ugh escapee

[AprilW]

I have a rather large dog, 105 pound GSD. He spends some time in a chain link dog pen every day, you know the kind they sell at Lowe's and Home Depot. Lately he has been escaping from it. He pushes at the corners and is able to put enough pressure on the panels that the clamps come off. Trust me, these clamps are on tight too, but if the wire panels move the right way or twist the clamps fall right off. I don't know what to do. It's not like the dog spends all his days in there. He has house time, yard time, walks, we take him on the weekends to a nearby field to run to his heart's content. The pen isn't that small either - it's 10x20 feet. He has toys and a playmate most of the time (our 6 month old Rottie).

At first I thought maybe there was a female in heat, but he gets out and stays in the yard. That's not such a problem if someone is home, but when we aren't home it becomes a problem. I'm afraid he will go into someone else's yard. Zeus is mostly fine with people (afraid of most men, due to previous owners), but he looks very intimidating. I don't want him to get hurt just because he looks scary.

What can I do to keep him locked in? I'm willing to invest in another type of enclosure if need be.

[kitaye]

Use a heavy gauge wire twist in place of the clamps. They wont fall off. You might want to consider putting patio stones on the inside edge of the pen to help deter digging and further pushing of his panels.

[snowshoehair]

Yes, either replace the clamps with heavy wire or put the clamps on tight and then reinforce them with the wire so they won't come off.

Home Depot also sells ground anchors that you can use to secure the kennel to the ground... I can see this big guy figuring out how to squeak underneath! One at two of the opposing corners probably would do it. And the patio blocks might be good to use now before he figures out how to dig his way out. At his size, if he knows he can go under, he might find a way to move the blocks.

[Willowynd]

They sell tension bands for regular chain link, they look like a circle of metal with flat long ends where a bolt goes through. Go get those and put them on. Place one every 2 ft. along the sides panels and use the same on the sides of the gates. Those clips are worthless for anything but small dogs. Only place I use boxed kennels is for poultry. Then get HEAVY duty fence ties and use them on the top and bottom of gates and all around the top and bottom of the panels. You will not find them at home depot or Lowes. Order them online. I have a boy that can take the cheap ones off in a matter of minutes. The heavy ones take him longer so I can do daily checks and tighen as needed. Also, run railroad ties (the real ones not the landscape timbers) all the way around the outside of the run and use wire to attach the kennel to these or drill holes and use U bolts. The patio blocks are fine for around the edges, but if you use them to cover the whole area, you may have an issue with keeping the dog free of urine and feces. I find the railroad ties prevent dig outs without the use of patio blocks....though I ahve a couple males that are fence runners and do use patio blocks where they like to run back and forth when there is a male kenneled next to them.

[Maura]

Leave him in the house when you are gone. If you are using him as a guard dog, he's only guarding 10 x 20 of your property right now, whereas he'd be guarding your entire house if he was inside.