Harnesses For Dogs?

[Cargo]

It also sounds to me like the dogs are just not getting enough exercise. A border collie needs a ton of energy burning exercise every day. They are bred to work long hours. Really for the dogs sake it needs to get out to a big dog park for a couple hours or so a day every day. And that is just to take the edge off. To be truly happy, the collie needs to be re-homed where it can run outside in a field all day.

As pets, Border Collies have a mixed record. While some people have no difficulty controlling the dogs' herding instinct, high energy and quick minds, less-skilled owners may be frustrated by these traits. The calm, well-behaved dogs seen at sheepdog trials are the result of careful attention to the dogs' mental and physical needs. Border Collies that herd are fulfilled. In pet environments, with experienced dog people who give them the structure, love, and fellowship they crave, they can be superb pets. With less-skilled owners, unfortunately, they can become a neurotic nuisance. An honest appraisal of your lifestyle, skills and needs before getting a Border Collie can save you from heartache. It is very hard to find a farm home or a new pet home for a Border Collie which has developed bad habits, and every year many Border Collies are destroyed because they proved to be too much dog for their owners.

Be warned, also, that allowing them to roam free inevitably leads to trouble, as the herding instinct can be activated by anything that moves. Border Collies' attraction to motion should be confined to safe outlets, as most chronic car-chasing is eventually fatal.

Copypasta from bordercollie.org

By far the largest percentage of dogs are turned in because they are "hyper" and far too difficult to handle. Most people are either not willing, prepared, or able to put in the large time commitment it takes to adequately exercise a Border Collie. Border Collies have been bred to herd sheep and that requires a lot of physical stamina and endurance. Herding sheep is an all-day activity and often entails miles of endless running and sprinting across uneven patches of farmland. Obviously, not everyone has the luxury (or burden) of owning sheep, so another outlet must be found for this energy.

How much exercise does a Border Collie require?

Actually this is an unanswereable question. It is similar to posing the question "How much exercise does a hyper child need?" or "How far does a thoroughbred horse have to run each day?" Obviously you could keep the child locked in her room or the horse confined to his stall all day, but this, for most of us, is an unacceptable response. To truly exercise a Border Collie, you must be willing to put in a couple of hours each day, in some form of exercise or activity. Border Collies can remain confined to the house all day while you are away at work but do not expect to come home and relax. You don't have to jog endless miles with your dog (though you can if you'd like) - mental exercises are often the most exhausting activities for Border Collies - but you must do something with them each day. Otherwise, they will find an outlet for their excessive energy and countless Border Collie owners can attest to this fact. I've included some of the Border Collie "horror stories" from current owners just to show I'm not making this stuff up. Border Collies have been described as having the energy output of a miniature nuclear reactor. And like all nuclear power, it can be quite dangerous if it is not controlled.

Copypasta from bcrescue.org​

 

[PuppyBantamCochin]

Quote:
We have a somewhat sturdy stake, ( the best we could find )

And a 20 ft. tie out

cable, my border collie runs and rips on it. I think my dogs would destroy a kennel,

as my lab jumps them, and my border collie digs like crazy...then my hound would

follow. But I don't know. I thought about the pulley line hooked to two trees, but

does that have any good or bad things? like.. anything different about it than just

tieing them out? I dont know, I figured my border collie would be ok with an hour

of walking daily, but after the 30 minute morning walk shes just warmed up. and 30

minutes is all I have in the morning, or Id do more exersizes with her. So tieng her

out for a little while helps alot. ^.^

A pulley is sort of like tying a dog out, but it gives the dog even more space, and sometimes that will calm a dog down (they don't feel as constrained so to speak).
What do you mean by your dog running and ripping on it? Does she run to the end of her chain and flip backwards?
I know it can be a little scary to see a dog looking like she's choking herself, and while she could hurt herself, a border collie is a pretty sturdy dog.

As for exercise, could you make a flirt pole for her? A flirt pole is basically a light-weight rod, and a light-weight rope is attached to it (usually with a toy dangling on the end).
Dog owners of ALL breeds of dogs use this (this is NOT a pit-bull specific exercise tool!) to exercise their high energy dogs.
To use it, you entice the dog to chase the toy on the rope, but all the while you pull it out of the dog's reach.

I hope this helps,

Froggy V.

 

[welsummerchicks]

You gotta do what you gotta do to keep your dogs on your property.

The big drawback of a restraint for your dog is that it does not keep other dogs off your property. Your dog can still get attacked by a loose dog.

However, if you are having trouble with other dogs getting on your property, it is really not at all expensive to string a couple hot wires around your property. On a lot of properties you don't need a ton of fence posts - you can make a lot of use of existing trees, buildings, and you don't need to have posts very close together. You don't need to use a tensioned wire, either. We buy a very cheap 'electric string' from the feed store. If you have an electric outlet almost anywhere, you can plug in a fence power unit and make the line hot. One line 18 inches and one at 36 inches will keep most dogs off your land. They really can't see this 'electric string' well (it's very thin and yellow and black). So they tend to generally not be able to jump it successfully.

