| At first it seems obvious, your house, your | | | | thing. Neighbors start to complain. |
| dog, his yard, of course he is going to bark | | | | |
| at someone passing by. You stick your head | | | | What we have really done, is told our dog |
| out the window and yell Quiet! He barks a | | | | okay, when I open this door, you're on your |
| couple more times and then quits. You feel | | | | own. Guess what your dog relies on when he |
| like your dog sort of listened. He is, at | | | | is on his own? You got it, sense of smell. |
| least, quiet for now. | | | | And we are shocked when they use their sense |
| | | | of smell to dig a hole and escape. And if |
| Dogs have an amazing sense of smell. This | | | | they can't escape? You know the behavior, |
| smell can be streamlined for use in explosive | | | | barking, running the fence line, |
| detection, weapon detection, and drug | | | | patrolling... |
| detection. What does this have to do with | | | | |
| your fenced in yard? Everything. | | | | We don't realize that our fence is |
| | | | meaningless to our dog. A fence is not a |
| From a dogs' perspective humans are a little | | | | fence to a dog. It is a thing that blocks |
| dull when it comes to sense of smell. Have | | | | him from all those amazing smells on the |
| you ever been in the checkout line at a | | | | other side. Your dog starts to own the |
| grocery store and the woman in front of you | | | | fence. If you can't beat it, join it he |
| wreaks of perfume. You say to yourself | | | | thinks. Besides, you said whatever happened |
| ...and she left the house thinking she | | | | outside was okay. You did this when you let |
| smelled sexy! You hold your breath until | | | | them out the door and told him he was on his |
| it's your turn to check out. When it's | | | | own. |
| finally your turn to pay, you and the checker | | | | |
| meet eyes with one of those agreeing | | | | This same thing happens inside our house. |
| disapproval looks. | | | | Except with less escaping. Why does your dog |
| | | | go crazy and bark out the window at a |
| Welcome to your dogs world. Yup, this is how | | | | passerby? You haven't given boundaries. To |
| your dog smells you. Remember this the next | | | | your dog, your house is just a weird fenced |
| time you tell your dog he stinks like a dog. | | | | in yard, with a difficult escape route. |
| He is probably thinking...yeah, back atcha | | | | |
| buddy. | | | | Dogs need their human to teach them about |
| | | | boundaries. We can't rely on fences and |
| Back to your fenced in yard. Humans think a | | | | walls to do this for us. People train dogs, |
| boundary for a dog means a fence. We feel | | | | not fences. Go outside with your dog and |
| comfortable and safe knowing when we open the | | | | interact with him. Tell him you got it under |
| back door to let the dog out they are safely | | | | control. Boundaries set by humans are more |
| confined to a fence. We feel like we are | | | | comforting to dogs. It lets them know you |
| following the rules of being a good citizen. | | | | got it covered. They won't feel like they |
| It is not apparent at first, but after awhile | | | | have to bark and protect and guard so much if |
| your dog goes outside and starts patrolling, | | | | their human interacts with them outside, and |
| or guarding. We don't notice this behavior | | | | determines the boundaries. |
| until they start barking at every little | | | | |