OT: Thoughts on how to handle our dog situation

[DawnM]

We took in a little dog about 2 months ago.

She is a 30 pound lab mix and is very sweet and loving.

We had some issues with her though. She was not as housebroken as the previous owners claimed.

But, here is our real issue:

She was getting out of the fence and our neighbors complained. We fixed the fence and she was fine for a few weeks. Now she has figured out that she can JUMP THE FENCE! The fence is 4' high!

We have no intention of standing outside with her until she is finished with her business. I have another dog and the 2 of them play outside most of the day.

We also have no intention of invisible fencing our acre backyard to the tune of a LOT of money (well over $1,000).

I am really thinking we may not be able to keep her.

Thoughts?

Dawn

 

[npmommie]

We took in a little dog about 2 months ago.

She is a 30 pound lab mix and is very sweet and loving.

We had some issues with her though. She was not as housebroken as the previous owners claimed.

But, here is our real issue:

She was getting out of the fence and our neighbors complained. We fixed the fence and she was fine for a few weeks. Now she has figured out that she can JUMP THE FENCE! The fence is 4' high!

We have no intention of standing outside with her until she is finished with her business. I have another dog and the 2 of them play outside most of the day.

We also have no intention of invisible fencing our acre backyard to the tune of a LOT of money (well over $1,000).

I am really thinking we may not be able to keep her.

Thoughts?

Dawn

The housebreaking is easily fixed. What have you done for this problem? Do you have a crate for her? crate training would be helpful if she is not housebroken.

Is the main problem her jumping the fence? Do you have your entire acre back yard fenced in?
I think there are ways to train her not to jump the fence if you don't want to do something like invisible fencing.
Have you ever watched the dog whisperer? he also has a great book on dog training and behaviour, cesar millan.

You really should look into training the dog, Dogs are a responsibility, and when we adopt one we should be willing to take care of these pets that are dependant on us. Not to sound harsh but I think these things are easily corrected with some work.
good luck!

 

[wlwilliams9]

Completely agree with PP. As a pet owner, I know how frustrating some of these issues can be, however, when someone adopts a pet they have to be willing to take on all of the responsibilty that comes with it. Pets are just like having another child IMO. With a little training I'm sure you could resolve your issues. Labs are great and learn easily, I know, I have 2! I would never even think of getting rid of one of my pooches!
Good Luck!

 

[DawnM]

Her accidents aren't really the problem.

We can look into some ways to train her.

Thanks,

Dawn

The housebreaking is easily fixed. What have you done for this problem? Do you have a crate for her? crate training would be helpful if she is not housebroken.

Is the main problem her jumping the fence? Do you have your entire acre back yard fenced in?
I think there are ways to train her not to jump the fence if you don't want to do something like invisible fencing.
Have you ever watched the dog whisperer? he also has a great book on dog training and behaviour, cesar millan.

You really should look into training the dog, Dogs are a responsibility, and when we adopt one we should be willing to take care of these pets that are dependant on us. Not to sound harsh but I think these things are easily corrected with some work.
good luck!

 

[DawnM]

I understand what you are saying, but this dog was given to us with the condition that the previous owner would take her back if my other dog didn't "accept her." The first few weeks were horrible. My older dog would fight with her over everything and even drew blood a couple of times.

I tried to give the dog back and the previous owners wouldn't take her.

She really is a sweet dog and thankfully, our older dog has calmed down over the whole thing, but it really worried me for a while as our kids got bit a couple of times over the agression. Nothing more than a superficial wound thankfully, and it has not happened since, but I would not hesitate to have given away my dog over having my kids hurt.

Dawn

Completely agree with PP. As a pet owner, I know how frustrating some of these issues can be, however, when someone adopts a pet they have to be willing to take on all of the responsibilty that comes with it. Pets are just like having another child IMO. With a little training I'm sure you could resolve your issues. Labs are great and learn easily, I know, I have 2! I would never even think of getting rid of one of my pooches!
Good Luck!

 

[Cloudwatcher]

I may get flamed here but as a full breed lab owner I know how they are. Have you tried putting her on a runner when she is outside or stacking her. That would have her in the fence attached to something so that she can't get out. We have ours fenced in (6 feet) and also have it hotwired, but if you have kids that play in the backyard that might not be a good idea.

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

Ever think of putting some chicken wire up on the top of your fence for a while to deter her? Leave it up there for a month or two till she loses interest and then that may stop her for good.... just a thought!

 

[DawnM]

It would be a great thought if we didn't have over 1 acre fenced back there (our property is 2.5 acres, I am not sure how much is back yard).

Dawn

Ever think of putting some chicken wire up on the top of your fence for a while to deter her? Leave it up there for a month or two till she loses interest and then that may stop her for good.... just a thought!

