Puppy Loves Me – All about puppies

Dogs and fences just go together. A good fence will keep your puppy in your yard and other dogs out of your yard. Unfortunately, though, many dogs look at a fence as a challenge to get out. They either try to dig under it, go through it, or climb over it. Since the point of a fence is to keep your puppy safe let’s look at some ways to keep your him or her inside your fence. 1) Remove Any Place They Might Try To Escape It’s amazing what dogs can use to help them when they are trying to escape from the yard. A trash can next to the fence becomes a climbing step stool. Firewood piled next to a fence does the same thing; it’s easy to climb on the firewood then jump over or climb the fence. Even a tree with a low limb hanging over the fence is also a possible way to escape. Walk all around your fence and look at everything from your dog’s point of view and then remove everything that might help them escape. For digging dogs: Bury chicken wire at the base of your fence (with the sharp edges rolled inward), place large rocks at the base or lay chain-link fencing on the ground. For climbing/jumping dogs: Add an extension to your fence. Restrict What Your Dog See's Many times dogs try to escape from their yard is because they see something fun available to them outside the fence. If there is dogs or kids in the yard next door, other dogs walking by the house, or squirrels playing out front; then there is more of a chance she’s gonna try and escape. Depending on what kind of fencing you have, there are different ways to limit your dog’s view through the fence. Reed fencing comes in rolls and is relatively inexpensive. You can attach this to the inside of your existing fence to cut down on what they see. Plastic slats can be woven through a chain link fence and although this won’t block everything, it will help out. Many dog parents will plant fast growing vines or climbing shrubs to grow on the fence. This is very pretty but you will need to try and keep the dog away from these plants until they get established. 2) Make the Yard a Refuge Your yard should be your dog’s happy place instead of his prison. So help her to want to be there. Limit her hours in the yard alone as much as you can. Instead of leaving her alone in the yard all day every day, leave her in the house some and in the yard other times. When you leave her there, hide some toys in the backyard or even treats so that she needs to hunt for them. Or you can give him a food dispensing toy with some good smelling treats inside it. Before leaving her in the fenced in yard, make sure she’s had some exercise so there is more chance for her to take a nap rather than try to escape. Do some training with him, too, so his brain is tired. When you are at home, spend some time in your yard with her. Play ball with her, maybe groom her, do some training, and sometimes just lie in the grass with her. Make your back yard a great place for her to be. 3) Fears and phobias Be aware of the surroundings from their point of view. Your dog may be escaping because they are scared, especially if they don't like loud noises, such as thunderstorms, firecrackers or construction sounds. Keep your dog inside when you're unable to supervise them. This will also keep them safe and prevent any possibility of their being stolen from your yard. Or at least have a place they can hide out if they are left outside alone when a storm pops up. 4) Sexual roaming Dogs become sexually mature at around 6 months of age. Intact male dogs have a strong drive to seek out females, and it can be hard to prevent an intact dog from escaping when their motivation to do so is very high. Recommendations: Have your male dog neutered. Studies show this will decrease sexual roaming in about 90 percent of cases. If intact males have a pattern of escaping, they may continue to do so even after they are neutered; this is why you should have males neutered as soon as possible. Have your female dog spayed. If intact female dogs escape while they are in heat, they have a high likelihood of getting pregnant (and they could also be impregnated even if they stay confined in your yard). Don't accidentally contribute to the pet overpopulation problem by allowing your female dog to breed indiscriminately. unfortunately millions of unwanted pets are euthanized every year. 5) Dogs That Will Squeeze Through Small Spaces If your dog is squeezing through small spaces like in a picket fence here's a couple things you can do. You can buy a puppy bumper or a Bar Harness. Puppy bumper's connect to the collar so as long as the collar fits correctly the bumper won’t fall off. Do not make your dog wear these around the clock & make sure there is nothing else around your dog will get caught on. Use them when letting the dog out to go potty or if they want to just to run around outside and play for bit. They are very light weight but your dog may need some time to get used to wearing because it may be a little “uncomfortable” at first but it’s always better than having to put up lost dog flyers. Besides a puppy bumper you can use a Bar Harness, these cost a little more but will work better with wider gaps and they look more comfortable. They also make these for large dogs. If you don’t want to use either of these (puppy bumper/bar harness) you can always line the fence with a chicken wire or mesh wire, they sell some mesh wire that is hardly even noticeable. Training Basics Never correct your dog after they have already left their yard. Dogs associate punishment with what they're doing at the very moment they're punished. Punishing your dog after the fact won't stop the escaping behavior, but will probably make them scared to come to you. Never correct your dog if the escaping is related to fear or is due to separation anxiety. Punishing a fearful response will only make your dog more scared, and may make the problem worse. Only correct your dog if you can correct at the very moment your dog is escaping. If you can squirt them with a hose or make a loud noise as they are going over, under or through the fence, it might make them where they won't want to do it again. If they realize it was you that made the noise or squirted the water, however, she'll simply stop trying to escape when you are around.

“Happiness is a warm puppy.” – Charles Shultz

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