Cheapest way to keep little Houdini in my yard?

[YO's Mom]

My dog has suddenly become an escape artist. We have a chain link fence, and he is squeezing out under it. In lots of different places, apparently. Every time I block off an escape route, he finds a new one. He has a rather small bladder, so I don’t want to have to keep him indoors all the time. Any ideas of cheap ways to shore up the fence to keep him in the yard? He is a 12 pound Shih Tzu mix. Thanks!

 

[sleeperclan]

Our next door neighbor had this problem with his two dogs. He tried the collars and blocking off the areas they were getting out...didn't work. He finally had to dig trenches along the fence and put chicken wire into the ground adjacent to the fence. He said when the dogs start digging, they hit the chicken wire and stop. It worked, but DH and he spent a whole day on just one side of the fence (almost an acre yard).

 

[rock_doctor]

I am not a fan of the shocker collars so i would do as the previous poster said. Get a roll of plastic chicken wire and dig a trench along the fence. With zip ties tip tie the wire to the fence and then have it go into the ground a couple inches then have it go parallel with the ground surface (a ledge if you will) for a foot or so then it should turn and go another foot into the ground. It is a lot of digging but he will stop digging once he hits the parallel ledge. Sounds like he found a girl friend...

 

[LJSquishy]

I have two Maltese myself and even though we also have a fully fence backyard I just don't let them go out unattended. Honestly, you should just keep an eye on your little one when you let them outside. They can quickly escape through tiny gaps.

The only ways to prevent that if you aren't outside with your dog are to tether him to something, or to run a perimeter of secondary fencing like what was suggested above.

 

[kthruz143]

we have chicken wire and 2x6's lining the fence

 

[girli565]

When we had a dog, my step father used chicken wire and dug a trench about a foot deep then zip tied the chicken wire to the chain link. Then he filled in the trench and voila! No escaping dog, lol!

 

[momto2inKC]

I have two Maltese myself and even though we also have a fully fence backyard I just don't let them go out unattended. Honestly, you should just keep an eye on your little one when you let them outside. They can quickly escape through tiny gaps.

The only ways to prevent that if you aren't outside with your dog are to tether him to something, or to run a perimeter of secondary fencing like what was suggested above.

Yep, like you said the only way to make sure your dog stays where it's supposed to be is to go out with them My dog is never outside alone. She's always on a leash when she goes out to potty or on a tie out when we take her out to play.

 

[Soupermom]

We had the same problem...little dog getting out, big raccoon, cats, possums, and bunnies getting in (and often killed by big dog--we live in the country). DH had to put an small electric wire along the bottom of our fence. It only took one or two "zaps" to keep our dog in and the bonus of keeping everyone else out too is great! We can turn it off, but then sometimes the wild critters come back in. Our dogs stay away without any problems now! Does't seem to affect our electric bill either and although it took a little time to install, it wasn't very expensive. Good luck!

P.S. Looks better than the chicken wire, too!

 

[YO's Mom]

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Ok, so here’s my plan. Personally, since this is all me and I have a bad shoulder, I am not into any plan that involves digging. I also do not think he is digging – I think he is squeezing under the fence. When we have caught him right after he gets out, he doesn’t have any dirt on him. So, I am going to buy chicken wire and bend it in an “L” shape. The short end will be connected to the fence with cable ties, then the longer sections will be anchored to the ground using landscaping pins. Then, I will put pea gravel on top of the wire. The gravel is mostly for looks and to keep from mowing over the wire. I don’t think he would be able to dig (if he is digging) under a couple of feet of chicken wire and the fence. Does this sound like a good plan, or am I wasting my time and money?

 

[Teresa Pitman]

The only thing that worked for us (I have a Lab, who could dig under a fence in seconds) was using a tether. The stake end is firmly screwed into the ground, and I attach the other end to his collar every time I let him out.