 

[semo233]

FYI, I purchased an invisible fence over the internet. If you purchase the heavy duty wire, you don't even need to bury it and it is easy to install. You use staples to hold the wire down and within two weeks or so, the root system from the grass grows over the wire. We have 2.1 acres and the cost was less than $300.
semo233 (owner of the best adopted lab, Eliza)

 

[StephMK]

I'm going against popular decision - again - see trampolines - but if you have tried & it's not working, I would find her a new home. It raises red flags to me that the previous owners wouldn't take her back. They know how she is & sounds like they tried to hide that & hope the next owners would be ok.

We gave back not one but TWO dogs that weren't right for our family. I'm sure I will get backlash for that but I have no regrets. We were looking for a sibling for our older retriever mix (from the pound) & I put up w/years of separation anxiety with him & he HATED crates, still does & we don't use one. So I am willing to put up w/dog issues but there are limits.

The first was a 5yo chow/lab mix with medical issues from a non-kill shelter that had been fostered. They said oh, she's so sweet, no aggression issues, etc. Well, she about attacked my dad when he walked in our house after knocking one day & fought w/our older dog more than once. As soon as DH had to pull them apart once, I said that was it. Back she went. Her foster ended up adopting her so she got lucky.

The second was a lab puppy from a shelter. Adorable, loved her & still miss her but not a lab, pit bull. I don't care what anyone says, I was not willing to see if she had good or bad genes. I cried the whole time but still don't regret it.

We finally got another mix from the pound & she is great. Some annoying habits but ones we can live with & call her the princess.

I love animals but in our house, they are part of the family but still animals. So if you are looking for someone to say, it's ok if you try & it doesn't work, it's ok and do what you have to do.

 

[DawnM]

Hmmm.....that is reasonable. Can you give me the link or tell me where you got it?

Thanks,

Dawn

FYI, I purchased an invisible fence over the internet. If you purchase the heavy duty wire, you don't even need to bury it and it is easy to install. You use staples to hold the wire down and within two weeks or so, the root system from the grass grows over the wire. We have 2.1 acres and the cost was less than $300.
semo233 (owner of the best adopted lab, Eliza)

 

[JacobsMommy11002]

We took in a little dog about 2 months ago.

She is a 30 pound lab mix and is very sweet and loving.

We had some issues with her though. She was not as housebroken as the previous owners claimed.

But, here is our real issue:

She was getting out of the fence and our neighbors complained. We fixed the fence and she was fine for a few weeks. Now she has figured out that she can JUMP THE FENCE! The fence is 4' high!

We have no intention of standing outside with her until she is finished with her business. I have another dog and the 2 of them play outside most of the day.

We also have no intention of invisible fencing our acre backyard to the tune of a LOT of money (well over $1,000).

I am really thinking we may not be able to keep her.

Thoughts?

Dawn

My thoughts may not be what you want to hear, but... When you adopted this dog, you agreed to provide for her for a lifetime. So many people get pets, and then when things get hard, they get rid of them. To me, you made a commitment, and that means you need to do whatever it takes to get her trained. I would look for books on labs, or Cesar's book, and go from there. Labs want to please so badly, you should be able to get her under control.

That said...now that I have read further, I have to agree. If the dog is biting my child, that's an entirely different scenario!

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

On one hand, I think you have a responsibility to any pet you bring into your home, and if that means paying for chicken wire or invisible fencing then that's your responsibility.

On the other hand, any dog that bit my child, especially repeatedly, would be gone the next day. I'm not clear if it's your new dog or your old dog that bit, but that's not something I'd be able to tolerate. My goddaughter was mauled by a family pet that jumped someone's fence and needed multiple surgeries and 100s of stitches. I also think that having a biting/fighting dog that you can't keep contained is a huge liability for you. If any thing were to happen and a judge were to hear that 1) your dog has a history of biting and 2) you have been repeatedly asked to fix your fence because of escapes then I think you'd be in trouble.

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

When we first got our lab at 5 months old he escaped from the yard a couple of times. We ended up buying a 25 foot chain that we put him on every time we left him out. We used that for a number of years because we didn't trust him and didn't want to take the chance on him getting out again. After a couple of years we slowly started to let him out without it while supervised. Now he is almost 9 and totally trustworthy. Our gate has even been open already and he still stayed in the yard. If you do use a chain though just be careful that he won't get hung up on anything.

 

[peemagg]

There are harness type things that keep the dog from being able to jump. After a while they won't even try to jump because you have trained them. The key thing is training. I don't care how sweet a dog is, if people does not take the time to train them it is not the dogs fault. It is the owners fault. Too many dogs are labeled as bad dogs when their real fault is that no one takes the time needed to train them properly.

 

[DawnM]

Actually, it was the old dog. She was very jelous.

The 2nd dog (new dog) was given to us on a temp basis but ended up being permanent when they begged us to keep her and not give her back.

