We adopted a 1 year old female that had initially been purchased for protection work. Well, Una had a few issues and her initial owners didn't want her anymore,that's why we took her in. We had one GSD and he was great! We thought two would be better.
Our male was 7 months old when we brought home "his own dog". I have never seen a dog so overjoyed at the arrival of a hostile playmate. He was persistant and eventually won her over by showing her how to play and to enjoy humans. Una would not look into our eyes when she first came.
Una had a few things to teach Juno, too. The first was how to flip the latch on his yard. Our dogs were with us when we were at home, but have a 100' x 75' yard to stay in when we are at work. Well, we modified the latch and it held her for awhile, but she figured it out. When we just had him, he never left our side, she showed him the world, and the world got him. My squirrel chaser jumped up a tree in the neighbors yard and hung himself by his forearms, in the "V" of the tree trunk, causing permanent nerve damage. We had to put him down.
So now it's just Una and us. We put up an electric fence and she learned to dig under the wire and under the original fence. Next was the radiocollar and underground wire. It worked for 24 hours and then she figured out that if she rotated the receiver around to areas other than then front, she could tolerate the zap while she dug under the fence.
Once out, she doesn't run off. I drive up and there's Una waiting for me at the door. If it's garbage day, we have the neighbors bag at our door. If it's water delivery day, we did not get our water. The Fedex guy just throws the envelopes at the door and drives off. Una likes to chew fedex packaging. These events all happened within three days. Day one was a surprise, day two I had shaved a portion of her neck which she figured out she could rotate the receiver away from that shaved area and be ok. The third event happened after I resorted to chaining her to a tree on a 25 foot wire rope lead. I didn't want her to hurt her neck so I put her in a harnass. She chewed through the harnass which was still attached to the wire rope.
I think she is irrational in her quest to be out of the yard. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

Norma

Five words. (Six foot solid wood fence). <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Two: inside dog.
A third: crate. Buy a very solid one.

Dei.

Get one of the newer type powder coated metal dog runs. They are much safer and more secure than chain link kennels, from which many dogs can escape.

IOW, block the behavior. There is no magic cure for escaping, nor will the dog be trustworthy w/out a secure fence and crate or kennel. That is what they are trying to tell you.

Thanks for all the replys. Una is an indoor dog when we are home. She walks in when I do and walks out the next morning when I do. She has a large crate and really likes "her crate", but I can't leave her in it all day. I will look into the newer powdercoated fencing, she already figured out how to chew the woods ones down.

Thanks,

Norma Phillips, MS

Norma,

How long is she in the yard for at a time?

Does she try to escape when you're home?

Is there toys etc in the yard to keep her entertained while you're away?

I am wondering what her motivation for wanting to escape is.

I don't understand why leaving the dog in a crate isn't an option. At 1 year there is no reason that the dog couldn't stay in a crate all day, even if the day expands to 12 hours or a little more. It would be a much preferable method than having the dog tied. I have seen many more dog bites from dogs that are tied in than back yard than any other single factor. It tends to really kick up the defensive reaction and territorial aggression.

Crate or kennel are by far a better option than having the dog tied.

At this point, the dog's motivation is *habit*. Dogs are very much creatures of habit. I swear, sometimes I think anything a dog does twice becomes a habit. Escaping also tends to be self reinforcing, ie dog gets out and does something the dog wants to do, which reinforces the behavior.

Tying is the worst thing you could do. Richard is right. All it does is create frustration which can rise to a dangerous level very quickly and easily.

Crate for indoor time, kennel for outdoor and secure fence for all the time. I've seen more than one dog loose in the house bust out a window to escape.

All Una does when she gets out is walk the 10 feet to the back door. She will get into the garbage if it's in a bag and not the container, but she just wants to be near. I have had several GSD's and have never had one quite like this. If she were one of my kids, I would have to classify her as "special" in the head.

Thanks for all the advice, we'll keep working with her.

Norma

Sounds a bit like "barrier frustration". Crating a dog like this is most likely to end up with a bloody dog and a destroyed crate. I like the outdoor dog run that Joy is talking about much better. Also make sure that Una is getting enough mental stimulation and physical activity. While you might think she's getting enough, her behavior is a much better indication.