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?
By Meagan from NC
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.
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.
This is a page about keeping dogs from jumping your fence. Some dogs just love to jump over the fence, as soon as you turn your back, and head off on an adventure.
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.
My grandkids live next door. How can I keep my dog in my yard?
How can I train my 11 month American Pit Bull to stop running out the gate when someone comes in or out of the yard? She has done it twice now and got attacked and injured really badly.
I have 3 dogs, 2 pure bred Labradors (Thomas and Mia or Mya) and one Lab mix (Luna). Mia is a really good dog she's sweet and all. Thomas is an overprotective dog, he tries to grab every man or women that walks by trying to protect his yard. One time he got over the fence trying to get to a lady and her dogs and almost got hit by a motorcycle. Thank God he's still here.
We have no idea what to do. Luna jumps fences and bolts through yards. I always go after her because I'm afraid to lose her. One time she got away and we could not find her. She was gone 24 hours maybe more. Some lady found her, took her in, and bathed her. They are all fixed, but Luna, she always runs away from other dogs. Can someone give me advice on what to do, please?
So I have this beautiful boy; he's a two year old German Shepherd and the past few months we've been having a lot of trouble keeping him in the yard. He's been fixed for over a year now and we live out in the country, but on a hwy. We own 5 acres of land and the yard is fully fenced except for the entrance. He's been going over to the neighbor's as they own an unfixed female German Shepherd. My question is how do we stop him from going over there? I've been keeping him in his run and letting him out a few hours a day (I have to really watch him), but he still goes over there.
By Jackie S from Northern Alberta
I just moved outside city limits and have no fence. I have two dogs and have them on a dog run, there are a lot of dogs that run loose. I don't want my dogs getting pregnant from these dogs. Does anybody know if there is something I can do before I get them fenced, are these dogs supposed to be neutered/spayed?
By Melissa S.
My family and I have a German Shepherd that keeps on running to the neighbors. We live on a dairy farm, so we can't put a fence up and she already ran out on the highway.
By Rebecca M
We have a 6 year old yellow Lab that is used to being a farm dog, but recently we moved to town and we can't keep him in our yard. He is too big to be in the house so we have a wire kennel in the back yard, but he manages to get out of it either by ripping the door off or digging a huge hole. We had him on a cable so he could move about the yard and that worked for a while, but now he is slipping out of his collar.
We thought the solution to this was to get a harness, but this morning he was gone again. My boyfriend has had it and says we should get rid of him, but I know he doesn't really want that. Please help!By MO
About six years ago I adopted a wonderful Corgi mix. At the time she was about 3. Our first couple of years were lovely until a robbery occurred at my home. In the process she was badly injured and has suffered from serious anxiety since. I added another dog to the mix after a couple of suggestions that it would help ease her anxiety. Things improved with the second dog and a dog walker during the day.
I recently moved out of the city to a house with a large yard with a dog door. I was so excited for them to have some room to run. The first two months went smoothly until one day I came home and she was not there. It turns out some neighborhood kids saw her through a small hole in the fence and with some encouragement an escape ensued.
This just opened up a big can of worms and escapes were becoming a daily occurrence. I had to wait for my landlord to fix the fence. In the meantime a family down the street started feeding her. Taking them into their house while I was at work. There have been some comments made like it looks like your dog adopted us.
My concern is now I have a family that has made it pretty clear they want her although they have never actually said it. I do not fault the dog, she gets attention and food when I am not at work. I thought my problems were fixed when my landlord finally fixed the fence. But to no avail she busted through it. I have tried talking to my neighbors saying not to feed her or let her in the house, but it is very hard because they are very nice well intentioned people. I do not think they understand that what they are doing is wrong, encouraging bad behavior and damaging to my relationship with my dog.
Any suggestions would be helpful with how to deal with the fence or the family would be greatly appreciated.
By Katherine M
My dogs are kept on leads because while we are at my folks' house in the country, they have no fence to keep them in the yard. They must be kept in the yard. In any case, I've tried all different types of collars and harnesses (they chew through the harnesses and slip out of collars) and there's just no way of keeping them on their chains and leads. Help us please!
I cannot afford a dog run or I would have bought one by now. The whole reason we're living with my folks right now is that I'm unemployed so, money is an issue.
I appreciate any advice/help anyone can give us. I love my dogs and really need to help them remain in the yard for their safety.
By Diana
My dog is a 5 yr old wonderful Chow/Lab mix. We live in a rural area, and we are responsible pet owners, shots are up to date, etc.
We have a fenced in back yard, and he has almost an acre where he can roam and play. We have a lot of logging truck traffic, so I fear for all dogs that are roaming free. Times are different from when when we were a child growing up in the country, you can't let pets roam free like you used to. A lot of people still don't get their pets rabies shots, etc. (which is a state law here)
The only problem we have is when there is a "female" in the neighborhood in heat. We have not been able to get him fixed and there's a dog from across the road that comes over to the fence and marks her territory and leaves. It works him up so, that he digs a hole and gets out. We catch him before he leaves the yard, but I wish my neighbors would not let their pets roam. How can I keep this "temptation" out of my yard? How can I make my four legged son not want a girlfriend? One time I sprayed vinegar where she sprayed, and that seemed to help some. Any other ideas?
By Denise
We have a Lab puppy that digs and chews up the new chain link fence. She is about 9 months old. She has a buddy in the yard to play with, but still leaves the yard to wander the neighborhood.
I need an inexpensive way to solve this problem. The poo has worked on the digging in the dirt, but now the fence is being eaten. Please help or we will have to give her away.
By Ben from TX
When my lab mix did this, we set up a dog cable run in our yard. It was far enough from the fence that she couldn't get to it, and was attached to the house near the back door at one end, and to a tree at the other end. All I had to do was open the back door, and clip the lead to her collar. If you google dog run cable system, you will find information about it. The best site was called Unchain Your Dog. By the way, Ma Barker lived to be 14.5 years old, using the run every day.
