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I have a male BC that is around 6-8 months I guess by now. I am guessing he is 3/4 grown. We have had our issues but for the most part things are OK.  The biggest problem we have right now is that he has started digging out. I have a half acre fenced in 4' high with a one foot apron. This is the only dog I have ever seen that will dig under the apron, pushing it up to make a hole to get through. I have patched this fence 6 times now. Somehow, I need to stop this behavior before it becomes n ingrained habit!

Can you help me? I'm going to patch fence one more time!

Thanks,

Wade

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First: please define apron. What is it made of? What is it? One foot inside the fence or outside the fence? What is your fence? Wire or solid wood?  Bury some wire fencing in the ground - at least a foot deep. Four feet doesn't seem that high for a border collie. (Even though he isn't jumping it now, I am just thinking about the future.)

Second: he is obviously bored. More walks, more training (trick training, obedience training, agility, nosework), more time spent with you (does he like car rides? Bring him with you while you do errands - as long as the weather isn't too hot or cold.

I know others will have good suggestions.

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I will second all of the above advice, and add to it that you would do best not to let this dog off the leash, or at the very least complete supervision every minute he is out there in the yard until you have changed his attitude about digging out. If you give this dog enough to do with training, walks, and play time with you, he will not be so bored and will prefer to stay with you. I would never continue to allow a dog who was digging under a fence to have unrestricted or unsupervised time in the yard. I will fix a fence once but if it happens again the only thing to do is completely prevent it and work on the underlying issues that make him want to leave.

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Hi

I am guessing that he is unsupervised, otherwise he wouldn't get so far as to dig.  At 6-8 months he should not be out in a yard unsupervised.  I have 2 acres of 3-foot fence.  My puppies are 20 months old and still not left out there without someone watching them, because they are young dogs.   Height of fence doesn't much matter -- dogs need to learn to respect the fence.  When he is out with you and goes toward the fence, he needs to be given a deterrent (with mine, they only need to hear "uh uh!" or "ack!")  Then he needs to be brought away from the fence and praised for coming away from it.  That, of course, cannot happen unless you are watching him.   So that leads to my next question - is he in the process of being trained?  I highly recommend an obedience class if you have not already had one...or if so, maybe even another class.  He is still young.  Right now, he has already been rewarded by being able to dig - so that will make it longer and a little bit harder to break the habit.  This is not a hard situation to correct, as I see it.  What is hard is that it demands that you constantly monitor it.  If you commit to watching him, you will overcome this. :)

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