[Brad Finley]

I have a sheltie that has run around our yard with an electronic wireless fence with a collar. In the last couple of days, he has been scared and reluctant to leave the porch. We can not figure out what has happened.

Please help as he seems sad and knows he should be running having fun. We don't really care what caused the problem, we just want to know what to do to correct him.

Thank you

[labman]

Hummmmmmmm? Try walking him in the yard on a leash. Praise him if he even starts down the steps. Maybe try some of the confidence building exercises I suggest for submissive urination.

Start with obedience training. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ As you praise the dog for following your commands, it will build its confidence.

Play tug of war with the dog and lose. However at the end of the game, take the rope or toy and put it up, less the dog becomes confused about who is top dog.
Ropes from the pets' store quickly turn to hazardous shreds. Ones I made
Lasted much better. Go to a hardware or home center that sells rope by the
Foot. Buy 2' of 3/4" poly rope. Melt the ends, and tie knots in it. Get
Them as tight as possible, put it in a vise and pound it with a hammer. Watch
Carefully, and be ready to discard when it comes apart.

Finally, make sure it has a den to live in. If you are not using a crate, buy one. The dog may be happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, may take some work.
Start just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going
in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at
Feeding time for more than one dog.

He must have had some sort of a bad experience. I hope he gets his conficence back.

[Ace High]

Dogs are great pets because they are easily trained. I would be easily trained with a shock or two also. Wouldn't take many shocks to train me to stay away from a location. Have you tried turning off the electronic fencing and taken his collar off to see if those are causing the problem. I would remove the collar and see if there is any change. Anything related to electricity and then compound it with "wireless" can cause problems. Put him on a regular leash with a regular collar and see if he will obey you outside the area he has recognized as a territory belonging to the electronic fence. Take him to a new location and see if he behaves as normal. Then try it in the "wireless" area and see if there is a change in behavior all with the regular leash and collar. He may just associate the area with shocks and not want to go there at all. I had an electric fence for horses once, of course the horses didn't wear collars but they learned real fast not to touch the tape. But I did notice that the place where the fence went underground to allow for the gate to open the ground became charged and would shock you because the "conduit" was shorting out" do to a leak in the conduit. I did have a probe that I could stick into the dirt and realized the problem with the conduit. To check the electric horse tape, I would pick a 12 inch long blade of green grass and touch the tape to see if it was "live", still would shock the hang out or me. I would hate to suggest that maybe you walk around on the damp grass maybe barefoot to see it the "fence is shorting out". Most large animal pet stores that stock electric fencing stuff will have a probe you can get also. Does the company that provided the wireless fencing have a contact number?? Contact them and see if they can help --- Ace