Foo - Argh - dogs

Man, I'm having the hardest time figuring out what to do with my dogs during the day. Everything I've tried has backfired in one way or another.

-leaving them in the backyard = lab/bordie collie mix digging under fence and escaping. Pit/boxer mix barks at the dogs behind me non-stop and rubs his chin on the fence in the process until it bleeds. Sigh.

-leaving them inside the house = lake erie on the floor along with a couple of small mountains - if ya know what I mean. Can't have dog door because of cats. (don't want cats outside as I live on a busy street and one of them is a real climber - she'll be over the fence in a heartbeat). Plus I've ended up with various items destroyed when I leave them home alone unattended.

-Leaving them in the garage. Pit/Boxer is ok but lab/border collie finds things to destroy - last time it was my cordless drill and the weather stripping on a door.

-crating - worked well...until... lab/border collie crapped all over the inside of the crate, broke out of the crate hurting herself in the process, and then proceeded to drag said mess ALL OVER THE HOUSE. That was a pleasant scene to open the door to. I almost just turned around and left.

-chaining the dogs in the back yard. Uuugh - so many problems starting with it seems pretty cruel. Lab/border collie almost hung herself. If they're too close together they tangle each other up.

I've finally gotten to the point of just throwing them in the back yard and hoping it works out, but I find myself stressing about it during the day.

Any thoughts?

Have you thought of building a dog run in your backyard. You can buy standard sizes which are made from chain-type fencing. It will keep them isolated to one part of your yard, yet still allows them to move around in the day.

Have you thought of building a dog run in your backyard. You can buy standard sizes which are made from chain-type fencing. It will keep them isolated to one part of your yard, yet still allows them to move around in the day.

Good idea - that might be the next thing I try. My concern going in is my little escape artist. ;)

How about one of those collars that delivers a mild electric shock when the dog tries to cross a buried boundary wire?

Or maybe a fence that extends a few feet underground?

How about one of those collars that delivers a mild electric shock when the dog tries to cross a buried boundary wire?

Or maybe a fence that extends a few feet underground?

I was going to go that route until I talked to my vet. She said that they're inconsistant, and deliver the shock at different distances. She indicated she's seen some dogs go positively mental because of 'em.

I have a bull terrier...I tried the outside chain link dog run on a cement pad. Darned pup pulled and undid the chain link, enough, to make a hole big enough to escape in one afternoon while I was at work. Dogs can be incredibly obsessive/compulsive and strong to boot. So *if* you try this, maybe make some kind of low brick wall around the perimeter to 'hide' the bottom edge of the chain link.

I sympathize!

I was going to go that route until I talked to my vet. She said that they're inconsistant, and deliver the shock at different distances. She indicated she's seen some dogs go positively mental because of 'em.

Yes, and you're not supposed to leave them on for extended periods of time- they can ulcerate the skin where the electrodes rub into the neck. Plus, dogs are pretty smart people- they'll quickly learn to behave while the collar is on and as soon as you take it off, it's like animal house (literally, I guess). Been there, done that with our terrier/yellow lab mix (about as nutty a mix as you can find, except maybe that lab/border collie of yours :o)- very, very intelligent dog, but man does he have issues.

Other than Alfster's (good advice, BTW), I wish I could offer a solution- sounds like you have your hands full, ravenmore!

My best friend's dog got out of the invisible fence all the time. Ran through it at a good clip then kept going until it lost a signal or something like that. He would find the dog like a mile down the street in a field panting when he came home from work. He had to nix the electric collar idea pretty quickly.

Doggie daycare. Your dogs are too smart to be left alone and bored.

How about an electric fence on your back fence to keep them from going over or under. I bet the buried cable in the back would do the trick as well. They wouldn't get close enough to the fence to go over/under.

Doggie daycare. Your dogs are too smart to be left alone and bored.

+1 I just adopted a border collie/boxer mix, and same problems - she can jump the more than 6 foot fence in the backyard whenever she wants, she gets bored and then destructive if left alone too long. I can crate her for 2, maybe 3 hours at a time - she actually seems to like it. However, she also needs exercise - no way I'd leave her crated all day. And that's not even mentioning the stress created by a dog's instinct to not mess their den (aka crate) - that's probably why your dog had the urge to just get out of the crate after messing it. 8,9, 10 hours is a long time to expect a dog to not relieve themselves, unless they are in perfect health.

