Our 1 year old Rotti has always been an escape artist since we first started keeping him in the back yard with our other dog. In the last few months, after we moved to our new house which has higher fences than the last one, he has been jumping/climbing the fence, getting into our garage and destroying anything he can find, stealing and destroying things from the neighbors garage, and ripping up all the neighbors rubbish bags on rubbish day.
We have tried tying him up, but he just sits there and howls all day, we started getting complaints from neighbors. So we decided to get an invisible fence that gives him a shock if he gets too close to it. That worked for the first half of a day, as it was something new, but as the day went on he started ignoring the shocks and sat right beside the fence which caused the battery to run itself out. We got a new battery and tried again, but as expected he just sat there by the fence and jumping up on it, twitching with every shock that he was getting as he was past the boundary limit that was set, which caused the new battery to die within half an hour!
We don't know what else to do as he is just not getting the hint. We take him for hour long walks but 10 minutes after we get back he is jumping the fence again. He never runs away and will jump back as soon as he hears someone coming because he knows he is about to get told off and tries to make it look like he was never out. We are only renting and are not allowed to adjust the fences, we love living here so don't want to move.
By Missy
What we did and works greatly, is on the top of the fense facing inward, we put an electric fense, like you would do for horses. So they can play all they want in the yard with no problem but if they try to jump they get zapped. The horse electric fense is just a plug into your regular socket, not battery, so the power never gets weak.
I know how you feel. I have a boxer mix that can jump any 8 ft. fence like a deer. Luckily she doesn't do it so often anymore and also puts herself back in the yard. I would have him neutered as soon as you can. It will curb his wanderlust. Call around you can get this done free or low cost from Snap or a similar program in the area.
Maybe a new home would be the best for all. He needs someone who can spent more time and keep him in line by constant training.
Good luck. I hope things work out for both of you.
He is a very smart dog to have outsmarted the electric fence. If you haven't already, it would be worth seeing if your landlord will work with you raise the fence a bit.
I also recommend getting him neutered. Our local Humane Society website has links to several spay and neuter options with coupons, assistance programs, and discounts. You should check to see if your Humane Society does too. We were able to get our two kittens fixed through the Oregon Spay/Neuter Fund for significantly less than the vet had told us it would cost.
I have 2 dogs. One is very well behaved and the other is an escape artist, like yours. Both German Shepherds...I got 2 harnesses, not collars, and with a 3 foot leash, attached the escapee to the "warden"...in other words, I attached the leash to the harnesses on both dogs. The leash isn't long enough to let my climber/jumper get even half way up the fence.
Now my escape artist has to go wherever his brother goes. Just make sure the leash is short enough so the jumper can't get anywhere near the top of any fence, but long enough so they can sit, walk, and lay down comfortably. This is a temporary solution while my escaper is attending obedience classes. Good luck.
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How do you stop your dog from jumping over the fence?
