Dogs are smarter and faster than we are, for sure. Thanks for the warning.

Our rescue just jumped OVER the newly installed $$$ electric fence…so much for security.

We do what we can. Doesn’t he look innocent?

I've heard of animals doing things like this. I have very intelligent cats that I have to watch out for.

You know what I did once with lever door knobs .... I was carrying some cardboard boxes out to the trash in front and was using a corner of the box to push down the lever to open the door for myself. I didn't realize that I pushed down on the center locking mechanism of the lever turning it to the locked position so when I closed the door behind me with my foot, I locked myself out of the house. Now I don't use items to push down on the lever and before I close the door behind me I push down on the lever to make sure it's not locked. I also have a hide-a-key, but it's not easy to get to, it's easier to check the door handle.

We've never had those types of handles in a house. I've only used them when I go to my family doctor, since his office has them. A couple of my cats can get our bedroom doors open but luckily, they can't get the outer doors open. I do not think they try to because they love being inside with us.

Thanks for posting helpful tip!

Very simple solution. If you install locks, the animals, and children, cannot get out. The problem is with lever handles that unlock the door when depressed. Don't get those type of handles. We installed all levers in our house, but have non-release levers on all outside doors. Non-release levers either have a deadbolt or unlock by raising the lever. I prefer the deadbolt.

We have a cat that can open all our doors. We keep all exterior doors locked with deadbolts.

Love to hear the feedback!

@JudyG- what a cutie!

you can do what the english do. post them, hmmm....excuse me, boob high.

i no longer do electric fence. first have you ever put that collar around your neck? on the other kind, both dogs figured out that the shock was one second, when mom brought you in, you did not have to use again. and the bigger one discovered that if you started back far enough, you may not even touch it.

We installed keyed deadbolts in all the exterior doors when our children were small so they couldn't wander outside unsupervised. Should work for clever animals as well.

We are not allowed to installed interior keyed deadbolts in our location.

It's apparently prohibited by the fire marshall because if the key is unavailable you would have to use an alternate means of egress like a window.

^Same here.

But a lock installed high up on the door works in addition to the lever handle sets.

https://www.amazon.com/Defender-Security-9847-Patio-Sliding/dp/B004AHVA5S/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_75_tr_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9V31PJGJXAVYVM1RRA47&dpID=41RTWHQfzZL&preST=SY300_QL70&dpSrc=detail

You don't need a key deadbolt. Just a deadbolt. in any case, they make levers that cannot unlock the door just by pushing on them. I had them installed in my house. None of them require a key from the inside.

One of our two golden retrievers not only figured out how to open interior levers but also the U-shaped latch on our chain link gate so that he could let himself out of the garden. Fortunately, the latch has a hole underneath that you can put a pin in to prevent it hinging and being lifted. It’s nice to know that we are still slightly smarter than him!

Groveraxle, that’s amazing that he could climb that high! No wonder you added the (Hou)dini to his name.

Edenchild, we'd added the "dini" long before the dog run episode. Once while a friend and I were walking the yard to try to determine how he was getting out, my friend yelled, "There he goes," and I turned to see him take a running start and vault over my 4 ft. fence. I could tell lots more stories, but I'll stop there.

Grover is Soooo lovely! But when I look at him...he is sooooo sad all the time, at least his eyes. Smart and ...sad...

I have a ninja cat that climbs fences like ladders, he taught my neighbours cat how to do it. If he wants into our bedroom all he has to do is flick the door handle (which is round) until we go insane, one of our other cats used to take a running shoulder check to the bathroom door as the latch isn't very firm (and she could definitely operate those long handles). And speaking of barging in and out, I once caught my toddler son standing on the seat of his trike, indoors, to undo the latch to get outside. Gah!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgGKSjiw0HQ

Our new little girl has those sad eyes too. Annabelle has only been with us 4 weeks now. The only “escape” she’s made is from the pound to a good home :) No escapes as of yet!!

Mom had a mutt that could, and did, climb chain link fences. We saw him scale a 10 footer with ease, jumping off at the top scared us to death. He was an "intact" male and we think he smelled "a possible opportunity".

