Houdini dogs, cat food and the danger of wire crates/gates (vet, barking)
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Anyone else have an escape artist dog? (I just read the thread about the 13 year old escape artist, all I can say is go girl! at 13...)
My little Houdini escapes indoors. She doesn't like being left alone, but that's not the biggest problem. The cat food is her downfall. Since my roommate won't compromise to put the cat food UP and out of her reach ("the cat's won't know where it is" never mind they are always perching on the highest surfaces in the house...) Well, knowing Sienna she would probably figure out how to scale the refridgerator, sigh.
I had no idea it was this bad until today, when my roommate came home (early, thank heaven) and found her hanging upside down by her back toes. Somehow, she had managed to jump over a 3' wire gate and get her hind foot caught in the bars on the way down. Did I mention this is a 20 lb Pomeranian mix? I had no idea she had that kind of vertical leap. Or that much of an appetite for Friskies.
Not wanting to crate her, I've tried numerous setups with the wire crate parts acting as an ex-pen, and furniture in various arrangements. She's managed to push, hop, climb or magically levitate her way out of each. She figured out how to knock the books off of the Ikea bookshelf and wiggle through the empty shelf. She can actually fit herself through a small cat door.
So I'm off, tomorrow, to buy a soft-sided ex-pen with a cover. After we go the the vet and get the foot x-rayed. And then, maybe an intervention for the Friskies problem. And the wire crate is being donated to rescue, never to be seen again in this house.
Soooo...anybody have a soft-sided ex pen? Are they fairly escape proof? (Assuming the dog isn't a chewer.) Any small, dangerous openings?
And bring on the escape artist anecdotes, we need some moral support.
Anyone else have an escape artist dog? (I just read the thread about the 13 year old escape artist, all I can say is go girl! at 13...)
My little Houdini escapes indoors. She doesn't like being left alone, but that's not the biggest problem. The cat food is her downfall. Since my roommate won't compromise to put the cat food UP and out of her reach ("the cat's won't know where it is" never mind they are always perching on the highest surfaces in the house...) Well, knowing Sienna she would probably figure out how to scale the refridgerator, sigh.
I had no idea it was this bad until today, when my roommate came home (early, thank heaven) and found her hanging upside down by her back toes. Somehow, she had managed to jump over a 3' wire gate and get her hind foot caught in the bars on the way down. Did I mention this is a 20 lb Pomeranian mix? I had no idea she had that kind of vertical leap. Or that much of an appetite for Friskies.
Not wanting to crate her, I've tried numerous setups with the wire crate parts acting as an ex-pen, and furniture in various arrangements. She's managed to push, hop, climb or magically levitate her way out of each. She figured out how to knock the books off of the Ikea bookshelf and wiggle through the empty shelf. She can actually fit herself through a small cat door.
So I'm off, tomorrow, to buy a soft-sided ex-pen with a cover. After we go the the vet and get the foot x-rayed. And then, maybe an intervention for the Friskies problem. And the wire crate is being donated to rescue, never to be seen again in this house.
Soooo...anybody have a soft-sided ex pen? Are they fairly escape proof? (Assuming the dog isn't a chewer.) Any small, dangerous openings?
And bring on the escape artist anecdotes, we need some moral support.
When we first got our dog I had him in the laundry room with a baby gate. I believe he climbs out or somehow jumps over it because he escaped.
He stays in the crate when we are away. It has his toys, a pillow and blanket.
When my Dylan was a puppy...he could get out of anything...we too thought he was jumping over...we soon found ANY little foot hold and he could boost his self up and over. Or I swear, turn him self into a ferret and squeeeeeeeeeeeze thru any little opening! Thankfully, he grew into a moose and forgot his escaping ways.
Keep us posted on Sienna's foot...hopefully nothing too serious.