So back to restraints for your dog.

The way I got around the concerns about injuring the neck was to suspend a wire between two large, sturdy trees. The wire was about 120 feet long, so plenty of room for the dog to move around. I used regular wire with a guard where it wrapped round the tree to prevent the tree from growing around the wire. I've seen others use heavy duty webbing to go round the trees. I've also seen people wrap a bicycle tire around a tree to attach the wire to - not necessary for give, because the whole setup has a lot of give.

I've seen people incorporate various kinds of springs - but you have to remember, the system has a lot of give to it, and springs mean more parts to check, lubricate, adjust...and to wear out. And the springs tend to fail suddenly without warning.

I've also seen people just screw a great big eye bolt into each tree. I don't like to do that - I've seen them loosen up as the tree grows, and you don't get any warning, the dog just pulls them out one day.

The ideal is if you can get your wire up high - then no one is going to snag it when they're mowing the lawn or working in the yard. Keep in mind the wire will sag a bit with time so you really should plan on putting it up a good ways. I like to have the anchor points at least at 10,12 feet off the ground.

Then, a 'drop line' goes down from the wire, I mounted a heavy duty metal ring on the wire before I secured the wire, and attached a long section of bungie cord material to it, with a heavy duty snap on the end of the bungie corn material.

I've seen some people use nylon rings as they're quieter on the wire, but they have to be checked and replaced more often. And I really like the metal ring - I find it assuring that I can hear it going zing, zing, zing back and forth, it lets me know the dog is fine and everything's going ok.

I've used different things. Bungie line doesn't last forever. The sun gets it, and it just doesn't last forever. You need to keep your eye on it. A piece of climber's webbing has a fair bit of stretch to it (I think 40% of its length on a hard fall) and lasts longer. Again, you don't need to worry about getting a lot of play in the system because that's inherent in it.

The snap goes on the collar ring. I used a martingale training collar - this removes concerns about a regular training collar getting too tight(the regular training collar has no 'stop' on it so can tighten 'however much'). The martingale collar needs to be fitted so it is snug, though, or the dog will slip it off.

There is so much 'give' in the setup that the dog can't get hurt. Even if he runs down the line and hits it as hard as he possibly can, there is just that much give in the setup - no matter how tight you think you're putting the wire up.

I put the wire up with split bolts so I can tighten it occasionally. I tried greasing the bolts, that kept them from freezing up or corroding. I also tried, one year, loktite, which when you want to 'break' the loktite seal, you just tap it a couple times with a hammer, lightly.

So that cost about 30 dollars, wire, split bolts, etc. Plenty of freedom for the dog, and no potential for injury.

The tension in the overhead line keeps the drop line from getting tangled round the dog's legs. But there's enough give that they don't get hurt if they hit the end of the line.

 

[PuppyBantamCochin]

http://www.maxflex.com/Nets_page1.HTM

I just thought about this. You could make a 40x40 area for your dog using one roll. Depending on how much you can spend, it may work.
One downside would be if there are any small children in the home or in the neighborhood, since it is electric.

 

[patandchickens]

I would never in a million years use electronet to contain a run-run-run dog, especially not a small area like that. It is SO easy for a fast-moving animal to either try to go over/thru the fence, or to just fail to stop/turn in time, and get tangled in it and shocked to death. Seriously.

Plus which it is not cheap.

Sorry, honestly every time I read these threads of the o.p.'s I just think "call a BC rescue and see if they can find a more BC-suitable home for her"

You just *can't* keep every dog in every circumstance, as sincerely as one may wish to.


Pat

 

[welsummerchicks]

Doesn't the fence charger have an automatic cutoff so it won't keep running for more than like a second continuously if any animal falls or gets stuck in the fence? Every one I've ever looked at had that as a safety feature.

 

[iluvsedward]

choke collar

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Pulsed chargers still kill. The only thing the pulse does is it lets you let go IF YOU CAN, rather than keeping your muscles spasmed onto the wire.

When animals are tangled in electric fencewire, they die.

Really really.

Pat

 

[Peck Johnson]

I think you might try Tea Tree Oil and put a good dose of it on the harness. Most dogs will take one bite and be revolted by the taste.

 

[BeccaB00]

Quote:
I know, but see, things are going well. The thread is about a good harness, but got turned

to fencing. Shes totally fine

We've also made a huge improvement on training.

PuppyBantamCochin - No she runs and rips in cricles. She still, I guess 'forgets' and runs straight,

and gets jerked back, which was why I bought her a harness. But, she didn't like that and chewed it