Gayle. Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Our newest resident, Ripley, is the most gorgeous, friendly, obliging and handsome young man you could ever wish to meet. He is extremely well behaved, he's got beautiful manners and he gets along nicely with our other dogs........but he continually gets out of our yard. None of the other dogs do, it's a very secure yard and made more secure since the first time we discovered him missing, but no matter what we do, he still gets out. And right now, we're at a loss to figure out how he's doing it. Last week, he went missing three times.....twice he was next door playing with their old lab, once we searched the village high and low and eventually located him having a "holiday" with some people he's holidayed with before......they see him, they stick him in their backyard til we collect him. This week, he (and the other dogs) have been incarcerated in our courtyard while we're at work.....we thought for sure he couldn't get out from there.....it's got 6 ft walls topped with lattice all around. Two days he was there when we got home, yesterday he was gone again. He's like Houdini. He was located around the corner at his "holiday house" where he was playing with their kids in the backyard. Fortunately the family he visits absolutely love him and have no problems about keeping him there, they take him in the house and look after him and always compliment him on his lovely manners......but it's getting beyond embarrassing to have to keep going to get him. So far we've found him at the local general store, mooching pats off people coming and going; doing a meet and greet at the bus stop; standing on a street corner watching the world go by (fortunately there isn't much traffic out here); and vacationing with the people around the corner....as well as entertaining the neighbours old dog. He's now earned himself a permanent place inside the house, along with Dusty for company. Fortunately we have a big house with an open plan, tiled living area so they aren't confined to a small space. We left our bedroom door open so they could sleep on our bed if they wanted (and they did). He is fine when we're home, we can let him outside ad he doesn't go anywhere, it's just when we're at work, he gets a bad case of the wanders and off he goes. But he must be moonlighting as Spiderman because we have looked high and low and cannot for the life of us figure out how he's escaping. How do others cope with serial escape artists? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melzawelza Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 One of my rescues was escaping out of an extremely secure yard... They bought a hidden fence and installed it / did the training and she so far has not escaped! http://www.hiddenfence.com.au/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted December 8, 2011 Author Share Posted December 8, 2011 One of my rescues was escaping out of an extremely secure yard... They bought a hidden fence and installed it / did the training and she so far has not escaped! http://www.hiddenfence.com.au/ They rely on the dog wearing a collar, and a collar on this particular dog frightens me more than him escaping. He's not digging, we know that for sure. He's also not jumping, but he is possibly climbing. And a climbing dog wearing a collar is a recipe for disaster. However, I wouldn;t mind at least trying one, but I don't think they offer a try before you buy option. We have looked at a ping string for the top of the fence we think he's probably climbing (only due to the fact that he's twice been found next door and it's unlikely he'd end up there unless he went over the fence) but the bloke at the stock and feed store didn't think it would work because it relies on part of the body touching the earth. If he's climbing that fence, there's no way he can go over the fence and have a foot on the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasslyn Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 When I was little we had a whippet who should've been called Houdini. He would leap to the top of the fence and perch there like a cat. My dad even saw him climb the fence one day. My sister and I would go to school and get home to find the front porch covered in Charlie's loot - bones from people's rubbish, shoes, toys, etc. If you let the front screen door fall closed behind you, without making sure it had latched closed, he'd be out the door before anyone could yell "close the front door"! One day he got out the front door, ran into our next door neighbour's house, stole her newborn baby's toy out of the bassinet (from right beside the baby), ran back in our front door and happily put himself back on his chair with his new toy. Another time my dad was visiting a neighbour, the neighbour's wife brought out a lovely salad roll for his lunch... out of nowhere Charlie leapt over their 6 ft high front gate, stole the roll out of the neighbour's hand as he was just about to take a bite, leapt back over the fence and took off to enjoy his lunch It's lucky we were good friends with all our neighbours, these days I think Charlie would be declared a menace to the community. My dad built "overhangs" for the back fences. We had normal height fences, dad tried first extending them with lattice but Charlie could still get over them. What did keep him in was having extensions that curved in toward the yard. We (the kids and visitors) were trained to always pull the front door closed behind us, don't just let it "bounce" closed. Still, Charlie would take any opportunity to escape and go exploring. Until he got caught by the ranger. My dad had a friend who worked at the pound, Dad got his friend to check if Charlie was there and the friend said no. The friend was wrong and Charlie ended up being there for about 5 days - thankfully the pound staff were confident someone loved him and didn't send him off to be pts at the end of the week. We got him home on the Monday and after that day he never ever chose to escape again. And I say chose because we could stand there with the front door wide open and he wouldn't leave the house unless he had a lead on him. The prison system worked for that dog! Short of putting Ripley in doggy day care (maybe with the family he's in love with?), taking him to work with you or putting him in an outside run it seems to me you might have found the solution. There are the electric fence type containment systems but I'm not sure about the legality of using them in Vic. Have you tried standing in your front yard, when he's "confined" in your back yard, and calling him? He might show you his escape route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Fox Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 What if you ran a ping string around the bottom of the fence to stop him getting close enough to climb it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumabaar Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Demi lives in the house because I simply don't trust her. She is a complete air head and has quite happily gone through the fence to steal plants from my next door neighbour to bring home . She is the type that would follow a butterfly just coz, not because she actually wants to escape she just doesn't see fences as boundaries. I don't think she minds, when I am home she choses to spend most of the day inside anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted December 8, 2011 Author Share Posted December 8, 2011 I tried calling him from the front yard on the weekend. He ran around to the gate he can see through and said "Hi mum, what are you doing there, you ning-nong?" But didn't show me how he's getting out of the yard. I can't take him to work....god, I would love to though! I work for Centrelink and animals definitely can't come to work. My husband can't take him either as he's a sub-contractor for a building company and they have very strict rules against dogs on site. We live in a tiny village, there's no "doggy day-care" here (or anywhere else I know of) and he'd probably just get out from there