Much like the space station, we have an airlock. Allow me to explain…
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| A reminder to our visitors… a non-football version adorns the door year-round. |
Bella is quite the little escape artist, and will take any opportunity to flee. (All Bella escape attempts are referred to as “fleeing” based upon a surprisingly adorable note a maintenance man left in our old apartment.) When I was a child, our dogs were fairly well-behaved and listened to my mom when she told them to stay in the yard. (That woman had some sort of magical Dr. Doolittle-esque abilities – I don’t think she had to train them. They just listened.) My family did experience one terrifying lost dog incident when Kandi (our Chihuahua) got lost in Richmond for a few days. We were visiting family, and Kandi managed to slip out. It was quite the harrowing experience – my parents even hired Bloodhounds to track her down. Eventually, we got a call from someone that had spotted Kandi sneaking cat food, and we were able to find her.
So, needless to say, I’m usually fairly careful about the potential for puppy escape after the Kandi escapade. Even so, Bella has managed to get around my defenses a few times. Fortunately, her penchant for escape is often balanced out by her puppy ADHD (aka her tendency to get distracted, or “oooh, shiny!”). Our first experience with the crafty canine flight risk also known as Bella was after a long road trip for the holidays. While we were bringing our luggage inside the apartment, Bella slipped by and ran outside. We chased her and I began to panic… however, she was distracted by the sight of a toy tricycle someone had left outside, and we were able to catch her.
After that, we put Bella on lockdown. Baby gates were purchased, and all friends and family were trained in the art of Bella containment. Even so, Bella managed to escape while we were visiting my parents. The scene was complete and utter chaos – my (now) hubby running frantically after Bella, while my mom hopped in the car to give chase. My parents live in a fairly rural area – there’s a quarter mile of gravel road until you hit the pavement. I thank my lucky stars every day that Bella followed the road instead of sprinting into the woods somewhere along the way. I thank those same lucky stars that she stopped to sniff a flower, making it possible for the hub to tackle her and bring her back to base. Bella really knows how to add some excitement to your day.
Anyway, after these various escape attempts, we got pretty serious about our containment plans. At our last apartment, we only entered through the garage because it had what became known as the airlock. There was a door from the garage to the laundry room and another door separating the laundry room from the kitchen. Thus, it was possible to come and go without Bella ever having an unauthorized path to the outside world. When we purchased our house, it also had a laundry room airlock – it was obviously meant to be. I do sometimes wonder if Bella thinks we just sit in the laundry room all day…
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| (via Comics.com. Click the comic to see a clearer version.) |
In any event, we still have an airlock in our laundry room. We also decided to apply this principle to our yard. When redoing the fence, it occurred to us that an outside airlock would be invaluable. So, we decided to borrow a page from the dog park playbook and install a double gate. I think that our friends who don’t own dogs think we’re weird… but it’s one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.
Bella containment was a factor I considered when looking for a house, and it’s definitely influenced other house decisions as well. Is this something you take into account too, or am I just a crazy dog lady? What steps have you taken to contain your own furry flight risk? Tell me about it in the comments!
You know I can relate to that… hell, that's why I moved from my last apartment. Not only would Bagel bolt out the door past you, but he figured out how to unlock & open the front door when home alone and would roam the halls while the roommate & I were both at work!
And don't even get me started on Glasgow… he that has managed to escape from crates that are listed/advertised as being "escape-proof"
Nao – sometimes I think your dogs are too smart for their own good! I can just imagine Bagel having a walkabout in the hallways… oh goodness.
I'm glad I'm not the only person who deals with a runaway dog! Most people don't understand my paranoia when I tell them I don't want to take Nico off the leash unless we're in an enclosed area. I tell them "you want to take my dog off leash? You better be prepared to chase after him!" He's a hunter and runner at heart!
Silly Bella! I think you're very wise to think about things like that. We've never tried to escape, but we have an airlock room too!
I totally understand! In fact, I may have to make a similar sign for my house. I think it'll be the only way to get the point across to my friends, lol.
