Dog Psychology

kaiser715

kaiser715

Doing hard time
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Location
7, Pocket, NC
If y'all remember the story, my dog Blaze, a 75# Belgian Wafflehound, got out of his pen on July 4th. We didn't make it home before dark, and the next-door neighbors were shooting fireworks about 75' from his pen, so he learned to climb the 5' fence.



After he learned he could get out, he just escaped at will. We had to add 'leaners' to the fence -- sections of hog wire coming out horizontally about 18 inches. He's been testing that, but not able to get out.

A few days ago, we both had meetings at church, and weren't able to get home until after dark. When I got him from his pen, he was panting heavily, and really agitated. Took him about 30 minutes in the house to get calmed down. He had pulled down some of the leaner fence I added, so I had to repair and reinforce it.

Tonight, we were out of town for dinner, and didn't get home again until after dark. He didn't hear us drive up -- I heard him when I got out of the car, rattling the fence, working on it again. Once again, he was really spun up and out of breath. Even though he had a full dish of water out there, he didn't touch much of it, but did drink almost a half gallon since he's been inside. He has a couple of cuts, and one of his nails is split and bleeding, also has a cut on his lip, all from the fence.

So...I think my dog is afraid of the dark. Not so much the dark, but that the bad people will shoot fireworks again after it gets dark. He's OK out there during the day...for example, I was in Raleigh several hours on Thursday, he was OK then. I usually don't have to leave him outside more than about 3 hours at a time during the daytime.

We've got to cure this -- it will be a problem as the days get shorter this fall. Any ideas?
 
What if you put some flood lights on around the pen?

I wouldn't spend too much time on the leaners and all that stuff. It's not addressing the problem, and only makes him more determined to get out. It becomes a fixation issue. You've got to figure out how to break that. Try changing other things in/around the pen until he's comfortable again. I'm not sure what, though.

Java's not big on fireworks, either. She usually wants to go out one last time around 9-10pm... but when the State Fair is going on, she'll hold it after dark. It takes her a few weeks to get back to normal again.
 
One way is to put an electric fence at the top or an invisible fence on the inside perimeter so he won't go near the fence. Then it's just a matter of how stubborn he wants to be. Your biggest problem is that you're not there to correct this behavior personally with redirection so you'll have to have something that can do the corrections with out you being there.

My .02
 
He lives in the house 80% of the time, just outside alone when we have to leave for a while. He's behaving until it gets dark. We do leave a light on for him.

Shawn, I think you are right, something needs to change, we just need to figure out what that is.

His pen is "L" shaped, and I'm thinking of fencing off the section where he is trying to get out. It's in the back part of the dog pen, extending behind the garage. Then, the pen would just be rectangular -- but still plenty big, about 11' x 34' (I'd cut off a 10' x 24' section).

edit -- that "L" extension is his safe place when I am welding out at the shop and he is in his pen...he's calm, he just sleeps, but as far away from me (at the front of the shop) as he can get.
 
when he is freaking out, careful not to pander to it, it makes him think its okay to freak out. be stern but loving. maybe take a chair and a couple friends and spend a few evenings out there to show him theres nothing to be afraid of. at this point, he is alone, scared, and locked in a cage. Dogs are den animals, and seek shelter in confined spaces, his "confined" space has just become a place of fear. rememdy that and it should rememdy his escaping. make it a fun safe place again.
 
You are probably on to something there. We just let him in last night when we got home, didn't make a big deal about him, just let him be. He stayed in our bedroom a while, came out to where we were in the den, back to the bedroom, etc...we just let him do his thing.

That might work, sitting out there with him for a while as it gets dark....might try that tonight for a bit.
 
I second the electric wire on the top of the fence. I had one dog that would even get out through the electric wire. I finally sat one afternoon looking out the bathroom window till I saw her start to climb out and shot her in the butt with a pellet gun. Ended her desire to escape right then because she had no idea where it came from. Extreme I know but the neighbor would have shot her with a real gun had she got in his yard.


Does he have a dog house? If he does put a flap on the door so once he is in the outside is shut out. I would also set up a camera to see fi the neighbors are throwing fireworks in the pen.
 
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