The Great Escape

As we stood admiring a friend's border collie, "Martha", he bragged,"This dog can do everything but make coffee."  We noticed she was a very smart girl.  We looked down at little 8 week old Skye and told her, "One day YOU will be that smart!"

When we bought our new house we had decided that Skye could have her own part of the yard--the back part.  We put in a very attractive iron fence with four inch bars so that she could have her own yard but still be able to see us when we were outside.  We planned her yard carefully.  It was all shade in the afternoon.  She had two very attractive dog houses one facing east and one facing west.   The edge of the yard was a three foot wide smooth gravel jogging path completely around her yard. The center of the yard was sodded with soft, green, cool bermuda grass for lounging in the shade.

At first all was well.  Skye loved her yard and enjoyed getting to come and play with us in our part of the yard when we were out.  It was perfect.  Our doors didn't get scratched, the windows didn't have nose art and all was well.

Then our two granddogs came to visit.  Dante is an Italian greyhound.  He is very thin and his full width is probably 3 inches so he just waltzed back and forth between the two yards.  Then Aldous the mini wiener dog decided that he could do it too.  That left Skye in her yard alone while they had the run of BOTH yards.  Not to be outdone she found a spot at the sides of the fence that had--at least a 5 inch space.  Push, push and she was through too.  I was so irritated.  Before Dante and Aldous had come over she had no desire to come in to our yard.

After the granddogs left she continued to go back and forth through the fence.   Which was okay--except for the nose art, and then it rained and we had mud on the doors.  I told Jim this situation HAD to rectified!
Down to Lowes he went and bought some mesh fencing that had 4 inch squares.   It worked--until Dante and Aldous came again.  This time they showed Skye that the edges were a little loose and with barely a push of the nose all could still get through at the sides of the fence.  Back to Lowes.

This time Jim got smaller mesh fencing.  It had 1 inch squares which NO DOG no matter how small could get through. He attached it at the top and bottom with wire.  Wire wrapped around each of the little bars at the top and the bottom. And IT WORKED!!

For a week that is.  Then Skye figured out how to slip her nose under the bottom of the mesh. And by slowly pushing up with the nose she could lift the wire mesh and slide once again through the bars at the bottom of the fence.

This morning Jim got up, got the wagon and went around the neighborhood picking up broken discarded bricks.  He figures if he loops the wire around the bottom of the mesh then through the brick she won't be able to push it up with her nose.......well and if she does, maybe we will just teach her to make the coffee.