A dog that is prone to escaping can be a serious problem. Once your dog escapes, it is at the mercy of passing cars and motorists, and the longer it is out the more nervous it will get, making it more likely it will bite friendly pedestrians out of fear.

It is impossible to completely stop your dog from escaping without cruelly keeping it caged. A hunting dog, for example, always carries some risk because its instincts may get the better of it, causing it to chase after some small animal that may run by. All dogs have some sort of instinctual behaviors (digging, herding, hunting and more) that may lead it to escape from your home.

How Do Dogs Escape?

Hold a door open for too long or fail to patch up a hole in your backyard fence and your dog runs the risk of escaping. However, some dogs are able to figure out how to push open doors, unlock portable fences and more, so that even if you think you have your dog locked up, your dog may still be able to find a way to escape.

How to Stop Your Dog From Escaping

                1)      Block all holes in backyards fences.

Your dog cannot escape if exits are blocked. Any hole can become a bigger hole, so all holes should be plugged so as not to allow your dog to squeeze through. If your dog is a digger, you may need to get lower fences.

                2)      Childproof easy to open doors.

Dogs can learn to open some of your doors – especially doors that do not have doorknobs or have doorknobs that are flimsy. Add reinforcement and your dog will not be able to open them.

                3)      Tire your dog out every day.

Tired dogs have no reason to escape, and are content to stay where they are. Dogs that are tired also are able to maintain better control of their instincts, leading to less runaways.

                4)      Stop the causes of dogs running away.

Possible causes of runaway dogs include unneutered/spayed pets looking for a mate, hungry dogs, dogs that are not properly socialized, afraid dogs and bored dogs. A dog that does not want to run away will be less likely to escape.

                5)      Crate your dog when you leave for short periods of time.

It is not a good idea to leave your dog in a crate for long periods of time while you are gone, but if you are only going to the store or out for a short while, keep your dog in the crate so that it cannot escape.

You may never be able to be 100% sure your dog will not escape, but using these methods you can drastically reduce the likelihood.