charliehotel Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Our neighbours are away for quite a while and we are keeping an eye on their house for them. Lately I've been having a lot of trouble with one of my dogs digging under our house and she managed to cause major damage to our ducted heating. So while we were getting our heating fixed yesterday, we put the dogs into the neighbour's yard to keep them safe and out of the way. And you guessed it, my dog has dug under the neighbour's house and now won't come out. There's a lot less space under their house, I would really be struggling to get under there and I'm not that big. She's been under there all last night and all today, and she wouldn't come out again tonight so that's now two nights without food and most likely without water (unless there's water under there, which I doubt). I can't tell if she's stuck or not, she's still moving around under there......... So, please, does anyone have any advice on what I can/should do??? Will she come out when she's ready??? I've tried to tempt her out with food, toys, rattling the lead for a walk, I've made the hole she dug bigger to help her get out........... I just don't know what to do any more, if anyone can help I'd be very grateful........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Is there a reason why she won't come out i.e. is she a nervy dog? Can you put a food and water dish at the entry point? Will your local ranger help you at all? The RSPCA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tez Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Maybe its time to get the big guns out....the nicest smelliest food ever...roast chicken, sardines, freshly cooked up liver...whatever it is thats your dogs fav. What sort of breed is she? Could she have got caught up in anything under the house? I'd be really scared about wether the neighbours had baited for vermin under there. By this stage, if nothing has worked, I'd be ringing the police for advice. Good luck and please let us know how things go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Is the dog stuck ? My only suggestion once you get the dog out it to enclose the area that's open under your house with trellis, or aviary wire so it can't happen again. Mine is raised & I have done this. Keep the dog out of your neighbours property. Good luck, hope it comes out soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbi Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 I would be ringing the fire brigade, police and rspca as that is a long time to be stuck Dog must be hooked or caught on something and could be injured and in pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Hope your dog is out now, and all is well. if your dog is out & appears OK - maybe phone the neighbours and check if they have rat poison under the house- for if the dog has eaten that, it is an emergency Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiekaye Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 What happened? Is she out, is she ok????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whippetsmum Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 What happened? Is she out, is she ok????????? X2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobeliscious Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Oh damn I wished I hadn't read this, please come back and tell us everything is ok! *fingers crossed* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charliehotel Posted July 24, 2010 Author Share Posted July 24, 2010 Sorry to take so long to reply, I've been dog proofing all day (AGAIN.......or still??? anyway that's a whole different story). She came out this morning of her own accord, I looked over the fence first thing and there she was just like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. They are good neighbours, we know they don't have bait because we've often had our dogs over there to stay when they were still there (we have an open invitation to use their back yard, great neighbours or what!!). So no harm done except to where she dug in and I made it bigger. Thanks for your ideas and concern.........we are now back to having her on a long chain again as she has undone every kind of dog proofing we've tried over the last few months, but as I can't leave her on a chain all day and she goes under the house even if I'm there I've done my best to dog proof enough so that I can grab her if she tries again...........and now looking into electric fencing options as our last resort..........dunno why she started this behaviour, but it's a complete pain in the arse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whippetsmum Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Great news! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainy Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Maybe a dog run would be a good idea for her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ons Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Maybe a dog run would be a good idea for her? with a concrete run dogs adapt really well to them, well mine did anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog_Horse_Girl Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 (edited) Chaining a dog isn't recommended for many good reasons. If you can't get a dog run can you keep the dog inside when you're not there to supervise yard-time? I would hate to think of a dog in suburbia chained for hours on end. ETA - thank goodness she came out on her own. Edited July 24, 2010 by lillysmum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Gosh .... What's the reason as to why your dog would refuse to come to you? I don't know your dog's history or circumstances, but some work on pack structure/relationship as well as on recalls would help for the future, and not just in relation to hiding under houses. Glad your dog came out eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Is she desexed? If she isn't, could she have been got at? Trying to think of a reason why she is going under houses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sausy.dog Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Is she desexed? If she isn't, could she have been got at? Trying to think of a reason why she is going under houses. I was thinking the same thing. Sounds like nesting behaviour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charliehotel Posted July 27, 2010 Author Share Posted July 27, 2010 Yes she is desexed. And Erny you actually do know us from a couple of years ago, you helped us with some one on one lessons and everything was going really well for a while........I always meant to get back to you to let you know how everything was going but I had a premature baby who had to have major surgery twice before she was a year old (I was pregnant when we had our lessons with you) and life has never been the same since!!!! I've always regularly used the exercises you taught us to keep the pack leader structure in place, and when she's not under the house everything is fine...........but she just keeps going under there. This issue has been discussed at length with many people who know more about dogs than I ever will, and it comes back to the fact that I will probably never know why she's doing it. For whatever reason it is, some need in her is fulfilled by going under the house. The only thing I can think of is that maybe she's responding to being the lowest pack member - there's me, my partner and our little girl, then our other dog Donnie, and then Minna at the bottom. Donnie is getting old now (around 11 or 12, former rescue dog so no way of knowing exactly how old he is) and slowing down a lot, so Minna might not be getting the same level of interaction with him that she used to get, and sometimes it looks like she's trying to push him around. By going under the house and not coming out, maybe she's trying to control the other pack members??? I don't know......... And in case anyone is wondering, no this behaviour did not start when my daughter was born. She's 2 now and this trouble with Minna started in January. We did a lot of work to make sure both dogs recognised our baby as a higher pack member and also make sure they associated her with positives (food, toys, walks, etc) and we've never had any issues in this regard. I think she just likes going under the house. So now it's either the electric fence or a dog run, unless anyone out there wants a large white digging dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simply Grand Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Hi CH, Glad to hear Minna came out safely. I'm sorry you had difficulty with your premie baby but very glad to hear she came through and is now two! For what it's worth, I think a dog run sounds like the safest option. I really think you care about your dogs and want them to be safe and I just think a well secured run would be safer all round than an electric fence. Having said that, you mentioned finding a new home for Minna, I think in a joking sort of way, but IMHO it may be worth considering... I just think that people should NOT feel guilty about rehoming a dog - of course to a suitable home - if circumstances change and a dog (or any pet) living with you is no longer the best option for all involved. That may not be the case for you CH, I don't know, but I just hate to think of people dismissing the option out of guilt, when it could in fact make life better for everyone... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrie Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Saxonpup, I don't understand why you think it would be worth the OP considering rehoming? The comment made at the end of the last post by the OP came across as tongue in cheek and you even said your self it was in a joking sort of way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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