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Beagles/escape artist, how do I keep him safe?

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Expert: - 9/27/2010


Question
I just adopted a hound, they say beagle/shepherd mix, from the SPCA.  He is wonderful except he doesn't like to be confined in any way.  He escaped twice from our 10x10 dog kennel outside, he went through the chain link. Our yard is fenced but with a 4 ft spaced picket that until yesterday, he seemed very content to stay in.  My husband came home to him sitting on our front steps.  No sign of digging and there's no area to squish through, so he must have went over.  Thank God he didn't run away or get hurt!  Today, I will leave him in the house with my other pup.  I was hoping to mix it up a little and do half outside, half inside but I guess I can't.  It's only about 3 hours in the morning, we come home at lunch, then three hours in the afternoon that he is alone (with our other dog) he has peed once inside but hasn't chewed or destroyed anything.  Is this the best solution?  We are also looking into fence extenders.  Thank you.

Answer
Hi, sorry to hear you have an escape artist on your hands, they can be daunting to say the least!

First off, since you have recently adopted him he is not yet used to his surrounding and most likely this is one of the reasons he ended up at the SPCA. It is safe to say he is a well trained escapee. Until you can be sure he will remain safe I wouldnt be levaing him outside personally.

If the way he is getting out is up and over this presents a challenge. When they are able to squish through I have found that taking that plastic/vinyl rippled siding stuff and bolting it to the fence keeps them from getting inbetween, it could though also make for a very slippery surface and hard to get traction on to climb. We did this all along our back wrought iron fencing in back and the problem stopped immediately, just bolted it to the fencing. Hopefully you know what I mean about the siding stuff.... you can get it at Home Depot.

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Have4Paws

Expertise

I am happy to answer BEAGLE BREED SPECIFIC behavioral questions. Please DO NOT ask CRATE TRAINING OR MEDICAL questions! I am not a vet nor an expert in the use of crates.

Experience

I currently have one beagle, a male age 5, an 12 month old Pit Bull, and a 8 year old min. poodle. I have had to let go of three of my dogs, 2 beagles and 1 whippet/rat terrier mix in the past 5 years, most recently my whippet mix. The two beagles lived to 15 and the whippet mix to 13.5, it has been hard to say goodbye to them. I have done rescue work on and off for years as well as fund-raising for the local animal shelter. I worked for a dog magazine in the past (Southern California Dog Magazine). Being a psychotherapist has encouraged me to do in depth studying of animal behavior as well. I have worked with many people to help curb undesirable behaviors in their dogs (or them!) or to form good behaviors. My life is devoted to and surrounded by my dogs........The picture you see here is Zeppelin but we also call him the "miracle dog". He was hit by a car April 2010 while out with the dog walker and had very serious injuries... 4 surgeries and $17,000 later my boy is whole again and back to loving life. He is so special to me and he weathered a lot of pain and trauma yet is still the sweet boy he always was! I also work to stop Breed Specific Legislation and help to get pit bulls adopted.

Organizations
HSUS, PETA, SPCA DONT SHOP...ADOPT!!

Publications
Dog Fancy

Education/Credentials
I am a Marriage and Family Therapist licensed in the state of CA and am also credentialed as a Certified Addiction Treatment Specialist

Awards and Honors
Honored by the Agoura Animal Shelter for my volunteer work.

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