In a perfect world, and if your dog were a perfect dog, containment would consist of your telling your best friend to stay, and that would get the desired results.  However, in this imperfect world there are lots of enticements for your dog to take off when he/she shouldn’t.  If only squirrels, rabbits and mailmen didn’t exist, you would have a perfect dog that listened and obeyed your every command.

Our wonderful, near perfect dog, Sniffy, would stay close and not run off as long as she was within eyesight.  But let her move around to the side of the house, so that the corner of the house blocked the line of sight between her and me, suddenly she was off and running to all points of the neighborhood.  Unfortunately, our near perfect dog departed us several years ago.

There are a variety of containment methods, and the different types are used for different purposes.  A basic collar or harness and leash are used to keep your dog close either in situations where your dog could be endangered by being distant from you or in situations where you need close control, e.g. in areas where other people are close by.  And there are situations where dogs may be required to be on a leash, such as in parks or public beaches.  Fixed length leashes are better for some situations than are retractable leashes, primarily when you need close control over your dog.  For a good resource to learn how to leash train your dog, click on the dog on the leash.

Some people think that crating your dog is a horrible thing to do.  In reality, dogs, if left in the wild, will look for a place to curl up where they can feel safe.  A crate, also referred to as a cage, can be that safe place for your dog.  Comfortable bedding should be put in the crate, and your dog should use the cage for a place to sleep or a place of refuge, for example, when needing to escape the annoying attention of a toddler.  As long as the crate is never used as a place of punishment for some misbehavior, your dog will enjoy rather than dislike his/her special place of refuge.

Dogs do like to have space in which to run.  If you have a yard in which this can take place, dogs certainly prefer to run freely rather than to be tethered.  Their limits can be set in several ways.  You can erect a fence to keep your dog confined to your yard, though I have known a dog or two that are very good at digging their way under and out from a fence.  An invisible or electronic fence is a good alternative.  Your dog will go through a brief and relatively easy training program to learn how to stay within the confines of the invisible fence.  Of course there is an expense involved in putting up an invisible fence as well as a regular fence, but we all know that our dogs are worth it (most of the time.) Wish I’d have had the option of an invisible fence available when our Sniffy was still with us.