Bitches, Rural Properties And Getting Out

[JulesP]

Got up this morning and my 6 month old bitch was not with the other 2. I quick look showed her bolting around the fence trying to get back in! No idea how long she has been out. She is fairly muddy and the watering can I had outside has been chewed.

This is the third 6 month old bitch I have owned that has started escaping at this age! The first was easy to fix as I lived in suburbia. The second I ended up desexing, which worked but I do regret it.

I have mesh fencing, a wire and then a rail. Garden is an acre, is undulating with shrubs etc around the boundary. None have gone right over the top. The girls have found gaps and gone under. Brock (4yo male) worked out how to jump between the mesh and top wire in places. I go around and fix the areas when I find them. He jumped out and back in this week to retrieve a disgusting bone they found in the paddock.

They don't wonder off too far and there is no stock in this area so they aren't in danger of being shot. The road is dangerous. Brock doesn't go near it, too scared. I obviously don't want them out.

I am very suspicious that she got out this morning too. My neighbors unrestrained dog comes over early every morning. I am sure he is the reason that the other 2 girls wanted to get out. They were supposed to have desexed it but dunno.

If i had the money I would replace the whole fence with chain mesh, higher and dug into the ground.

A friend had been suggesting a electric dog fence for years but I have been worried about this collars. Lots of stuff here for collars to catch on.

What the hell am I going to do?

Have a run - 2 x 4metres. But the whole point of being here is so they have an acre to run around in.

[Kirty]

My friend lives on acerage and they used one of those electric containment systems. It is fantastic! He has free range of about 3 acres but cannot get into the paddocks or on the road. Its brilliant. The collar is quite chunky but apparently the company have recently upgraded so the new collars are much more streamlined. It was fairly expensive I think, but worth it obviously. I guess if you did the collar up quite loosely, it would be able to slip off if the dog got caught on something.

[dancinbcs]

I would try ordinary rural electric fencing. The dogs don't need to wear collars but they get zapped if they touch the fence. Run one tape around the base of the fence and one around the top, but make sure it is always turned on. Borders very quickly learn to listen for the faint hum the fence makes when turned on. So long as it is kept on electric fencing works well with Borders.

You would still need to confine her to your runs when she is in season, unless you are watching her because if your dogs can get out, other dogs can get in and an electric fence on your side won't stop dogs coming from the other side.

I doubt that having the bitch entire or not will make any difference. Entire bitches don't go looking for dogs unless they are ready to mate. Six month old puppies though, do often like to go exploring if they get the chance.

[JulesP]

"I doubt that having the bitch entire or not will make any difference. Entire bitches don't go looking for dogs unless they are ready to mate. Six month old puppies though, do often like to go exploring if they get the chance." Yeah that is what I got told last time. I have desexed 2 girls now and both times it has stopped any desire to leave the property. So dunno.

2 parts of the fence line have really heavy shrubbery alone them. Growing through the fence in places. Not sure how I would go putting a normal electric fence up.

[Starkehre]

Hi Jules. You must be very frustrated.

I understand totally. When I lived on acreage I had a big separate yard around my house, but it only had a fairly low (around 3'6" chicken wire mesh fence. One of my dogs would always jump this to go and see what other fun stuff was going on on our property.

I put a hot wire along the top rail and also another one as a stand off about 2' high, and never had the problem again. Just kept them right away from the fence.

I get that your shrubs might make it tricky, but you could probably just do another fence inside that section with some star pickets and hot wire, and it won't be ridiculously expensive.

good luck with it.

[OSoSwift]

Is she only getting out at night?

If so put her in the dog run at night and out during the day.

I live on acerage and my dogs are always locked up over night as I have found over the years dogs are more likely to get up to mischief at night. So I would lock her up over night, then let her out during the day. I would either put a fence inside the fence with the shrubs, keep them trimmed back or most likely remove them and put trees in as I don't like any hidey holes that snakes can hide in or under.

[noisymina]

Electric fencing.

That was the only way to keep our Wei in. She would do the same thing - get out and not know how to get back. Idiot.

Edited July 17, 2010 by noisymina

[darlingdog]

Electric fence top and bottom just as others on here have suggested. No collar then needed if you are worried about it catching on things. Trim back all shrubs etc so wire is unobstructed. We did this on our acre and my pointers never get out. We keep the fence on ALL the time. Best of luck.

Edited July 17, 2010 by darlingdog

[BJean]

You can hot wire the mesh fence but you will need rubber insulators.

Otherwise, dont use the traditional hot tape, the same manufacturer [Dakken (sp?)] makes electric rope often used for goats and beef cattle - their heavy duty rope is better than the tape bcz it is tougher and less likely to get caught. It also is a better conductor so the electric pulse travels faster. Dogs are better with a faster electric pulse than what is normally used for horses.

