Puppy! Electric Containment Fences And Crates

[JRT Lover]

I have just paid a deposit on a baby Jack Russell puppy, who we will be bringing home in early January at 8 weeks of age. We live on a rural property and a few people have recommended the electric containment systems rather than attempting to contain a small puppy with rural fencing. For those who have used these, how young have you started with your puppies? I feel like I would be being awfully mean to a little JR puppy!

Another question I have is regarding crate training. I have never used a crate for a dog before but we now have a toddler and I quite like the idea that the puppy would have somewhere safe to get away from him if he was being too annoying. We will of course supervise their interactions and teach our toddler how to behave around a puppy, but the puppy will probably never get a moment's peace if she just has an open bed in the living area. Are soft crates solid enough for this purpose? What would you recommend?

Thanks in advance! It's been 16 years since I had a puppy in my life and we haven't had a dog at all since my beautiful old JR passed away 18 months ago, so I feel like a total novice all over again.

[persephone]

I would never recommend electric containment for a baby puppy .

is there a reason why you cannot make a pen/section of yard with solid or netting? A fence like this also offers protection for a toddler as well - and if netting is small, or tin is used - snakes may be stopped !

a good solid (not soft) crate will be invaluable :) Good thinking :)

I really do think a separate 'safe area ' needs be created :) I remember when we we little (also rural) dad fenced off an area off the kitchen ... where we could be relatively safe , but still closely supervised. it was lawn - with a peach tree, some roses ... dogs & kids all loved it :)

[Riley James]

We use a dog containment system for our JR.

But as a smaller pup he was contained within a puppy pen and a long lead when out of the pen

He was a little younger than recommended when we started to use the system, as one day he saw some cows and ran through the fence onto a very busy highway.

Lucky for us a person driving saw him about 800 metres away and started tooting their horn at him which gave him such a fright he Scaddattled straight back to us.

Make sure you do the training recommended and you will find your pup will pick it up incredibly quickly.

Our boy took about 1.5 days of training and he "Got it"

Even now without his collar on he stays away from the fence line.

Ours is a solar unit so can be placed anywhere on the property and runs around our whole 7 acres.

Money well spent in my opinion you can't put a value on your dogs life.

Cheers Janet

Edited to add we will getting a new pup next week and have once again set up the puppy pen beside the house for her to be in until she is big enough to go into her dog run

Edited November 11, 2014 by Riley James

[suziwong66]

i crate trained my 3yo labby boy and am currently doing Susan Garrett's Crate Games and Leslie McDevitt's games with my newest 12 week old labby girl. IMHO the crate is the single most usable piece of dog equipment in my training. I've used it to teach: toilet training, wait, stay, release, sending away etc It's well worth the effort to teach a dog to crate as the behaviours can extend to so many other behaviours.

Edited November 11, 2014 by suziwong66

[VizslaMomma]

Another question I have is regarding crate training. I have never used a crate for a dog before but we now have a toddler and I quite like the idea that the puppy would have somewhere safe to get away from him if he was being too annoying. We will of course supervise their interactions and teach our toddler how to behave around a puppy, but the puppy will probably never get a moment's peace if she just has an open bed in the living area. Are soft crates solid enough for this purpose? What would you recommend?

Thanks in advance! It's been 16 years since I had a puppy in my life and we haven't had a dog at all since my beautiful old JR passed away 18 months ago, so I feel like a total novice all over again.

Crates serve a two-fold purpose I find. All the Vizslas were trained to use crates.

Having a crate covers them for times of illness, post surgery recovery and a time out.

My current Horror who turns one year on Thursday loves his crate. He takes himself to the crate when he wants. He goes to the crate without fail when I offer a special word. It means plenty of space for me then. I can do the reluctant house work rather than trip over puppy body. LOL.

We also had a solar electric fence. For our purposes which meant not having to go to the expenses of new fencing, we found it fine. Only this last puppy has pushed the boundaries with it. It will differ with every dog.

And, and, AND photos when you are ready please. Sounds exciting for you.

:)

[tikira]

Congratulations on your new addition

It is a scary feeling after so long between puppies, but you will be fine. Every puppy is different, even within the same breed, so you will adapt to your little girls differences.

With us Jingo is a totally different dog to Tip.....TOTALLY. We had to set up a safe zone, as Kira was a little resistant to another dog at first. This worked brilliantly for us. We put Jingo's crate under the dining room table, then built a puppy bedroom around that. It was out of the way as we don't use the table much, but was within sight of us and kira. Now we have removed the pen, but he sleeps every night in his open crate! It is truely his safe place. It is so easy when we go away, as even "outside dog" people are happy for him to sleep inside in his crate. It is brilliant for the vet, the best thing we ever did.

It was easy for us as his breeder kept him and his family in a crate inside the house at night, so it never once phased him. Wayne slept on the floor close by for few days, but he never even cried.

We also set up a bed under the computer desk too, as I spend my day at the computer, and he is the best foot warmer ever, and I know he is safe from snakes.

Snakes are our big worry, and we have a 5 foot paling fence on a cememt base, and as few gaps as possible. I am not sure about your acreage, but an electric containment system might not work very well on snakes, (or toddlers)

I am sure you will come up with a system that works for your circumstances before puppy comes home, but great to see you are doing the research early.

I can't wait to see piccies of your new little one, and will enjoy hearing updates as you try to keep the excitement level down during the long wait you have!

Di

[Christina]

Another question I have is regarding crate training. I have never used a crate for a dog before but we now have a toddler and I quite like the idea that the puppy would have somewhere safe to get away from him if he was being too annoying. We will of course supervise their interactions and teach our toddler how to behave around a puppy, but the puppy will probably never get a moment's peace if she just has an open bed in the living area. Are soft crates solid enough for this purpose? What would you recommend?

No idea about electric fencing, not a thing I would ever use.

With the crate training & having a toddler I suggest you have a metal crate & build a playpen around/attached to it so puppy has room to move around & play.

A metal crate, some metal compost panels from Bunnings & some plastic garden ties will join it altogether nicely. Crates are cheap from www.dealsdirect.com.au

You can't keep a puppy in a little crate for long they need to run & play between sleeps & JRT are active little dogs. If you do this you don't have to worry about pup if you are out for a while too just ensure he isn't a climber. Some can scale the pen usually in the corners, they are quite clever about this.

I felt so sad for some dogs on the tv programme Its me or the dog USA. They kept pups in crates for 70% of their time & thought this was ok

Photos of your new baby ? :)

ps soft crate not advisable. If toddler falls/trips on it it may cave in.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Christina

[Bark Control Aust.]

Hi JRT Lover,

Firstly, don't introduce your dog to one of these until they are at least 6 months of age, this is really important in regards to your dogs development.

There are a heap of fences on the market, my advice here is to look for a reputable brand with a good solid warranty that is handled here in Australia. Quality systems are a successful way of keeping your dog safely in your yard. The basic training associated with the dog fence systems, teaches your dog to respond to the sound of the collar beeping, and not the correction (that only comes into play when dogs challenge the fence).

However, there are a number of things to consider to find the best fence for your Jack Russell (we jokingly refer to them as 'a big dog trapped in the body of a small dog');

• The breed and temperament of your dog
  
• The age and weight of your dog
  
• The size of the area you want to keep them in
  

This information will help find the best fence to suit your Jack Russell.

I hope this information helps

Edited November 12, 2014 by Troy

[megan_]

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Edited November 12, 2014 by megan_