Bonnie N Her Aussie2 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Hi All, It's Bonnie N Her Aussie Here. I just couldn't remember my login and password and I really need some help as this is the first time I've ever had to deal with this.. As some of you may know; I have two Australian Shepherds (aged less then one), one of which; is my Millie. Now, Millie is an 8 month old entire bitch, who has just today discovered that she can jump our back fence. Our fence is a 6 foot fence, and she contently jumps the fence without touching it.. (jumps, not climbs). She very first did it when she realised that Cooper and I walked out of the yard on leash for a walk. There was no excitement in our leaving and she's never had created a fuss about it before. She was VERY QUICKLY growled at and she wee'd herself. I put both Cooper and Millie in the yard and then tethered Millie to a pole. I ignored her, walked in side and left her out there for 10minutes. She cried, howled and got depressed and once she'd stopped crying I let her back off the tether. Upon letting her off I "AH AH AHHHH'd" when she went near the fence and as soon as she got close enough without me looking, she happily cleared it again and thought of it as a game. I repeated the previous punishment but this time for 20minutes and I also went to the same place she jumps over the fence and inspected it. Ross and Myself then lifted the bird avairy (4m x 2.5m x 2.2m(floorless)) and put it in the place in which she was jumping (he ground is SLIGHTLY higher in that area too). When i untethered her, she inspected the area and left it.. She didn't go near any fences for so long. I was outside with her and Cooper for about an hour and she was perfectly fine. I went back in side and did the dishes and just watched her without her knowing... 30 minutes she was still fine. I went in the lounge room (can't see her now) watched The Zoo and then heared Cooper barking as he does when people are walking outside.. the barking was going for loger then usual and there was Millie! outside of our front yard sitting by our car chewing on a box she must have found in the street. thank god she hadn't hurt herself, got lost, stolen or poisened herself with gross water etc. She is now tethered out in the backyard under my bedroom window on a 10m chain. She has a bed, food, water and shelter. My fence is 6 foot already and I have to apply for council approval before I can heighten it. I beleive i have to pay for this and it takes a week (give or take) before they advise me of their decision. If I make the fence 8 foot the fence won't match, it will be expensive and I don't have the money to do it. I hate the idea of having Millie on a chain for 8 hours and I don't know anyone that could take her untill i figure out how to fix my problem. I'm going to get qoutes from the local Stratco and Mitre 10 for 2 foot extension corrigated iron but i would probably need about 100 meters worth (three fences of a corner block property).. I guess my question is: Should I be increasing the fence's height? and to what? or should I be looking at something else? Ay advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm going to walk her in the morning before work, and then again on my lunch break, straight after work and later on in the evening untill i work out what to do. can someone please offer advice. Is there something crucial I am missing? please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie N Her Aussie2 Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 bump? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Do you have space to build a dog run with a roof? That would be safer and probably more sensible, cos if she can clear 6 ft without a worry, another 2 ft probably isn't going to be too much of a challenge for her. Aussies are pretty good at the high jumps.....Benson could easily do it but he's never actually tried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie N Her Aussie2 Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 Do you have space to build a dog run with a roof? That would be safer and probably more sensible, cos if she can clear 6 ft without a worry, another 2 ft probably isn't going to be too much of a challenge for her.Aussies are pretty good at the high jumps.....Benson could easily do it but he's never actually tried. oh gaylek, thank god you're on.. I can make the space to putin a dog run, but I don't think it would be "fair?" seeing as I work fulltime and her being locked in it all day would surely send her loopy. In regards to the extra two foot; that's what i fear also. What's to stop her climbing that extra 2 foot if she can CLEAR 6? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 She will be better off (and safer) in a run if you walk her and spend lots of time with her when you can, than having 24 extra inches added to a fence she can already clear with ease. If she can't clear an 8 ft fence, she will be in danger of getting caught on it, because she almost certainly WILL try to clear it. If you exercise her before work, then leave her with some toys and Cooper for company, she'll be fine in a run, then let her out when you get home and can watch her. I have been home and kept an eye on my two in the backyard, and believe me, they don't do much all day....mainly sleep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k 9 7 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 hi solved this problem with neighbours gsd by running a rope above the top of fence with a clearance of 1 foot.got this idea from a german lady whohad problem with her cat.the idea is that they cant guage their jump so they dont.doesnot cost much to try good luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie N Her Aussie2 Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 She will be better off (and safer) in a run if you walk her and spend lots of time with her when you can, than having 24 extra inches added to a fence she can already clear with ease. If she can't clear an 8 ft fence, she will be in danger of getting caught on it, because she almost certainly WILL try to clear it.If you exercise her before work, then leave her with some toys and Cooper for company, she'll be fine in a run, then let her out when you get home and can watch her. I have been home and kept an eye on my two in the backyard, and believe me, they don't do much all day....mainly sleep! I know that millie is not a full on energetic girl, she's not a jumper for attention, or anything like that... she doesn't pull on the leash when we go for walks. She's a good girl.. I really don't get why she's insisting on the fence. Millie already gets a walk most mornings, and she gets a good walk every evening after i finish work. It's not a matter of boredom - it's definatly a game she's get decided she wants to play since this afternoon. When I am home she is inside - her and cooper both, they just lay around - they don't even follow me half the time. I was thinking of creating an extension on the fence that goes off the fence and back ino the yard, kind of like you see in prisons, except without the barbed wire. I also thought of installing a smaller fence a metre off of the fence so she can't get that run up. or maybe trees, ferns etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie N Her Aussie2 Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 hi solved this problem with neighbours gsd by running a rope above the top of fence with a clearance of 1 foot.got this idea from a german lady whohad problem with her cat.the idea is that they cant guage their jump so they dont.doesnot cost much to try good luck with it. I think she'd still be happy to jump it, or climb under the rope.. she's a small girl. only 18 inches. Could cutting a square gap in the gates and installing wire so she can see stop her now wanting to jump over to see what's happening? