heard so many awful stories about shock collars and border collies (mostly from reading rescue web sites about dogs who are now terrified of any collar, any leash, or anyone holding something in their hand).

 

With horses, we always say that if the horse is jumping the fence to escape every single day, there is something wrong at home. After you fix what is wrong the horse will usually stay.

 

Why is the dog jumping the fence? Is she bored? Is she lonely? Is she not getting enough exercise? Does she not have a job of her own and she wants to find one? Is something really cool going on outside the fence and she wants to go there? Is she expected to exercise herself out there alone?

 

I think finding out the motivation for jumping the fence and removing it by providing more exercise, a job (even tricks are a job), staying out there with her, etc. might be a better way to go. Treat the problem instead of the symptoms would be my advice.

 

Allie + Tess & Kipp

[Barb Scott]

Bryte jumps the fence from our dog area to our agility area; I guess you could say that she's jumping to her job (agility). Even tho all our fences are the same height, that's the only one she's ever jumped.

Barb S

[Little Bo Boop]

For fence jumping,which is a very bad and dagerous habit, for an older dog that has had success jumping a few times, I beleive it is a very hard habit to break. When we first got sheep, Liz decided jumping out of the yard into the pasture was a good idea , I was terrified it would become a habit and she would try jumping the fence out of the yard into the front. I slapped a hot wire up immediatley, just ran it across the to top of the fence, and I used the horse hot wire, she hit it once (supervised of course) and has not jumped since. I would nip this very bad habit in the bud ASAP. You can get a hot wire set-up very cheap at a feed store or hardware store. As I said, just make sure you are there to monitor, but unless she is a hardcore fence jumper, it shouldn't take more than one hit, and better a hit from an electric fence than an F-250 .

[Little Bo Boop]

Oh, and I did use a shock collar once, I still have it. It was not one of the expensive gun dog training collars, just $100 jobby. I shocked myself with it before I used it on the dog, and it really was nothing more than a buzz, I think it startled the dog more than anything else. I used it on a dog that kept harrassing my horses. He was never afraid of the collar or anything like that, but they are smart and know when you don't have the collar on, so some people go to using a dummy collar. I have heard horror stories though of people using the high powered collars (which I would never use) and the dogs running off. I guess the light duty collars can be of some help in some instances...

[Allie+Tess&Kipp]

Hey, I didn't think of a hot wire at the top. One zap and she'd probably never do it again. Just be sure she is supervised. Then it's the fence zapping her, and no timing necessary! The fence does it for you. A charger and some wire and a few insulators would probably not run you as much as a collar, either.

[Black Watch Debatable]

Jean Donaldson writes:

When did you last see a happy, relaxed backyard dog ?running around? his yard? Such dogs are inevitably sad, bored and lonely, wanting only to be able to spend time with their families in the house. [from Backyard Blues: Solitary Confinement is How We Punish Social Animals.]

Its almost summer, and I really would like Daisy to play out in her backyard witout supervision, sometimes.

In her backyard with no supervision, chances are excellent that Daisy will be bored and lonely at best, frightened (by thunder, for example) at worst---and she WILL jump the fence.

 

Suzanne Clothier writes:

For any social creature (man, whales, gorillas, wolves, horses, dogs, chimpanzees, dolphins), the quickest way to create neurosis and abnormal behaviors is social isolation and a sterile sensory environment. [Link]

Fence jumping is one response to social isolation and a sterile sensory environment, and hot-wiring the fence or tying a board to her collar will not change the fact the dog is bored and lonely. Can you imagine if Sea World used electric shock and bruising objects to keep a young dolphin from trying to escape solitary confinement and rejoin its relatives? Yeesh.

