Targa and Tucker took off again yesterday morning. This time they got out of the yard. Tucker has gotten out of the yard before, but I think this is the first time Targa has run through the invisible fence. They have been gone overnight – this is the second time they have been gone overnight (the last time, they took off on a walk in the woods). I don’t usually worry if one of them is gone by himself – alone they don’t go far. But together they can go for hours.
I think it is a combination of Tucker being a beagle, and the invisible fence covering too much of the yard. For most of the yard, the invisible fence follows the property boundaries, even when there is no natural barrier for the dogs (e.g. a stone wall). It makes it difficult to train Tucker to the boundaries in the back of the yard – he is pretty good at not approaching the boundaries when someone is watching him.
Yesterday, Will and I rerouted the invisible fence. It now only will allow the dogs in about half of the yard. It now follows a stone wall (a natural boundary for the dogs) for about half of the boundary. Hopefully this eliminates the section of the yard that Tucker has been escaping from. We also will build a fenced (real fence, not just invisible fence) section of the yard to let the dogs run in when we can’t watch them outside.
Our friends, Rob and Anna are re-homing their dog, Dillon, because he isn’t getting along with their horses. Rob asked if I wanted Dillon (he offered free eggs along with the dog – I was heading over to pick up eggs from their farm yesterday). I told him (joking) that we would trade Tucker for Dillon. When he told Anna what I said, she thought for a second and then said that they would rather keep Dillon.
