[denise falck]

Hi guys, I'm new here... I'm a professional dog trainer and I need some tips or help with a particular situation. I have a client with 2 sweet dogs, they are brothers (10 months age), they have a big and beautiful garden to play, the owners provide a lot of enrichment, play and activities but these dogs loves the garden spotlights. They rip out all of the spotlights (like 20), the owners understand that they are "puppy" exploring the environment, they need more control and everything but at this moment we need to provide some physical protection to the new spotlights, including because it's not safe to them. I can not do a big intervention, I need some simple and creative solution. Some tips or suggestion about what can I do to block the spotlight access?

This picture is from Google, only to illustrate the spotlights that they have on the garden

 

[storyist]

My first choice would be to give up the lights. If they won't do that -

Fence I the lights with something a little stiffer/stronger than chicken wire? In this area that's what people use to protect trees and shrubs from deer. Depending on the locations, an electric wire of the sort used for horse fencing might do it. I've used that for a dog that climbed my regular fence.

 

[Shell]

If they are biting or mouthing at the lights, I'd probably start with a dog-safe nasty tasting repellent like Bitter Apple Spray. A small cage of woven wire or chicken wire, shaped into a dome and buried a few inches into the ground, can be unpleasant to the paws. I would NOT use electric wire or a shock collar, too much chance of unintended negative association.

Are the dogs exercised and trained separate from each other? Do they eat or mouth other items in the yard?

 

[Knute]

My first thoughts would be to reinstall the lights with all the wiring running inside PVC Tubing. The lights themselves can be caged with several methods, any method would require firm, deep anchor into the ground. The PVC should be buried at least 6-12 inches deep.

Or erect a barrier to prevent the pups from access to the lights, like a fence.

Or remount the lights on poles.

Or relocate the lights to be under the spotted item to use an Up-Lighting scheme.

Any solution should have the wiring inside PVC tubing and buried or protected.

In short, the owner's need to take steps to Puppy Proof their garden.

I don't see the connection to you as the trainer to solve the "light problem"

 

[Patchy & Sue]

Hi guys, I'm new here... I'm a professional dog trainer and I need some tips or help with a particular situation. I have a client with 2 sweet dogs, they are brothers (10 months age), they have a big and beautiful garden to play, the owners provide a lot of enrichment, play and activities but these dogs loves the garden spotlights. They rip out all of the spotlights (like 20), the owners understand that they are "puppy" exploring the environment, they need more control and everything but at this moment we need to provide some physical protection to the new spotlights, including because it's not safe to them. I can not do a big intervention, I need some simple and creative solution. Some tips or suggestion about what can I do to block the spotlight access?

This picture is from Google, only to illustrate the spotlights that they have on the garden

View attachment 261755

Has owner taught their dogs the word "LEAVE IT" so they know this is naughty.. in 1 year they will probably will leave the lights alone, I would be coming outside with the 2 dogs & as soon as 1 goes to play with the lights say " LEAVE it,- naughty" then as the dog has walked away from the light give the dog a ball or a toy they can both play with a toy they don't get all the time, a special toy that's kept away & giving only when the dogs go outside that they really like to play with.
Crates, you know the blue plastic milk crates they have holes all around the crate & the light can still shine thru, stick them over the lights & spray crates with pepper/chilli spray to deter the dogs from bitting the crates.

 

[PatriciafromCO]

why are they unsupervised instead of being supervised so the owner is there to teach them the lights are off limits?????? Garden has rules ,, white on rice... to redirect and reward

tether them to restrict them when the owner is home and insure they remain safe on tether but not going to be outside with them to supervise. prevent them from running a muck and learning to chew up lights

30 days at least... to start...

 

[denise falck]

My first choice would be to give up the lights. If they won't do that -

Fence I the lights with something a little stiffer/stronger than chicken wire? In this area that's what people use to protect trees and shrubs from deer. Depending on the locations, an electric wire of the sort used for horse fencing might do it. I've used that for a dog that climbed my regular fence.

Hi, thanks for the suggestions and tips
I've been thinking about all the suggestions and talked to the owners to decide what can be the best option.