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Midol Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 What type of fence is it? Lily can get over wooden 6ft fences, but not chain link. Does she clear it in a jump or does she climb? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueM Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 A containment system maybe, my friend has a Husky that clears 6 ft but it has solved her problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shekhina Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 (edited) I have this problem with my GSD, he has been an absolute nightmare to contain and I have been at my wits end with him over it. A run is arriving tomorrow, thank the gods, because I was either going to kill him or myself over all the stress I too thought it would be unfair on him, especially given the type of dog he is...he is just go, go, go ALL the time. But the run is a decent size (6mX2.5mX1.8m) and it'll fit his clam shell pool, bed, toys and have room to wander about etc. He already gets exercise time every day, so it will be enough. It's a damn sight fairer than having him shot by the farmer over the back fence or hit on the highway. ETA: I tried extending the fence...it is currently nearly 8ft tall and electric fencing. Neither of which stopped him. Dog containment systems wouldn't bother him in the slightest, not if he's barging through stock fencing...so a run it finally was. It'll be the best $1,000 ever bloody spent Edited October 21, 2008 by shekhina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lhok Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 My father eventually built a large dog run with a even larger lounge room for my dog (lab x kelpie) who clears our 8 foot fence with no issues. We tried everything from chain link to alsonite sheeting on the fence. At one stage my dad got so fed up he borrow some Ticker wire to put across the top of the fence to act as a deterent. It worked for a week till Mischef (aptly named might I add) noticed there was a gap. I think the best possible solution is maybe get a large dog Mansion/run or design one yourself since you know your dogs the best . I am confident you will resolve the problem Kind regards -Lhok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poo-Fong Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Hiya, Not sure how much help this is going to be to you immediately, but we have been investigating ways to "jump-proof" our 6 ft + high exercise runs at our boarding kennels... so far we have come up with 3 ideas: 1) Completely cover the tops of the runs - we wanted to avoid this if possible and anyways, it's not really practical for a backyard situation at all 2) Angle tops on the fences with cyclone wire between - this does work really well but tricky & time consuming to do to our existing runs as we have used kopper log poles as our posts so modifying those is going to be a pain - might be OK for your fences though - only potential issue is cost 3) Whilst surfing the net we found a link to a product available in the States called Coyote Roller, see here - this is such a fantastic idea IMO, my hubby is going to try and fabricate something similar as apparently this system is not available in OZ. Works by making it impossible for the dog to get a pawhold on the top of the fence to give itself leverage to get over - they just slip off the roller. Works on any height fence too! WIll let you know how we go! This particular project is a little way off though, need to finish several other things on the go at the moment first. Best of luck, sorry I couldn't provide immediate help but some ideas for you to throw around anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 quick fixes that are cheap and easy - http://www.geelongcity.vic.gov.au/library/pdf/5194/33.pdf http://www.hssv2.org/Fence/Fence.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 As you own an entire bitch, I think a locked fenced run witha roof will prove essential, particularly when she's in season. You can add a few boredom busting toys and she'll be fine. I'd say it would be better to accustom her to being in it as routine, rather than only when she's in season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Fox 001 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 hi solved this problem with neighbours gsd by running a rope above the top of fence with a clearance of 1 foot.got this idea from a german lady whohad problem with her cat.the idea is that they cant guage their jump so they dont.doesnot cost much to try good luck with it. I think she'd still be happy to jump it, or climb under the rope.. she's a small girl. only 18 inches. Could cutting a square gap in the gates and installing wire so she can see stop her now wanting to jump over to see what's happening? We cut holes in both gates for our GSD to see out when he started jumping the 6foot fence and it didn't make an ounce of difference. We ended up putting a wire run along one side of the fence for him and he had to be on that during the day, he didn't seem to mind and I knew he was safe and sound when I wasn't there. We have since moved and he has access to the yard during the day, he is much more settled out here and *touchwood* hasn't tried to jump the new fence which is a little higher at 2.1m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie N Her Aussie2 Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 thanks guys! I really appreciate it. I start work again in an hour so as soon as soon as I'm there on my computer I can be Bonnie N Her Aussie again lol. stupid me forgot my own login and atleast that computer has it saved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie N Her Aussie Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 What type of fence is it?Lily can get over wooden 6ft fences, but not chain link. Does she clear it in a jump or does she climb? Hi Midol, My fence is corrigated iron. She jumps it - doesn't even touch the fence and it's 6feet tall. Nekhbet - Thanks for helping me out here. That looks really good, is it effective? I've seen this sort of thing done with cat enclosures. [We cut holes in both gates for our GSD to see out when he started jumping the 6foot fence and it didn't make an ounce of difference. Blue Fox - damn you I was hoping it was the magic answer to it all. I'm thinking I'm going to have to build a dog enclosure for Millie and have her happy in it and everything in time for her seasons. For now though, Cooper will be fine in their too (as I don't want them seperated too long during the day) and in time I'll get him his own next to hers. Did anyone get their dog enclosures made specifically for them, or did you have to make/design/build your own? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 you can always extend the horizontal parts in further - yes they are based on the cat concept. Another concept is simply mesh at a 45 degree angle sloping in from the vertical but that can be trickier to build then just using huge brackets (which are about $8 from Bunnings) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJean Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 I guess my question is:Should I be increasing the fence's height? and to what? or should I be looking at something else? can you hot wire the fence? A line of hot tape a foot out from the fence stop dogs jumping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now