crate training is the way to go, Ed explains it very well in his videos that you ordered. Kenneling is a personel decision and probably needs its own thread, I don't kennel my four GSDs unless I need to do yard work or need to segregate them for health reasons, when I'm training one of them or when they go into heat. Otherwise they have the run of the yard/house. What do you plan to do with your pupper?

forgot to add, GSDs are from Northern Europe and do quite well outdoors in temperate climes, I live in Virginia, they sleep in the house during the summer (AC) and on the deck in the winter(wife sets the themostat too damn high)
Search the sight Ed's got some dog house designs

"Thanks for the input, I hadn't thought about other animals coming on the property but we do get deer."

I have plenty of deer, I`m in the Pocono Mountains of Pa. My dogs will blast out the door, full bore and skid to a stop before reaching the e-fence. Training is everything.

I will be crate training and the puppy will stay indoors.
I was thinking as he got older that he'd need the room to move about.

First off, good job of preparing! Wish all would do so!

You can perimeter train the dog. You walk the line with the pup. Using your urine in a spray bottle, mark your territory.
Smells they get. This is in the 1st edition of the Monks book,
that old school publication of 'How to be your dog's best friend' not sure if it's in the 2nd edition, though I think it is.

Then you patrol the lines with dog on leash, and eventually off lead, praising staying inside, correcting if not.

Let's intruders know they are, too.

Way cheaper than fencing. You could get a dog who is an escape artist, and a fence is only an agility obstacle.

There are also "coyote rollers" which mount on the top of fencing to overcome climbers, should you decide a larger outdoor kennel is how you want to go.

Myself, the dogs are inside when I leave. Simply feel it's safer.

yes--you can perimeter train your dog; i do it w/my pup by walking the perimerter of the property a couple times/wk. he will not leave the property even if he's accidently turned out w/one of the older dogs (who will--and who will try to tease him into going w/them).

i have no fence either inground or out (but i DO live 1 1/2 mi from my closest neighbors); i've just been doing perimeter walks w/brix since i got him @8 wks old. when i'm at work or away, i don't lock my door; if someone wants what little i have and they're willing to go in w/3 big dogs raising he##, then they're welcome to it: what they walk away with will cost less to replace than the front door <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />.

in my opinion, a dog that's willing to leave it's "territory" is worthless as a guard dog, and that's mostly the reason i have the dogs--to guard, raise cain, and let me know if there's something not right outside. i grant that there're probably not a lot of ppl on this forum who live in the kind of area i do, but the right dog, with the right perimeter training WILL stay within the perimeter. (or is it just DDR lines/herding lines? <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

i think if i lived in town, or close to/in a suburban area, i would go w/physical fence combined w/some sort of e-fence. either in or out of ground.

Ann, your opinion about guard dogs doesn't have much basis in reality, at least in my experience.
I'm not saying that in a bad way, it just disregards canine drives and psychology.

would you explain further, will? what am i missing (and i'm sure i'm missing something or you wouldn't have replied)? gotta keep learning more or there's just no point in going on....besides, my brain gets stagnant <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />.

Hi Chris. Gary and I started with an e-fence at our previous home. We not only trained "by the book" but had a professional help us with the training. For one of our dogs, it worked 100%. For our other dog, it worked 99%. As others have mentioned, it only take one time for a high drive dog to decide that the prey is worth the correction for something bad to happen. (thank goodness it didn't in our case - but it was SCARY the few times he decided to bolt on through.) And as someone else mentioned - once the chase is over, the dog is NOT motivated to take the correction to come back into the yard. And of course there is the issue of e-fences not keeping other animals, people, children, etc. out. We felt very relieved when we decided to get a physical fence.

At our current home we have both physical and e-fence installed. We haven't had to use the electronic component as (knock on wood) we have yet to see any attempts at digging, climbing, etc. on the fence line. But the e-component is there if we ever need to start using it.

We do not leave our dogs outside unless one of us is home and we can keep an eye on things. When we are away, each dog has a crate. We have our crates in our garage.

Hope all the info and experiences shared here help you in your decision!

Beth
http://www.JolietSchutzhund.com

I have 6 acres that are contained by an invisbile fence. I happen to love it. I NEVER leave my dogs outside by themselves... we are always with them.

My HIGH DRIVE Malinois will go through the fence... but she thinks about it first. While she's "thinking" I can call her back to me before she goes through.

There was one time when I got into a bit of an altercation with a cow on the other side of the road, and I can honestly say that I am glad she decided to go through that night! If she had not blown the fence when she heard me yelling, I am sure I would have been seriously injured.

So, I guess I am saying that if used properly, the invisible fence can be a great tool. Even with a high drive dog, it can buy you a couple of seconds to get control of your dog before they get into trouble. As the owner of the dog though, you have to know what your dog is doing and be ready to act if something comes up. You have to know your dog and your dog's limits.

The fence is not meant to be a babysitter for your dogs.