Detaining Instead of Training

[Syn]

I have a customer with a little dog that gets out of their fenced yard ALL the time. I'm afraid of her getting hit by a car or attacked by another dog, or.....

Today I saw they tied a 2 liter plastic bottle to her collar. Yes it keeps her in her yard, and she has something to drag around and play with. Until she chews it up and starts getting out again. It's just a lazy way of doing things.

She would be safer and happier if she was worked with, but I guess she will have to be happy with the company of a plastic bottle.

[Stephanie]

That's a new one on me. It's quite sad that people would rather spend their time trying to think up ways of dealing with the situation than either fixing the fence or keeping the dog indoors and safe.

[Syn]

She's such a happy little dog, and smart.... I'm sorry to say... I get a kick at how she out smarts them at every turn.

I would love to have her....yes, I did ask...but they will not part with her.
I am very careful when I am by there, goodness knows where she will pop out.

[Justontime]

It makes me so sad to read this. At the very least they should improve the fence to keep her in. I think it is wicked that a smart dog like that has nothing meaningful to occupy it's time, it can't be much of a life. If the worst happens and the dog gets out and gets hit by a car I bet they will blame everyone except themselves!

[kernow]

They don't deserve to have a dog do they? At the very least should make sure that their dog can't get out, as others have said it could get killed, but it could also cause an accident and people could get hurt.

[Orrymain]

Are you sure that's safe? This makes me extremely uncomfortable.

[eschone01]

That's crazy. Dogs are smart (sometimes it's scary how smart they are!), and they will find ways to do what they want to do. There's no excuse for not properly training a dog and this is a good example of that. This poor dog sounds like she's likely to get hurt simply because the owners don't want to put the effort into it.

[Pauline]

tell them it would be more productive to spend their time instead of putting bottles on her collar they should fix the fence!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kernow]

Exactly Pauline, surely it would be easier to fix the fence than to have the worry of the dog getting out all the time.

[Syn]

UP date on the little scamp.....

I talked to the son, and helped him with the fence... it's a chain link (nice) fence, but where the posts connect to the gate and cornors she wiggles through. In these tough times it's expencive to add another post, with metal up so high, for some unknown reason. BUT... I had some extra chicken wire here at my mini homestead and offered it to them. The little scamp was there supervising the whole thing . I am not so hard on them, now that I know she belongs to the elder lady who is handicapped. But I found out a little secret....she doesn't like water.... So while I was there for refreshments with them on the porch, When she was cought digging under the fence, she received a squirt from the water spray bottle. Since she is not sure where it comes from (my idea on this) she has corrected herself of digging under the fence. When she digs at the fence line she gets wet, when she digs at "HER" new digging place or plays in the yard she dosen't. Now she can be worked with to a point from the elderly lady. She also has a few new toys ( I found laying around [the store] I though she would like) and a big box of 'rewards' when she does behave herself.

I am happy to report, now when I pass by she is in her yard (a good foot away from the fence line) with a new toy dangling from her mouth. They now will stop and ask me questions about something new she has thought of. I have to think a bit on it, so the elderly lady can correct her from her chair. Now with everyone involved in her 'new' life, she is quite the happy (still a little scamp ) pup.