Fence fighting is one of the biggest issues I’ve seen living in the suburbs. For every house with a dog, about 70% of them rush the fence, bark, and run back and forth when another dog or sometimes, just a person walks by.
Some people think their dog is just being protective and others are mortified and try in vain to call their dogs back.
Here’s the thing, fence fighting is bad for the mental health of the dog doing it as well as the dog being subjected to it.
I’m going to go over why you shouldn’t let your dog fence fight as well as a few ways to help stop the behavior.
Consequences of Fence Fighting
- It encourages other dogs to fence fight.
- It makes it incredibly hard for your neighbors dogs to keep from engaging when dog is constantly being combative.
- It can lead to reactivity on walks or full on dog aggression.
- Allowing your dog to get riled up every time they see a dog creates a pattern and can change the way they feel about dogs as a whole.
- It can lead to escape or injury.
- Fence fighting often causes damage to the fence leading to dogs escaping or hurting themselves.
- Some dogs will get so riled up they’ll just jump it to get to whatever they felt provoked by.
- Dog fights/biting other dogs
- A dog at a high state of arousal is more likely to redirect on his companions and can end up causing a fight.
- Depending on the type of fence you have, the dogs may be able to reach each other and cause injuries.
Ways to fix it
- Talk to your neighbors.
- If everyone’s dog is engaging in this it’s really helpful for everyone to be on the same page to stop it.
- Don’t let your dog outside by themselves.
- The more times your dog is allowed to do the behavior, the more concrete the pattern. You have to be there every time to intervene.
- Start working on recall.
- A solid recall will allow you to call your dog back before they start and change the pattern.
- Keep them on a long leash at first so you can reel them in if you have to.
- Correct them for trying to engage.
- This can be as little as saying “no” if your dog knows what no means and it has value. Then calling them back to you for a treat or game of tug-of-war.
- You can also get help from a trainer and learn to use the e-collar so you have a way of communicating with your dog sans leash and still hold them responsible.
- Always remember to correct and then redirect into a more appropriate behavior so they learn what it is your looking for.
- Make a barrier
- Adding a couple feet between your dog and the fence can sometimes stop the behavior. Make sure you use something tall enough your dog won’t jump it.
Even if you don’t think it’s a big deal…
Fence fighting often has bigger effects than most people realize and leaving your dog out to terrorize the neighborhood will not make you any friends. No to mention, your dog is also suffering.
If you are having a hard time with your dog reach out to a trainer in your area for help.
If you’re in the Denver, Colorado area Contact Us for help.
