Crate vs Radio Fence

Gwenten

Hi all,
I am looking for some advice, thoughts, comments etc...

We have a 1 year old Lab/retriever bitch who is a chewer and a wanderer.
I work 6 days a week some full some half and my husband works nights so even though he is in the house he is usually comatose between the hours of 9am and 2.30pm.

Recently she has taken to escaping from the back garden, if she is out in the garden for more than 5 minutes unattended she dives through the boundary hedge wanders off, not far, usually up to play with one of our neighbours dogs or to my parents house where she waits to be let in. Even though the back garden is large and enclosed it is not impenetrable. We rent and are not in a position to erect large and expensive fencing.

So as a temporary fix during working hours she hangs out in the kitchen BUT shes a damn chewer, anything and everything goes through the chew mill. We have given her bones and her own toys but they are dull in comparison to the bin or broom or chair she even managed to mill through my vinyl collection.

So I started researching radio collars to enclose the garden but the guy from the pet shop I spoke to instead told me about crating, which would solve the chewing problem (which extended to the back garden also, trampoline padding, hanging baskets etc) but as she is such a boisterous dog I'm not sure how i would feel about caging, sorry crating, her up for 5 hrs at a go....
Also from other reports i've read the radio wire/collar systems aren't always 100% efficient with persistent/stubborn/stoopid dogs....

Has anybody tried either methods, or both?? She does get walked 2-3 times a week 1-1.5hrs where we take her places she can race around off the lead...

**Vai**

I'd go for the crate to be honest. Ive heard bad things about the radio collars and even cases of dogs outsmarting the system. My GSD is a chewer, she sleeps in her crate 8 hours every night and Ive never had 1 problem with it. 5 hours wont be a problem.

The escaping is due to boredom and/or lack of exercise. A fully grown lab needs to be walked everyday, not just 2-3 times a week. Also, I used chicken wire to shore up a few holes in my backyard, its cheap and easy and will stop the dog escaping.

Whispered

It can be expensive to fence a whole large garden so I'd suggest building an outdoor dog run. You'd do it for as much as fencing your whole area electronically I'd guess and it's much safer - and kinder.

And

caging, sorry crating,

Is safer than a shock, sorry e-collar.

Walking 3 times a week for an hour is not enough. Even if she is off lead. I'm not surprised she's wandering and chewing. I work nights myself, so I know how difficult it can be, but if you can manage to take her out for an hour every day (or even 2 30 mins walks) her behaviour should improve.

EDIT: I agree with you Vai about 5 hours not being too much, but this is not a case of overnight, so you'd have to take that into account too. The dog would also have their 8 hours over night too. If it's not a regular thing then it wouldn't be a problem but I'd guess that a dog crated for 5 hours a day every day, and being exercised 3 times a week, you'll end up with a very frustrated dog who has too much energy to behave properly when out of the crate, leading to it being crated more etc.



Labs have tonnes of energy and will act out when bored. Unfortunately they are a very popular dog and most people don't allow for the amount of exercise they need when they go out and get one.

**Vai**

Thats true enough about the crating hours. Even so, since the OP works irregular hours (correct me if Im wrong OP) it doesnt sound like it would be in a crate 13 hours everyday, least I hope not.

andreac

Firstly, your dog is bored from not enough exercise and stimulation, hence the escaping.
3 times a week is far from enough, dogs need to be walked EVERYDAY even twice a day, esp some breeds like Labradors which are working dogs and need a lot of daily exercise.

Please do not get one of those radio/shock collar fence, they are cruel and not reliable.
I would get a dog run which you can put her in safely and securely when you arent around and she can also be crated in the house too.

Things like wandering, chewing etc stem from boredom, rarely anything else, so you need to change your routine big time with this dog as she is showing classic signs of boredom im afraid.

ppink

when you say radio collar I assume you are referring to the ones that give them an electric shock? These have to be buried beneatht he gound as far as I know- can you do that if you are renting?
be far easier to get yourself a proper dog run that you will have forever and take with you if you move.

