Moving to the Country - A Few Questions

[Stella]

We are hopefully moving in the next couple of months to a property in the country, which will have a few acres of land that is not fenced. Currently, we live in a neighborhood with a fenced yard that our two labradoodles can run around in and we take them for three leashed walks a day around the neighborhood. When we have been away we have been able to hike with them off leash without losing one of them yet!!

Initially, we won't be able to afford (!!) to put up a fenced area to contain them and I am worried they may wonder off and get lost/ run over/ eaten by a bear!! We could keep them leashed, but one of the reasons for moving is so that they have more space to run around in.

Does anyone have any tips on moving house and how to make it less stressful for the dogs?
Does anyone live in the country? How do you keep your doodles from wondering?
Has anyone tried a GPS collar so that at least you can find them if they do run off?

Thank you

[katherine willis]

Hi Stella,

I live in rural Maine during the spring/summer. Our property is on the ocean but surrounded by acres of woods. We have every kind of wild animal in the area so I was very concerned that my Australian mini doodle, with his exuberance, would decide to run into the woods. I worked with a trainer who had experience in training dogs with an e-collar. Whenever we go out I put the collar on my doodle. I have a controller and Sandy has been trained to come when I call. The controller has a page function that feels like the vibration you get from your cell phone on mute. It is essenial you get a trainer's help with this and not just buy an e-collar at a pet store. If the dog is not trained properly he/she may become like velcro or be totally afraid to go out.

In my case, my doodle is now incredibly well trained so that when I call him to come even when he doesn't have the collar on (for instance in the house) he responds immediately. I like to garden so I am able to have him outdoors with me and not worry about his getting lost. Before giving him the e-collar we had completed basic and intermediate training and he would come about 80% of the time but I cold not count on it.

I don't know what your rural area is but in our case porcupine (not to mention bear and mountain lion) are a big concern. Consequently, I NEVER let my doodle out unless I am with him.

I move between two houses every six months ( and I have also moved into new homes with dogs). I have not found it necessary to do anything special except to make sure that I have a bed with which he is familiar and usually a new and very inviting toy. I have always been amazed at how well dogs adapt as long as you are there and their routine is followed.

Hope this helps and enjoy your new home.

[Stella]

Thank you so much for your feedback. Both of them have done obedience training, but the recall is not 100% especially if something more fun and interesting is going on!! They are both still quite young - 2 and 1 year old, so I am hoping that with continued practice and training this will improve. The e-collar is defintely an option if we can find the right person to teach us how to use one.

I wouldn't let them out unsupervised, there are black bear in the area (we are hopefully moving to north ontario). But, I don't want to be worrying that they will take off if they see something worth running after - fox, rabbit, goose!!!

We go away on trips and take the doodles with us. Our older one is a very mellow guy who settles and sleeps anywhere as long as he has his blanket. The younger one however, is very highly strung and is usually very restless when we are away from home despite having his own blanket and toys. I guess, with time he will come to realise the new house is his new home.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I am a city girl, but I wouldn't even think of letting my dogs run free without being right with them. I agree with the point of your moving so that they could have room to roam, but it wouldn't be safe if there are wild animals as well as the threat of other things that could hurt them. I wonder if you could afford to put up a good-sized dog run - with a top - usually made of chain length, that would let them be safely outside off-leash, until you could afford a fenced area.

[Stella]

Thanks Nancy, you are right - I wouldn't let them out unsupervised. But, I worry that they may find something more interesting than me when I ask them to come back and come inside!! I worry that their obedience training might go out the window when faced with the opportunity to run after rabbits etc!! I guess it will be trial and error initially. I do have a 25 foot lunge line if I need something to get hold of if necessary! After buying a generator and something to plough the driveway with, a fence of some kind will be next on the list!!

[Ginny Nightingale]

I know that not everyone will agree, but I love my invisible fence--you would have to decide if it is right for you and if you could afford it. My dogs have a bit over an acre to roam and never cross the line. It keeps them in my backyard and away from a verydangerous road that my house is on.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Like I said, I am a city girl so I probably don't know much about the country and fencing. Because we have a backyard with a fence and a doggie door, I never supervise the dogs outside so I think it is just a matter of "proper procedures" for the environment. It seems others who do live in the country have given you more practical advice for living in the countryside. I'll bet it is beautiful where you will be. I am envious of that.

[Dori]

Hi - we live out in the country where fencing would be prohibitive - if even allowed by our CC&Rs. Teddy is mostly an inside dog, but of course goes out several times a day. We just keep an eye on him - he generally runs between our house and the neighbor below us where his best dog friend lives. We've never had an issue yet thank goodness - and he is now 2 - but we do pretty much always keep an eye on him when he is outside. Where we've seen his best friend/dog run across the street - Teddy always stops at the property line and looks back at us. Not sure how we got him doing that - or maybe it is just in his nature. The biggest issue is all of the rough out there on his coat - during certain times of the year it can take up to a half an hour to get all his stickers out after a romp. But - I'm a country girl and wouldn't have it any other way!

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

We live in the middle of several hundred acres of open farm land with visible near by roads. Have found inground fence works quite well. Haley will bark at any distractions on the roads (like dogs, people, tractors etc.) but does not cross the fence. He ususally just barks and runs to me. Am always outside with him but he is not always in sight. He does not follow me when I cross the fence.

The first dog we had here did not have the inground fence as he was a chow mix and we were advised by the Invisible Fence people that it probably would not work for him. I constantly worried that he would get in the road at the wrong time.

The inground fence, in my opinion, is the best way to go if a physical fence is not an option. It is not very expensive if you install it yourself.

Hope you enjoy country living as much as we do.

[Stella]

I am sure we will, although so many things to get used to - getting water from a well, septic systems, no more high-speed internet!!

[Louise and Toby]

We live in the country but have a wrought iron fence around our back yard. Others nearby have invisible fences which seem to work.

One thing we have always done is take Toby out on a leash when it is dark outside. We really want to avoid a skunk event!! That's my living in the country advice!

[Stella]

Evetually, I would love to have a wrought iron fence around an area by the house, so that they have an area to run around in but can't bolt off if they see something!! In the meantime, I think we will have to go back to going out on a leash for potty breaks.... and we will keep working on improving our recall!!