In this installment of Pitbull Puppy Training Tips, I’ll be talking about how to keep your Pitbull safe and sound in the yard.
Pitbulls are powerful, exhuberant animals, so you have to be sure that your yard is secure.
That will keep your Pit from darting off after the first interesting thing it sees.
While this isn’t exactly a training article, it does cover one of the most important factors in owning a Pitbull – keeping them where they belong.
This installment was inspired by a question on one of my favorite forums. The poster asked:
I know pit bulls are notorious for being escape artists. I’ve done everything I can to keep my dogs safe inside or outside in the backyard. But they always seem to find a way out. Anyone have any suggestions on keeping them from trying to run out?
Pitbull Puppy Training Tips – Containment is Key
Like I just said. Pitbulls are powerful animals. They are also energetic, and they love to investigate everything. That means you need to be sure your yard is thoroughly escape proof. You can, of course, train your Pitbull puppy in all of the standard commands like sit, stay, and come, but you really want a Fort Knox yard.
Today’s Pitbull Puppy Training Tips is going to talk about what to do and what not to do when preparing your yard for your Pitbull puppy.
Related: Pitbull Puppy Training Tips: What’s the Best Way
No Invisible Fence
Invisible fences might be great if you have a small or medium sized dog, but I don’t like them for larger dogs or for dogs as powerful and goofy as Pitbulls. If something is sufficiently interesting to your Pitbull, it can and will run right through that invisible fence. In addition to that, because an invisible fence uses mild shock to contain the dog, once your pooch is past the fence and investigated whatever got it excited, it’s not going to pass back into your yard.
No Chain Link
Chain link fences are another huge no-no in the Pitbull Puppy Training Tips segment. Believe it or not, Pitbulls can climb! When I worked at the vet, we had a Pitbull who boarded frequently. We kept finding her roaming the hospital in the morning when we’d come in, and we couldn’t figure out why. One day, I figured it out. I went into the kennel area to clean up, and I found her perched at the top of our chain link run cage. She had climbed her way up and was getting ready to do her escape dive to the floor.
So no chain link fences if you want to keep your Pitbull puppy in the yard. They may not be able to do it now, but when they’re grown, it will be no problem at all for them to dart right up that thing.
A Tall Fence is the Best Fence
Not only can Pitbulls climb, they can jump. These guys are actually surprisingly good jumpers, so you need a high fence. The standard four foot variety isn’t going to cut it with these guys. They’ll just jump and snag the top with their front legs. Then off they go.
Related: Pitbull Puppy Training Tips – The Extra Stubborn Puppy
Pro Pitbull Puppy Training Tip: The best fence is a tall privacy fence. It prevents your Pitbull from seeing what’s on the other side of the fence, and it ensures that your lovable escape artist can’t, well… escape.
Super Security – Above and Below
Another big tip in this installment of Pitbull Puppy Training Tips is to prevent subterranean escape. In addition to being great climbers, the tenatious Pitbull is also a breed that can dig like crazy.
I have experience with this at the vet, too. We had another Pitbull who ALWAYS dug her way out of the outside runs where we let them go potty. If we took our eyes off of her for 10 minutes, she would dig her way out.
To prevent this in your yard, dig a trench eight inches deep and eight inches wide along the perimeter of your fence and then fill 6 inches of it with concrete. After it sets, cover the remaining two inches with dirt and seed it with grass. Once it comes in, you’ve got an impenetrable barrier against digging that you don’t even know is there.
Keeping Them Contained is Key to Keeping Them Safe
This is an important addition to my Pitbull Puppy Training Tips Series, because they are such stinkers! With a pet as powerful and eager to explore as a Pitbull, you’re going to need to make sure your yard is a full-on Fort Knox. If you set up a nice, tall privacy fence, and pour that concrete barrier as I laid out in this Pitbull Puppy Training Tips segment, you should have no trouble at all with your Pitbull making a break for it.
Did you have your own little escape artist? How did you train your pitbull puppy to stay in the yard?
