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For many dog owners, a fenced backyard where dogs can roam, sniffing interesting things, and snoozing in the shade is essential.
It’s ideal except when your dogs believe they can find greener grass somewhere else. That’s when a lot of them become adept at escaping. One minute they are in the yard, the next, they have gone.
Technology, however, is coming to the dog owner’s aid with many new ways to retrain your dog safely and securely.
GPS-enabled devices like the Fi Smart Dog Collar are great tools for keeping continuous track of your dog. Even if it manages to make a successful escape attempt should happen, collars like this make tracking a dog much easier.
How and Why Dogs Make a Run For it
Dogs may decide they want to roam because they are looking for company. Open space is all well and good, but dogs are social creatures and like to have company. Also, territorial dogs may see things outside the boundary they think may threaten the home. This is a time they feel the need to get out and ward off the danger.
It could be the dog has discovered “treasure” outside the yard. It could be new friends to play with, or tasty and smelly food, or a nice big field in which to run. If they are prey-driven hunters a simple fence won’t restrain them from chasing squirrels or rabbits. Many puppies just require more outlets for their amazing energy.
Dogs have several ways in which to escape. Some jump. Some are climbers. Others are miners and diggers. Some chewers make holes in fences large enough to escape through. The deep thinkers may even work out how to open the gate.
Keeping Your Dog in The Yard
For the jumpers and the climbers, you could extend the fence. You could make it higher, or you could add a section that sits on the top and tilts inward to deter your dog.
For the diggers, you could add a footer along the fence bottom with chicken wire, hardware cloth, or a piece of chain-link fence. Some owners even bury it to deter their dogs even more. Others pour concrete footers to stop the most determined digger.
To deter border patrol you need to block the view. You can plant climbing shrubs or even vines along your fence, but remember this will take time to become established.
One increasingly popular method is to install an invisible dog fence. To look for the best invisible dog fence click here.
Invisible dog fences, which can also be known as electric fences, are wired fences placed underground. They create an electrically charged boundary to keep your pet within the boundaries of your yard without the need for a physical fence. These fences are connected digitally to invisible-fence collars that dogs wear around their necks.
The benefits of invisible dog fences include:
- No need for physical fence upkeep
- Don’t affect your landscaping
- Offers safety for dogs while giving them the freedom
- Not affected by fencing laws that don’t apply
- Protecting dogs from dangers like traffic and strangers
- Cheaper than regular fencing