Ideas on how to keep my Dog safe
 

okay here is my what seems like daily post.
My wife wants to replace our sliding screen garage door with a mechanical screen door that goes up and down. We, of course, have a regular garage door.
Anyway, with the slider you usually are using just one portion to go in and out with daily activities. My dilemma----as long as that one portion is closed my dog wont get out and possibly get killed on our rather busy road. She does not really try to get out, but if she saw a dog walking in front of the house or someone just forgot to close the portion of slider, she could get out.
So if we get the screen that goes up it will leave the entire garage door space for a dog to possibly run out from.
I am asking you villagers since I am new here what you all do. It seems like 90% of you all have dogs.
I have a few ideas but was hoping to hear from people who have tried and true ways of dog containment in the same types of situations. Thank you, Bud

Keep your dog on a leash.

Invisible fence

I second that! Great system

A Third vote for Invisible Fence. It Works!

Invisible fence will keep the dog in the yard but won’t keep it safe.
The one piece overhead garage screen can be customized to have a screen door in it.

We have not had a dog in TV, but in our northern home, we had Invisible Fence — which I know saved our dog’s life because she loved to chase deer and could run forever.

Like others have, I recommend Invisible Fence — but with one caveat…….

Invisible Fence can keep your dog in — but it cannot keep other creatures out — so don’t get overly casual about letting your dog out.

Coyotes are here and gators, too.

A few years ago, there were news stories in TV about small dogs that were taken by coyotes.

Coyotes are highly intelligent and sneaky. In both cases, the coyote very likely knew the dog’s schedule to be let out and was waiting. As I recall, one attack was in early morning and the other was late at night. The coyote seemed to know the routine.

Coyotes are cousins to our domestic dogs and if we think about how our beloved pets seem to be able to tell time, we should not be surprised that coyotes can do that, too. If you have ever known a farm dog whose job it is to help bring in the cows, you know that dog is always on time for work.

I have great respect for coyotes as survivors. (They are not stupid like Wile E.) They have now migrated from the West to every state. They are no longer the small, scraggly types. Urban coyotes look big, healthy, and sleek from dining on a veritable buffet that now includes people’s pets.

Anyone interested in better understanding our neighbors, the coyotes, might like to Google an article titled “City Slinkers” from Smithsonian magazine, a 2006 issue. It is online, and even though 2006 was quite a while ago, you can assume the stats are even more in the coyote’s favor. The only natural predator the coyote had was the wolf and wolves were significantly wiped out for many years.

Anyway, yes to the Invisible Fence, but make sure you are aware of the possibility of a lurking coyote who might know your dog’s “time to go potty” routine. Not trying to scare you. The odds are definitely in your favor, just be sure you know the territory.

Beep Beep Boomer



PS: About our deer-chasing dog, Annie, who was stifled by the Invisible Fence. . .she was a house dog who lived a lovely domestic life for almost 17 years. But she knew when the deer would show up. She watched out the window for them and would bark to let us know.

We would then usually let her out — but only after the deer had retreated and were on their way back to the woods. She would then run the perimeter of the Invisible Fence, barking and shouting, “AND STAY OUT!”

It was a joy to see her run like that. But we know the Invisible Fence kept her home and safe.

(If you get one, subscribe to the batteries and make sure they are changed regularly.)

Your dog will be just fine in TV because you are doing your homework and will be on on top of things. :)

My dog is always on a leash. I am referring to the times when bringing in groceries and such from the car. The dog is in the house then. But a forgotten door closure or something like that could be catastrophic. So it appears the invisible fence is the clear way to go. I just hope there is a small transmitter to put on a 16lb dog.

I like invisible fence and I know it works, I've used it when we had a dog in a previous home.

One thing to consider is confusing the dog. If this will create a line they should never cross, that's great. If it is something like a door where sometimes they should not cross it but other times they will then the invisible fence could cause problems. Just something to consider.

We have the up and over screen. We unload groceries into garage, close screen door and then she comes out. Otherwise there is nothing to keep her from leaving the house.

We don't have a screen door for our garage. When we bring groceries in, etc., we close the garage door first--mainly because our dog tries to "help." Unless your dog is an escape artist (which perhaps some small dogs are? I don't know), I think you'll be able to work this out, especially if there are two of you manning the situation. With the electronic fence, some dogs that I have known were smart enough to decide, "If I can endure one second of shock, I'll be free!" Fortunately, not ours, and our fence worked great. You do have to pay attention to the battery on the collar. One time I looked out the window and our Golden was at the end of our long driveway, up by the mailbox, with a "How did I get here" look on his face. The collar battery was dead.

On our busy street summer house, one of us brings the bags to the door while the other commandeers the dog, keeping the door mostly closed or the dog contained.

Good luck, and I'm sure you will figure something out after a few times. You might be overthinking, but you know your dog best.

I am wondering how an electrical fence works when on the concrete of a driveway?

A house I drive by frequently had a large section of its yard fixed with an invisible fence. Their pooch comes out of a back door off the lanai.

For the garage, run the wire where the garage floor drops about 1/2" to where the door sits. Not much to anchor it with but hopefully keeps it out of the way from being run over by vehicle tires. Then run the ends up the sides of the door and along the ceiling to wherever the power supply is.

This would make the entire garage door unapproachable to the dog. Good for the purposes of the OP. Not so good if you want to leave by the garage to take the dog for a walk or a drive.

The one we had in Michigan ran underneath the driveway, in the soil. Since there is a four- to six-foot zone that triggers a warning sound and then, if that's ignored, the actual shock, we had ours run about ten feet out from the garage door, which in that house was on the same plane as the front door.


Another thing is if you want to take your dog for a walk, you have to take the collar off and train the dog that there is a specific "spot" over the fence that he can walk without triggering the warning. They don't realize you've simply taken the collar off.

For most dogs it's just as easy to train it not to go out of the garage without it's leash as it is to train it with an invisible fence. The first option is also the lowest in cost.