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What's the best tie-out stake?


JackieMaya

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As Maya is a fence jumper, I've been attaching a 40-foot cable to the railing on my back steps, which has worked great. But yesterday she actually pulled the railing away from the steps! I think the posts had probably rusted where they met the concrete and just broke off.

So...

I bought a "Big Dog Stakeout", which is a 23-inch metal post that's hammered into the ground with an 18-inch chain attached to it, which you attach your cable to. I bought one and installed it yesterday, and it seems real secure, and there's nothing for her to get tangled on. She and Jackie can run and play and wrestle together just fine.

The information says that it's for dogs up to 100 pounds. Maya is about 75 pounds, but she REALLY pulls at the end of it if she sees a squirrel. So far so good, but I don't know if this is going to be a temporary fix (which means I'd have to get a higher fence) or if this will work as a permanent solution. Jackie and Maya are usually outside around 5 hours or so a day (depending upon the weather).

Who has experience with dog tie-out stakes? Which one is the best? Do they REALLY stay in the ground?

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personally, if you have to tie them out, I prefer runners. a steel cable attached between a house and garage, or garage and shed, that you clip a leash onto and it allows them ot run with out the fear of getting tangled.
depending on the length of the leash, they can investigate side to side as well. if you have a fence, could it not be raised so they cant get out? that would be my choice....

:)

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Courtnek, I would LOVE to have the chain link fence raised, but the estimate I got for raising it to 6 feet was $3,800! I'm going to get another estimate from the company that put in my friend's fence for a very reasonable price. If I can get it done for a reasonable price, that would be my preferred way too.

I don't really have anything that I can attach to to do the trolley method, unfortunately.

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I put my girls out on a stake line for an hour or so a day if it's nice out. The runners really are the best and safest thing to use if you have a place to install them at. I don't really have a place to put one either so I use a stake that has about an 18 inch corkscrew to put in the ground which I feel is more secure than a straight stake.

I would be very cautious about the potential for injury with an active dog on a stake line. China does just fine on a line, but I won't put Zoey out on the line without supervision. If I'm not attached to her by a leash she 'forgets' that she's still attached to something and will try to run full tilt at something which opens the door for serious injury.

It sounds like Maya pretty much does just fine on a line, I just thought I'd warn you against possible injury.

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I have Maya's cable attached to a harness instead of to her collar, which I think is a lot safer. Maya definitely knows where her boundaries are, and she's really good on her cable.

But I'm still thinking that a tall fence would be my best solution. I just hope I can get a good deal. Can't they just put "sleeves" over the existing fence poles and then put on the new chain link? The fence company who gave me the $3,800 estimate wanted to dig new holes, pour cement, etc., just like putting in a completely new fence. That sounds ridiculous to me. I'm hoping to get another estimate this week from a different company. It looks like my brick patio will have to wait until next year!

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how tall is your fence? and are they jumping it or climbing it? there are "hoods" you can get for chain link that lean out into the yard, usually preventing the climbers from getting over, but I dont know if they would stop a jumper....

some very powerful (and determined) dogs can get over the hoods too, but they work most of the time.

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Not to rain on anyone's parade, but I had a dog that I had to tie in the back yard (because neighborhood kids teased him if he was at the back fence :roll: ) So I used a harness, thinking that was safer....he went over to the side fence, jumped over, fell out of the harness and took off!!! :lol: Ahh, the best laid plans......

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Tie outs can work succesfully, the absolute best and secure stake is an axle.

[img]http://members.fortunecity.com/tbulldogs/0af1d010.jpg[/img]

No matter how strong or active the dog is they're never able to get these out of the ground.

[img]http://a8.cpimg.com/image/F8/B5/34519288-c5f8-01850139-.jpg[/img]

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ESSLover The possibility of some dog spending most of its life on a worn patch of dirt, attatched to a chain heavier than it.

(Tie outs are fine, and those overhead lines are even better, if the dog is spending only a portion of its day excercising and getting some air on it. If I didn't have a yard I would get the overhead line I think.)

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Check out this website: [url]http://www.dogsdeservebetter.com/clova.html[/url]

It has lots of tips about how to add height to a fence or otherwise modify it to keep fence climbers/jumpers inside the fence.

