How Many Times Has Your Dog Escaped?

[teekay]

Too often Just when you think you've husky proofed everything she finds another way. Lets see if I can list them

First, was definitely our fault. Fences not up to scratch so sorted that.

Second, I left a wheel barrow propped up against said fence "DOH"

Third, dug out. Put puppy pen panels on the grass - grass has grown over it but she can't dig anymore

Fourth, kid coming to call for my then 8 year old left the gate open

Fifth actually bashed through the fly screen. Not only open top half of windows.

There are more times than this. As I said, just as you think you've got it covered.........................

And no, she absolutely doesn't come when called although if I am quick enough and get the car near enough to her to open the boot and call her, she will come and jump in because car ride means beach or forest walk. These times I always make sure I DO take her for a walk on the beach or in the forest so she still associates the car with good stuff.

Bloody dog, she's sent me grey.

Luka and Jenna have only got out twice, both of those instances were following Mya but it's pretty easy to get them back. :)

[Taliecat]

When we had Lucy she would take herself on adventures every now and again, squeezing through gaps, under wire fences or over fences to go for a wander. She'd also help Dozer to get out (this was before he was dog aggressive) and they'd go on a merry trip through the neighbourhood.

Our old neighbours fondly tell stories of how he was looking out the windows watching his wife chase Lucy up and down the street one morning , when he'd finally stopped laughing at them he opened the front door and gave her a whistle and Lucy ran straight to him.

Since Lucy was rehomed we've only had one incident where the housemate didn't lock the gate properly and Dozer ran across the road to bark at the neighbours dogs, and came back as soon as he saw the housemates!

I would have been chasing him through the streets! We've now blocked off access to that gate so there will never be a repeat!

Speaking of chasing him through the street, one day Dozer's collar came off as I was doing loose leash training in the front yard of our old place and we'd just moved house.

He ran right into the elderly neighbours house through their back door and onto their couch before racing off down the street!

I'd never met the new neighbours before that, but we were quite friendly after and she always gave the dogs a pat through the fence on her way home.

[mita]

Twice, when both times a tradesman we didn't know was there, left 3 gates open!

First time, I got a phone call from a lady down the road who runs in-home child minding. She'd heard scratching at the front door, opened it, & there were my 2 golden Tibbies looking all happy & wanting to come in with the children. The children thought they were gifts from heaven. Very shortly a little procession of children came up the footpath with the biggest two carrying the Tibbies across their arms like ring-bearers at a wedding. That was Gracie & Angel.

Second time, I got a phone call from the people who run a real estate business across the road. They'd been having a staff meeting in a room with glass walls onto the footpath & they saw a 'lovely little golden dog'., smiling at them thro' the glass. Figured she was lost & could see her ID tag had a phone number. So they brought her inside safe .. & phoned me.

That was Nina Zena.

[cannibalgoldfish]

Loki was "released" when he was about 2 by my exes dog digging a hole under the fence overnight. Exes dog was fine,

Loki got hit by a car, broke his pelvis in 2 places.

Second time was when he was around 8 and started going a bit nuts around certain triggers (fireworks, thunder, ect) and he learnt he could climb fences. The damn fence got 7 foot high before we gave up and learnt to make sure he was always watched or on a long line over night (this was before he learnt to like sleeping indoors)

Now days he is too old and geriactic to try. Maybe. He lives indoors pretty much now.

Edited August 7, 2015 by MC Wiggles

[Guest donatella]

Once, a few weeks ago, Bon got out of mums backyard little bitch got under the pool fence, was out outside it toilet and she thought she try find her own way upstairs...

Cue my panic, tears and thankfully a kind couple who picked her up down the road at the side of the road barking. Took her to be scanned, had her back within 2 hours. Never been more panicked. I sent the people a big bunch if flowers and chocs I was so very thankful that could have gone wrong!!

[sparkycat]

Only once last year when Bosco- Borzoi was about 12 months old. Lucky my lovely neighbour witnessed him sail over the front fence to investigate a cat fight. Jaana my Lappie started screaming so I went out to investigate - I think he scared himself because he was very very happy to see me !

