break bad habit

Question
I have a male and female approxitmly 4 to 5 years old both weighing in around 55 to 60 lbs. They are a mixed breed, vet says both have shepard in them. During the summer we take them to the woods to run 2 or 3 times a week and camping twice a month, but now with the shoter days they only get to run once maybe twice a week. They have a large backyard that they can go in and out as they please and at this time I am not working.  Off and on in the last 2 years they have found ways to jump the fence to get out of the yard.  The last 2 weeks they have been getting out 3 or 4 times a week.  We have walked the fence have tried tracking them in the snow but have not figured out where they are jumping at.  What can I do to stop this behavior?  When they come home they know they have been bad, I have skolled them telling them they are bad dogs, I have gone 24 hours sending them to their beds when they try to make up.  Just this week I told them how bad they were and they each got a swat on their rear-ends with the back of my hand and sent to their beds.  I just don't know how to stop this behavior and do not want to break their spirit or make them afraid of me.

Answer
Debbie, spanking them, sending them to their beds, and scolding them when you get home is not going to stop their behavior. They have no idea why they are being punished; they just know that you are upset, and that is why they act as if they know they've done something wrong. It isn't because they know they've done something wrong, because right now they don't understand that jumping the fence is wrong. They act this way because they know you are upset. You need to stop what you've been doing because it is ineffective and can eventually result in them being fearful of you, which you already said you don't want to happen.

There is one very simple solution to the problem; when you are not home and/or cannot supervise them while they're in the yard, do not let them out there. If this is not feasible, get some tie-out stakes with a long enough line that will give them access to most, if not all, of the yard and when you cannot supervise them, use the tie outs to keep them from jumping out. Make sure that the tie out isn't long enough for them to jump over ANY part of the fence, or they might hang themselves if they try to jump over.

Another solution is to purchase an invisible fence. I prefer Innotek over Petsafe or Radio Fence. They can be purchased at http://www.petstreetmall.com/allcontainment.aspx?id=481 You can either bury the wire along the bottom of the fenceline, or you can also purchase some plastic conduit (which is gray), or PVC pipe and run the wire through the pipe along the fence. Set the boundary for at least three to four feet back from the fence. You won't *need* to use the flags that come with the system because you already have the existing fence there to serve as their visual barrier. Follow the instructions that are included on how to train your dog to the fence, but since you won't be using the flags (or, you can if you wish, if it's easier for you), rather than taking hold of the fence and shaking it (like you do with the flags if you use them) while saying "BAAAD Fence, BAAAD Fence", just tell them "BAAAD Fence" when you hear the warning tone, and pull them back into the yard and praise them. This will make more sense once you actually get the system and read the instructions and/or watch the video.

This will teach the dogs that the fence is bad and that they must stay inside it or they will get a correction. I know this works, because I've suggested it for many fence-jumpers and their owners have written back weeks later thanking me because their dog no longer escapes from their yard. Having an inside boundary also allows you to enter and exit gates without having to worry about the dogs bolting through, because they have been trained to stay three or four feet inside the fenceline. This is also helpful when someone accidentally forgets to close or lock a gate. Even though it's open, your dog will still be in your yard when you get home. This solution also keeps diggers in. I've had many people write to me about their dog digging out of their yard. Again, within a few weeks, which is about the length of time it takes to teach a dog where the boundary is and how he is supposed to react when he hears the warning tone, they tell me that their dog has stopped digging out because he has no way to do it.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with!

Kristen