I have my dogs in the yard - approximately 1/2 acre, fully fenced, 4+ feet high - and they never escape ... until now. I have one year old male that likes to leave over the gate (tubular metal with mesh bottom leaving a 10 inch gap between top of gate and top of mesh). He's not running away, he's just visiting the farm animals (ours) or the dog next door.

Short of running an invisible fence around our yard or running an electric fence on the top does anyone else have an idea how to keep him in?

I'll take training methods that might work as well. :-)

JMO - a "hot" wire at the top of the fence would solve the problem quickly and if he's the only one, you'd likely be able to turn it off once he KNOWS better! FYI, minimum height of our fence is 6 feet. I've seen some labs clear 6 foot board fences and climb even higher chainlink fences where they can get a foot/tooth hold to climb/pull up/over & out

I have 6' now all around. We used to have 4' and it isn't enough for all dogs. One thing to realize, though, with an escape artist is that once you make the fence impossible to go over - there is always under, or open the latches himself, too!!

I have a four foot fence in our stone kennel area and a girl who jumps straight up and over. For me making my fence higher would not help much as she has also gotten out over a six foot fence in the past. We did opt for a hot wire around the top and it is peace of mind to know that she is safe and secure. Once you've had a dog escape and wander off your property you realize a hot wire is a safety must.

As for the bottom, my fencing is split rail with rubber coated chainlink that is buried in about a foot of stone as the kennel is raised from the ground. Getting out the bottom is not an option for them. Although in the grass yard which is split rail with regular wire mesh, we have a hotwire about 18 inches off the ground because a different dog thought pushing through the bottom was nifty.

What is that old girl scout motto?

BE PREPARED

AND try to keep ahead of them - they are too smart for their own good sometimes!