We picked up a gorgeous red merle aussie a little over a month ago. He's been a dream dog other than the fact he's an escape artist. The last time he got out of the fence, animal control picked him up and called. When we picked him up he smelled like a septic tank.
Fast foward 2 weeks later...
We've resorted to chaining him up in the back yard, though I don't like doing it. After being out for about a half hour, he decided to dig under the fence and tunnel to freedom, almost... he forgot about the chain. SO there he is in the neighbor's yard able to go about 10 feet into their yard. This HAS to stop. Due to how our yard is laid out, with a garage in the middle and about 10 feet of yard (yard on one side, patio on the other), there's not a central place to chain him up. I've considered putting in a dog run and leave the cable long enough to keep him a couple of feet from the fence so he can't dig or jump out. My wife is ready to get rid of him and I'm starting to come to that conclusion also. He's great with the girls, so that's a major plus in his favor. I also think of the rough life he's had and whenever he curls up next to me I feel the responsibility to be a good 'dad', but we're at a brick wall with him. I really need some advice pretty quick. I don't want to part with him for several reasons, including his temperment and how he gets along with our Border collie (he's been really good for the BC), pllus the fact our 2 year old has really bonded to him makes the decision on what to do VERY tough.
We want to keep him, but are running out of ideas on how to keep him contained. We don't have the money to construct a large privacy fence and pour cement at the base. A high dog pen might work, but we'd still have the digging issue. The money issue applies to the dog pen too.
Fast foward 2 weeks later...
We've resorted to chaining him up in the back yard, though I don't like doing it. After being out for about a half hour, he decided to dig under the fence and tunnel to freedom, almost... he forgot about the chain. SO there he is in the neighbor's yard able to go about 10 feet into their yard. This HAS to stop. Due to how our yard is laid out, with a garage in the middle and about 10 feet of yard (yard on one side, patio on the other), there's not a central place to chain him up. I've considered putting in a dog run and leave the cable long enough to keep him a couple of feet from the fence so he can't dig or jump out. My wife is ready to get rid of him and I'm starting to come to that conclusion also. He's great with the girls, so that's a major plus in his favor. I also think of the rough life he's had and whenever he curls up next to me I feel the responsibility to be a good 'dad', but we're at a brick wall with him. I really need some advice pretty quick. I don't want to part with him for several reasons, including his temperment and how he gets along with our Border collie (he's been really good for the BC), pllus the fact our 2 year old has really bonded to him makes the decision on what to do VERY tough.
We want to keep him, but are running out of ideas on how to keep him contained. We don't have the money to construct a large privacy fence and pour cement at the base. A high dog pen might work, but we'd still have the digging issue. The money issue applies to the dog pen too.
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