I know it's really preachy about tying dogs out so I want to clarify that I don't see a problem with what you have been doing with Maya. This site just came up on the search engine and it looked good. :-)

Here's another gadget I found that adds height to a fence. It's called a "Top Hat Post". Here's a picture for you:

[img]http://www.whiteswires.com.au/images/whitespics/tophatextension.jpg[/img]

Add some climbing vines and it would look really nice. :-)

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if you want to do the work, there are ways to "make" a perfect spot for the runners.

get 4 of those green "chicken wire" posts. they get sunk into the ground and they have "grabbers" on them for attaching the chicken wire.

get a 4 foot piece of heavy duty plywood, (4 ft wide) and drill holes in the sides 2 inches from the outside. the plywood will have to be primered and painted to prevent weather damage.

sink the posts as deep in the ground as possible. at 1 foot intervals in fron of the plywood and in back. 1 foot from the front, two feet at the back. that braces it both front and back at equal measures. you want an alternating brace. place the posts firsts, and then drill your holes. the ones that will be in the "back" you will have to drill holes closer in. then attache the plywood to the posts with zip strips. yes, zip strips. I have a metal
"decorative" gate that closes off the smallest portin of my yard, where I couldnt put wood because the neighbors complained. I have these chicken wire posts, and zip strips, holding that gate in place. It wont move. Zip strips are impervious to weather, wind, and children unless they are walking around with scissors.



attach the painted plywood to it with zip strips

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[quote]how tall is your fence? and are they jumping it or climbing it? there are "hoods" you can get for chain link that lean out into the yard, usually preventing the climbers from getting over, but I dont know if they would stop a jumper.... [/quote]

Courtnek, my fence is maybe 3'6" on the sides, and only about 3 feet at the back of the yard (which is where Maya likes to jump out). She puts her feet on the top of the fence and basically pulls herself up and over. I'll have to check out the "hoods" to attach to the fence. No matter what, Jackie won't jump out, even if Maya jumps out.

So far, the stake is working out just great! It's a two-foot long orange metal stake (looks like a t-post) with claws that open if it's pulled out of the ground. It's holding tight and fast. But if it eventually starts to come out, putting cement in the hole sounds like a good idea (which someone suggested on another site)

Thanks for all the ideas![/quote]

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[quote]What do you mean?[/quote]

Not many people here think keeping a dog chained outside with a big heavy metal chain attached to a car axel buried in the ground is a good idea. Frankly I think it's cruel.

[img]http://members.fortunecity.com/tbulldogs/0af1d010.jpg[/img]

This picture is very sad.

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Sorry but its not cruel, cruel would be to not keep them confined to they get in trouble. I'm what you call a responsible bulldog owner, probably not your average as the average bulldog owner these days seem to be irresponsible and uneducated, unfortunatly.

I choose the lightest weight chain for the dog possible, because they dont need overly large chains, most people do that just for looks and its ridiculous including putting [b]huge[/b] chains on [b]puppies[/b] causing injuries to their neck and back, bad stuff. I have known several dogs, some pits some not, to snap chains, but usually its your hardware to break so you dont need a big chain just the proper hardware/tie out. For dogs who can pull 1000s of lbs and are very active you need to be very careful. Also you can choose different sizes/set ups for each individual dog once you know what your dogs strength and activity level is. Like my friend has a very light chain on one adult male who's very lazy and doesn't work the chain very much where she has a larger one on her big adult male who's also very active and has broke a couple chains, the actual chain when he was younger. So I use appropriate & proven hardware which I check everyday. I choose to be responsible for many reasons.
*This breed is under "fire" all owners need to be responsible. Even if your dogs does nothing wrong running loose some one can claim otherwise and get your dog killed just because of its breed.
*There are laws that say you have to have your dog on a lead or confined to your property by some means of restraint. Out of city limits your dog is still supposed to be kept on your property. This protects you dogs from others and others from your dogs.
*Prevent yard accidents as best possible. I would hate to lose a beloved dog due to my neglegence or ignorance.

Proper chain set up ensures all of this, there should be no need to define the merits of using an axle as a tie out as they should be self evident.

I don't use or recommend spike collars as they were mentioned. They are just unnecessary. Firstly they are not allowed when showing a dog because they promote a "bad dog" image and make it more difficult to seperate 2 fighting dogs or quickly prevent an accident if you're grabbing a color full of spikes. I don't advocate the use of them, I see no reason for them and the above reason with accidents on the yard.