anyway. The overhangs (like rolled up chicken wire attached to the tops of the lattice) is something Ive thought of and might work til he figures out something else. He's a bit of a thinker, and he's more intelligent than I gave him credit for. I thought he wasn't too bright but he was hiding his light under a bushel because what he's doing take brains. And planning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted December 8, 2011 Author Share Posted December 8, 2011 What if you ran a ping string around the bottom of the fence to stop him getting close enough to climb it? When he first started to escape, he showed up how he climbed the side gate so we fixed that quick smart so he couldn't use that again. He would trot up to it, do a u-turn and trot back, then he'd go up again, u-turn and trot back....and he did this a number of times til he built up a momentum then he ran at the gate, leapt in the air, hooked his paws over the top and used the cross bracing on the inside for footholds. Putting a ping string at the bottom of the gate wouldn't have worked because he would never have got close enough to touch it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redial Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I feel your pain, my rescue could live in a high security prison and she'd still get out... I'm pretty sure they're like the dog versions of Alex Mac, they just morph into liquid and go out through the drain pipes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasslyn Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 The overhangs do seem like they'd be worth trying. The ones that my dad built were just metal braces tilted in at about a 45 degree angle, spaced about 1 metre apart with chicken wire strung between them. If you do that, maybe put chicken wire at the bottom of the fence too in case he decides to dig when he can't climb. You'll end up with a yard that looks like a prison but you might keep him in it. I didn't really think doggy day care or work visits would be a real solution, sadly. But from what you've said it seems like Ripley likes people so probably providing him with every entertaining toy on earth is not going to satisfy his desire to socialise Is there any chance that one of the kids he's holidaying with is letting him out on purpose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC4ME Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Have you thought of setting up a vidoe camera when you leave to see what how he is escaping?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjelkier Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 We tried so many different things with my APBT and the only thing that stopped him getting out was a double sized dog run with a concrete base and a fully inclosed roof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted December 8, 2011 Author Share Posted December 8, 2011 No one is letting him out, it would be beyond the capabilities of most kids to open our gate and let a dog out. Certainly without letting out one or more of the other three. We live on a 3/4 acre block but we're pretty sure it's just one stretch of fence he's going over. If its the other fence he's not Spiderman, he's Superman and every other super hero all rolled into one. A video camera is a possibility and a very good idea. Might have to look into that one. He can't dig out. It's not physically possible unless he can dIg through concrete and paving. The boundary here is VERY secure, it would contain almost every other dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowanbree Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 My neighbour put a rolling pipe about 3 inches above the top of the fence to keep her cats in. They theory is that they can't get a foot hold as every time pressure is put on it it turns. Might work with a dog although personally if he was my dog he would be in a roofed run. He may not be happy but he would be safe., Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted December 8, 2011 Author Share Posted December 8, 2011 We tried so many different things with my APBT and the only thing that stopped him getting out was a double sized dog run with a concrete base and a fully inclosed roof. I would rather keep him in the house. He's very well behaved, doesn't chew or destroy anything and it would be a lot kinder than a run. It just seems such a shame to keep him in when we have an awesome yard for the dogs to play in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal House Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 (edited) We tried so many different things with my APBT and the only thing that stopped him getting out was a double sized dog run with a concrete base and a fully inclosed roof. Safest option, you could do all the overhangs and he might start to dig. It sounds like he just likes human company. I have an adopted dog who was a serial escape artist, he went through 2 homes before he came to me. When he escaped his previous homes, it was because he was outside by himself (or in one case with another dog outside) and he ended up at the nearest public place where there was people. (supermarket, school, shop etc) Luckily, I'm at home during the day, and he's in with me, he only goes out for a pee or to lay in the sun for a bit, or when I'm outside he comes with me. The few times I left him outside when I went out, he knicked off and came looking for me. Luckily he was found. I learnt my lesson, I got a dog run and the dogs are in it when Im out, or on the covered verandah on separate 4 foot leads for short trips. I've had him for 8 years now, hasn't escaped for 7 and a half. :D Edited December 8, 2011 by Bite Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redial Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 well keep him in the house and when you're home let him out and keep an eye on him. I've ended up doing that for my girl, as I don't have the money for a super duper run Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Depending on what sort of phone you have too you can download an App called iCam and it links to your computer/webcam so you can log in and see whats happening when you're not home. Not sure how great an area you'd get in the picture but you could rotate positions each day. I use it on my dog when I'm being an over protective parent and want to log in to see what she's up to ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted December 8, 2011 Author Share Posted December 8, 2011 The only flaw with a camera is that I'd have to leave him outside, knowing he can get out, although god knows how he's doing it, and relying on luck to make sure he's ok by the time we got home. Even if I could check in and see the footage, I'm 20 minutes away from home and can't just leave at the drop of a hat. And if he's inside, I don't need to check on him. If today is any indication the two of them slept all day. It would be interesting to see how he's getting out though. I have a couple of theories but they all involve a very long drop on the other side of the fence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wherezaball Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I would leave him inside each day until your next day off then that day keep the routine the same but set up a camera and just head down the road and sit and wait..... In my shelter experience the best ways were fully enclosed runs with roof etc or keep inside the house safe to do so. The fence overhangs do seem to work well but it may just give him something to work on for a while. I wouldn't worry too much about him being inside and not outside playing with other dogs because when he is outside he takes off anyway and goes walkabout. so I don't think playing with the dogs is high on his list! Some dogs are just happy to stay inside all day no dramas. Crashie is more than happy to spend the whole day on the bed inside if i let him. when he goes out for a wee he is back at the door in 5 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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