TP

 

[ceecee]

We have an Invisable Fence and two labs and they have never escaped! Seems like overkill if you already have a fence though.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Ok, so here’s my plan. Personally, since this is all me and I have a bad shoulder, I am not into any plan that involves digging. I also do not think he is digging – I think he is squeezing under the fence. When we have caught him right after he gets out, he doesn’t have any dirt on him. So, I am going to buy chicken wire and bend it in an “L” shape. The short end will be connected to the fence with cable ties, then the longer sections will be anchored to the ground using landscaping pins. Then, I will put pea gravel on top of the wire. The gravel is mostly for looks and to keep from mowing over the wire. I don’t think he would be able to dig (if he is digging) under a couple of feet of chicken wire and the fence. Does this sound like a good plan, or am I wasting my time and money?

I think that sounds like a great idea! If you think that he's squeezing under the fence, then filling in the gap with chicken wire should work brilliantly. Maybe get a few large pieces of decorative stone and put them in strategic places (like any seams?) to make sure that the chicken wire stays buried under the pea gravel? Although, if you use enough landscaping pins, it should also do the job pretty well.

Good luck! Our dogs have never been diggers or escapers, but we just moved into a new house that has a dog in the neighbouring yard. We might have to come up with our own plan to keep the dogs from trying to meet each other through/under the fence!

 

[ZehnJahren]

The tried and true solution for many, many generations of dog owners throughout all of their domesticated history is also the most simple: tether the dog. Doesn't have to be a short tether; plenty of tethers are long enough for the dog to run, jump, play, and get into and out of the sun at his/her leisure.

Otherwise, stay with the dog and teach it to come to your voice so that any shenanigans are cut off immediately.

If they've found a way through your chain link fence, they're probably going to find a way past the chicken wire.

 

[squirrel]

Since your dog is small and it doesn't appear to be digging to get under the fence, wouldn't railroad ties work along the fence. It would be better than having pea gravel in your grass.

I don't think the railroad ties are expensive, but it's been awhile since I purchased any.

I use to look after twin girls and their dog would escape out of the yard every garbage day, sometimes other days as well. I kept my eye on him when I let him out but as soon as I took my eye off him for a second to see what the girls were doing he was gone.

 

[jedijill]

My house has a fenced yard but there are some holes (landlord hasn't fixed yet!) so I lined the fence with a roll of wire fencing that I got a Lowe's that is meant to go around a garden. We just used staples to attach it to the fence and now my dachshund can't go through any of the holes in the fence. I used the same fencing materials and cable tied it to my balcony of my old apartment so she couldn't get her head stuck through the grates.

HTH

Jill in CO

 

[Chloesmom]

They make a dog " bumper" that kind of looks like one of those U shaped neck deals for sleeping in cars. It is stuffed fabric and has several ribbon loops on it to attach to a collar. Theory is that it prevents dogs from squeezing out of smaller areas. I cannot recall what they are called. I just saw them at a trade show. Puppy bumpers or something like that. they recommended you have the bumper on a second collar to take on and off so the dog didnt wear it all the time.

 

[disneychrista]

The only thing that worked for us (I have a Lab, who could dig under a fence in seconds) was using a tether. The stake end is firmly screwed into the ground, and I attach the other end to his collar every time I let him out.

 

[momto2inKC]

They make a dog " bumper" that kind of looks like one of those U shaped neck deals for sleeping in cars. It is stuffed fabric and has several ribbon loops on it to attach to a collar. Theory is that it prevents dogs from squeezing out of smaller areas. I cannot recall what they are called. I just saw them at a trade show. Puppy bumpers or something like that. they recommended you have the bumper on a second collar to take on and off so the dog didnt wear it all the time.

Yep, puppy bumpers is what they're called! A friend on Facebook posted pics of her morkies wearing them. They don't bother the dogs and it keeps them from escaping.

 

[CowboyCO]

Get a cone of shame...

 

[Zim]

Get a cone of shame...

HA! Thanks for the morning laugh.... that was great