I have a 10 month old yellow Lab who is quite large. I love her to death, but unfortunately the neighbors are not so fond of her. I can't put her on a chain, because there is too much in our yard for her to get tangled up on (basketball goal, five cars, steps, trees, etc). I have an electric fence which works pretty good except for when she gets really excited and runs through it, at which point she won't come back through it.
She's driving my neighbors crazy, because she will steal pillows off of their porch. I just bought her three new toys and I got a new puppy for her to play with in hopes that she would stay home. However just this morning she escaped. Any suggestions short of giving her up and or moving to Alaska?
If you cannot afford to fence your yard in (or rent), consider getting a kennel for your dog. Ours is 6x12 feet--we paid extra for a panel for the top. It is really heavy duty chain link and extremely sturdy. While you shouldn't keep a dog in one constantly because they need to be walked daily, they are great for allowing a dog to be outside without you for periods of time. We have it ours on a covered porch for our cat. He has a dog house in it, a litter box, food bowls, and ramps to climb and lie on. He is totally safe from predators. These are much cheaper than fencing in the entire yard, can be taken apart and moved if you get a new place, and re-sold if no longer needed, so they are pretty cost-efficient. They come in several sizes, and different companies make them in differing weights. We can buy additional panels to make ours bigger, but ours is fine for our cat.
Please, please don't keep her in the yard when you aren't around to supervise. That is like keeping a toddler outside all day with no supervision. You can easily crate train her (unless you are gone for 6+ hrs a day - then it is cruel) or train her to be non-destructive and keep her inside where she can be safe. Dogs don't want to be left outside without their people. They are pack animals who want to be with their "packs" you! If she was important enough to you to so that you wanted to share your home with her, then invest a little time and training and really make her a member of the family. If not, contact a lab rescue, make a donation to them and ask them to find a forever home for her. To do anything else is just wrong.
Those electric fences cause more problems than they are worth (except to a dog trainer like myself who can then charge you a good sum to retrain your dog to be willing to go into your yard and your vet for when a roaming dog attacks your unprotected dog). You should put up a real fence or get a dog run. Do not chain your dog, that can be deadly and will encourage aggressive behavior. Don't keep your dog in the yard, she is a companion breed and needs a lot of time with you. Take her for lots of walks and play, obedience train her, and if not done already, spay her. Especially if you don't have a real fence, there is nothing to keep her from getting pregnant from any boy who happens along.
I agree with fencing a portion of the yard for when your dog goes outside. Never use a chain. Take her for long walks or to a dog park if possible and she will get her exercise. I love dogs and have two, but I don't take them outside unless they are on a leash. Training also helps. Jennifer Northern Virginia
Contact the fence company because the frequency is not high enough. I wouldn't keep her on a chain. that can choke her too. I would build a hard fence and make sure it is sturdy enough for her to handle. Also, dog training helps in lots of ways. Look up Ceasar Milan's website to see what you can do too. Good Luck. I am so glad you love her. OH another think, I hope she is microchipped if she runs off too.
Did you consider putting a fence up? If you have a huge yard like I do, you don't have to fence the whole thing all at once. We are doing ours a section at a time as we can afford it.
Request: Keeping My Dog in the Yard (07/16/2009)
My little dog is the social butterfly of the neighborhood and has made friends with everyone's dogs. I don't want him leaving the yard, but he takes off soon as I let him out to go to the bathroom.
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Request: Keeping My Dog in the Yard
Archived on 07/06/2009
My grandkids live next door. How can I keep my dog in my yard?
Sounds obvious but a good fence is necessary.
So is TONS of exercise with you. There is no other way the dog will get the outdoor exercise they need. If you aren't taking them on long brisk walks for 30-45 mins minimum at least twice a day; they are bored senseless and under exercised no matter how old they are or how large your yard is. the walks are a dog's job for the most part. It's the sights, sounds and smells that interest them as much as your job occupies you.
There is now way to train a dog to need less exercise. Tired dogs are happy dogs and they don't roam. Bored dogs with energy to burn and nothing to interest them run like the wind.
Please remember that dog parks are for AFTER you have exercised the dog and burned off all their excess energy. They are for relaxation and are NOT a substitute for exercising your dog. Poorly trained dogs who need to burn off excess energy are dangerous at dog parks no matter what their size. Also, dogs in any parks should always be on leads unless they're in a fenced in area for dogs.
