Quigley isn't a hound, although many people think he's a beagle when they first see him. But if he was a beagle, we may have had to give him the nickname "Houndini". This guy is so smart, trying to figure things out, and taking to training pretty well. But back to the "Houndini" comment...
When we first setup Quigley's area, we got a "SuperYard XT" from Babies R' Us. It's the exact same thing as the version branded for pets and sold at PetSmart and PetCo, but at a much lower price. It's 26" high, and has 6 sides. We used part of it to try and keep him from going towards the garage door, and the part of it to keep him from getting into the living room while we were at work.
At first, we thought great, this'll be perfect, which it was for maybe a day. Kath came home from lunch, only to find that he was on the other side of the fence! We figured that he must've figured out a way to push the fence out enough so that he could squeeze between it and the wall.
Next, we tried blocking the fence with some chairs, boxes, etc. Nope, that didn't hold him back. One time at home, we found that he figured out how to pull the fence in towards him, and squeeze out that way!
So I rearranged the setup, zip-tying one side of fence to his crate, and sliding the other end between the refrigerator and the wall. This way, we could still walk over the fence to get to the garage, bathroom and laundry room. Nope, Kath came home once again to find him on the other side of the fence....and on his way down the stairs! Freedom called him and, he went running.
After that, I took an unneeded section of fence, and attached a vertical portion to try and keep him from jumping. Sure enough, he weaseled his way through the gaps and over the fence. I caught him on the "Puppy Cam" that I setup to watch him while we're away. I used my old EyeToy Cameras (PlayStation2) and www.HomeCamera.com. I get a TON of emails now, since it sends me an image whenever it detects motion from Q, or a shift in lighting, since I have it set to super sensitive.
Next, I instead made the bottom section taller, using zip ties to hold the two pieces together. I also used the last section to block him from jumping on top of his crate, just in case. In order to make it still passable for everyone else but Quigley, I used some carabiners and a dowel as a sort of quick-release system. Sure enough, Q found a way out of this as well!
This was fixed by a single binder clip that keeps him from lifting the dowel. So far, this setup has been impervious to his attempts at escape. I just fear the time when he's bigger and can just knock it all down. Hopefully by then, we can just leave him in his crate while we're at work.
Gee whiz, this dog has too much time on his hands. Get a job, Quigley. You're a working dog, right? =)
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