Escaping dog

[Tumbleweed101]

My dad has a German Shepherd. She is friendly with people but can be reactive with other dogs. She is also an escape artist. My dad has blocked and fixed fences continuously but she always finds a way to break the fences down.

My dad has been having cancer treatment so he is struggling with stopping her escaping and when she does he has to go out looking for her even though his mobility isn't great. He is having to keep her on a long training lead in the house and garden. Obviously this isn't great for him or the dog.

Does anyone have any training suggestions that we can help him with? She is just completely single minded at getting out no matter where she is. She has done it when staying with me and other family too even though we had secure gardens when she arrived. She just breaks and bites fences to get out. My dad is at a point where he is considering giving her up but she is also his only company day by day and he doesn't really want to take that action.

If the garden isn't secure then ultimately she just needs to stay on a lead whenever the doors are open. There's not really a foolproof way to keep her safe if the garden isn't secure.

Is she getting walks too? Especially if your dad isn't very mobile. Just wondered if the destructive nature is because she's getting bored. GSD's can be smart cookie's and she may need more stimulation. Is he able to hire a dog walker with experience of the breed and reactiveness?

That's a very tricky set of circumstances.

Would your dad have the money to replace the fencing with a 6ft brick wall? If the dog is that keen on breaking down wooden fences then I can see it being cheaper than constant repairs.

I'd also be trying to come up with alternative ways to keep the dog entertained - have a look at Canine Enrichment
https://www.facebook.com/groups/canineenrichment/?ref=share

Ultimately if the dog gets out and attacks another dog there could be some very serious consequences for all concerned.

A six foot brick wall won’t stop a GSD, the police training program uses 8’ walls and the dogs scale them @HiHoHiHoltsOffToWorkWeGo
I suspect the dog gets little exercise or brain games and is bored and restless. Ideally the dog should have at least 2 hours exercise a day and plenty of brain games, if it’s not stimulated then it will look for things to do I.e escaping, and if doesn’t socialise with other dogs regularly then reactive behaviour is likely 🤷🏼‍♀️

The obvious answer is that the dog needs keeping on a lead in the garden , that is not difficult .

Dogs that chronically escape are generally bored. Is she getting walked with your dads poor mobility

We looked after her during my dads treatment and she had plenty of walks then and was still the same in regards to trying to escape.

She is being kept on a lead again at the moment but this obviously restricts her freedom even more. She might not be getting out as much as she should right now and we know that isn't helping. My dad lives a 2hr drive away so we can't help on a regular basis. However she did have these traits even when she was getting out with my dad prior to his illness and has been difficult to train with recall. We aren't an inexperienced family and none of our current or previous dogs within the family have been so difficult in this regards.

I just wondered if anyone had any tips/ideas for a dog that is hard to recall and escapes so she can have a better life or if the only route will be removing. I have suggested dog walkers to my dad and I think he is looking at that.

She has had regular contact with other dogs but is selectively reactive. She's ok with family dogs and other dogs she knew as a puppy but isn't good with one of my dogs who is younger or dogs she hadn't known. She hasn't attacked on walks or when escaping so far.

She was 6mths when dad got her.

I just wondered if anyone had any tips/ideas for a dog that is hard to recall and escapes so she can have a better life or if the only route will be removing.

Well, if the garden isn't secure the only solution is to keep the dog on a lead.

I don't understand why that means she has a bad life and needs to be re-homed? Lots of people own dogs without gardens or without secure gardens. Yes, it's a bit more work than normal but it's not a reason to re-home, surely?

it does sound difficult but the dog will have to be kept on lead outside if the garden can’t be made more secure. A dog walker will help with the dog getting more stimulation while your dad isn’t particularly mobile.

@Tumbleweed101 The Cinnamon Trust are a really wonderful charity who arrange dog walkers for the elderly or for people who are too poorly to walk their dogs. There’s no cost and they use a careful vetting process.

I can totally understand the emotional cost to your dad if he has to rehome the dog and how you may want to avoid that.

One NDN near us had also have GSD's and had effectively built a room sized metal cage pen attached to the back of the house over half the backgarden They also dug foundations so the metal has solid contact
Digging out and climbing is not possible
It looks ugly but is about as functional as the dogs have access to the house and can play in the garden