The Invisible Dog Fence Option
More than a million dogs and cats are killed by cars each year in the United States, according to Dr. Richard Pitcairn, author of “Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to the Natural Health for Dogs and Cats,” Rodale. Additionally, free roaming dogs and cats have caused thousands of accidents each year as caring drivers swerve to avoid hitting these animals. He also notes that every year, nearly one million Americans are bitten by dogs. As a veterinarian, he recalls having to treat small dogs and cats that had been attacked by marauding free roaming packs of dogs.
Dr. Pitcairn then goes on to describe his neighbor’s Doberman, which was allowed to run loose daily, relieved himself in Dr. Pitcairn’s yard, then barked angrily at him while he sat in his own living room.
He notes that people think their dogs are nice, but they really have no idea the chaos they cause when out on their own.
But causing problems to other people isn’t the only disaster that results from free roaming dogs. Every year, dogs are stolen and sold to research labs where they are subject to experimentation. Some dogs end up at an animal control agency and may be euthanized before the owner can track him down.
And dogs that are not neutered cause their own set of problems, competing and fighting for mates and mating with unfixed females. According to Dr. Pitcairn, just one in six puppies or kittens will find a home each year. You can imagine what happens to the rest.
Dr. Pitcairn’s recommendation is that if you take on the responsibility of owning a dog, you need to provide him with a safe home and you need to protect him from the community and vice versa. Doing so means:
- Securely fencing your yard or building a large pen or dog run. He also notes that “Invisible Fence” or other electric fencing systems are a good option for dogs that are not aggressive (aggressive dogs can run right through the system without hesitation).
- If fencing is not an option, clip his leash to a metal ring that slides on a clothes line. Unlike tying him to a post, he has greater freedom and less likelihood of getting tangled.
- Ensure your dog is always wearing his dog identification tags so that if he gets away and is found, he’ll be returned to you. People who find lost dogs are often very willing to return them when an address and phone number are given. Also, it alerts people to the fact that the dog is owned and may have just gotten away. Every animal lover enjoys seeing lost pets reunited with concerned owners. Plus, a dog with identification information is more likely to receive medical attention if he has been hit by a car or suffered some other tragedy. Also consider having a chip inserted. The only potential problem with chips is that there are different systems of chips and readers and they have not yet synchronized on reading other manufacturer’s chips. You can find out from your local animal shelter what chip reader they use, then have that chip inserted into you dog. One sad story involved a dog owner whose dog was chipped but with the system that was not readable by the shelter’s reader. The chip was found after the dog was euthanized.
- If you haven’t yet gotten your dog and your not sure how much exercise you can give him, pick a more sedate breed of dog. Some people make the mistake of getting a high-energy dog like a border collie and then confine them to the house without a way of exercising that energy out. Do your research as to what breeds of dog are more calm or more active, what are good with children, what are not. Many dogs have been sent back to shelters and rescues because the owners didn’t understand the type of care the dog needed and wondered why the animal turned destructive.
- Be aware that if you choose to fence your dog via Invisible Fence or by using a clothesline, other dogs, wildlife and people can get to your dog. If safety and security are a concern in your area, you should consider fencing the property.
- If you have fenced your yard and you want to make life even easier for you and your dog, you can install a pet door. An electronic pet door will open just for the pets you have that wear transmitters.
- If your fencing has slats large enough for children or puppies to stick their faces or fingers in and you have concerns about how your dog will be with neighbors and children while fenced in the yard, you should put up beware of dog signs and speak to your neighbors with children.
For many, a major annoyance from an outdoor, confined dog is barking. A barking dog can drive neighbors insane. Yelling at the dog only stirs him up further and makes him bark more. When it comes to security, you want your dog to bark when there’s an intruder and you want him to stop barking when you command him to. You will need to train your dog, and this is how you can do so:
- Before there’s even a problem, you need to lay the training groundwork in teaching your dog when to bark and when to stop barking. You can use the commands “bark” and “stop” or “speak” and “hush” or “bark” and “quiet.” Whichever you choose, keep it consistent. When the dog barks at a stranger, praise him after three warning barks. Then he must learn that the command to be quiet.
- The training must be constructed around opportunities that you can create with the help of friends. Just as you teach your dog to sit and stay or heal, you will teach him to speak and hush. Use the commands and treat or a toy as reward. Repetition, just as with any other training, will help. If you need to, seek the assistance of a dog trainer before you start to have barking issues with your neighbors. As long as the training begins before the dog is outdoors causing a barking problem, the training is easy. Once he has started a barking `problem outside, your training will be more difficult.
Once you have taken all of these issues into consideration, you will be able to have a habitat that meets your dog’s needs while not intruding upon your neighbors, which will make for a peaceful shared community and a happy dog!
Next article: Wireless Fencing For Dogs
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