 

[denise falck]

If they are biting or mouthing at the lights, I'd probably start with a dog-safe nasty tasting repellent like Bitter Apple Spray. A small cage of woven wire or chicken wire, shaped into a dome and buried a few inches into the ground, can be unpleasant to the paws. I would NOT use electric wire or a shock collar, too much chance of unintended negative association.

Are the dogs exercised and trained separate from each other? Do they eat or mouth other items in the yard?

They are bitting... We use some different repellents brands, at first they work very well, but day after day the dogs become more tolerant and get closer again. Maybe the best alternative is a cage, I was thinking a lot about this, the owners had some problems with this garden and they asked me a lot to look for a positive alternative. Without risks for dogs.
Thanks for your suggestions and tips, they are very useful.

 

[denise falck]

My first thoughts would be to reinstall the lights with all the wiring running inside PVC Tubing. The lights themselves can be caged with several methods, any method would require firm, deep anchor into the ground. The PVC should be buried at least 6-12 inches deep.

Or erect a barrier to prevent the pups from access to the lights, like a fence.

Or remount the lights on poles.

Or relocate the lights to be under the spotted item to use an Up-Lighting scheme.

Any solution should have the wiring inside PVC tubing and buried or protected.

In short, the owner's need to take steps to Puppy Proof their garden.

I don't see the connection to you as the trainer to solve the "light problem"

Hi, we were studying install the lights inside the cage, (like a chicken fence) maybe this can be the best solution for this case (garden x dogs x owners). They are very active dogs and and spend some time alone unsupervised, the house logistics require that they can use the garden during this time.

"I don't see the connection to you as the trainer to solve the "light problem""
I did not understand what you meant, it may seem a bit hostile, but I believe it was not your intention.

In my opinion, sometimes it´s very positive exchange experiences, even if they are very simple, because each person has a different way of solving the same problem, this set of ideas can be very positive and promotes a sense of unity. I really appreciate the different ways of solving simple things, there are many people with creative ideas. For some people it makes no difference, but for others (like me) it is very important, so thank you so much for your suggestions and tips, I thought a lot about this case because there are so many challenges with these dogs, the garden is only the smallest of them and can share a little here helped me clarify some ideas about the whole and besides it was my opportunity to start some conversation in this forum.

 

[denise falck]

Has owner taught their dogs the word "LEAVE IT" so they know this is naughty.. in 1 year they will probably will leave the lights alone, I would be coming outside with the 2 dogs & as soon as 1 goes to play with the lights say " LEAVE it,- naughty" then as the dog has walked away from the light give the dog a ball or a toy they can both play with a toy they don't get all the time, a special toy that's kept away & giving only when the dogs go outside that they really like to play with.
Crates, you know the blue plastic milk crates they have holes all around the crate & the light can still shine thru, stick them over the lights & spray crates with pepper/chilli spray to deter the dogs from bitting the crates.

They are very active dogs, when they are alone they have a lot of fun running through the trees and bushes and in the end they turn out the lights, but always when they are alone. With people they are much more controlled, they learned a lot of commands and they love this way of interacting with humans, but when they are alone they have a lot of fun being dogs.

Thanks for your tips, the plastic milk idea is very good idea to mix "block access" with repellent products.

 

[denise falck]

why are they unsupervised instead of being supervised so the owner is there to teach them the lights are off limits?????? Garden has rules ,, white on rice... to redirect and reward

tether them to restrict them when the owner is home and insure they remain safe on tether but not going to be outside with them to supervise. prevent them from running a muck and learning to chew up lights

30 days at least... to start...

I agree with your opinion, garden needs to have rules. When they are with humans, they are soooo cute, but alone they have fun being dog... he architecture of the house is completely open to the garden, only the private areas have restricted access, but the dogs' area is integrated with the garden.

I received a lot of good ideas, maybe the crate can be a better solution, but I'm 100% agree with your opinion, the rules is important to safe, in the normal cases the dogs have no full access all the day, but this is a very special case.

Thanks for your suggestions

 

[Knute]

Denise.....not hostile.

I just don't understand how it is your responsibility to dog proof the garden. You are the trainer. Your client needs to take responsibility to dog proof their garden.