So we built a higher fence !

[Guest Clover]

Just the once in about 18 years + of dog ownership. It was human error and the gate was not latched properly, the wind blew it open and they all got out on our very busy st. 1 JRT hit by a car and taken to the vets by a lovely neighbour (he was fine).

The gate has been padlocked ever since then.

Eta: One of the BC's used to jump a side fence and go strait to the front door and knock to come in. It took months to figure out what she was doing until I hid and watched her. Said fence got fixed very quickly. The former sheep dog still does not like staying outside :laugh:.

Edited August 7, 2015 by Clover

[superminty]

Minty has got out twice - the first she tore boards off from under the house to go after a rat, then went and sat on next door's verandah til I found her - odd dog

The second time she ripped palings off the fence and took Cash for a short walk to the front door, lol. Luckily Cash was only about 10 weeks old so just blindly followed her as that house was very close to a main and very busy road.

Cash got out once when my dad left the garage door open - I wasn't home. This dog had no recall and was extremely dog aggressive and not particularly flash with people either so dad panicked a bit - but luckily Cash decided to do what he was told for once and came when called.

Funniest one was with Thisbe as a puppy, she was staying with my parents while I was overseas. On the first day, dad went to have a shower and wasn't supervising for less than 10 minutes - she dug under the fence and was having a grand time playing with next door's dog (which thankfully is friendly!). Fence is now Thisbe-proofed but she still checks out that fenceline when she goes to visit, just in case...

[Kirislin]

I few times, mostly human error. The times they catch me unawares is when we've been to the park for a walk and I let them out of the car thinking they'll run straight to the gate like they do 99.999999% of the time to be let into the back yard, but just occasionally one will take off down the driveway and the others follow. The main culprits for starting it were Kibah, (now dec ) and the wickedest dog in the world PUCK! Now I usually make sure he's got his lead on to walk to the gate.

[Maddy]

Once with Kiff (before we added the third gate), he escaped when the back door was left open and someone forgot to close the middle gate. He'd wandered across the road and was just checking the neighbour's driveway for cats so was pretty easy to catch.

The second time was after the third gate was put in and it was the Idiot Dog. I was out at the time and the OH had just come home with groceries- he pulled in the driveway (not remembering to close the driveway gate behind him), came through the middle gate (which he'd left open because he had a lot of groceries to bring in) and then opened the back door. He's used to letting Idiot Dog out because the front gate/driveway gate is normally kept closed so he didn't even think about it while he put the first lot of groceries inside. It wasn't until he came back to the car for the next lot that he realised his mistake. Very fortunately for the OH, the Idiot Dog is blind in one eye and is scared of stepping onto the road so he'd followed the cul-de-sac around to the opposite side of the road and was busy doing panicked circles out the front of the house there when the OH found him.

If it was possible, I think I'd be tempted to put in a fourth gate. The thought of my dogs getting out and ending up hurt or dead terrifies me :/

[Diva]

None of my current three have ever escaped. On one occasion years ago one of mine was at a friend's farm, I had gone into town without her as she was playing with other dogs. Another visitor came by and went through 2 farm gates leaving both wide open behind her and my girl went off looking for me. The owner of the farm had spotted her missing and got her back before I returned, but the visitor was in deep trouble from all of us, such a stupid and lazy thing to do.

[Jemmy]

Once, I was holding the dog by the collar while a guest came through the gate, they closed the gate, I let go of the dog... But the guest turned around and went back out because they'd forgotten something. Little terror headed up towards the park, but we had her headed off before she was even in front of the next door neighbours.

[BJ.]

It's great to hear about all the good doggies coming home when called!

I wish Nash's ears were not painted on when he does a runner and we all know how much he likes to run. Sometimes he is just meters in front of me trotting along without a care in the world.

[Mumsie]

We have a young JRT rescue who loves to go wandering, thankfully i walk her on a lead everyday in different directions and when she has escaped most of the people in the streets around here scoop her up and bring her home. Sometimes we are to blame but quite often she will try every paling in the fence to find a loose one and then sneak off. She often decides to take herself for a walk even if the family is all home, she just seems to want to explore on her own. She is taken to a dog park at least once a week, and has free run of inside the house, i could understand if she were home all day by herself but i work from home so it is rare for her not to have company.