(03/28/2009)
You can install an underground electric fence. You put a special collar on the dog that will lightly shock him if he gets too close to the fence. It will not affect anybody else, tho. Good luck and God bless you. (03/28/2009)
Exercising the dog, a fenced in yard, a pen/kennel, being tied up, letting the grandkids know that you will not allow them to call your pet over to their yard, an underground electric fence. Now you just need to decide which one you plan to follow through with. Personally, we use a mixture with our dog. We could walk him all day long, and he'd still have energy to spare and mischief to get into. (03/28/2009)
My little dog is the social butterfly of the neighborhood and has made friends with everyone's dogs. I don't want him leaving the yard, but he takes off soon as I let him out to go to the bathroom. Often I have to start the car to pretend that I'm going somewhere to get him to come, because he loves car rides. I've read about the invisible fencing, but it is so expensive. Any suggestion outside of tying him up to keep him in the yard?
Donna Marie
Feedback:
RE: Social Butterfly - Keeping My Dog in the Yard
There's really no option except to keep him on a leash. You don't want to risk him getting hit by a car or getting lost. At least a little dog is easier to contain and requires less room to exercise. You can put him on a long wire cable when he's outside. I mean the kind you buy that attaches to the heavy duty screw in type of anchor that goes into the ground. They can't get twisted or tangled. I keep one for my rescues. I belong to a group, www.freecycle.com where people give away and request stuff. Maybe someone call donate a small kennel. You can sign up for your particular area. (02/05/2005)
By Vicki
RE: Social Butterfly - Keeping My Dog in the Yard
I have a clothesline tied to a post with a leash tied on the other end. I keep the leash close to the door so when I let my dog out it has plenty of room to roam, but it's not long enough to get in the road or neighbors' yards (02/05/2005)
By Judie
RE: Social Butterfly - Keeping My Dog in the Yard
How is he getting out of your yard. Fencing is a must, if he nips anyone you are responsible. My little dog was a Houdini dog, always escaping. I walked the entire fence perimeter to see how he was getting out, and put bricks or 2 x 4's anywhere the ground under the fence had a little gap. (02/05/2005)
By Linda
RE: Social Butterfly - Keeping My Dog in the Yard
We had neighbors who thought it was not a big deal to allow their dog to run loose. It was a friendly and gentle dog, but that wasn't the issue. Everyone else in the area controlled their dogs on their own property. Their dog would get into trash cans, find dead animals and feed on them, constant barking, etc.
The dog always had some type of worm ailment or other health issues. I for one did not want that dog defecating on my property to spread its health problems to my dogs. You don't know what your dog can get into besides the chance of getting hit by a car. It was not fair to anyone in our area to have the dog roaming about our neighborhood.
Eventually, it caused a big problem by constantly chasing a neighbor's pet cats on their property and one of the cats broke its foot by trying to escape this dog. The dog owners were warned. Finally, they got a hefty $200 fine. They learned an expensive lesson so the dog now is confined to its' own property, the way it should always been from the beginning. It is an owner's responsibility to protect your dog by keeping it on your own property.
(02/07/2005)
It is good to put up flags around the property line and walk your dog each day so that they learn their territory. Firmly tug and say no when your dog wants to walk outside the property lines. (06/08/2006)
By Torey
RE: Social Butterfly - Keeping My Dog in the Yard
Well, If you don't want him running out its really quite simple. Watch him really closely. Sometimes the problem is you. He needs proper training. I would suggest an electric collar with a remote that buzzes them when they're bad. If that doesn't work then i have no answers. (08/27/2006)
RE: Social Butterfly - Keeping My Dog in the Yard
There is a bit of help. A little bit of hope. We have now found that if our dog is clipped to a lead that has a length of poly pipe (like in home garden irrigation) fixed to the end of it, he gets stuck if he tries to escape. He can squeeze under, through, or jump, but the pipe acts like an anchor.
We only use this while someone is outside so he can't get stuck for hours without water etc., but at least he can run while we wash the car, hang out washing, do gardening, etc. It caught him once when he went through a fence, and that was it, he realised what was going on.
We have just used an ordinary woven lead, but of a distinctive colour (red). I know dogs are colour blind but they can see shades. He knows he can't get away with it on. The poly pipe is only about 2 1/2 foot long, two lengths so they form an "x". He won't choke because of the length of the lead, but if he tries to wander he can only get a few foot past the fence. A friend told us how he stopped his GSP (German Shorthaired Pointer) jumping the fence by attaching poly pipe to his collar. Every time the dog tried to jump it felt something hit his chest, and thought he had hit the fence.
Hope it helps, even if it is only for supervised runs. We still chain him when he is unattended.
(01/02/2007)