 

This is a management issue, not a training issue. If the owners cannot or will not keep an eye on their fence jumper whenever she's outside, then the only sure thing is a covered kennel run. To be even less diplomatic than usual I think the "heavy wooden object tied to dog's neck" approach is a cruel, lazy (and potentially dangerous) substitute for humane, responsible management. And I can't begin to list all the times hot wires and Invisible Fence systems have failed to contain a dog that was sufficently motivated (or frightened enough) to escape. (Don't take my word for this---call your local animal shelter and talk to the the ACOs.)

 

Jean Donaldson again: ?It must seem like bad science fiction to dogs that their owners? choice of training methods was, until quite recently, a choice of hardware around their necks.? Or a choice of heavy objects hanging from their collars.

 

(If these folks are genuinely interested in training Daisy in agility, they need to start reading Clean Run and get busy with their dog. Friends tell me that there are all kinds of agility-prep activities you can do with pups starting as young as six or eight weeks. They could also check out Dogwise for a ton of great books on training and agility.)

 

Good luck with Daisy! I hope she'll get to spend more time with her people, or at least be secure in a covered kennel run. Dogs are the most social creatures on the planet, and they shouldn't be punished for trying to alleviate boredom and loneliness.

[Shawna]

Black Watch, I think you need to go back and re-read this thread.

 

For starters, no where does it say that Daisy is a backyard dog. A backyard dog is one that is left out - period. Lindzey has made it perfectly clear that Daisy would only be out by herself SOMETIMES and they just want to make sure that when she is out she would be safe.

 

As for dogs being out alone, I have had many dogs who loved to be turned out in our backyard and were perfectly happy to stay there without me. If they didn't like it they would have come in when the door was held open for them instead of standing and staring with obvious hope I won't tell them they have to come in. None of the eight dogs we have here now are forced to stay out or forced to come in; three of them are more likely to want to stay out, even when they are the only dog choosing to do so at that moment.

 

There is no doubt that fence jumping can start as a lack of exercise, or attention; however, some dogs, are escapists and others, once they start for whatever reason, just continue to do so in spite of removing the reason they started in the first place. My parents Aussie came to them as a fence jumper. I know the family she came from - lack of exercise, lack of attention, and lack of training were never an issue. Her jumping was just to see what she might find in the front yard - oh, and she would jump even though she had people out with her. Dad fixed the problem by building a taller fence where she liked to jump; but not every person has that option. Our society has these wonderful rules that say "Even though you've paid an exhorbitant price for your property, you still can't build the fence you want or need no matter how nice it will look in the end."

 

My son's mini Aussie is an escapist and has been since she was a pup. If she were taller I have absolutely no doubt she would jump the fence. This dog lives in the house, has constant human companionship (I work out of my home), is taken out and played with regularly and is also an agility dog. She will choose (note that the dog is given a choice) to be out in the backyard by herself, just sitting and watching or sunning on the deck. She occassionally manages an escape to visit the neighbors; however, her wanderlust has NOTHING to do with lack of attention or being forced to stay outside by herself. She has the freedome to come and go in the house whenever she chooses.

 

I'm sure you will find a great many other people who are wonderful and considerate dog owners, whose dogs enjoy being out by themselves sometimes, it's really not an uncommon thing.

 

Please, keep in mind that Daisy's people might both work. They have said they want to do agility with the dog. You don't know what they've done or looked into so far about taking part in an agility program, for all you know they might have a whole stack of "Clean Run" in their living room. Depending on their situation they might be trying to work out a time that coincides with work scheduals. I know that I've talked to many people in this area who wished they could take agility but due to the fact that it's a tourist destination, a lot of the jobs in town require a person to work later into the evening. One family has to take turns bringing their dog to class. Unfortunately, not everybody has that option - but that doesn't make them bad or irresponsible people. Daisy's people obviously care or they wouldn't have hired Lindzey to train the dog.

 

And no one said to tie a "board" to the dogs neck. If you go back and re-read you will discover where it was made clear that the wooden BALL, COULD NOT be heavy and that the dog MUST be supervised.

