Let me start this by saying that Fred is not really a dog - he is a mountain goat. Or, perhaps just into "extreme" dog sports. All I know is that boy sure can climb.
We have a fixed post 10'x20' chain link dog run that we installed last year for Henry (who passed away last fall). We never had a bit of trouble with Henry in the dog run and he was always out there in good weather during the day (and inside when we were at home). Fred is another matter. He had been outside during the day back in October before the weather turned cold (and he was about 30lbs smaller). The other day, it reached almost 70 here and I thought he might enjoy being outside for the day instead of being cooped up in the crate. WRONG!! That boy kept climbing over the fence and was on the loose. Luckily, one of my neighbors was home and spent most of the day rounding him back up (9 times). Thank heavens he had his tags on so my neighbor knew for sure he was ours. (And thank GOD that he didn't hang himself going over that fence). My neighbor was finally able to reach me at work through my daughter's school and I raced home. By the time I got home, my neighbor had come up with a wonderful plan to lock Fred in (actually put him in the dog house and pushed the opening against the fence).
My first reaction was anger at Fred that he was climbing the fence and that I had to leave work to make sure he was contained someplace and fear that something would happen to him before I got home. When I got home I was no longer scared but I was even angrier. The mess that boy had made! He was covered in mud and so were my front and back doors as well as part of the siding on the house.
While I bathed him, I started to calm down and realize that my poor guy was completely traumatized by the whole event. He had minor scratches on his belly and one nasty one under his arm from the fence and he was totally drained. My neighbor said that Fred wasn't running off but was continually trying to get into the house - going from door to door. And then the guilt hit me - he had been completely pulled out of his routine, he probably thought he was being left out there and we were never coming back. The safety of his crate during the day was gone. I felt like such a bad mom. :( While I bathed him, he just sat there in the tub and laid his head on my shoulder. And those eyes!! Oh, how they tear right into you!
That poor thing was so exhausted that he slept most of the evening as well as into the morning. He usually wakes me up about 5 a.m. but the next day, I actually woke up to my alarm clock for the first time since he came into the family. That scared me to death. It's like when you're baby sleeps through the night for the first time and you wake up with a startle and you run to make sure they're still breathing.
Now what do I do? Chain link fencing is obviously not an option and I don't want to keep him crated all the time when it's nice enough for him to be outside. I'm not sure we can afford to put in a privacy fence for him (although I have an appointment for an estimate next week and my husband said we'll do whatever we need to do to keep him safe). But I'm not sure a privacy fence is even the answer. He seemed so traumatized with the whole event. Was the abrupt change in routine too much for him? Any suggestions? Ideas? Help!
We have a fixed post 10'x20' chain link dog run that we installed last year for Henry (who passed away last fall). We never had a bit of trouble with Henry in the dog run and he was always out there in good weather during the day (and inside when we were at home). Fred is another matter. He had been outside during the day back in October before the weather turned cold (and he was about 30lbs smaller). The other day, it reached almost 70 here and I thought he might enjoy being outside for the day instead of being cooped up in the crate. WRONG!! That boy kept climbing over the fence and was on the loose. Luckily, one of my neighbors was home and spent most of the day rounding him back up (9 times). Thank heavens he had his tags on so my neighbor knew for sure he was ours. (And thank GOD that he didn't hang himself going over that fence). My neighbor was finally able to reach me at work through my daughter's school and I raced home. By the time I got home, my neighbor had come up with a wonderful plan to lock Fred in (actually put him in the dog house and pushed the opening against the fence).
My first reaction was anger at Fred that he was climbing the fence and that I had to leave work to make sure he was contained someplace and fear that something would happen to him before I got home. When I got home I was no longer scared but I was even angrier. The mess that boy had made! He was covered in mud and so were my front and back doors as well as part of the siding on the house.
While I bathed him, I started to calm down and realize that my poor guy was completely traumatized by the whole event. He had minor scratches on his belly and one nasty one under his arm from the fence and he was totally drained. My neighbor said that Fred wasn't running off but was continually trying to get into the house - going from door to door. And then the guilt hit me - he had been completely pulled out of his routine, he probably thought he was being left out there and we were never coming back. The safety of his crate during the day was gone. I felt like such a bad mom. :( While I bathed him, he just sat there in the tub and laid his head on my shoulder. And those eyes!! Oh, how they tear right into you!
That poor thing was so exhausted that he slept most of the evening as well as into the morning. He usually wakes me up about 5 a.m. but the next day, I actually woke up to my alarm clock for the first time since he came into the family. That scared me to death. It's like when you're baby sleeps through the night for the first time and you wake up with a startle and you run to make sure they're still breathing.
Now what do I do? Chain link fencing is obviously not an option and I don't want to keep him crated all the time when it's nice enough for him to be outside. I'm not sure we can afford to put in a privacy fence for him (although I have an appointment for an estimate next week and my husband said we'll do whatever we need to do to keep him safe). But I'm not sure a privacy fence is even the answer. He seemed so traumatized with the whole event. Was the abrupt change in routine too much for him? Any suggestions? Ideas? Help!
(wish me luck too!)