Am so sorry that happpened, what a scare. Don't leave a collar on her, wherever you leave her. No real good thoughts about the cat food (although it's not good for dogs) but have read suggestions about putting cat litter boxes in closets and having the door open w/ a chain lock - not sure if that would work in your case b/c obviously your pom is small and in fact, the cat may even be bigger so it's possible the pom could easily slip thru the closet door (open w/ the chain lock) and easily help herself to the cat litter box. I have seen very high ex-pens though, I can't imagine your pom scaling (or even climbing) over them but I suppose it's possible, would prob. look for one w/ a cover, the only place I've seen them is online though. With the lightweight crate, would just make sure her nails are short so they dont get caught on the screen-like mesh in case she decides to claw her way out. A few yrs ago a friend had her small dogs in some and I went into the room unexpectedly w/ my small dog and they were barking and one of the crates was actually moving (jumping) across the floor, and of course my girls barked back, it was kind of funny at the time but got me a little nervous <yikes!>, needless to say we were in and out fast til I got my stuff set up (wire crate and a regular ex-pen). If she does have some separation anxiety, it's best to make a quick exit and not make a fuss when you come home, in fact totally ignore her for the first 5-10 minutes, otherwise they can get more nervous, thinking there IS a reason they should be upset when you leave, it's kind of a vicious circle, it's hard to do but in the long run, it's best and it does help, also maybe making quick trips at first and then working your way up to longer trips will help give her some confidence that you'll always be coming home. Also feeding her in the crate or ex-pen all the time helps them get to like it too. Good luck at the vet's later.
Do not buy cheap and flimsy dog crates. Buy a name brand. Solid and sturdy. I know of a dog who popped open the top of a wire crate and got his neck thru but could not back himself out. The dog choked itself and died. Beware of this, it does happen all the time. The people were not home when this happened. Very sad! Also buy the biggest crate you can no matter what size your dog is. I am not a fan of crating dogs while out unless they have some serious separation anxiety issues and can hurt themselves in the home. But then again this dog that I know of that died in that crate had it. Most dogs should outgrow their crates. All 5 of mine did.
We found out this winter that we have a GSD that can jump a 6' fence. We are in the process of putting up lattice board to make it an 8' fence, but the weather isn't cooperating. At least he jumps back over when he's done saying hi to the neighbor dog. We did buy a harness that limits his ability to jump in the meantime. It also hinders his stair climbing, so it's not on him all the time.
Oh, and with the snow accumulation, he's jumped from the deck, over a 6' chain link dog pen fence, and then over the 6' wood fence. The drop from the top of the rail to the ground is about 12', or about 8' with current snow pile.
Our 4 month old Dogue de Bordeaux showed great feats of strength when he was about 2 mos old, by climbing over the baby gate and muscling open the top part of the gate on his crate and squeezing up and out - he's obviously not built for jumping, so it was simply a front legged pull up. It blew our minds at the time.
it's amazing what they can do when they are determined. i have no advice but i have to admit i chuckle thinking of the ways some of your guys have escaped. i hope that your baby's foot is ok and i look forward to hearing some solutions.
Thanks for the good thoughts everyone! Well, we had x-rays this morning and Sienna's foot isn't broken. More like a sprained ankle, the vet said. So she's on pain meds and anti-inflammatory meds, and is kinda doped up. (It's cute, though.) It was scary, though, I didn't realize that wire crates could be dangerous in that way. It's soft-sided or plastic for me from now on.
Good point about claws and the soft sided crates. I hadn't thought of that but will be sure to keep them trimmed.
" Or I swear, turn him self into a ferret and squeeeeeeeeeeeze thru any little opening!"
^^That's hilarious, that is SO what Sienna does. She got through a cat door that was barely bigger than her head. How, I have no idea.
Cat food isn't really healthy for dogs, it has too much fat or nutrients or something, and she has, ahem, trouble digesting it. So I really prefer she stays away from it! Luckily she doesn't care about the litter box at all. Ick!
Glad to hear all went well at the vet's and Sienna's foot isn't broken. They do keep us on our toes, don't they (no pun intended ). Am sure you'll both be sleeping good tonite . Here's hoping you have a quiet, relaxing, uneventful weekend and good luck finding another crate and ex-pen
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And the wire crate is being donated to rescue, never to be seen again in this house.
. Here's hoping you have a quiet, relaxing, uneventful weekend and good luck finding another crate and ex-pen 
