Posted on October 13, 2009 by: WayCoolDogs

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Guest Post by Electric Dog Fence DIY’s staff veterinarian, Dr. Susan Wright

While most dogs in today’s world are kept as companions or pets, some dogs do have “real” jobs like guarding, herding, rescuing, sniffing (for all kinds of things) or being a service dog.  Throughout history dogs have worked happily beside their masters doing virtually whatever was asked of them.

Some breeds have proven to be very versatile like the German Shepherd who works as a guardian, soldier, search and rescue worker, police officer, service dog or even herd dog.  Different breeds exhibit their unique natural skills and intelligence, and frequently breeders’ pair the best of the best to fine-tune a breed’s traits while maintaining a general willingness to do their job.

Then there are other breeds that are the antithesis of versatility and obedience, and they are just as focused on their single, dominant trait today as when the breed was first conceived.  Meet Gus, the Beagle.  I have heard a Beagle described as a nose with legs, and this described Gus perfectly.  That boy would put his nose to the ground and just disappear.

He was a regular Houdini when it came to getting out of the backyard.  There were times when I knew that he was on the wrong side of the fence because I was looking at him, but for the life of me I could not figure out how he got there.  I used to check periodically to make sure that he really did not have opposable thumbs.

When Gus was in the yard he was only there because he had let himself back in.  The only way that I ever knew that he had been out of the yard in the first place was that he looked like he swallowed a basketball, and all of our neighbors had empty cat food bowls on their back porches. Yes, I know cat food is bad for dogs, but you tell Gus!  Once he found food in a spot he always remembered, and he would always check that place for food again.

Everybody loved Gus.  I guess that should have been my first big clue that he was spending more time out of the yard than in it.  Every once in a while he would come home with a souvenir that he picked up on his travels like a tennis shoe, someone’s dog toy or a boot.

We tried everything to keep him in the yard, but as I said before he was a regular Houdini.  So one day as I was looking at my little Gus man (just about the cutest dog on the face of this planet), I thought, “You know little guy, you need a job to keep you out of trouble and in the yard.”

So I decided that his job was to keep and eye on the back door and let me know if anyone was coming.  In our neighborhood, we never use out front doors.  Everyone comes to the back door, so I figured that he could be my back door doorbell, or Beagle-bell.

Since Gus’ favorite thing in the world to track was food, and since he never forgot where he found food, that is how I decided to train him.  I put him outside by the back door and every few minutes I opened the door and tossed a piece of a biscuit out and closed the door.  When the first biscuit piece hit the sidewalk he came over to check it out, and jackpot, food!

As I watched from the window, he sat and looked at the door for a few minutes, and then he turned to head off, to escape from the yard I am sure.  So I opened the back door and tossed out another piece of a biscuit.  He was on it in a flash.  This time he lingered by the back door a little longer, and before he headed away, I opened the door and tossed out another piece of biscuit, which landed neatly in his mouth.  This could be Beagle heaven!

After just a couple of afternoon training sessions, Gus started watching the back door like a hawk.  Periodically when I am in the kitchen I walk by the back door and toss a piece of biscuit out to reward him for his efforts, and that is just enough to keep him focused.

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This guest post is brought to you by Electric Dog Fence DIY’s staff veterinarian Dr. Susan Wright. Dog Fence DIY takes you through all the steps of using their electric dog fence that includes installation, training, and how to find the best system for your pet.  There is a wide range of pet containment systems at the best prices.

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