Really, the 2nd dog is very sweet and wouldn't hurt a fly. I really like her. Our older dog is the one who can sometimes be difficult. The previous owners of Dog #1 took her to be trained and spent several hundred dollars on it and the trainer said that dog was the most stubborn lab she had ever dealt with (lab mix) and that she really didn't think she could train her that well.

Of course, owners of dog #1 did not tell me that until LONG after I had committed to keeping her!

Dawn

On one hand, I think you have a responsibility to any pet you bring into your home, and if that means paying for chicken wire or invisible fencing then that's your responsibility.

On the other hand, any dog that bit my child, especially repeatedly, would be gone the next day. I'm not clear if it's your new dog or your old dog that bit, but that's not something I'd be able to tolerate. My goddaughter was mauled by a family pet that jumped someone's fence and needed multiple surgeries and 100s of stitches. I also think that having a biting/fighting dog that you can't keep contained is a huge liability for you. If any thing were to happen and a judge were to hear that 1) your dog has a history of biting and 2) you have been repeatedly asked to fix your fence because of escapes then I think you'd be in trouble.

 

[Camno's Mama]

I'm not sure how old the dog is, but my pup was a runner until more recently (he's 15 months now, and this was last summer mostly). He figured out how to work the faulty latch on the gate, and would go visit the neighbors who were feeding him treats.

First of all, I made the neighbors stop doing that until he was better trained. They were making the outside world very intriguing. Also, we fixed the latch...obviously. The most time consuming thing is that we work with him, in the front yard. We have tons of treats on hand, and we call him to come and then give him a treat, etc. He's really good about staying close, and isn't trying to escape. He's a vizsla, so really trainable, like labs. We figured if we made the front yard less intriguing, he'd stay in the fenced in back yard. So far, so good. Sometimes it's just their age and the training. We also did the front yard treat thing with our lab and he was seriously the best behaved dog ever...labs are just kind of that way naturally.

You may want to try one of those Petsmart classes for the housetraining. Sometimes, it just helps to go back to the drawing board.

We had a take a dog back to the pound once. It was a lab mix/beagle mix or something like that. They told us it was a six month old puppy, but ended up being more like 2 years and had serious separation anxiety. It also pooped and peed in our car every time we went somewhere, and we take our dog wherever we go, so that was pretty difficult. The truth was, we had just lost our beautiful lab, and were still heartbroken. I had two very young children and maybe took too much on too soon. Starting over with a young puppy just worked better for us than having to fix a lot of problems. I felt bad for taking her back, but her problems would have been hard on our family. People can say what they want about keeping their dogs forever, and the commitment, etc., but it's better to do it now than after you have had her for a long time. We only had the dog for a week, and people kept telling us to keep trying, but in the long run, I didn't think it would be fair to her when I knew in my heart it wasn't working.

If you know you are going to give her up eventually anyway, now is better than later. And just make a more careful choice next time. It's the kind of thing we learn from, and hopefully don't make the same mistake again.

 

[npmommie]

OP......did the dog bite your child? or was there dog vs dog aggression that the child got in the middle of?
dog dog aggression is very different from dog people aggression..............
just because a dog gets aggressive with another dog does NOT mean he will get aggressive with people.

fwiw, I have a runner dog too...............she was a stray we took in 10 yrs ago.............we have a large fenced in area for the dogs............we had 5, we are down to 2 right now
but anyway, this dog has a run set up IN the fenced in area, because she can tunnel her way out in seconds.........hubby has cemented around the perimeter so many times and she digs thru it...........
so our solution is a long run.........she can still run around out there, she just can't escape...........although she is getting older and has slowed down a bit........

 

[DawnM]

Sorry, I know I am not being clear. The kids were near the dog/dog fighting and got bit in the heat of the matter. Our dog (older dog) isn't usually agressive otherwise, although she will growl if she feels cornered and it has worried me a bit.

Dawn

OP......did the dog bite your child? or was there dog vs dog aggression that the child got in the middle of?
dog dog aggression is very different from dog people aggression..............
just because a dog gets aggressive with another dog does NOT mean he will get aggressive with people.

fwiw, I have a runner dog too...............she was a stray we took in 10 yrs ago.............we have a large fenced in area for the dogs............we had 5, we are down to 2 right now
but anyway, this dog has a run set up IN the fenced in area, because she can tunnel her way out in seconds.........hubby has cemented around the perimeter so many times and she digs thru it...........
so our solution is a long run.........she can still run around out there, she just can't escape...........although she is getting older and has slowed down a bit........

 

[TheDizMom]

I'd use a long leash myself. It seems like the easiest most cost effective way of keeping the dog in your yard. You could also try a dog whistle or shock collar, but you'll really have to be paying attention to make sure you can catch the dog in action. When it starts to head towards the fence like it's about to take flight zap it with the collar or blow the whistle. My sister has a fence jumper too and she's had no luck solving the problem and she's a vet. Some dogs are just hard to break with certain things. At least you know if it's on a leash it's not going anywhere.