I know some one who actually preffered them and sad. They wanted their dog to always wear a spike color, incase they ever got in a fight or attacked by another dog. How smart is that? They wanted the collar to protect its throat. How many dogs go for others throat? Not very many. And why on earth would you want to deal with a spike collar when trying to seperate dogs?

I don't think you should judge people you don't know or know about. Especially for reasons such as this. Make people feel unwelcomed for doing the best for their dogs.

I didn't come here to have my ownership/character judged, esp. not for being a responsible bully owner.

I came here to discuss dog related topics and came to this thread specifically to [b]help[/b] and answer ?s. Offer the best tie out option possible (axle), the big dog tie outs usually dont hold up too long same as the other tie outs you find. Axles in my experience and the proven years of others are the best and really work as the OP asked. If it can hold a bulldog I figure it can hold anything. Its up to the OP if they choose to use one or go a different route.

I don't need to argue or defend myself or what I choose to use, I have better and more important things to do with my time. Maybe I should stick to the Pit Bull forums, where my breed is understood, I'm welcomed and axles are common on the yard of breeders. But hey I was only trying to help and thought it'd be good for any breedm little did I know.



To the OP good lucj with your dog whatever you choose. Never tie out neat debris or fences. I read the post about the Corgi and that dog was lucky, a neighbor of mine has a little dog hang herself it was very sad. Higher fencing may help too, but I had a bitch that could so easily clear 6 feet kennel runs so depending on your dog it may or may not help, you could do 6ft and then add ht.

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True_Pits...if I misjudged you prematurely, I sincerely apologize. However when looking at the pic you posted that is the first image that flashes to mind (status dog owner). Surely there must be a better way to confine a dog (and trust me..I DO understand the breed AND its misconceptions), without that ridiculously large chain shown in the pic ???
From what you say it seems you truly love your dogs and are very knowlegable...I'm just not understanding that particular picture :-? Please explain to me how that dog can be happy tethered in that manner?? There are plenty of [i]responsible[/i] Pit owners on this board who do not see the need to tie out their dogs like that.
BTW, I looked at your website and the pics of the Pitties on the sofa looked MUCH more comfortable :wink:

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I'm glad for those owners, if their was an alternate way (I knew of) I'd be fine with keeping my dogs that way. However I'v never been able to find a safer source then this type of set up and its what most long time breeders have used for decades thats always been a no fail way. They dont come out of the ground for anything it seems. Decades old and not that a change would be bad, there just isn't too many options I can see. Thank you for taking the time to view my site and dogs, getting ready to update it soon with more new pics. The most important thing for my dogs is to be happy, healthy and safe.

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Previous trolls and bad owners shouldnt make you quick to judge others. You could make some people turn away that might need help or advice, even if they are in the wrong yelling at them or insulting them would make them mad, instead of offering advice in a non rude way and make them not become defensive.

You have two APBTs? You have them in your house and seperated. How do you accomplish this.

The chain isn't heavy, it wasn't really a big chain either. Maybe it is the pic and how close up the pic was, it has a big (non heavy) lap link, quicklink and snap all linked together in the front. The pic isn't sad at all, she isn't a sad dog, she's happy and full of life. Lol 4ft no I dont think so and I dont see how you could keep a dog on a 4ft chain, wouldn't they walk in their poo and not have much room to exercise?

I don't mind if some one is against breeding but I don't think they should disliked for the fact that they may have several dogs or that they breed.

I'm not adding to your hype or BS like that, dont have a problem with BSL here (surprising with all the morons). Now just this past month their has been whispers of BSL b/c some wonderful owners thought they could keep a Rott merely in a kennel run and she got out so now some one is in the hospital b/c of their irresponsible acts. They also have pits and other dogs. But if any BSL is actually to be proposed our club will fight it and it will never go through, so I'm not real worried just scheming on some ways and things to do with my dogs. The people here love pits (mostly) but this new guy is wanting to ban them because of the ROTTWEILER attacking and because he has made several new ridiculous laws involving dogs. I'm sorry that I can't stop bybers or help dogs dying in sheltes, but this is not my fault and I cant do anything about it. Except the occasional time I have to rehome some one's throw away disposable pit bull.

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