I rescued him from a shelter about 6 months ago. The animal control officer told me that his former owner was sent to jail and the dog was left tied in the yard for 2 weeks before anyone called the authorities to report it. Needless to say, tying him is very traumatizing to him still. I have tied him for short periods, but if I tie him with rope he just chews through it and is loose by the time I get back.

If I leave him in the house while I’m outside doing chores, he tends to tear the place apart trying to find a way to get outside with me. He is a pretty smart dog. When he first got here he got shocked by the livestock electric fence and quickly learned to stay a good distance from it, after only getting shocked twice. Any thoughts on how to stay strict on the boundaries but not traumatize the poor guy any further? Keeping him on a leash with me while I do chores is simply not feasible.
Thanks,
Jerry

ADMIN – Hi Jerry,

Poor pup. That is a really awful situation. Glad you rescued him.

It is important to use some other form of containment while you do the training. Otherwise, left to roam the dog freely, the dog may not learn the correct lesson. It is absolutely critical that the dog thinks the only option when they hear that warning beep is to turn and retreat. Where the dog is allowed to roam unsupervised it often starts to learn other options such as running through. It is much easier to take two weeks and teach the dog correctly than to try and fix bad training later.

If tying the dog is not an option, perhaps you can crate the dog? Or perhaps there is a friend that can entertain the dog while you do chores? When there are very compelling reasons like this, I am comfortable shortening this first step from a week to three days. I understand that it is difficult for this first two weeks while you are doing the training. But, if you hang in there you will be rewarded one-hundred fold.

Help! I am at a loss as to what to do now!

ADMIN – Hi Karen,

Put up the boundary flags to help her better visualize the boundary. Then, just keep taking her out into the safe part of the yard and playing with her. Project confidence and she will follow, you can help her most by showing you are not scared or concerned. For now turn off the correction and let it just beep. The overreaction to the fence is not uncommon, but give her a bit of time and she will relax and get more comfortable getting closer and closer to the boundary flags.

You are doing all the right stuff. it is just going to take a couple of weeks before she gets used to it. At first she will hang out on the patio, then she will start inching out further and further.

ADMIN – Hi Dennis,

I would with the full 14 acres. It is a bit confusing to the dogs every time the boundary changes and they take a while to adapt. It is much easier just to put in the final boundary layout. If installation time is an issue, just staple it to the ground at first, and if you need/want to bury it, then you can always come back and do it later.

That said, you could do it as you suggest, start with training them in a small area, then expand the boundary and move the flags. It will take a bit longer for them to learn the new area, and you may need to give them some encouragement to use the new space (e.g. spending time playing with them in that area). But is definitely doable.

ADMIN – Hi Bill,

I would like to see you give the dog a week of continuous training the first time. Perhaps you can start the next time you take a vacation up there. After that the dog would have learned the boundaries and the short stays at the vacation home will be no problem

ADMIN – Hi Ryan,

Blind dogs are a lot harder to train. I would get a collar that has vibration (e.g. Dogtra), and try marking the fence line with a scent so we can engage another sense.

It can be done but is a lot more effort and takes a lot longer.

ADMIN – Hi Kelly,

I am afraid we don’t have much experience training abused dogs. I would strongly suggest you try a few session with a local trainer with experience in these matters to help you out.

My intuition, based on just working with ordinary skittish dogs, is that you want to emphasize the positive part of training. When you pull her back after doing your no, give her lots of praise. Also be confident about the whole thing and don’t try and reassure her in any way other than by your strong body language.

Glad people like you are out there giving these dogs another chance at life.

Admin – Hi Nick, sorry to hear about your dogs. I would wait till the pups are about six months old to start training. Also train them both separately. When you have two dogs (especially puppies) they pay more attention to each other than on learning the system.