 

The electric fence idea was shared by a person who does herding. Again, I didn't read anything that said this dog lacked in human interaction, exercise or the need of a job. On the contrary, it would be more correct to assume that it has all of that; it's desire was simply to get to where the sheep are. As was pointed out, one shock from a fencer is much better/safer than being shot; or for dogs in town, getting run over, attacked by other dogs, picked up by the dog catcher, poisoned... or a miriad of other things that could happen to a frightened, lost pet.

 

Now, other than critism, you haven't offered much advice. If you have an idea, NOT based on wild assumptions, I'm sure everyone would be welcome to hearing it.

[Jack & Co.]

An important part of the Invisible Fence program is the use of a Safe Area. This is an area in the garage or yard where the animal knows he cannot receive a correction. This teaches them that you run to the Safe Area instead of breaking through the Fence.

 

A dog with the proper correction level and properly trained will stay in his yard. As far as dogs on IF ending up at the pound, I imagine the fault would lie with dog owners who fail to train properly or rushed the procedure, who are too cheap to buy batteries, and who are too lazy to establish a routine where the dog never leaves the house without wearing the IF collar.

 

I have never left my dog alone in the yard while I am not home. This is not because I don't trust my IF.....I would be afraid that someone would try to steal him. I would certainly never leave him outside if it was getting ready to storm.

 

My references to Invisible Fence refer to the real Invisible Fence brand of pet containment. I am not familiar with other brands or the do-it-yourself ones that you can get at Lowe's or Home Depot.

[Kyrasmom]

I love the invisible fence when wired to an existing fence! I have a little 20 lbs escape artist that jumps 5 1/2 feet up and can dig his way out of anything. He's also an ace climber. He is super trained, going on 14, has plenty of people time, is so not a backyard relic, but just happens to think that the world is his...all of it. He is a happy go lucky little guy who would be miserable in a kennel. And for 12 of his 14 years we've tried to train it out of him, correct it out of him, work with a trainer, and nothing worked.

 

Very silly me, I thought it could only go underground and was daunted by the idea of burying wire for 5 acres so I had never really considered it, but we've recently wired it to our existing fencing and it's a miracle. Not sure Joy is as thrilled...but he now stays home and can actually go find a corner to poop without my watching him.

 

He's one of those smart dogs who would wait until I was distracted to take a hike, but one day I found him snoozing in the middle of our very quiet, but nonetheless very real, road and that's when the invisible fence became a necessity.

 

And when I say he's not thrilled, he's not scared or insecure about the fence, he's just pissy that he has to stay in and gives me long dubious looks of contempt.

 

I also have a rescue Pit mix who came to me because she was an escape artist, and for all the time and attention she gets now, she still wants to wander. It keeps her home and it's only on vibrate.

 

Big thumbs up from me if used properly and the dogs are correctly introduced. It's a great aid but it cannot take the place of training..just like the crate. Works great, but you still need to train your dog.

Maria

[Dixie_Girl]

My dogs have a doggie door. They come and go as they please. They love being able to go outside to just sniff the air! Sometimes, at night, when it is nice out, Jackson will go on the back porch to sleep! If it's not so nice sometimes he will lay inside with his nose stuck out the doggie door!

 

Dogs that want to jump fences and otherwise escape seldom do so as a means of getting away from "bad" ownership! Most times they do it simply because they know they can! I have seen many neglected dogs that, even though they were physicaly capable, never jumped the fence.

[Lindzey]

I've tried to hold off from posting for some time (obviously) so I won't say something that I will regret. Lets start at some of the first few posts.

 

Jack & Co. thank you much much much for helping with the idea of Invisible Fence. My mom suggested it, and now that others have brought it up, I feel more confident to talk to Daisy's owners about IF. Whats an approximate price on IF?

 

This isn't a critisizm, I just want you to fully understand just how "good" you have to be.

