THIS IS AWESOME! My favorite dog trainer and dog whisperer of all time has just released a free video online explaining how to eliminate 94% of all unwanted behavior in ANY dog. Her name is Krista Cantrell and I absolutely LOVE the way she teaches. Click on the video to watch. You'll be glad you did...

It can be an absolute mystery to us how dogs escape out of the garden sometimes. Some dogs are so good and so skilled at hiding their tracks that it can be hard to figure out how they escaped even after a few successes. With many dogs, the secret is digging out under the fence, Great Escape style. This can be dangerous for the dog as they can make their way out to a busy and unfamiliar road and damage themselves. If you have a bigger dog, they may become a danger to children as they find themselves confused and in an unfamiliar environment. How can you prevent your dog digging itself out under the fence? Here are a few tips to stop your dog digging under the fence.

A very basic way to stop your dog getting out under the fence is to make it unpleasant for them. A little bit of chicken wire running along the base of the fence is sure to stop them as it will hurt their paws when they try to scrape against it. Another way is to give the dog a collar that emits an unpleasant smell when they go too close to the fence - citronella collars are available for this. Shock collars work as well, but are not recommended as they hurt and scare the dog.

At the end of the day, these are all stopgap measures to prevent your dog digging under the fence. For real and lasting results, you need to attempt to understand why your dog is acting the way he is. As well as using it as a way to escape, dogs can dig just for fun when they are frustrated. A bored and frustrated dog will try and find some other way to get their energy out. This can often be digging holes, and getting out under the fence is a great adventure for your dog.

To solve this problem, you should reward good behaviour in the dog and staying away from the fence. Give them treats and affection to try and have them associate positive things with staying in the garden. Naturally, your dog also requires a lot of exercise. Since boredom and excess energy can be the cause of so much of this digging, it is important that they have enough space to move around in during the day and get a chance to go for a walk every day.

Lastly, you should practice obedience training with your dog. Apart from anything else, it is easier to retrieve a dog that has gotten away if it comes to the sound of your voice. You can also use the come command to stop your dog digging under the fence when you see it happening. To develop this command, start calling them to come at every meal time, standing at their bowl. Soon, there will be a positive association with the word come that will bring your dog running at any time of the day. Naturally, everyone would rather have a well trained dog than to rely on restrictions in the garden to stop them digging under the fence, and this approach is much more effective.

For additional info concerning dog obedience visit stop dog digging under fence or how to stop dogs digging or how to stop dog from digging

No TweetBacks yet. (Be the first to Tweet this post)

Technorati Tags:

Tagged with:

Filed under: General Dogs Discussion

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!