I once found a pup in the street who had managed to flee his owners work… he had to get on an elevator to do it, but he managed it!
How did someone let him get on an elevator? I have no idea!
It's so scary, I know when Milly first ventured outside, she ran and was gone for 15 hours. Now, she never leaves the garden – I think she realized which side her bread was buttered 🙂 It is different for cats, but even so, the thought of her gone for good was very disturbing to us – hence blanket, thanks so much for the mention!
You did good. Ryker has excellent recall so we can focus on other issues like jumping up on people!
~S
What an amazing double gate system. I wish we had one to contain the Felix. Koly is so well behaved that he will stay in the yard, in fact, he sometimes comes and gets us to "tattle" when Felix tries for a jail break. Felix is a holy terror. Just where is he going? Is life here so bad that he needs to bolt every chance he gets?!
Michelle – You're definitely not! I think it's the Beagle DNA mixed in our pooches…
Brian – I love that we're not the only ones with an airlock!
Samantha – Feel free to copy the sign idea. We originally just put it up for a party, and then decided to leave it up all the time!
Shauna – That's crazy! So weird that someone would just let him on the elevator without thinking twice.
Cate – You're welcome! It's so important to take precautions.
Ryker – I wish Bella had good recall skills. She chooses to hone her selective hearing skills instead.
Kolchak Puggle – That's so funny about Felix! I used to say the same thing about Bella and wonder why she wanted to get away! =P
I love your double gate! What a great idea! My last dog, Alex, got away so many times. He would run out the door if it was thundering or if he just saw a chance to run and there was no catching him. I would drive around half the night crying while looking for him. Thank goodness I always found him safe but my heart was in my throat everytimes he ran away. I have baby gates in every room now and I keep locks on both gates in the backyard and had the fence stretched and reinforced at the bottom so there would be no way Holly could get under it. The guys that mow my lawn probably think I'm crazy with all of the locks! Lots of love, Debbie & Holly
I love this creative solution! Maybe I should make a cute sign for our door regarding Shiva's barking.
Sounds like you've got it figured out (hopefully!) – I love the blog title 🙂
The double gate on the fence was such a great idea! Gus is always too worried about where we are to ever run off, so I guess we're lucky in that respect. That being said, I'd totally consider installing a double gate at our next house!
P.S. We wonder if Gus thinks we hang out in the garage all day. 🙂
Bella, you stop scaring your mom like that. Where do you think you would go anyway? Silly doggie.
Wyatt
Airlock doors and double gates…Bella I do believe you've been bested BOL! Great thinkin Mom! 😀
Waggin at ya,
Roo
Bella, do you really want to escape? I think most dogs get excited to go out the door since there are fun things to do outside. Our Border Collie is bad about running through the door. Guess you just have to be ready for it and always put a leash on Bella and make her sit at the door and stay while you open the door. It is a hard thing.
We're thinking Bella is out looking for her new brother or sister. Yep, that's what we think!
Wherever we live, we have big fences all around the yard. Besides keeping us IN, it has the added benefit of keeping annoying people AWAY 😉
The Road Dogs
Debbie & Holly – I totally understand! My dad actually put concrete around the base of our fence to stop the dogs from digging out. They were so crafty – we were always playing catch up!
Kristine – You should totally make a sign!
Stacy & Ellie – Thanks! 🙂
Lori – I wish Bella was more worried about where I was! I'm glad you like the comic – it seemed so perfect!
Wyatt – I know! She gets pampered and spoiled. I don't think she'd find something better!
Roo – I sure hope so! Although Bella's pretty sneaky, so I'm always waiting for her next move.
Marg – Yeah, we try to make her sit and wait until we tell her "OK" to go out, even in the fenced in yard. It does help, but I don't know if would help if she saw something fun outside to explore.
Road Dogs – If Bella returned to my promptly with a new pup every time, maybe I'd be okay with it. 😉
Your double gate is wonderful! How fantastic that you thought to do this to protect your escape artist.