So, doggy day care. There's a couple of them in town. One just had kids on staff, was a mess and the "test" was they threw my dog in with 6 other dogs to see how she'd deal with it! I grabbed my dog and got out of there - no way they were getting their hands on my dog again.

The other was much better - run by a woman who loves dogs, and is old school (dogs can be dogs, but when she wants them to behave, they behave). The dogs have a large, outside area to run around and play in, individual kennels to nap in, dogs are segregated by size and attitude, and the handlers aren't some high school kids - they were all trained by the same trainer I used to get my dog under control after I adopted her. Cost is about $35 per day - not cheap, but the alternatives were so much worse!

JB

PS - another alternative could be a dog-walking service getting the dogs out and about a couple of times a day. Cheaper than doggie day care, and would get them some exercise and mental stimulation while you're at work.

I was going to go that route until I talked to my vet. She said that they're inconsistant, and deliver the shock at different distances. She indicated she's seen some dogs go positively mental because of 'em.
Yes, and you're not supposed to leave them on for extended periods of time- they can ulcerate the skin where the electrodes rub into the neck. Plus, dogs are pretty smart people- they'll quickly learn to behave while the collar is on and as soon as you take it off, it's like animal house (literally, I guess).
My best friend's dog got out of the invisible fence all the time. Ran through it at a good clip then kept going until it lost a signal or something like that. He would find the dog like a mile down the street in a field panting when he came home from work. He had to nix the electric collar idea pretty quickly.Ergh, alright. Never mind, then. :) I'd always wondered how well those things worked, and pictured the "just run full-tilt through the field" scenario. Oh well.

I like Alfsters Dog Run idea!

but with full enclosure, meaning roof. But I'm not sure as to your where you live - if you do indeed have a backyard worthy of an enclosure - do you have the backyard GIRTH worthy of your dogs barking so as to not annoy neighbors - without you being there. THAT can lead to the law on your doorstep.

I live in the city and am so freaking truly amazed at the animals these people have in the rentals around me. Like two huge waterhound kinda dogs across from me who bark non-stop, accompanied by the new silky terrier that bounces between the big dogs feet? And to the side of me is this elderly woman who reprimands her dog with a paragraph like "I told you not to go under that car how do you think I can get under to get you out you @#$# and what did you do to my flowers I told you not to go over there ..." And not to miss the neighbor to the right who lets his waist high mongrel out at night in his yard - and the dog circles around the back of the garage - and shocks the living @#%#$ snit out of me by howling at me when I open the door and start to bring my bike out. Good freakin grief!!!!!! AHHHHHHH! WTH is it with people living in the city owning these dogs that are waist high and live in a 1 bedroom apt with a lawn the size of an office cubicle!!??!!

sorry ... I feel better ... rant over....

Probably not the answer you want to hear, but how about just waiting a month.

Austin summers turn my dog into the biggest slacker ever. The hot weather just takes all the energy out of him. Then when you get home take them to Red Bud for a swim and they will get it all back if they are anything like Howard.

Or just toss a rabbit in the yard for them to play with when you leave.

Actually, give them something new to play with most every day. Even if it's a plastic soda bottle. Dogs are easily bored, and changing things up keeps them occupied for a bit.

Sorry - I've already spent a bazillion dollars on these guys the past month. I'm not going to do doggy day care. They're dogs, not kids. If I had more disposable income I'd check it out.

On the invisible fence thing - I know some dogs will run through them. However in my case I have a nice 6' physical fence as well. It'd be difficult to run through that. I was going to go that route until I talked to the vet and she told me that they're not consistent.

I like the dog run idea. It sounds like it might be fairly expensive to set up, but at least its a one time charge. I could even set it up with nicer fencing than chain link, which I've always considered a little bit of an eye sore.

if you already have a fenced in backyard it is easy to partition some of it, and cheap.

get some 8' green metal stakes and the 6' foot green fence. also, they sell rubber covered chicken fence that is made to be burried( it is called doggy digger barrier or something like that). first dig a trench in the outline of the partition. it needs to be about 6" deep and 2' wide. install the rubberized chicken fence with 2' feet of it 6" under ground on the inside of the new fence line. leave about 6"-12" sticking up so it lines up where you want the green fencing. then install the stakes and fence. the gate is the hardest part depending on your handyperson ability. If you are careful with the grass you can dig it up and replace it, then wait for the dogs to ruin it.



