Husky proofing the yard

[ashtoreth]

I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this, but Titus is a husky after all... and the digger blood runs deep in his veins

He digs... unfortunately, too much, not because hes bored (in fact hes never bored outside, he loves it, he has TONES of toys, we go with him 60% of the time, he just loves it)

What he loves more, is digging.... Our yard is a mine field now and we tried a lot of things to stop it, it just doesn't work. We tried catching his attention when he does it,loudly/sharply saying NO, then giving him a toy, getting him inside when he digs. Basically I'm out of ideas

Problem is... We live in an apartment, a nice apartment with a nice private yard, sure, but we rent.

Now here's the story with this yard... When we rented the place, it was under major renovations for two years, the landlady never touched the yard during then, we had to cut a jungle just to see the ground, so there's not grass, just dirt. And she doesn't want to put grass since she doesn't have a lawnmower (which we do) instead she wants to put stones around and make it all pretty. Which I don't want to, we're planing to use that yard, make a garden and relax in it, not have some sort of place where I can't lay on the grass. :P but thats another story.

So now all there is is dirt...with some patch of grass, and a lilac tree (which titus loves going under for....well..chilling) And a fence... which is one of those metallic fence ( http://www.secureyourfertiliser.gov....pmet_fence.jpg those one) So... not secure on the ground, he could easily dig under, we noticed he started as well :S

Now, we need a way to husky proof the place, huskies are you know, are prone to escapes and I'd rather NOT have a loose husky in Montreal thank you very much.

Any tips either to stop the digging, (hehe yea right) or proofing the place?

[babymomma]

I know alot of peaple hate doing this but, why not make a leash run for him? we have clothesline rope (its not really rope, its like plastic or something, do you know what im talking about?)with one end Tied on at one end of my yard and another peice tied to the other end, then we bought a leash claspe and attached it to anothr peice of clothesline rope and hooked it onto the run part , bought another leash claspe and tied it to the other end of the rope and keely still has full run of the garden, but she cannot run away (We no lobger have a fence). Sorry, i probably didnt make any sense, if soemthing isnt clear to you just tell me and ill try to explain again!


If going with this idea, you should buy a harness so he isnt hooked on to his collar. This idea doesnt help with the digging, but if he ever dug under the fence he couldnt go anywhere.

[ashtoreth]

Originally Posted by babymomma

I know alot of peaple hate doing this but, why not make a leash run for him? we have clothesline rope (its not really rope, its like plastic or something, do you know what im talking about?)with one end Tied on at one end of my yard and another peice tied to the other end, then we bought a leash claspe and attached it to anothr peice of clothesline rope and hooked it onto the run part , bought another leash claspe and tied it to the other end of the rope and keely still has full run of the garden, but she cannot run away (We no lobger have a fence). Sorry, i probably didnt make any sense, if soemthing isnt clear to you just tell me and ill try to explain again!


If going with this idea, you should buy a harness so he isnt hooked on to his collar. This idea doesnt help with the digging, but if he ever dug under the fence he couldnt go anywhere.

yea he has an harness, we used to tie him up with a HUUUUUUGE cable like that, he just... dug up anyhow lol

[babymomma]

Originally Posted by ashtoreth

yea he has an harness, we used to tie him up with a HUUUUUUGE cable like that, he just... dug up anyhow lol

But it would keep him from running away. That s hould be your main concern right now, not just the holes hes is digging.

[todd1990]

get him one of those shock collars. we got one for our dog, and he obeys that thing like theres no tomorrow. ive tried it on myself, and honestly it doesnt hurt. sure it sucks, real bad too, but its not something that inflicted brain damage on him. in fact, were both happy. he's real frisky (border collie/australian shepherd), so he used to get out alot, forcing us to build a pen for him. now all we do is open the back door and not worry, and he can run around all he wants to. as for your dog, or any dog for that matter, i cant see how it could dig under the wire. if he chews it, then chances are the collar will buzz him (but itll be buried anyways, so no worries). plus, if the land lady wants it out, all you gotta do is pull it out.

[ashtoreth]

Originally Posted by todd1990

get him one of those shock collars. we got one for our dog, and he obeys that thing like theres no tomorrow. ive tried it on myself, and honestly it doesnt hurt. sure it sucks, real bad too, but its not something that inflicted brain damage on him. in fact, were both happy. he's real frisky (border collie/australian shepherd), so he used to get out alot, forcing us to build a pen for him. now all we do is open the back door and not worry, and he can run around all he wants to. as for your dog, or any dog for that matter, i cant see how it could dig under the wire. if he chews it, then chances are the collar will buzz him (but itll be buried anyways, so no worries). plus, if the land lady wants it out, all you gotta do is pull it out.

I dont do shock collar
thats the most polite way I can put it

[luckypenny]

Sounds like he needs a whole lot more exercise. Huskies don't normally dig unless they're bored and have much energy to spend. Running around a yard is simply not enough, not for any dog but especially not for a Husky.

How much exercise is he getting?

Our dogs dig on command. We've made them a garden just for that purpose where they know that it's the only place they're permitted to dig. We started by burying treats and toys in the area and encouraged them to dig them up. The simple answer is to supervise every time Titus is outdoors if you don't want him digging where he's not allowed to.

As for him wanting to get out of the yard, if he's tired, really tired, he'll have no desire to get out . Again, supervision is the key here as well.

No disrespect intended, but the shock collar is for lazy people, not for energetic dogs, imho.