Shawna, I understand completely. I know that incorrect timing could lead to several mishaps, confusion, and injuries. There isn't much else I can say except that I think I could manage it. I won't buy/rent a shock collar unless there is NOTHING else that works. As far as 'reading' the dog, Daisy isn't very good at hiding her thoughts. She takes one look at the gate, and she's gone. Its not like she can just sit beside it, nonchalant, and just hop over. She'll look at the gate and take a semi-running start.

Why is the dog jumping the fence? Is she bored? Is she lonely? Is she not getting enough exercise? Does she not have a job of her own and she wants to find one? Is something really cool going on outside the fence and she wants to go there? Is she expected to exercise herself out there alone?

Allie&Tess&Kip, kinda going along with Dixie_girls post ("Most times they do it simply because they know they can!") I think thats the reason. She has plenty of toys, another dog she can play with, shelter, food, water, and freedom. As far as excercise, I am there for a little under 2 hours a day training her (which includes about 20 mins. of play/freetime between 15 min. training sessions) and then, when her owners come home, they will occasionally take her out with them on their bikes and/or walk Daisy and Sprint. I'm finding that her excercise is perfectly fine. I think the main issue is that she simply wants to jump for the heck of it.

I slapped a hot wire up immediatley, just ran it across the to top of the fence, and I used the horse hot wire, she hit it once (supervised of course) and has not jumped since.

Little Bo Boop, good idea. I'm not quite sure, however, how a hot wire works. Is it basically an electric fence, or is it really 'hot'? I'm not sure how safe it is, supervised or not. Are there settings for heat (if thats the case)? I feel really stupid asking a question like this, especially since everyone else seems to know what it is. I live somewhat in the city, so no big animals like horses for me. I wouldn't know what a hot wire is.

When did you last see a happy, relaxed backyard dog ?running around? his yard? Such dogs are inevitably sad, bored and lonely, wanting only to be able to spend time with their families in the house.

To Black Watch Debatable, I highly will disagree with this. My oldest BC loves outdoor time as much as indoor. He's a fatty, but he does love to run around and chase invisible objects. Same as the case with Shawna, sometimes Just About (my dog) would rather be outside than in, even though he's outside while I am at school.

If the owners cannot or will not keep an eye on their fence jumper whenever she's outside, then the only sure thing is a covered kennel run.

To Black Watch Debatable again, do you not work? Is there ever a time when you weren't out of the house for over an hour? Is there ever a time in your life where you couldn't -gasp- let your dog out?! Daisy's owners work 7 hours a day, each coming home during the day to let Daisy out every couple of hours to let her potty, eat, and play around for awhile. It makes it sound as if Daisy's owners are bad people. Quite the contrary, and I highly disagree with you. Again, is there not ever a time that you have left something (animal, child, pot of boiling water on the stove) unattended? Don't make them the bad person. After they come home from work, the let Daisy and Sprint in while they make dinner, watch TV, get ready for bed, etc.

Sprint is allowed outside the entire day. They adopted him (Belgian sheepdog mix) from a shelter and basically lives outside. They bring Sprint inside when they come home. Daisy's owners are hoping that, at least during half of the morning, they can trust Daisy enough to allow her outside, too.

?It must seem like bad science fiction to dogs that their owners? choice of training methods was, until quite recently, a choice of hardware around their necks.? Or a choice of heavy objects hanging from their collars.

Once more to Black Watch Debatable... You make it seem as if this is a horrible choice. Yes, in some sense. But its not any better than feeding your dogs kibble, or treats, or water from a hose, or clipping their fur, or brushing their teeth, or having them wear collars, or bathing them with numerous flea shampoos and applying flea and tick preventatives. Thats all fine and dandy with us... they've learned to put up with it. It seems 'normal' nowadays. Its a training method. No different than slapping a dogs rump when they do something bad, or smacking their nose, or even screaming NO NO NO at them!

