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Living With A Serial Escape Artist.


Gayle.
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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.

He doesn't need to physically touch the ground - the fence touches the ground so will earth him.

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We have had success with light bird wire (finer than chicken wire), strung slightly loose between uprights above the fence. They need a solid top to climb over a fence and the light wire about 60cm above the fence means they can't get a foot hold. With any climbing dog you need to make very sure there is nothing they can catch a foot or even a toe in. BCs can be terrible climbers and I know of a few who have been found badly injured or dead hanging by a leg when caught up on a fence.

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The fact is, some dogs are just such escape artists, that a roofed pen on a concrete (or paved) base is the only solution. I would much rather this than worry about where my dog is if he's gotten out again.

Another option is a hotwire on the fence - for a real escape artist I would run at a minimum two rows, one at the top and one at the bottom just off the fence to prevent them accessing the bottom of the fence line. For real terrors you can run a third line half way up the fence to stop them even thinking of climbing up that fence.

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Yep, I have a foster dog who jumps 6ft fences. I built an internal fence about a metre out from my fence with pickets and chicken wire. It has kept my girl in.

I plan to plant screening plants in between the two fences so it will also protect the plants while they are growing. And eventually I hope the hedge will act as a fence - but maybe she will get a home before then:)

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What about something like this:

http://www.oscillot.com.au/index.htm

Designed for cats but would probably work for a climbing dog?

Hahaha, it says it works unless the cat's on Kryptonite. Well, I reckon my dog might be.

Looks like he's an indoor dog for the long term. There's no way my husband would agree to putting him in a roofed run (Ripley is his dog), I've already suggested that and the idea got a big thumbs down. Must admits, I'm not keen either, but we're both OK about him being inside with Dusty for company.

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If he's going over the top then the best solution is to buy a small electric fence from the produce store & run a wire around the fence/enclosure about a metre up....& put it on the low setting if it has one. I wouldn't put it at the top cause you don't want him to fall back. So about a metre high so that he touches it before he starts to climb. He wont forget it in a hurry. We have one running around the top & bottom of our house yard & the dogs only try to escape once then they don't even think about it again. You may think it sounds a bit cruel, but letting him escape could be crueler for him in the long run. IMO the only solution for a dog which wants to get out (or unwanted ones who want to get in)

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i didn't like the thought of pens either

however mine go and visit my friend's place and during they day when everyone is out they are put in a pen

in the mornings they run into their pen full bore, if they hated it that much they wouldn't

these are dogs that are normally in a medium sized backyard when home alone or inside when I'm home so they are used to all the comforts

If I lived on acerage or had an escape dog I would be buiding a pen with roof and concrete run and leaving him/her in there whilst no one is at home.

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I feel your frustration. Our kelpie (rip) was a serial escape artist, this was why she was probably at the pound! After exhausting all avenues and even getting to the stage of talking ton the vet about euthanizing her my local produce man suggested an electric fence. We paid approx $250 for the box and the white taping. We ran two lines, one at her waist height and one at a height if she jumped up on her hind legs it would zap. Well it worked! She only tried it twice and both times she got zapped and let out a yelp. Over time we just turned it off. We moved house three times and each time we just took it down and put it back up. We had tried chicken wire, lattice everything but to no avail. She would wait until we drove out the door and would scale the fence, brick, wood or wire. She had a border collie for a playmate but it made no difference. Is suggest you give it a go, you may be able to pick up one on eBay ?

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Yeah, I think a hot wire might be worth a try, halfway up and near the top of the fence. I'll talk to my husband about it tonight. It would be easier if we could identify exactly how he's getting out but I think I can probably take a good stab at which length of fence he's scaling.

By the time we're done, our place will look like a high security prIson.

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We have escape artists too. One of ours used the zed like frame on the back of a gate

to climb.

Once her back feet where secure she would haul herself over.

The way we found out she was doing this is we took our other dog out the front, and my

husband watched her.

What we did is we put lattice on the top of the gate but at an angle. This way the dog has to go backwards to move forwards, and she couldn't make the jump.

Hope that makes sense.

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Gayle I feel your pain. We will be getting a 1.8 colourbond fence soon, which I think will need to be hotwired.

I have talked to Greg Browne about escape artists. He has read somewhere that they acquire this knowledge around 4 to 6 weeks. Once obtained its there for ever.So prevention is the go. Pups try escaping at the point so if you have a roof on them they hit that then drop back. After a few goes they give up.

Greg has an import Irish that can only be in a totally closed run. His kids who had a lidded do not escape.

The thought is they escape because they can. Actually must ask Greg if he remembers the Website he read it on.

ETA. Found this out because we were discussing escape artist Cavs. Cvas are very good at climbing.

Edited by Bilbo Baggins
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Gayle I feel your pain. We will be getting a 1.8 colourbond fence soon, which I think will need to be hotwired.

I have talked to Greg Browne about escape artists. He has read somewhere that they acquire this knowledge around 4 to 6 weeks. Once obtained its there for ever.So prevention is the go. Pups try escaping at the point so if you have a roof on them they hit that then drop back. After a few goes they give up.

Greg has an import Irish that can only be in a totally closed run. His kids who had a lidded do not escape.

The thought is they escape because they can. Actually must ask Greg if he remembers the Website he read it on.

ETA. Found this out because we were discussing escape artist Cavs. Cvas are very good at climbing.

That's interesting. I'm almost certain that Ripley learned it from his mother. My best friend used to be friends with his breeder and she's told me the mother was also a climber.....she would climb my friends high Colourbond gate just because she could. It didn't get her anywhere, just into a space at the side of the house that she couldn't get out of but it didn't stop her climbing the gate any chance she got.

It would be interesting to find out if his litter mates are the same.

For the other dogs here, the fences are a barrier. They don't even try to get out, they just accept that they can't. Even Benson, who was the smartest dog I ever knew, and who was very good at problem solving, didn't try and get out if it wasn't an obvious escape route.

For Ripley, the fences aren't a barrier, they're just something to get over. And when we make it impossible for him to get over one section, he finds another section to tackle. When we find him out of the yard, he's happy as can be to see us, even if he's only been out a few seconds. He;s not getting out because he doesn't want to be here or because he doesn't want to play with the other dogs, or because he gets bored in the yard, he's getting out because the fence is there to be climbed.

Dogs. Who'd have 'em???

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Anyway, seeing as Christmas is coming up, we are going to buy a nice box of chocolates, or a tin of biscuits and take them and Ripley around to his holiday family to say thanks for keeping him safe when he's appeared in their street. I feel it's the least we can do seeing as he's vacationed with them uninvited a few times now.

The first time he taught their JRT to use the doggy door it's never been able to figure out, the last time he helped himself to a bath when the mum was running it for one of the kids.

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Anyway, seeing as Christmas is coming up, we are going to buy a nice box of chocolates, or a tin of biscuits and take them and Ripley around to his holiday family to say thanks for keeping him safe when he's appeared in their street. I feel it's the least we can do seeing as he's vacationed with them uninvited a few times now.

The first time he taught their JRT to use the doggy door it's never been able to figure out, the last time he helped himself to a bath when the mum was running it for one of the kids.

Gayle that's a classic bet the kid loved it.

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