The answer is YES! Cooper is really not old - he's only three, but we've been teaching him something new. There is no fence here at the lake and we were a bit worried about living here for months with two dogs and no fence.
Mickey is easy - he would always prefer to be inside. So we can take him on a leash and he immediately does his business and is ready to go inside.
Cooper? He loves to be outside! He wants to run and play! And he can't run on a leash.
So we ordered a wireless pet containment system. There is a base unit that we keep inside the house - it plugs in and has an on/off switch. We can set the radius of "containment." Cooper wears a special collar when he goes outside. We placed small flags around the yard at the edge of the containment circle. If Cooper gets close to the edge - where the flags are - his collar beeps. If he goes beyond that point, the collar emits a small shock. It sounds cruel, but it works beautifully. He only got shocked once, the first day. And that was enough! He knows now that if he hears that beep, he needs to turn around!
He's been outside this morning having a grand time! He loves it! We'll be ordering another unit for the cottage. We can't have a fence there, so we're relieved we have a good solution. The cottage neighborhood has 18 miles of walking trails, so we'll put Cooper on a leash for hikes. But he can go in our backyard with no leash and no worries.
I quilted another quilt yesterday! Yay me! Hope to do another today...
The water is up here - which means it's time to put the boats in the water - we hope to put one in today!
Like with people, animals want to know boundaries. Not saying to put collars on people, lol, just saying it's a good way to train a dog to where he can go. Much better than being chained outside. How's your house coming?
ReplyDeletePlease just remember, your dog won't get out of the containment, but there is nothing stopping another dog from coming into the containment. Please keep an eye on Cooper whenever he is out. Someone's dog (who may not be dog friendly) could get loose by accident and go after Cooper when he is outside. Also, a sudden noise could make him fearful enough to take off, his fear overruling any impluse he gets to stop at the fence. Just wanted to let you know that electric fences, while good, do not keep your dog safe by any means. Have a great day! I do love hexies and I do love your blog!
ReplyDeleteI understand 'anonymous' remarks above...back home there was a large dog that would stay in his yard UNTIL we came by...then he'd bolt through the electric fence to come after us! Yikes! I had hubby get me some mace spray..figured that was better than myself or my dogs getting hurt. I know you're a good 'fur mom' and watch cooper so i'm not worried! Enjoy boat time!!
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