Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello I am new to the forums. I do not have a dog yet but I am on several waiting lists to get a Toller. In the mean time I am training my moms dogs for practice. It is going well and I love it! However I am having one problem. My moms Bull Terrior is sneaking underneath the fence to get out of the yard. My mom is afraid that she is either going to get hit by a car or stolen. My mom has been talking about building up the yard around the fence or putting in hedges, but landscaping is not cheap and since my dad passed away she can not afford it. I was wondering if there was any way to use Positive Punishment to keep her in the yard. My mom always yells at her and calls her a bad dog and I know this is doing nothing, she doesnt know what she is doing wrong. If anyone out there has any ideas they would be greatly apprieciated. Thanks!

>>Hello I am new to the forums. I do not have a dog yet but I am on several waiting lists to get a Toller. In the mean time I am training my moms dogs for practice. It is going well and I love it! However I am having one problem. My moms Bull Terrior is sneaking underneath the fence to get out of the yard. My mom is afraid that she is either going to get hit by a car or stolen. My mom has been talking about building up the yard around the fence or putting in hedges, but landscaping is not cheap and since my dad passed away she can not afford it. I was wondering if there was any way to use Positive Punishment to keep her in the yard. My mom always yells at her and calls her a bad dog and I know this is doing nothing, she doesnt know what she is doing wrong. If anyone out there has any ideas they would be greatly apprieciated. Thanks!

Theft is DEFINATELY a concern. If a BT is left alone outside, with or with out a fence they can wriggle out of, theft is an issue. They are a very popular breed, however very expensive as well.

Now on to the training. While I personally have not had an issue with this, I know of many people who have used boundry training. I have attached an article on it for you.

One thing I will definately steer you away from is any type of underground fence. Bull Breeds, be it an English Bulldog, A Pit Bull or a Bull Terrier, are KNOWN for thier stubborness and ability to block out pain. E-Fencing is highly ineffective in the bully breeds.
Boundry Training

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Cindy & CGC Brutus the bullheaded bulldoggie & CGC Caesar the fabulous pittie

A friend of mine had that problem also and this is the way they fixed it for their dog.

Kind of hard to explain in words but I will give it a try.

Get a roll of chicken wire fencing or just about any bendable type fencing. You can usually get that type of item at any Home Depot, Lowe's, or if you have a farm supply store near you.

Take the new wire and tie it with a strand of wire to the old fence near the bottom, but up far enough so it is sturdy. Then lay the new wire that is attached to the old fence straight down to the ground and out onto the grass. Eventually the wire just disappears and is covered by the grass. Put some rocks or even dirt over the new fence that is on the ground. My friend also found this stopped their dog from trying to dig out of the yard.

Since I don't know how big your yard is I don't know how cheap this idea would be for you. I hope you can understand my instructions, if not post again and I will try again to explain better.

But I must agree with the other poster. Training the dog is most important and can solve lots of problems.

Good Luck and let us know what you decide to do.

Cheryl

Faust is right on this my neice and her husband bought that underground electic fence for thier dogs they set it up high on something away fe rom the fense to set bounderies and those dogs bt they lerned to crawl under that.
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Clicker

I completely agree with faust on this one, border training is the way to go.

We have a shih-poo who loved to run out the door (and up the street) every time it was opened. After spending many an hour chasing him through the neighborhood (he had trouble with coming when called also) we sought help at a local obedience school. The instructor showed us how to open the door, gently, but firmly, tug on his leash, and say "no". It took a couple weeks of this before we could begin to trust him, but now he has no trouble with open doors or stopping when he begins to run off.

I would disagree with trying to "patch" the hole under the fence in some way, just spend time each day with the dog on the leash in the yard and whenever he/she begins to dig - give a tug on the leash and the "no" command. This way you can avoid any "new" holes under the fence.

PonyRyd
www.dogbehaviortraining4u.com