Dog Community

Problem with Sasha

Posted : 6/6/2006 12:44:08 PM

Problem is... She's too stinkin smart for her own good! Yesterday was the backyard test day. Sasha and Beau were to stay outside in the back yard until noon or so. My mother inlaw lives right next to us, so she was going to come check on them, and let them out in the front to run around for a bit. Well it didn't work out too well.

The fence surrounding the backyard is 6'. Wood, privacy fence on the front and sides, and chain link in the back. I walked through the back before I left, and made sure there were no lose boards, etc.

Then while sitting at work, I get a call from Kenny. He tells me that Sasha got out, and his mom has been looking for her for 2 hours. She has a sturdy collar on, with a microchip tag, and a name tag with our number on it. I was very worried, and told my boss I had to leave to look for her. Luckily I'm good friends with animal control, so I just made a call to them, and they started driving the streets looking for her.

Then I remembered the tag with our number on it... I asked Debbie to go unlock our house and check our answering machine. Sure enough, a lady directly across the street had her and left several messages. (the tag can be a life saver) Debbie picked her up, and the lady was going on about how friendly, sweet, and playful she was. Which worried me. What if she got in the wrong hands, and some one didn't want to give her back to the owner... Scary.

Now Sasha must stay in the house with the cooler on. But she wont give up escaping. She goes to every window to check if they're open. I'm sure she'd open a window all the way if it was open a crack. For the cooler to run properly, a couple windows have to be open to let the air flow through.

I haven't dealt with a dog that wants to escape this bad, yet. Beau would never leave our yard. He would lay on our front porch for a few days until we got home before he'd take off. Sasha doesn't run off when we're outside with her, she comes to you when you call her. And she doesn't barge through the front door to run off either.

I'm curious to find out what others do to keep their escape artists in. Is the crate the last option? I'm going to take her to training classes once I can find the right one. There aren't many here. What are some things to look for when finding a trainer?

forpaws

Posted : 6/6/2006 12:48:41 PM

Shame on you for giving your mom a heartamatack! LOL

To answer your question, look for a certified trainer. APDT certified.

Benedict

Posted : 6/6/2006 12:55:00 PM

No advice, but I did want to wish you luck. I hope you find a trainer who can help. [

]

Sure you shouldn't change her name to Houdini?

Kate

hlb118

Posted : 6/6/2006 2:24:58 PM

I just got off the phone with a trainer I found in the phone book. The classes are once a week for 7 weeks. For $175. I have to drive to her house where the classes will take place. I was very happy with our conversation, and I feel that she will be able to help. She has been certified in training police K-9 since 1980. And she sounds like she knows what she's doing.

Please tell me if this is too much or too little. I didn't have to take Beau to any training classes, he has been a perfect dog.

smilee1079

Posted : 6/6/2006 4:20:37 PM

I think it sounds expensive. Is it an individual class?

I paid $75 for 8 weeks of classes at one place for Zoe and there were about 10 dogs. I paid $50 for a better training class that lasted 9 weeks and had over 20 dogs though. That was run through our local rec. dept.

Petsmart and Petco run classes for 8 weeks (I think) for about $100.

However, if you don't have many choices, that may be the going rate by you. Also, I have seen individual classes and they are much more expensive and trainers who have asked for 50-75$ an hour, so I guess it is all relative.

If you feel this person could help with her specific issues and have the money... go for it.

hlb118

Posted : 6/6/2006 4:33:38 PM

It is a personal class. No other dogs, just me, Sasha, and the trainer. I did some calculating, and each visit is $25. And they last an hour. I didn't want to do any training with multiple dogs. Sasha may not look like she needs the one on one, but she really does. I believe she spent her whole life in a yard, with no training. That's two years.

hlb118

Posted : 6/6/2006 5:14:11 PM

Sasha opened a window, and escaped again. She had to jump out of the window, then escape from the yard.

Looks like it's crate time... Problem is... how will she take it.

tiffy

Posted : 6/6/2006 6:05:48 PM

My Dingo sounds just like Beau, will never leave the yard. Then we got Sammy. He will find anyway to escape, including windows in the house and the car. While its moving! Tootsie, our corgi is very reliable off leash, its just Sammy who makes me crazy with him always tryinng to leave. His name tag and microchip has been his god send.

stardancnminpin

Posted : 6/6/2006 11:38:30 PM

Just a thought, if you have to leave a window cracked for the cooler to work, how about using either a nail or one of those window locks to lock the window open? We use a nail to block the window from bein raised any further when we have a window screen in. Depending on whether you have a metal or wood frame window, they sell clamp type window locks at hardware stores for the metal ones. Just raise the window to the height you need, then hammer the nail in at the top of the window frame - you can't raise it anymore than what it already is.

The window lock clamps are also nice for general safety. When I rented alone, pre-dog days, I had lock clamps on all my windows in the apartment. I know burglars can still break a window, but that draws attention more than just raising a window does.

Good luck with Sasha!

cyclefiend2000

Posted : 6/7/2006 10:12:38 AM

we completed training with a personal trainer a couple of months ago. i think we paid something like $225, but that was for both our dogs and she came to our house. i think the lady we used charges ~$180 for 1 dog. it was definitely worth the extra to us. amelia is very timid and we tried her in a group class last year and that did not work for her at all.

our dogs loved the trainer and that helped too. and the 1 hour lessons usually ended up being more like 1.5 hours, so i think we definitely got our money worth.

good luck with sasha and her training.

hlb118

Posted : 6/7/2006 11:02:56 AM

On top of escaping, she broke the top to my 55 gallon fish tank by standing on it. The tank is infront of a window, she must have thought that standing on it would have helped her get out. Her leg went through the glass, and luckily she didn't tear her leg up, and I didn't lose my Clown knife. I could have come home to a dead dog. So she is NEVER allowed free roam of the house.

She also shredded the curtains. Both in our room and the livingroom. I mean in pieces.

I don't think she can handle seperation. Once we get home, she's happy as can be. Doesn't even look at a window. But as soon as we step foot out the door, she's at it again on the window.

We went to the trainer last night, and Sasha responded very well. Her leg started to bother her, but she still did what was asked. Kenny is mad that I spent that much on a trainer, but I believe he will be happy with the outcome.