Monday, June 28, 2010

Trouble in Paradise.

I’ve had Trixie, an all white Jack Russell, for little less than 3 weeks now, I am caring for her as a foster care dog, though I have the opportunity to adopt her myself .

She has grown quite attached to her new adopted home and foster care mother.
So much so that she is showing signs of extreme separation aniexity when I leave her for several minutes to an hour or two.

Over the weekend we learned that she can hop the fence if she is left alone.

Trouble in Paradise.

Now we have a problem(s) to address .

Raise the fence ? She can jump to the top of my head, .. that's 5'-2".
Install a zapper ?
Teach the dog not to jump ( oh yeah right, she’s a jack russell ! )

Challenges , challenges.

From random photos

16 comments:

Living the life in The Little City said...

She's adorable. Can she stay inside the house when you are not at home to supervise her in the yard?

I think I'd just raise the fence to keep Trixie on the property.

danger garden said...

I noticed this lil cutie in your previous post (the morning stroll) and wondered if she was yours. I have no advice...but you do make me thankful my dog couldn't jump that high even if a bone was visible on the other side of the fence!

donna said...

Dogsitter.... or crate training. Crate is easier if it's only for short periods.

Denise said...

My tibouchina gets that lower leaf burn/discoloration issue too down here in SoCal...ahem, back to Trixie. The energy of a Jack Russell is something to behold. If she's not too old to be crate-trained, I'd go for it. Or maybe there's some nice kid on summer vacation who can walk her for about 3 hrs a day. I remember way back when you had Mr. Peabody when I lurked on the landscape GW forum. Very good of you to foster care.

Sheila said...

I'd go for the crate too as long as it is only for a few hours. That way you know she is safe and secure and it will probably be less stressful for her too, not trying to find a way out all the time.

Phrago said...

Michelle, many young dogs will try to escape from the yard during the first few months at a new home. I think she may stop this with time as she will think of your yard as her domain. In the interum, I would start walking her on a leash in your neigborhood, away from busy roads. That way it will help to tire her out and give her something to look forward to every morning to do with you. Another good reason to do this is she will know the neighborhood and where her home is, if she gets out she will be able to find her way back. It will also help to teach her manners and how to behave in social situations. She sure is cute. I just reached year 4 with two Border Collie pups, Sisters from the same litter. I my case, I had to watch for digging out even though they could pop my 4 foot fenc without any trouble. 4 is a very good year. Good luck!

Deviant Deziner, aka Michelle said...

thanks for all of your tips and helpful advice.

It was a beautiful evening tonight.
Had the tiki torches going, enjoying good conversation and a glass of wine with a friend and a neighbor in the front yard

Trixie was being well behaved until she heard another dog bark down the street and leaped over the fence in one big single bound.

This is such a drag because she has so many good traits.

Going to check out one of those invisible fences and in the meanwhile she has to stay on her leash at all times.

Such a shame. She has a beautiful yard, freedom to go in and out as she pleased from her dog door ( which is not shut closed) . Now she is on lock down.

:-((((

Anonymous said...

She's a doll. We so miss our PITA (pain-in-the-@zz)dog, but we had 12 great years with him. Buckley was actually very good for a Jack, but there's a reason they're called Jack Russell Terrors.

Susan aka Miss R said...

Michelle--Harry my JRT has extreme separation anxiety--including escaping from the house and trying to chew his way out the door. It's a known JRT issue. It has gotten worse rather than better. It's hard to live with. After 8 years and trying many solutions including a drug therapy made just for Jacks, I now crate him when I leave. He doesn't like it but he's safe, the house is safe, and I have peace of mind. More often than not he goes with me, but sometimes it's just not practical.

Rick Brown said...

Michelle,
You will feel at ease with the invisible fence system. Our 2 dogs are very happy in their boundries even when the neighbors dogs talk to them.

creations landscape designs said...

I used to have trouble in paradise with my cat until I got him a playmate. When they have someone else to play with they end up needing you less.

Phrago said...

Get the heavy duty shock collar. My border pups quickly learned to run thru the wired area wearing the normal ones whenever they saw an animal. Then once out, they didn't want to come back in. The heavy duty collars worked.

Anonymous said...

What a pretty puppy! My advice is (along with many others) crate training. My beagle had really bad separation anxiety - even if I just walked out of the room. If a dog is trained property, they will learn that their crate is a safe haven of security and comfort while their "mom" is away. Adding a little height to the fence wouldn't hurt, either... but she may resort to digging her way if she can't jump the fence. The underlying problem is the separation anxiety - so focus on that.

Hmmm... if I were her, I wouldn't want to escape from your beautiful yard!

Best wishes to you & the little cutie!

Blur Ting said...

Aw, she's so adorable. Please keep her. I have a 7-year old Jack Russell too. They can be energetic when they are younger but they mellow with age. They're not destructive in the garden unless they are chasing after a rodent or something. They make great companions when you're gardening.

KatieInTheWoods said...

Invisible fence is a great idea. My dogs are indoors in crates when I'm not home. Not ideal, but there's no way I would trust them outside alone . . .

debinca said...

Hi, Cute dog! My thought the other day was... Whoa she got a dog! And it's a Jack Russel, hmmm ( does she know about THEM... LOL )

I like crate training. Dogs really learn to like the crate, and relax until you return. You'll pay your dues while training her though, just stick to your guns. I have a good brochure from my trainer about crate training, I'll send it if you like. Have you done any obedience classes with her? That would help a lot too, with building trust, confidence etc.

We have a rescue dog who wrecks anything and everything with her separation anxiety 'issues' if we leave her alone in the house out of the crate, like if I to go WATER for petes sake.

In a crate ( with her bark collar on) she is trouble free and she just gives up and naps. Our dog is a 80 pound husky/Shepard/border cross so you can imagine the damage.

If you decide to keep her ( very cute) you'll have to be adamant about rules, crates, leashes. etc

Invisible fences are great, and may work... but anxiety disorder wont be addressed, she'll just worry and worry about trying to get out another way and will probably find a way. ( jumping through the fence, barking like a maniac cause she cant get out and to you, learning that if the elect collar isn't on she can still get out, etc.)

If you decide not to keep her, I am sure finding a home wont be too hard, and you can be a part of her finding her forever home. The you can foster another dog and maybe find a good match for you. Either way, good luck!