Running In Large Yard With A Fence

[Guest jrbkett17]

Hi All: We take our two greys to my fathers house on the weekends. They love running in his fenced yard. However we are concerned about the intensity of their chasing a rabbit. Why? They chase the rabbit forgetting about the fence and they end up running into the fence. Will they get over this? Any suggestions? My father is near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains just west of Loveland, CO. Wildlife is everywhere. Thanks in advance for your suggestions. -Jim

[Hubcitypam]

For chain link you can get colored things to slide through the slats (not every one) so they'll notice the fence more.

[JohnF]

If the running is competitive then no they will not ease-off. Perhaps as they get older they will slow down.

You didn't say what type of fence but do check all along it for nails or bits of wire protruding bwlow waist height. If allowed you could put up some plastic snow fencing along it to help keep them safer. Never ever let greys run where there might be barbed wire.

[BatterseaBrindl]

Yes... You will have to do something to make the fence more visible.

Hopefully the rabbits will figure out they are not safe in this yard!

[cleptogrey]

anything stupid can happen, but most of the time it doesn't.

 

i was watching a kennel of show whippets and greyhounds, one of the greyhounds was making a turn, managed to get her rear paw under the chain link fence and DEGLOVED it!! now that was really freaky, in all the years of dogs running in that yard nothing like this had ever happened. close to 100 stitches later the skin was back on....and fortunately the owner had just returned home and the greyhound was over zealous and was doing roomies. .....oye. but things like this rarely happen.

 

it sounds like even though snow fencing is cheap you will need miles of it to provide a visual barrier.

 

let your dog run and have the time of his life! when i occasionally manage to get into the Sara Lawrence College softball field it seems as if there always is a rabbit on the run, the rabbit slips under or what ever and get away, the dogs have a blast! i am amazed that the dogs have not run into it. and yes, felix has run into fencing, he has a good size knick on his shoulder as a reminder not to.

Edited April 26, 2017 by cleptogrey

[EllenEveBaz]

The hounds will probably never get over it -- they are hunters, and they forget all else in the chase. As posted above, you can put up some sort of visual reminder, but that would probably only be heeded in less intense running.

 

Hopefully the rabbits will figure out they are not safe in this yard!

Never happen. They are potential food everywhere they go.

 

My boys, who have a respectable hunting record in what sounds like a much smaller yard than your father's, say "go hounds!"

[GeorgeofNE]

A dog from my first hound's adoption group died his first day off the track running into a fence. Horribly tragic, and doesn't happen often, but it can. He broke his neck when he ran into the fence.

 

Please do what you can to make the fence more visible.

[NeylasMom]

A dog from my first hound's adoption group died his first day off the track running into a fence. Horribly tragic, and doesn't happen often, but it can. He broke his neck when he ran into the fence.

 

Please do what you can to make the fence more visible.

Yes, I was going to mention this. It was horribly tragic and not something I would want to have to see anyone else go through.

 

I would also try to do some training, just to make them a bit more aware of boundaries. Have them out on long lines attached to harnesses one at a time (or if there is more than one of you each person can handle one dog). Walk the yard a lot using the line to give them freedom to explore, but imagine another fence a certain distance in (say 5') and never give them line to access past that. If they approach that invisible edge and reorient or come back to you, reward with high value food. I'm not saying that's enough to stop them dead in their tracks mid chase of a rabbit, but your at least giving them the idea that they shouldn't go all the way to the fence.

And yes, do something so the fence is more visible. Or consider putting something unpleasant to walk on at the fence edge. Not sure how big of a yard we're talking about so don't know how feasible various options are, but a friend put a strip of gravel about 1' deep all along her fence line. You could do something like that - it's not only a clear visual reminder of where the fence is, but also tactile.

[greysmom]

Nothing to add about the fencing, but if their yard is prone to having small prey animals, it would be a good idea to *always* walk the yard and scare any animals away or underground before letting the dogs out. Every time. Every. Time. Because they will never get over it, and accidents do happen.

[Scoutsmom]

Some people I know make a point of walking their dog around the edges of the field before letting their dog off leash. I don't know if it makes a difference or not. Accidents will happen no matter how safety conscious you are. We could protect them from everything that might possibly be dangerous or we can take obvious steps and let them run as they were born to.