Dogs can get caught up in the tape but near impossible to get caught up in the heavy duty rope.

If a dog gets caught up in the tape they will die, so better to use the rope

Edited July 17, 2010 by lilli

[JulesP]

Thanks guys. I took the other 2 dogs out into the paddocks and tried to get her to come out to see where she got out but she stayed in the garden. She has been in the pony's yard by the looks of it but that is the only evidence I could find.

[JulesP]

Yikes lilli! I don't have electric for the horses as a friend's horse died after getting stuck in a fence just as I was doing my fences. I have a feeling that it is also illegal to use electric in a garden in some places?

[BJean]

Yikes lilli! I don't have electric for the horses as a friend's horse died after getting stuck in a fence just as I was doing my fences. I have a feeling that it is also illegal to use electric in a garden in some places?

If you are in an area with minimum 1 acre allottments then I'd be surprised if you could not use electric fence for containment ...

anyway technically if you get a solar powered unit, its 'very powerful battery'

not mains electricity.

Yes the hot tape can get caught very easily, its also a pita to collect/install

imo the heavy duty rope is much better.

Though usually horses will stay away from the white tape once they realise what it means.

[silverdog]

Not sure what you have available in Australia, but we use electric wire at top and bottom of our fence that is energized by a unit designed specifically for dogs and small animals. (We could have used the tape, but the wire was WAY cheaper, and easier to break, so safer if a dog got tangled). It does a great job of keeping my multiple weims in. The zap is unpleasant enough to make them think twice about touching it again, but not deadly. Not like the electric cattle fence on my FIL's farm. I have accidentally touched that a couple of times and it's like being hit with an axe! I hate that thing. LOL.

[noisymina]

We use normal fencing wire, run through insulators.

It conducts well and does not stretch and deteriorate like the othert stuff does.

One top and bottom of the mesh fencing.

Our enegiser has two settings. Neither is harmful, let alone fatal. Yes - it will zap. That is what it is meant to do. But it is transformed and certainly does not run at mains voltage nor does it cycle.

After watching a Rotty wriggle through (wriggle, wriggle, yelp, wriggle wriggle, yelp) while it was on the low setting, we moved up to the higher one.

You can bet I have not been a fan of Rotty inteligence since that day!

Even the Wei respected it at the lower setting.

There are rules about signage etc, but otherwise it is usually allowed in rural, semi-rural, rural-residential areas.

Check with your council if you are not sure.

Edited July 17, 2010 by noisymina

[JulesP]

Think we can get something called a ping string which is for smaller animals. Found it last time I had this problem.

I would re-fence a yard inside the garden if I could work out a way to do it. My house has a veranda all the way around apart from one side. Makes it a bit tricky to have a natural 'back' yard. I would like this for when people come around too and it might keep the entrance way a bit cleaner.

[dancinbcs]

"I doubt that having the bitch entire or not will make any difference. Entire bitches don't go looking for dogs unless they are ready to mate. Six month old puppies though, do often like to go exploring if they get the chance." Yeah that is what I got told last time. I have desexed 2 girls now and both times it has stopped any desire to leave the property. So dunno.

2 parts of the fence line have really heavy shrubbery alone them. Growing through the fence in places. Not sure how I would go putting a normal electric fence up.

One of my friends eventually resorted to large chainwire yards because one of her dogs kept bouncing at the fence and finding himself on the other side. she has 7 Borders including 4 entire females but the only one that was getting out was the young desexed male.

[JulesP]

Had Amber inside last night, which she does seem to like! Not sure it is good for my sleep though, lol. Which is why I was up this morning when the neighbors dog came over for its morning piss on my rubbish bin! Amber was out and apart from lots of barking, everyone stayed in their yard.

[Daisy]

Before you use electric fencing please do check your state laws. I live in NSW and had an electric wire around the top of my fence and was threatened with prosecution by the local RSPCA inspector unless I took it down. Apparently I was lucky they actually warned me, they have been known to come in and prosecute without warning.

[Staranais]

Before you use electric fencing please do check your state laws. I live in NSW and had an electric wire around the top of my fence and was threatened with prosecution by the local RSPCA inspector unless I took it down. Apparently I was lucky they actually warned me, they have been known to come in and prosecute without warning.

That's crazy. What was the rationale behind it? Is it because your dogs weren't classed as stock, and you're only allowed to use electric tape for stock not pets? Or was it because you were in a suburban not rural zone, and you're not allowed to use electric tape in suburbia?

(You know the solution to the first one, get a couple of chickens or a pet lamb & claim that the fence is for them! )

[JulesP]

Except in a lot of places you aren't allowed to keep stock on a suburban block. I am on 4 acres so it isn't really an issue.