Re: safe and sane containment strategies - input?

[Andie Reid]

My experience below - not necesssarily everyone's - dogs are as 
differrent as people.

The Ortega Family wrote:

I was just wondering whether a "baby
gate" will do it, and for how long, for kitchen confinement, or whether I
have to create a higher barrier. Some baby gates are the wooden expanding
kind, some are plastic and slide to adjust in width and are held in place by
tension with large rubber stoppers on both sides. 

We have a screen that we made that we literally just lean against the 
doorway. All of our boys have always been afraid of it (we have no idea 
why, other than when it falls it makes a loud noise, I guess) and they 
don't ever try to push it over or get out. For ours, barriers of any 
kind have always elicited a stand-stay. They'll just stand there until 
you move it for them. Yes, that includes doors that are partially open. 
None of them have ever tried to nudge a door or anything. They'll just 
stand there and wait for you.

The kitchen counters come to my belly button,
so an adult but not a pup, could access them, so I'd soon have to minimize
what 's on the countertops (appliances, dish drain...).  

We've been very lucky with the counter-surfing, or lack of. I just make 
sure there's nothing cloth where they can reach it and push other things 
to the back and they don't go out of their way to get it. If it's right 
on the edge, they'll nibble it, lick the butter, etc. but pushed back 
far enough, they don't jump up and get it, even though they could.

Also, some of my yard  fencing is 6 foot, but some shorter segments just 4
foot -- will an adult or growing  berner clear that four foot height with a
good jump, or should I just be more concerned about digging issues?\
We have a 4 foot fence around our backyard and they have never even 
contemplated jumping it. I think that overcoming gravity is just too 
much for them. I'm not sure a Berner couldn't jump it, but I've never 
seen them indicate any interest in doing so. They also are not diggers 
(thank goodness) so the fence has been adequate for mine.

Again - dogs are different, but these have been my experiences. They're 
really laid-back and just don't seem interested in working to get out or 
get into things. I just confine them because it would just present them 
with too many easy opportunities to get into stuff.

Andie Reid of Tugboat and Steamboat the Lazy
Wilmington, NC