[Steph M]

Rosie has gotten out maybe 5-6 times (that we know of...) when she discovered she could jump the fence. We nipped that in the bud with a zap collar along the fence she uses.

I do feel a bit down that we have to put one on her sometimes, last night on Facebook someone found a wandering dog with a zapper on his collar and the abuse was just amazing. People saying that they shouldn't return the dog to such awful cruel people and that it is barbaric and heartless and they should destroy the collar etc. (He was probably wearing it as he was an escape artist as well)

One woman commented that she wanted her number passed on to the owners as she is a trainer and a vet behaviorist and wanted to talk to them about sedation for behavior modification rather than that cruel device.

So, sometimes it bums me out she is a ninja, but since we have had the collar we have had one escape, which was the ultimate temptation of Gus being taken out alone. Can't have that! The collar has saved her wandering or being hit or going AWOL etc so can't be too down!

Gus is too lazy for that carry on though, if ever the door is open he goes and sits by the car and waits for you to take him for a trip, he has never actually left the front yard, despite a knee high fence and no gate, so we let him get himself in and out of the car and take himself inside after a walk, he is a creature of habit, will get on the concreted drive way and go do his happy dance at the front door while you catch up. So excited to get out....just as excited to get back in. Haha.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Steph M

[Daisys Mum]

Mine have never escaped .. I have 6 foot fences and the only exit is through my roller door which I keep closed, my car is always parked on the driveway.

[disintegratus]

Ours sneak, but don't bolt off.

There's only been a handful of times that they've escaped though.

The rotty jumped the fence in a panic not long after we got her (that's how we found out she was storm phobic), after scratching her nails bloody on the door. Picked her up a few hours later at the local emergency vet relatively unscathed :)

The old man (dobe x kelpie) went through a bout of fence chewing when we first got him. Part of the fence was lattice, and I came home as I saw a man disappear around the corner and half a glimpse of a dog's bum, I thought to myself "that look's like Harley", so drove around the corner, sure enough this lovely gentleman had found my dog :)

[CBL]

Oscar the iggy got out once when he was tiny. Totally my fault - he squeezed past me when I went to walk out the front door. Having him get out was my worst nightmare, we knew he would run from anyone and I thought he would be hit by a car for sure.

Thankfully he raced to the bottom of the stairs in our front yard, the big standard poodle next door barked, gave him a fright and he came bolting back up the stairs I pounced on him (initially got only tail but that was enough).

I am now even more cautious opening and closing the front door (and anyone who comes over has it drilled into them that he has to be behind a gate) but its never happened again.

[Stressmagnet]

Katie the Kelpie? Too many times to count. We finally resorted to pretending to leave the house, driving out of the driveway and then creeping back on foot. She was jumping onto the BBQ pit, then leaping from that to a sturdy branch on a nearby tree, climbing another three branches then onto a neighbouring shed and then climbing back down a tree on the neighbours side.

She got out twice in our current place by widening a hole between two colour bond panels. She used to go visit her boyfriend the yellow Labrador up the street.

Georgia the Amstaff? Zero times.

Ernie the Labrador? Once due to the lawn mowing kid leaving the side gate open. He went out the side gate and then sat patiently at the front door, waiting for our return.

[Melbomb]

My guy has "escaped" once but we didn't even know about it until the next day! :laugh: And I say "escaped" because he didn't really escape it was more a crime of opportunity. :laugh:

It was a New Years eve, we were at friend's and it was windy as all get out. The gate managed to get blown down (pretty solid gate too, still amazed it happened) and Bomber decided to go on a jaunt up the street where he was spotted by a police officer and promptly put back into our back yard. The police man also propped our gate up for us so that he couldn't escape again. When we came home later the dog came running to meet us and we all went to bed! The next day the police officer came past and let us know what he had done. I don't think I have ever been so grateful to someone in my life! We made sure to drop him off a bottle of wine to him later in the day.