hi all
just a quick one, my 2 boxers were out in the garden this morning, playing and being daft as usual and both decided to jump the fence.This hasn't happened since we moved here in january,so its been about four months since they last jumped the fence.
I know they see people and dogs walking past in the near distance but they have never battered an eye lid,never had the urge to get over and greet them but this morning baffled me,one minute they're there and the next...vanished.
why is this? i don't understand, why this long for them to think ' i can jump this,no problem'   i reckon Bruce is the villain here though,then Lucy follows him wherever he goes and when i go out to get them,i know they'll be together so i don't have to look in many places for 2 dogs, i didn't have to look far though.
why did they just suddenly jump? just when i thought they were both trustable in the garden, i could get a bigger fence but i didn't feel the need to until now

Maybe there is a bitch in season in your area.

If your fence is a wooden panel fence you could put trellis work on the top instead of replacing the whole fence
Archer

lol
it is my bitch which is in season,

Well you have answered yurself then, the bitch spurred on by her hormones took the opportunity to go looking for a mate, and he companion came too.

the way to ensure doigs don't get out is to never let them succeed.  the very first time you realised they were able to negotiate the 4 foot fence, it would have been wise to invcrease it to 6 feet.

Now that they know how to jump 6 feet will not be that much more difficult for a boxer to jump, and you had best put an inward facing lip of wire mesh using angled brackets on the fence posts, in order to ensure they can't get out.

Having had an escapologist in my first dog who managed to get right over even 7 feet of gate, this is what I had to do.

When she died following one of her escape attempts, when I got my present dogs I made usre the fences were sufficiently tall to stop a casual attempt.

I would also take my bitch to the Vet for an antimate injection, as he could well have got mated.

archer
the fence which i have is only 4ft high and its a mesh fence so can't really do much with it

and you left your in season bitch unattended ?

poss baby,s are on the way.????

they were only out for 5mins,went make a cuppa,turned round and they were gone.i got them both  after 5mins of looking but the first one to jump the fence has always been the male not the female, i saw Bruce looking over the fence this morning and had a firm talking to, Lucie is really good,never goes astray when  we are out walking alone and has a different approach altogether than Bruce.Bruce however.......now thats another story,lol
but like i say, they have'nt done this sort of thing for months

first of all, it only take a moment to get pregnant!!  when you have an in-heat female, you need to keep her safe from reproducing.  she will mate with some other dog and more unplanned puppies will be born into this world resulting in more dogs in shelters..  this is very bad and if you cannot keep your girl dog out of reach when she is in heat, you should probably spay her.  im not trying to "come down on you", but i take this really seriously.  these are the sort of accidents that happen all the time with unfixed dogs.  that is why im such an advocator of spaying/neutering.  i can't stand to go to a shelter and see so many sad sad dogs.  it is just heartbreaking.  there are too many unwanted dogs as it is to be allowing more to enter the world.  that is why i  get so grumpy when i hear of this sort of thing.

so, now that you were reminded that they can and will jump over the fence, i suggest you build it higher, like some others here have said.  i liked the trellis idea, then it is pretty at the top, not just continued wood or metal. 

And don't forget other dogs can jump in just as easily!

excellent point, isabel.  that is exactly why it is so hard to keep a rein over an un nuetered/spayed dog.  all kinds of boy dogs want your inheat girl, and if you have an intact boy, he wants at every girl.  very challenging i imagine.

I have a Beardie cross.  She was one of eighteen puppies born to two Bearded Collie sisters who were got by the same dog jumping into their secure garden.

Which is exactly why a responsible person never leaves an in-season bitch outside unattended.

accidents do happen  . at least boxer love your trying to work out and sort the problem :)id make the fence a little higher someone once said make the top on the fence bend in this normaly stops them trying it .
unfortunatly you may have another problem on your hands now . but im sure you will sort it out . if it carrys on just keep posting new people pop up from time to time on the topics and say how they sorted the same problems out

Hi, is it not possible to plant bushes in front of the fence like holly or climbing roses? This might help 'block their view' and deter them from the fence?   just a thought.
Dee

i am sorry if i sounded a bit harsh before.  yes, accidents happen.  however, these accidents are why in the US the shelters are overflowing with unwanted dogs and cats just waiting for a home.  most of them get euthanized.  this is why i am such a pusher of spaying and neutering and it drives me crazy when i read from people who refuse to spay/neuter their pets even though they aren'g "planning" on breeding them.  so, i apologize if i sounded unforgiving and mean earlier, i just take this seriously.  just think of walking into just one of the many shelters and hearing the sound of dogs barking and crying and seeing thier eyes staring at you.  each one of them wanting out.

HI
Yeah, i know where u're coming from and know that people on here really care about 'unspayed/in tact' problems which occur very regularly, like u say accidents do happen and my incident was just an error in my part, the problem is now cured :) i've gone for the 'screening' effect as Missie says, its certainly done the job. no hard feelings, i reckon i posted without thinking first, i should have re -worded some of the things,  but thanks for all opinions and hope to stay friends,lol
gary

I'm really pleased I helped someone. I have in fact used that method to stop my neighbours kids climbing into my back garden. Its one thing for them to land on a nice soft lawn, another to land in rose bushes lol
Dee

:)  i've not actually used rose bushes, its a good idea although the kids next door aren't that bad,lol
i've used the bamboo screens from b&q,just cable-tied it to the mesh, works a treat.
gary

I'm pleased you found a solution anyway. I think my heart would stop if my dogs got out, we live on a very busy road, but we have 6ft high fencing aswell, no back gate and a cage around the pond so they are safe. Its like having kids again :D

my reply was to boxerluv really not aimed at anyone . I know all too well the situation in the rescue your talking about as i try to help the dogs out the pounds but i think we have someone sensible enough to ask for help to stop her dogs getting out . it probably slipted her mind that she was in season :) early mornings and remebering things dont go well together :P