wall jumping dog

Question
my dog is a pound puppy she is about 20 lbs and about 1 foot at the shoulders my back yard has a 6 foot wall around it she jumps it and pulls herself up and over. it is not a small back yard we have 3 small dogs and are thinking about taking her back for her own safty she is about 1 year to 1.5 years old we feel that she may be a cross of basenji and a small doberman she has a bark and also a sound of a basenji at times the other dog is also a puppy of about 9 months to a year also a pound puppy  

Answer
Hi Joseph,

Thanks for writing to me about your puppy.  

Only once have I seen a dog jump a 6 ft wall.  Your dog is pretty amazing.  Have you considered doing agility with her?  

Is there something that she is using to spring up and over the fence or is she just jumping that high?  Is she getting enough exercise?  A tired dog is a good dog.  

Try taking really long, aerobic walks with her, about 1 hr a day, steady walk or run without stopping.  I would also consider tethering her in the yard for awhile to try to break the habit of her obsessing on the wall.

Another approach is to hire a trainer to show you how to break this habit.  I don't know what is on the other side of this wall, traffic perhaps, but it can't be safe for her.  Does she try to run away or just want to come back inside.  

If there is one particular spot where she always scales the wall, you could set up a "sting" operation.  Find a way to place an alarm on the fence..the kind that they use to train dogs not to jump up on the kitchen counter and steal food.  You may need more than one of them if she escapes from more than one location.

When she jumps up on the fence to escape, the alarm will go off and startle her.  This may prevent future attempts.

If this is a chain link fence then she may be using the spaces to place her paws in as opposed to a flat wood stockade fence.  You may have to change the configuration of the fence to prevent her from scaling it.

Please note that if you return her to the shelter, she may not be adopted.  I don't know if this is a kill shelter or not but you might want to seriously consider what could happen to her if you don't address this problem and solve it.  The best bet would be to get a trainer who uses positive reinforcement and have her/him work with you on this.

Best of luck with your puppy.

Shelley Davis
www.bednbiscuit.com