Dogs make wonderful pets and additions to a family. They are loyal, smart, and form emotional bonds with kids that teach responsibility and empathy. However, they can also be a big headache if you don’t learn how to control them and keep them within your yard. Some people find their dogs are escape artists that find ways to get out of the yard, regardless of what they do. This can lead to citations or, worse, losing your beloved pet. Here are some things to remember when trying to keep your dog in your yard…
Consider why your dog is escaping
First of all, consider why your dog is trying to get out. Do they have too much pent up energy every day that they need to get out? Are they easily bored? Is there something happening in a yard near yours that is giving them anxiety, such as loud noises? Do they feel lonely? When you figure out why your dog is escaping, you can actually address what is causing the behavior, which makes life much better for your pet. This should always be your first solution, as a responsible pet owner. However, some dogs simply get bored very quickly, and need a more secure yard to prevent this.
Make sure there are no holes in your fence
A bored dog is going to exploit every method it can to get out of the yard and into the streets. The most obvious way it is going to do this is to find a weakness in the fence and try to get out that way, or destroy the fence further to make it big enough to do so. Make sure that there is no hole in your fence or weak spots that are easy for a dog to tear apart. If need be, add some wire fencing by weaker parts of the fence to stop them from chewing through.
Add a fence extension
Some dogs are smart enough and capable enough to climb a chain link fence, or hop over a shorter fence. For these dogs, there’s little that can be done besides make the fence taller. This might mean taking out your fence and putting in a brand new, taller one. However, you can be more cost effective by adding a fence extension that creates a bottom and top layer to your fence, thus making it too tall for your dog to escape.