[Guest jrbkett17]

Thanks for all of the valuable tips. The yard is about half an acre, almost square. The fencing is 2X4 inch mesh stapled to split rail fencing that is 4 ft tall. My wife and I feel that walking/jogging (for us) with the dogs on leash around the perimeter a few times to flush out any of the rabbits already in the yard is a good first step. I may even do it 3 or 4 times. However what will prevent a rabbit from coming in at some time during a 1-2 hour period? Like a few have suggested, there is risk involved with having these dogs that we accept and most of the time things work out. Chanel and Banksy have been in this yard twice in the past 6 weeks. The first time both dogs were off leash and chased a rabbit for about 30 meters, with our 58 pound Chanel crashing into the fence and returning with blood all over her face. She had nicked a 3 mm square piece of flesh on the edge of her right ear. When her ears are fully vertical, the wound was almost at the top. She was oblivious to the wound and the blood on her face that was dripping from her ear. We used basic first aid and a regular sized band aid and it healed in a few weeks. I don't think she was aware of the cut. The second time Banksy was on leash and escaped from my wife's hold on the leash and he collided into the fence at an angle and he did not exhibit any symptoms of injury. I realize that does not mean he was not mildly concussed. My wife knows to hold more firmly next time, but for awhile I will hold them. I walk/jog them for an hour during lunchtime every day and have experience with them lunging at random prey in the open space we hike through in the foothills by hour house. I will revisit this thread as we move into May and June. We are lucky to live in a town that has a special fenced area for large dogs separate from the regular dog park. However, the terrain in that fenced area (which I estimate is about 2 acres inside) is uneven and rocky in places. We have a greyhound rescue mentor who has a beautiful little girl who has managed to find ideal locations to let her fun on soft grass. My goal is to follow her mentoring and go to some of those places so Chanel and Banksy can experience the joy of running in safety again, understanding that 100% safety is not possible with these amazing creatures. Thanks again.

[Banjoman]

When they are focused on prey they do not see the fence, by the time the rabbit has slipped under the fence it is too late to stop!

[NeylasMom]

I am a little confused about your post and what it means for whether you will continue to let them loose in that particular yard so I will just say that yes, there is always risk, but there are varying levels of risk and varying levels of reward. When there is increasing risk that my dog could break his/her neck based on evidence that the dog won't stop before it hits the fence, there isn't enough reward to outweigh that risk in my book. Not to mention that just because the dog appears okay in that moment does not mean there isn't underlying damage that will be problematic later. I'm currently dealing with a cervical issue in my dog that may be a lifetime problem for her (and she is only 8) and I think there is a good possibility that this is a result of a previous injury in which she seemed "fine" afterward with the problem only surfacing much later.

[sobesmom]

I may have a different opinion on this that other posters. Take it or leave it. I live in a rural area, and I have a 3/4 acre fenced in yard. My yard is adjacent to pastures and woods. So, animals do wander in. I've always walked new dogs around the perimeter on-leash, then off-leash to make sure they saw the fence, which is just a 3 ft high welded wire mesh of 2x4 squares just like you're describing, and they "got" their area. After that, they were always off-leash in the yard. 14 of those dogs were short-term fosters. Yes, there was some chasing of rabbits, mice, moles, etc. And the occasional neighbor's chicken. Yes, there were a couple crashes or brushes into the fence. Not that many considering we've had 16 greys here. I remember maybe 3 or 4 times over 16 greys and 8 years when they bashed the fence. Honestly - a dog that hit the fence never did it again. Yes, I understand the "chase prey" focus - but they're not stupid. They have a memory, and spacial recognition. Anyone that says that a grey that has hit a fence won't remember that fence IMHO is mistaken.

 

If I were you, I'd continue to take your dogs there, make a lap around the yard each time to flush out whatever animals you can , and remind your dogs of the fence - and then just let them run and have fun. There is NO reason to not let your dogs enjoy that yard. We can't bubble-wrap them. Nor should we.

[sobesmom]

Yes... You will have to do something to make the fence more visible.

Hopefully the rabbits will figure out they are not safe in this yard!

IMHO - visibility is not the issue. A dog learns where its fence it. I've had welded wire fencing for years.

 

And - rabbits are stupid. They continued to nest in my yard that smelled of dog constantly. Or just come visit and basically ask to be chased and/or caught and killed. My Sobe was very good at dispatching rabbits. I'd chase them off constantly, but every few years, a rabbit would nest in my yard. WHY? ACRES of woods near-by. Can I then fault my grey when she plucks those baby rabbits out of the nest in HER yard? It wasn't pretty. But I can't fault the dog. I fault the stupid rabbit momma that could've nested 50 yards away.

 

Sorry - I appreciate your ideas, but having lived it, it just doesn't work that way. Not in a rural environment.

[EllenEveBaz]

There have been serial fence crashers here, especially Romie. That dog lived to chase anything that moved.

 

A vet who had greyhounds wrote an article years ago in Celebrating Greyhounds magazine that he thought pet hounds should not be allowed to run -- that there were too many serious injuries from it, not just fence crashes.

Edited May 6, 2017 by EllenEveBaz