If you left your garden gate/driveway open, would your dog stay?

[PolarSkye]

It's how our girls got knocked down a few years ago - gate blew down in a storm and they both headed straight to the PARK (across a main road ) luckily they both made full recoveries!

Ditto - although only one of ours was injured - Fred was hit by a passing car, Daisy (hot on his tail and only very young at the time) got off scott free. Fred's femur was broken in two places and required a metal plate. Very glad your doglets recovered well.

We have a secure back garden but no fence around the front so am hypervigilant about the dogs and the front door.

P

 

[CorvusCorax]

We had a dislocated hip on the oldie and a broken leg (needed pinned) in the pup - stopped her show career before it had really begun (although she had always been in the top three) but she lived to 14 as a fantastic companion and ambassador for the breed, although I wheeled the poor old dear out for veteran classes and junior handling in my early teens, bless her!

 

[Honey08]

My female lab wouldn't go far, my male lab thinks that every dog that walks past has come especially to play with him, and every human that walks past has come especially to take him for a walk. He even bounces over the wall sometimes - once he went half a mile with some hikers before I spotted them. Scarey! If the gates are open they think they have free rein to wander out.

 

[Honey08]

CC - that is what worries me constantly. My own garden is securely fenced and they can't get out but if the gate is open onto the path then its a direct short few strides onto the lane. In fact just yesterday I got Mark to put in a new gate post and hang the gate at the end of that path - just need to fix a latch now but you certainly can't rely on people to shut it.

If there is any old truck or LR parked outside, Flyn will jump in and I just know that oneday, someone is going to drive off with him - albeit probably unknowingly

I want to put chicken fencing above our dry stone wall to stop little lab pinging over - straight into the lane. Its not a massively busy lane, but things come down so fast they'd never be able to stop if he popped over in front of a car.

We used to have a dog that got in cars. He had been abandoned on the moors, and was terrified of any cars driving away for the first year of his life - he used to get in with the postman, milkman and anyone else who left their doors open, and hide in the back (as much as a german shep puppy could hide!). They all used to drive off, then return saying "I've got your dog again!" It was really sad - just showed how much being thrown out of a car had mentally damaged him.

 

[ladyt25]

Our younger GSD x stays in the boundary of the front and back gardens in the main but will, if bored, go into the back field (they are walked in there anyway) to go rabbit hunting. She is never far from the house though. When my guinea pigs were at home she'd just lie by their cage and 'guard'! Our older dog though (14) now will sneak off and go wandering. He's always done this and I have never known such a sneaky, sly individual. I think he feels it's his right as, as far as he's concerned it's all his territory. He only goes a certain route (or does now, when he was younger and entire he'd s*d off for hours) and we pretty much know where he'll be but trying to find him used to prove hard as, if he heard a car he had this amazing ability to hide in someone's driveway behind a hegde. He's a swine really - he's easier to find now though as he's rather deaf!

He still gives you that look though when you find him of "Whaaat, I WAS on my way home, honest!".

 

[Aru]

Our gate hasnt been closed in..hmm id say 8 years ...our lab was boundry trained so she stays in the garden and only leaves on the lead.The exception is when the neighbours call her over..she slips out the back by the field into their garden.
She will bark occasionally at passers by from inside the open gate but wont go beyond it.

She can generally be trusted in any walled garden to not venture beyond gates..as we discovered by watching her in my uncles and friends house.She stops on the threshold looks around(still expecting the spray of a water pistol no doubt) then wanders back to sit by the door or in the shed.

Cats wouldnt tempt her..hard to know about the suasages...I suspect her lab stomach may overrule her mind there!esp as shes still on a diet!