And I do apologize for seeming harsh. Its very difficult for me, as the trainer, to have to get all the gripe (it seems) when its not my dog. I have and will continue talking to Daisy's owners. They don't have any official trainers or home equipment, but the owners have hoped to get Daisy into agility when they retire which is, in truth, only a couple of years away. Not to say they haven't read up on the subject or already ordered the equipment and necissary files, but they may have. I don't butt into their personal life much. Its rude, nosey, and should, in all its entirety, be avoided. Especially if I want to keep my job.

[Jack & Co.]

Lindzey - I paid around $1500 for my IF 4 or 5 years ago. However, we fenced almost an acre and purchased two collars. There are extra charges for cutting across the driveway, crossing creeks, hand-digging, etc., but none of those may apply to a straight-forward installation in a backyard. Get a number for your local franchise and ask for a free evaluation (or ask your employers to do so). The collars are $$$$ and my salesman told me that if one of my cats ever lost his collar to call every kid in the neighborhood and offer them $5 to find it. He said I would still come out cheaper than paying for a new collar!

 

IF can even be installed in a lake if you own lakefront property. The installers told me that's their favorite job in the summer but the most despised in the winter. Your dog can swim in the lake and still be contained on your "property."

 

It seems to me that a year's supply of batteries runs around $48, but you get a battery tester so you only replace them when it's really time. I believe the electronics have a lifetime guarantee because my circuit board blew out in an electrical storm and all I paid for was the service call.

 

Invisible Fence.....$$$$$$

Peace of mind......priceless!

[Kyrasmom]

I bought mine at www.radiofence.com for little under $400 for 5 acres worth or wiring and 3 collars. I thought it was a great deal.

 

The collars are important, you do want one that allows corrections to be controlled. Mine are basically set on vibrate as that works but there are different levels.

 

Maria

[Little Bo Boop]

Lindzey, I'm sorry, a hot wire is an electric fence. You buy a charger, which is a unit about 10 inches by 6 inches or so. About $20 at a feed store or Home depot. There are 2 connections, one for the wire, on for the ground. You plug it into an electrical socket....well first you attach the wire to the box, then run the wire on top of your fence via little plastic holders. Then you plug the box in. When the dog hits the wire, it gets a shock. It will get your attention, no mistake about it, but I'd still rather my dog get a shock from that,than risk him getting hit by a car. Hey, my mom hit the hotwire a couple of times one day it took her forever to figure out what the heck was wrong with my fence !!! She's still kickin' so your dog shouldn't suffer any ill effects LOL.

[Shawna]

"Hey, my mom hit the hotwire a couple of times one day it took her forever to figure out what the heck was wrong with my fence !!! She's still kickin' so your dog shouldn't suffer any ill effects LOL."

 

lol, It reminds me of when we had goats. One of the foster kids my parents took in went around the whole goat pen trying to get up the nerve to touch the electric fence. Finally he chickened out all together, but when he leaned forward to latch the gate he put his forhead right on it! Poor kid, he near jumped out of his skin.

[Black Watch Debatable]

At the local shelter this week, I asked the dispatcher for the latest on IF, hot wires, etc.

 

She said they impound dogs wearing electric-fence collars all the time. To be fair, she also said she knew of two cases where the systems kept the dogs where they belonged.

 

A confirmed fence jumper might ignore a hot wire. My neighbor---a contractor---ran a hot wire along his fence in an effort to keep his dog in, and the only result was that I was extremely careful every time I returned Gus to his yard

 

As I said once or twice, if you have to leave your dog outside when you're not home, a covered kennel run is by far the safest approach. Also, remember that a fence jumping dog, or one that just likes to pogo-jump next to the fence, runs the risk of catching his collar on the fence and strangling to death. This happened not long ago to a dog that belonged to a local veterinarian. (For some reason, the fact that the dog belonged to a vet made this tragedy seem even more tragic.)

 

My dogs are inside when I'm at work. I'm lucky to be close enough to drive home at noon and let the dogs romp a bit. When we're not in the garden, out walking or down at the farm, the dogs prefer to be in the same room with me---piled on my feet, sometimes. Like now

 

I never leave them outside when I'm gone.