A couple can get this done in one day as long as you have the all of the materials and the right tools.

I can go more into more detail if you need it or shoot me a pm and I can write you a book. :)

If you're interested in a chain-link enclosure, the link below is for a Canadian supplier however the pricing is in US dollars. It's a 5 foot X 10 foot enclosure. The longer you want the run, the more expensive. $449 for the enclosure and $139 for the Weather guard cover.

http://www.dogcondo.ca/?gclid=CJ2EgeT885ICFRdXQAod_Ctrwg

Another option is to price all the individual components at Home Depot and construct one yourself. Just make sure you secure a good method to prevent them from digging under the fence.

drug in out of their minds during the day...if you get the dosage just right, they should come out of it about the time you get home.

Dog run as described. Do it now, before they act out more. I came home one time shortly before buying my dog run, and they'd clawed and scratched through the floor and sub-floor into the crawl space:eek: That cost more than the dog run to repair.

Actually, give them something new to play with most every day. Even if it's a plastic soda bottle. Dogs are easily bored, and changing things up keeps them occupied for a bit.

I do this with my Ridgeback/Boxer mix, and it seems to do the trick. I bought a whole bunch of toys, and I rotate which ones she gets for the week.
Certain things need to be there, like the Nylabone or something with a specific kind of squeaker in it; but I swap out which toys she has, and she doesn't get bored with having the same thing all the time.

+1 for the dog run idea.

Sacrifice the cats to save the dogs.

Sacrifice the cats to save the dogs.

Bwahahahahaha

walk in the morning. crated with plenty of kongs and someone (you/neighbor/dog walker) to let them out at lunch time and put them back in with more kongs. long walk in the evening.

Bring them to work with you. If someone questions you, tell them they are guide dogs (and pretend you are blind).

Taxidermist? Sell them and buy a porcelain dog, ala, Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford on old SNL?

walk in the morning. crated with plenty of kongs and someone (you/neighbor/dog walker) to let them out at lunch time and put them back in with more kongs. long walk in the evening.

I second this plus ideally something to give them mental exercise as well (such as obedience or agility training). You have smart dogs and they are bored.

^^ +10000000

I don't want to crate them after what happened - also its not feasible to have someone check on them daily in the middle of the day.

I feel lucky that Shiner (Border Collie/Austrailian Shepard mix) behaves to a point. When we first got him there was major seperation anxiety to deal with. Also lucky that my cat is big enough to chase off the stray dogs on his own. On thing we found that worked was the knogs. The night before, fill it with creamy Peanut Butter, and throw in the freezer. Take it out in the morning on the way out. In about a month we were down to doing the kog once a week. Cheap creamy peanut butter is cheaper than replacing the bike gloves, socks, wife's bras, etc etc that were taken into the backyard and destroyed.

The comment about summer putting the dog in a near coma, that would be my dog too. I really am glad that winter is over, the closer to freezing the quicker it took Shiner to get to "5th gear".

You need smaller dogs. :D

The lab/collie should get some consideration for finding an environment that suits it better.

Whether you crate them or use some other form of containment (like an outdoor run), I think you will still have behavioral issues unless they get more physical and mental exercise. They are bored.

Here is how we solved that problem. Got rid of them. Easy fix.

Hmmm...Tear up my house and furniture (No way they would be allowed on my Thomasville furniture anyway.)...leave them in back yard and have neighbors all peeo'd and callin' cops...or get rid of them?

Honestly, what is so hard about that?

Do you REALLY need them and for what purpose?

Here is how we solved that problem. Got rid of them. Easy fix.

Easy fix for you.

Not an easy fix for the dogs. :(

Easy fix for you.

Not an easy fix for the dogs. :(



They went to good homes. Great homes actually.

I'm going to try the dog run thing. I'll go to Home Depot or Lowes this weekend to check out the cost of the materials I'll need. I'll probably do something not too big. I'm also going to dig a sort of trench around the perimeter and fill it will concrete to keep them from digging out.

You could try a cable runner such as:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2755029

Basically it is a cable streched between two points (posts trees house and etc) with a lead on a pully so the can move about, but not escape.