Why Does My Dog Walk the Fence Line?

Without fail, whenever we hit this one section of our leash-free dog park, my Schnoodle slowly strolls over and begins to walk the 300-foot perimeter fence line until we break over to a path through the woods.

She’s not running over to see what’s out there, she isn’t squaring off against another dog on the opposing side, she doesn’t seem agitated, threatened, or even excited to be doing this. She just appears compelled to connect up with this outer edge of the park as if on autopilot. And of my three dogs, she’s the only one that does it.

What does it mean?

According to the experts, it could be a number of things including, her acting in a territorial manner where she’s on high alert and checking for intruders or in this case, strangers. That said, this seems to be more typical of dogs when they’re around their own homes and yards. Not the neutral space of a neighbourhood dog park.

It could be a high prey drive where she’s spotted a squirrel or bird flitting around, daring her to get closer. But my 14-year-old lives with cats, is pretty docile, and is oddly disinterested in this type of thing.

Another option is something called “barrier frustration,” where the dog in question can see and hear something on the other side (this is a chain link fence we’re talking about), but they can’t reach it. I’m going to give this one a big no as well because more often than not, it’s only a grassy knoll on the other side. Nothing of interest. Not even a breeze blowing the leaves.

Boredom or the need for greater sensory stimulation are also suggested, but again, she’s not running, lifting her head to check out her surroundings or showing any type of interest in the activity. She’s also just walked along trails and woodland paths that are far more interesting. Really, it’s more as if she’s sleepwalking through the process.

So, what may be the cause for Lexie’s determination to break away from her pack and head off on her own?

One possibility is that the fence line is where all the action happens. Dogs tend to piddle against the barrier, shrubs grow out and provide a little shade, and she has greater control of her surroundings when one side is enclosed. This may be it.

But there’s another option that just may tick the box with Lexie. A couple of years ago, she was at another leash-free park that had temporary snow fencing up. There was a break in that fence, and once she discovered it, she made it through and was able to continue her exploration on the other side of the park, in a much more fun, marshy area. After that, we noticed she continually deked over to that portion of the fencing whenever we visited.

It’s called learned behavior, and it’s the mark of intelligent dogs who have become creatures of habit. They’ve discovered that walking the fence line can, from time to time, yield some form of reward. It could be getting their pet parent’s attention as they call them over, the opportunity to meet another dog, or yes, the chance to break out. Learned behavior is sort of like when we win $5 on the lottery and keep buying tickets. A small reward, but still a win.