Prevent Dog Bites by Preventing Your Dog from Escaping the Yard

Making sure your dog is properly contained is essential an essential part of pet safety. Whether it’s putting a dog on a leash when you go on a walk around the neighborhood or securing the dog in another room as visitors come in the house, restraining your dog not only protects your pet, it also protects visitors to your home and other people in the neighborhood from potentially being bitten or otherwise injured by your dog.

Dogs need to be able to run around and play and in many cases, this means spending time in their own backyard. But some dogs can be real escape artists and find ways to sneak out of the yard, despite your efforts to keep the dog contained. A responsible dog owner never wants to realize their dog snuck out of the yard and bit or attacked someone.

There are many different reasons why a dog might sneak out of a yard, ranging from being bored or lonely to seeing something they want to chase. A fenced-in yard is by far one of the most effective ways to keep a dog in the yard, but it’s important to make sure you have the right kind of fencing. Physical fences are a better option than invisible electric fences, but the fence needs to be too tall for a dog to jump over. If you have or planning to get a puppy and aren’t exactly sure how high the dog might be able to jump once it’s fully grown, a vet or professional dog trainer might be able to give you an idea. Lean-in fences can provide extra protection for high jumping dogs.

Once your fence is up, keep the area clear of anything that a dog could potentially use to help them climb over a fence, such as piles of wood, garbage cans, yard furniture, or boxes. Also, routinely inspect your fence to make sure there aren’t any signs of damage that could offer a dog an escape route or broken latches that could leave a gate open.

But what can you do if your dog loves to dig and keeps trying to tunnel out of your yard? One relatively simple option is to line the ground along the bottom of the fence with rocks. If you’re planning to have a new fence installed and want to be proactive in making sure there will be absolutely no problems, you could have a concrete footer installed at the same time. If adding a concrete footer isn’t an option for you, another thing you could consider is placing L-foot fencing along the base of the fence. An L-footer is a type of wire fencing that forms an L shape and when placed at the bottom of the fence, it can prevent a dog from tunneling out. The bottoms of L-footers can either be buried under the ground to keep it out of sight, or you can keep it above ground and use rocks or planters to hold it in place.

Dog owners have a responsibility to prevent their pets from injuring people. Michigan has a strict liability dog bite law which, in most cases, holds owners liable for injuries caused by dog bites even if the dog doesn’t have a history of behaving aggressively. If you’ve been bitten by a dog and had to seek medical treatment as a result, don’t hesitate to contact a dog bite lawyer. At Goodwin & Scieszka, we have lawyers who are experienced in helping Michigan dog bite victims. Contact us with any questions about your case and find out how we can help you.