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The Worst That Could Happen, Did...


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I made a recent post (last week) about finding a hot wire to go along the top of my fence, as my 18mo AmStaff was trying to get over the fence to visit next door.

Well on that same day, the worst happened. He did get over the fence and there was a terrible fight with the dog next door. Right now with all the stress from work and everything else, this has really got me wound up.

Basically, they have an older Stafford, that stays out ALL day and my boy doesnt even bother with him, its only when he hears the neigbours come home, or out the back, that he wants to jump the fence.

I got a call last wednesday at 4:30pm to tell me that my dog was on their property and had really hurt their dog, i rushed home to find him in their back yard all happy with himself and just running around sniffing, and their dog being rushed to the vet.

That night i went out and spent $200 on colour bond and posts, and my fence between our propertys is literally 9ft high now, but the damage was done, and it was my worst nightmare. I already had extended the fences, but he managed to get over somehow, hes like a spring.

Two days after putting up the new fence, i get a call the next morning, he was over there again, but luckily their dog was inside at the time. He managed to jump up and squeeze himself through a 2 inch gap (he bent the iron out) between the fence and a gate and get in their yard again, so basically, they are really really not impressed.

I dont know what to do. They havent complained to the council, i just had to pay the vet bills ($600+) and make sure it didnt happen again, but i really cant guarentee that he wont get over, because when i think he cant possibly do it, he does!

The times that he wants over, he will run up and down the fence line and whine / cry, then make a dash and bounce off the fence. The times that i have caught him, i have smacked him and put him inside (yea i know, shouldnt smack etc) and really given him into trouble, but im really at my wits end, i love this dog so much, but i cant get him to stop it. He is ultra friendly with people and he has gotten over before, he ran over to the lady and licked her hand from behind while she was trying to hang a washing out.

He doesnt ever do it unless they are home and he can hear them. Wednesday, he only jumped the fence when he heard the daughter arrive home and go out the back.

Can anyone give me some insight? He has been neutered with the implant from the Vet, and will be getting booked in this week to have his testies off permanently this week....

In general he is really well behaved, loves people and kids, but has a huge drive for other dogs. If i walk him along the beach and we see another dog in the distance, or behind us etc, he will try and run to them, hit the end of the leash, and then just stand and whine, and i literally have to drag him in the direction we are going until he forgets about them, he just loves other dogs... If its a female he will try to play, and generally if its a male, i dont let them get close enough to even risk a fight.

Apologies in advance if this post is all over the place, my brain is seriously not functioning and my feelings are all over the place on what to do.

Steve

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I have looked into a dog run, but i rent so would need something non permanent, but i could only organise it when i had the spare cash. This vet bill + fence bill came at the worst time.

He have a sibe huskie too, its not really feasible to keep them locked in all day, they would destroy the house, or the room they were locked in, and im also not keen on crating the dog for 9 hours while we are at work...

Steve

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Oops...

looks like you really need a very secure dog run for him now :D

he has fought this dog and knows he can win!

He also knows he can escape , with a bit of work.

I would not ever trust him alone in the yard again, if he were mine :o

Poor you....you were trying to stop the inevitable.

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If we meet other dogs he normally just wants to play (he was well socialised from a very young age, went to ob school etc), but i will admit i havent let him near other male dogs for a while as he growled at one once, and i didnt want to risk a fight etc.

Steve

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A non permanent run wou;ld be possible..just reinforcing mesh on all 6 sides....roof, floor and walls. That way it is impossible to escape from, and easy to dis-assemble and remove.

this stuff....easy to construct a pen..add a few posts for stabilty, and put a kennel in....use .

http://www.moladi.com/images/mesh.jpg

Edited by persephone
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the thing is I think he has worked out that he *can* get over the fence, so now no matter what you put up he will find a way out - when there is a will there is a way.

What if you just keep Loki inside? Must the dogs be together during the day? Are they ok seperate? Mine are rarely together during the day and no-one is home :D

A dog run is best - even a non permanent fixture - I think Kra- Mar make some with roofs and they can be dismantled :o

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If they are seperated they stress. When loki got over the fence before, the sibe stressed out and destroyed our back screen door, so id rather keep them together.

Maybe getting a non permanent dog run is the way to go... I might talk to a few friends who are welders and try and get some ideas from them..

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What i find really strange, is that he only tries to get over one fence, the people on the other side of us have 2 BC's who never, ever stop barking (i feel sorry for the owners), they are both female, but my dogs totally ignore them and couldnt care less if they were around or not.

I just cant work out whats driving him to jump the fence, and i would love to know!

Steve

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I'm so sorry to hear this has happened, I went through the same thing last year and it was horrendously stressful. Luckily my dog hasn't got quite the same determination as yours and heightening the wooden fence with trellacing seems to have done the trick for good. I'm also in a rental so limited with fencing options.

He'd lived next to the neighbour's dog for 18 months before trying this too. The damn dog barks constantly, but it took a visit from my neighbour's cousin's new puppy to drive my boy to get over there so he could find out what was going on. I have a feeling that my neighbour's cousin may have been part of his motivation as well...it's hard to say.

Good luck with everything, I hope it all works out ok.

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Whilst supervision & building a dog run will stop it happening again, it wont actually stop the behaviour. Personally if it were my dog & he'd attacked another dog badly enough to cause that much damage, I would be thinking about electrifying the fence, call me cruel if you want, but I doubt he would do it again. You can hire electric fences from various places, Im sure a quick look through yellow pages or an enquiry at a stock & feed store would throw up something suitable.

Good luck with it, I hope you can get something worked out & fingers crossed that the neighbours dog is well again soon :D .

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Doggy daycare? You poor thing. Mine are inside all day when we are out but have babygated everywhere so they only have access to tiled areas where they can't cause any damage - they adjusted well to this new routine and we feel a lot safer for them when we are out!

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Maybe getting a non permanent dog run is the way to go... I might talk to a few friends who are welders and try and get some ideas from them..

Good idea.

If you exercise your dog before and after work, you would be surprised how many hours your dog sleep. Good luck.

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I think you have a responsibility to your neighbours, and any neighbours in the future to keep him in an enclosed run (with a roof).

You are lucky that they haven't reported you because there's a good chance he would be declared dangerous and have to live in an escape proof run anyway, muzzled in public etc. It could be alot worse, and from an outsiders POV I would imagine you are skating on extremely thin ice.

There are plenty of environmental enrichment activities you can provide and you could pen your dogs next door to each other. My dogs sleep most of the day when there is no one at home, and most dogs are the same.

Sounds to me your only other option is to keep your dogs indoors.

Mel.

Edited by Staff'n'Toller
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I am looking into getting a doggy run made, and i am well aware that its selfish of me NOT to get one when i can, for my neigbours sake. I cannot let this happen again.

The dogs sleep all day, they are ran most days (in the morning before work or when i get home). As i said, Loki will ignore their dog ALL day, but when they arrive home and he can hear them, thats when he wants to jump the fence.

Hes getting the "snip" on thursday, even though he has been chemically neutered, im hoping it will make a difference too.

Steve

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