Help! The dog has learned he can climb fences

[cllane1]

Our mostly pit mix has, in an effort to get acquainted with an outside kitty who has taken up with us, learned that he can climb our chain link fence. So far he has only done this at the 2 gate areas, but they are not any lower or different from the rest of the fence line, so I imagine it’s a transferable skill, whether he knows it yet or not.

We can probably finagle putting up some kind of higher gates, but any other ideas? Ccoyote roll bars? Refencing the whole yard would be cost prohibitive. Not sure if an invisible fence would be any cheaper though?

We have stood at the gate with him with a spray bottle of water and sprayed it (sometimes just at the wall or his feet) to break his concentration if he gets fixated on watching for the kitty, but a little while ago he climbed the fence to “help” my uncle get a couple of cows in. Since he has started doing this (about a week ago) we have put him in a dog run inside the yard if we leave the house (“puppy jail,” we call it), but is there a more sustainable way to manage? I have thought about some kind of hot wire/slight charge on the gates.

[Simkie]

When I had a dog that learned she could go over the fence, running invisible fence just inside it and training her to the collar worked great. It wasn’t terribly expensive, I just went with a super basic model.

[Janet]

Can you put some kind of overhang at the top of the fence, so even if he gets UP the fence, he can’t get OVER.

We had a Somoyed who climbed over the fence next to the gate. Once we blocked that, she never tried other sections of the fence.

[Demerara_Stables]

I have never done this with a dog and no one flaming me in case this is viewed as inhumane, but I had a relative that put up hot wire for a dog that climbed the fence. Worked well.

[Bonnie2]

Hot wire is cheap and easy. You may need to put it low. I’m not sure it will shock him if he is not touching the ground.

[endlessclimb]

It might, if the fence is grounded and he has a foot on the fence.

I’d put the hotwire right at nose height.

[anonevent]

If you have the budget for coyote rollers, or the ambition to DIY them with PVC pipe, that’s the safest solution.

[frisky]

My first coonhound, a small bluetick, learned how to do this. She used a tree to shimmy up the fence. She was a smart dog. We put one or two strands of Hotwire along the fence. I think one along the bottom and another along the top. Nipped that trick in the bud.

[CindyB59]

Another vote for Hotwire. Only I’d use 2” electric tape. Or roll bars, although t probably way more expensive.

[OzarksRider]

Another vote for hot wire. My neighbors have two German shepherds that used to run loose and terrorize everyone. They put up an invisible fence and those dogs learned fast where the boundary is. It literally saved those dogs’ lives, because I have no doubt someone would have shot them if they had continued harassing livestock and threatening joggers. A hot wire is not inhumane. All the dog has to do to avoid being shocked is stay off the fence.

[OnAMission]

This is the answer.

[Mosey_2003]

Agree on the hotwire. I did around the bottom about 6" off the ground and then standing above the fence on top because mine would dig out if he could have. Never once tested it after the first touch. Honestly I haven’t even turned it on in a couple years now.

[CobJockey]

If he’s truly climbing, hot wire or coyote rollers would work. My, uh, shelter mutt surprise (see post history) could JUMP my 6’ privacy fence so coyote rollers wouldn’t work for me. I used https://www.dogproofer.com materials to raise it 2ft, and in her most preferred spots, to curve it inward like a prison fence. I ended up choosing the plastic mesh instead of the metal so that if she did get purchase on it, it would slide or collapse under her weight so she couldn’t climb, and it worked like a charm. Then we moved to a property without a fence and she became much more easy to contain, go figure…

[Ericthegreat]

Get an electronic collar. Put it on the dog for a few days just to let them wear it and then activate it. Buzz when the dog puts their feet on the fence. Buzz/zing until they stop. Be vigilant. You stay in the house to watch. The dog will see that you’re outside and learn to sneak of they see you.

[MissusS]

This is an older (6 months) thread and I wonder if OP found success.

Our new-ish pup LOVES to jump. This week she decided to jump up and over the deck railing, which is a 6’+ drop to the ground on the other side. As the snow is still melting, I have to be extra vigilant when she goes up snow banks because she can go up and over fences very easily that way. Her legs are like springs and jumping is FUN, she says.

[cllane1]

OP here. We got one of those wireless systems with a collar, which isn’t really suiting us, because to draw the “circle” in tight enough to buzz him by the fence or gates, it cuts off almost all of the yard, which kind of defeats the purpose of having an invisible fence type system. We’re looking at getting a quote for new, taller chain link all around. He doesn’t challenge/try to climb the fence at the boarding place, which is 6 ft. chain link up top, with a foot buried and railroad ties lining it.

I’m working again, so not able to be home to train him on the collar consistently, and at some point we’d like to foster dogs, and it would be nice to have a fence to handle all eventualities.