Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm having a little problem with my 7 1/2 month old American
Bulldog.

She is kept indoors & outdoors. When I'm home she is in the house
but when I go to work I leave her in the backyard. She is great
inside the house. She has never peed or pooped in the house,
but outdoors she is a force of destruction.

Up until last week I thought it was funny. Last week she
destroyed the phone box/cables. It stopped being funny right
away. I work from home & need a DSL connection for my J-O-B.

I had put up a partial fence around the air conditioning unit,
satellite cables & phone cables as soon as I moved into this
place as a precaution. Up until last week it seemed to be
working.

I'm not sure how to dicipline her or what to do to discourage
her from going in there. I could use barbed wire, but I'd like
see what other dog lovers do first.

I tightened it up, but it looks like she got in there again
today.

Have you considered using a crate and keeping the dog inside the house when you have left for work? I'm leaning toward the dog being bored outside all day. Most dogs do quite well with a crate. The only other alternative would be to set up a kennel run outside complete with food, water and her favorite toys. To prevent injury to your dog I would avoid using the barbed wire.
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Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.
PHMax

She is bored and finding her own amusement. There are several things you can do. First, she needs more exercise. Though being a growing baby you can't wear her totally out all the time as it isn't good for growing joints you can wear the edge off all her enthusiasm. Walks, fetch games (though that may be a trick with her breed...usually they just look at you as if to say "If you wanted it so badly why did you throw it away?" obedience work....tire out her brain and body.

Given her breed and age it is gonna get worse if you don't do something now. So... personally I would never leave a dog outside unwatched as it is a great way to get them stolen, injured or let to get aggressive out of frustration. If it were me I would start her in some obedience classes (again, a good idea anyway) and I would start walking her daily. Then I would crate her when I left her instead of leaving her outside.

Certainly you can try refencing but left to herself she will soon learn to climb the fencing if she can't get through it. I would cut to the chase and work with her in some venue.