Climbing fences...

[KatCH]

So last weekend when we went to the dog park we had to separate Millie (our 11mo old) from the rest of the dogs because she wouldnt play nice. So we put her in the small dog fenced in area so she could still sniff and play, but with a fence barrier.

Anyway, I had to leave her there to go check on Ozzy and the next thing I knew Millie was running past me. She had climbed over the chain linked fence and escaped her confinement. We tried again Sunday and the same thing happened, except this time she was still feeling anxious and wasn't nice to any of the dogs that approached her.

I know I can just leave her at home or on the leash next time, but my concern is really at home in our yard. We live on a military base, so privacy fencing isn't really an option. We have the same height chain link fence that is at the dog park. I don't really think she will try to escape the yard because she is with Ozzy and at home and seems to be happy, but it still makes me nervous to leave her out there unattended.

And I am especially concerned with her dog aggressive behavior. It's a huge liability, especially on a military base, for her to potentially escape our yard and attack a dog. We could either be kicked off post or be forced to make a really tough decision if it happens more than once.

How do I control her behavior and teach her to stay in the yard/not climb fences? The dog aggression is something I am working out separately.

[sargboxerluv]

I don't know anyone who has been able to stop a dog from climbing a fence once the dog knows it can climb it. They have had to put up an inward facing fence. So your best bet is to not leave her out unattended.

You say she has a dog aggression issue that you are working on. It's likely that she wouldn't even attempt to climb your fence until the day she sees another dog out there that she takes a dislikeing to.

Will the base allow you to put up the unward fencing? It's basically one foot of fence that is attached to the already existing fencing. I know someone put up a picture on this site if you get lucky enough to find it.

[TwoDogs]

Here's a link to a previous thread on this subject:
My boxer won't stop jumping our fence, please help!

And here's a link to a picture of a fence extension:
http://www.purrfectfence.com/images/...den-fence2.jpg

[larrygs]

I agree with sargboxerluv, once they know how to go over a fence, it is best not to leave them unattended. Unfortunately the presence of a fur playmate probably won't qualify. Layla got "expelled" from day care because she would follow the workers when the left the dog play area. This meant jumping the 5 1/2 foot fence. There were plenty of dogs in the area, but not as interesting as people.

Regarding the dog aggression, you didn't indicate the severity or details. At 11 mo she is still very much a puppy. I am not saying there couldn't be an issue, however boxers tend to play rough and get energized easily. We needed to work with Layla around that age to slow her play down. Especially not jump into the fray when the energy level of a group got too high. It was a real pain at times, because she is impossible to catch, and wanted to ignore any command. Once she did stop, we would pause for awhile and then let her return to playing. Her reward for listening and calming down was to be able to play again. She is really pretty good now. It never was an issue of real aggression, just out of control play.

Also at that age, maybe a little older, she began learning how to deal with dogs with more of an adult perspective, some of whom are not all that nice. When they are young, adult dogs give puppies a license for play, or just ignore them. That changes. We could see Layla go through a phase were adult dogs are taking notice of the new kid and being more dominant. Also seeing Layla not take it from some and being more assertive. Again not a proactive aggression, just learning how to sort out the ranking.

Saying that I am very alert to watching behaviour of the adult dogs. The last thing I want is for Layla to be attacked for real.