Is she bored?

oh I just read the 2-3 walks a week......there is your problem or certainly a large part of it! Labs are not loungers they need exercise regularly ie every day.
If you dont exercise her and then try to cage her that will be tough on her.....pent up energy in a cage

Gwenten

Yes Vaj, irregular hours but as our daughter gets home from school at 2.30 everyday she wouldn't ever be in for longer than 5hrs.
Unfortunately the longer hours are only a recent thing, (i work for myself so I have no way around the extra hours) coinciding with the wandering so its obvious that she does need more exercise...

Also, I used chicken wire to shore up a few holes in my backyard, its cheap and easy and will stop the dog escaping.

and pallets and garden furniture....... the hedge is 8m long, I've spoken to the landlord about fencing it but he's not keen as it'll cause problems when trimming it....

cheers for all the input guys, crate it is with no-excuse daily walkies....
any advice as to whether to have the crate outdoors during the day any idea how long to expect training her to love the crate will take??

andreac

You cannot use the crate outdoors as the dog wouldnt have shelter...

If you walk the dog in the morning i would imagine she will just sleep in the crate til you come home. Then another good walk in the evening too.

What about getting a dog walker in if you cant manage daily walks?

Whispered

andreac wrote: »

What about getting a dog walker in if you cant manage daily walks?

This is a great idea.

Crate training needs to be a slow process or the dog might get upset so if you could start on an evening like friday it would be great (assuming someone would be there sat and sunday). But if she's tired and you approach it gently I'd guess that you could do it within a weekend. It's important to give loads of exercise when crate training it makes it so much easier on all of you - swimming is fab for burning energy quickly.

ppink

A couple of things i found with crate training our dogs

- walk before and drink.....makes them want to sleep.

- when you start off entice her in gently and leave the door open, or you may scare her.

- put it in a good place where the sun is not on her and she is not too hot ...not outside.

Sigma Force

She must be walked at least once a day labs are a working breed and need the time if you haven't got the time then as mentioned employ a dog walker or if you can't it might be more fair on the dog to rehome it to a home with more time.

A crate to be honest isn't any use for the dog, she's a big dog and if you are going to keep her confined and safe a dog run is the only answer since you can't fence off the area.
Invest in a good quality dog run like on cilldara.ie these runs can be put up in minutes and moved around the garden, they don't ruin grass or yards and can be expanded by buying more panels plus if you move you can take them with you.

A crate isn't really going to work confining her to such a small space is going to make her frustrated and bored it's different for puppies they sleep more and need it for toilet training etc. but if you must then it's a very short term temporary solution. A dog run will give her more space to play and obviously pop a good quality kennel in it for her and she'll be fine with toys etc. when you're out.

planetX

A long morning walk is the only fair thing for the dog.

RubyGirl

Would your parents walk her for you. Or do they have a dog and she could go over for an hour's play in their garden mid morning or something. Feed her breakfast in a "kong" it will take her a while to eat it once it's frozen.
You could also invest in a dog's backpack for extra work for her while on her walks.

FlamingSox

I'd personally opt for a dog run in the garden as opposed to a crate. But the most important thing is that she gets the exercise and mental stimulation she needs. She's obviously not getting it at present. Daily walks are a must, hail, rain or shine!! I agree with Sigma Force in that if you really don't have the time, re-homing may be a fair option for the wellbeing of your dog (particularly as she's still so young).

Gwenten

Thanks for all the good advice, we got a crate for her yesterday and she seems mildly curious and not at all aprehensive about it. The chappie in the pet shop gave us some good advice re getting her used to it so we'll see how it goes....

What about getting a dog walker in if you cant manage daily walks?

My blister has offered to take her out for me on my two 12 hr days of work with her springer and on the days its feasable she'll be walking my daughter to the school bus in the morning 30mins each way and getting her off lead run in the evenings/afternoons....
We have put the dog run on the long finger for the moment but i did spend a lot of yesterday evening shoring up the garden defenses which means that she can hang out in the garden with minimal supervision....

might be more fair on the dog to rehome it to a home with more time.

When we took in our dog we were in a better position time wise, it was not a case of us unthinkingly picking a pretty dog and being unaware of the responsiblity they carry, unfortunatley both my husband and I are now working longer hours out of necessity and as our dog is a family member I think we will try to improve her current routine before even considering having her leave us.

Cheers again for all of the good advice...