Fence Climbing Dogs
Some dogs are just fence climbers. This particular German Shorthair, Daisy, is a 30 pound bundle of energy. She is as sweet as they come, but you have to watch her; she climbs fences better than my 5 year old boy (who climbs like a monkey, by the way).
We have to have a lid on the kennel and have it tightly wired down. Daisy hadn’t been in the kennel 10 minutes and was out again. I was dumbfounded as to how she got out, because there was a top on it. I put her back and watched her leap 6′ in the air, cling on and climb to the top and push her way through the roof fence panel edge. Needless to say, we have wired it down tight all the way around now. Now she climbs around the upper section of our kennel about like a gibbon, but can’t get out.
As for the 4′ property fence, I don’t think she really sees that as a barrier. She will leap up to where her body is 1/3 the way over, then land her front and back paws on the top of the fence and propel herself the rest of the way.
How do we deal with a fence climber, you ask? For starters, we have her kennel top tightly wired down so she can’t push her way out. The floor is wooden, so she can’t dig her way out. Then we stay out in the yard with her when she is out. Typically we have all the dogs out, so they are busy romping and playing with each other and she doesn’t have any desire to leave the yard. Daisy is a very social dog that loves to be with you. Usually when she climbs out, she is looking for you, so as long as you are around, she sticks close.
I’ve talked to several others with fence climbing dogs and the three solutions I have found are Kennels with a top, tie outs, and electricity. As for electricty, folks I talked to either used a pet containment fence, or a pet electric fence. If you use the electric fence, I suggest using the pet series rather than one for livestock, as the voltage is much lower. I also suggest using the white ribbon tape rather than a wire, since it is much more visable so dogs and kids can see it more easily. As for us, we use the roofed kennel, supervision and lots of exercise.
Let me hear your stories of your fence climber. Cheers, …
I think the kennel you keep your dog in is wrong. Dogs need yards to run in and not be confined to 4 ft kennels. No wonder why she climbs
Dear Dog Lover,
Thanks for your concern for our dogs. We too are concerned about how dogs are treated. We invite you to view the rest of our website, and to come and tour our facilities and see what you think. We have the utmost concern for our dogs and those we are training. We run every dog 4 miles every day, train 3 x a day and they get lots of yard time with us and with the other dogs. It is important to us that dogs are around us as much as possible, and therefore they spend a majority of time in the house with us. We just can’t all of them in the house at the same time. Our aim to to produce happy, enjoyable companion hunting dogs.
Thanks for your concern. Come by for a visit.
Sincerely,
Chris & Julie Colt
Dear Dog Lover,
Thanks for your concern for our dogs. We too are concerned about how dogs are treated. We invite you to view the rest of our website, and to come and tour our facilities and see what you think. We have the utmost concern for our dogs and those we are training. We run every dog 4 miles every day, train 3 x a day and they get lots of yard time with us and with the other dogs. It is important to us that dogs are around us as much as possible, and therefore they spend a majority of time in the house with us. We just can’t all of them in the house at the same time. Our aim to to produce happy, enjoyable companion hunting dogs.
Thanks for your concern. Come by for a visit.
Sincerely,
Chris & Julie Colt
WOW am I relieved to hear my Sophie is not the only one. I’m at a loss! She’s a 2 yr old lab who just cannot get enough attention or exercise. She too has a playmate in the yard and still climbs out. She won’t climb out if I’m back there, althought she thinks about it. I’ve tried rewarding her when she stays in the yard, but that doesn’t seem to change anything. Although I really dont want to result to electricity, as Sophie has NEVER responded well to force, I dont really know what else to do. I want her to be able to enjoy the yard while I’m at work, but I dont want her to have any harsh feelings against me for the electricity, or WORSE, something bad happen if she does get out. Any suggestions?
I have a lab that lives on 5 acres with two more labs and shepard mix and she still climbs out. I cannot keep her in no matter what I do. She has recently been accused of participating in a calf attack. The calfs owner intends to start shooting at the dogs if he sees them near any more of his animals. I can’t afford to put an electric fence around all 5 acres. I don’t want to get rid of her but will have to if I can’t come up with a way to keep her away from his cattle. I don’t want her to be shot. Size of the space doesn’t matter.
I have a year old pointer/pit mix that I rescued from a busy highway when he was only 3 months old. I recently moved from Hawaii to Washington State and brought him with. He had never climbed until we got here so I was surprised when he came flying over the 6 foot high kennel we built for him. We thought he was using the cross bars on the panels to leap from so we installed new panels with no cross bars. He was over that kennel in less time than it took me to latch the kennel gate! It’s a huge kennel, the size of our backyard so it’s not the size of the space that makes him get out, it’s just that he doesn’t want to be away from me. We can’t put a top on the whole thing but I think we are going to try and attach a board or some canvas across the top of the kennel that will come in about 2 feet so he can climb but not make it over. I’m hoping it will work. He has also figured out how to open the refrigerator or leap from the back of couch to the counter, that is over 4 feet away, so now i crate him if I am not going to be home to supervise him. He is by far the smartest dog I have ever had.
I have found a solution to my pointer/pits climbing. I used pvc roofing panels cut into 4″ lengths and secured them to the top 1/3rd of the chain link kennel panels. They don’t give him anything to get purchase on and we can still see in the bottom 2/3s of the kennel. They are all lined up and the same color so they don’t look too bad. It’s been 2 weeks now and he has finally given up trying to escape. It’s great to have a place where he can get out and run when he’s not in the house with us.