Our cat opened the kitchen cabinet doors by reaching under and pulling on the bottom of the door. Stupid animals.

tatts i believe you have that wrong. the cat is not dumb. i have not met a cat or dog that cannot open a cabinet. i had a small dog that climbed trees. has any one thought of the tried and true chain lock? have not met anyone figure those out.

the one that worries me is the roll around storage container that has flip tab to open lid. well my cat can open it. and it easily falls back down and instantly locks. but there is no way to flip open from inside. i always make sure it is locked in a closet or something to keep the fuzzies safe.

My cats would do the same thing. I switched to all round door knobs recently.

give it time jordan. solo gets the job done in less than 10

Once I thought I lost a cat. I ran around in panic to find her. Found her in the cabinet!

Turns out my cats can open & climb in my base cabinets. They put their paw under the door & pull them open.

I have another cat who can open the sunroom screen doors! She puts her claws through the screen & slides the door to escape.

I locked the screen doors, but then she peeled the corner of the screen and escaped.

I have to keep them in my site now on the sunroom.

My cats are very smart.

Whoa Grover! What an amazing feat!

having fun, yes, actually the gal/husband who installed the fence made both of us exprience the shock. It would deter me from leaving the yard, for sure. Sweet little Ollie was described to us (when we got his puppy photo from the AK rescue) as a Yorkie. Not even close…DNA said Jack Russell is his main gene pool. He is never out in the yard alone. The electric fence was installed at all exit points of the house. Ollie runs like the wind and could be at a busy, fast road in a few seconds. We decided better a shock than being hit by car. He is just too fast and too smart for his own good. We love him.

Oh, and he flunked puppy school…on purpose is my guess. Sigh.

Last fall we lost our sweet cat to a coyote. She was an indoor cat, but she was allowed in the pool area, which is surrounded by an 8’ fence. After years of thinking about it, she figured she could jump on the hot tub and then over the fence, and land on the pool shed roof and jump to the ground.

Neighbor saw the ensuing attack.

It is just so sad when you keep a pet healthy and safe for years and then the cuties just out smart you.

I am so sorry, JudyG. Animals are as smart as toddlers, and they just don't know the dangers out there.

All of my dogs can open the doors with lever handles. Luckily all of my doors leading outside open in, and they haven't been able to figure that process out yet, lol.

JudyG, so sorry about your sweet cat. Some time ago, I was on the patio with dear late Flopsy when two hawks swooped down toward her, so near I could see each feather. Even close supervision could not protect her in the desert. She stayed indoors after that.

Here’s a pic of Mizu, safe at home after her break-out:

Mizu is a love drop..those eyes!

My daughter just bought Ollie his own seat belt. It never occured to me to protect him should we be in an accident and someone aiding us would open the door and the dog would run off.

Holy Moly….I feel like I did when my daughter was a toddler.

I have to say that Ollie had his every Wednesday at the vet’s today. They offer day care, socializing, playtime, lunch, a nap. Every other week he has a pampered day: nails, ears, bath and a blow-dry! He comes home sweet smelling and exhausted. What more could I want?

“It never occured to me to protect him should we be in an accident and someone aiding us would open the door and the dog would run off.” JudyG, our two retrievers know that they can’t exit the SUV until they both have a leash on their collar. It is even more critical when I’m by myself and have both of them. I don’t have to worry about them running into traffic. We taught them this from the beginning but I’m sure you can teach this to a dog at any time.

judy, what i meant is both dogs jumped the fence anyway, shock made no difference. beware black vultures, they are the largest and most aggressive and they travel in troupes. back home there was a group that would fly down to enjoy the winter. always to a small trailer park. every year they become more aggressive they destroy summer furnishings on the porches and have stolen many a small and not so small pet. i thought well ok. then i moved up here, they even hunted my 20 pd dog. on the way home one night there was one that had road kill towards the center of the road. he threatened my Car !

We don’t have vultures, but the sky is loaded with marsh hawks and last summer there was a falcon on my fence. That sighting was a first.

More concerning to us is the coyote. I heard one last night for the first time in months. The bunnies are all over the Cape, enjoying the flowers and veggies in our gardens. Which means it is going to be coyote heaven this winter.

My vet was leash walking her dog and a coyote attacked the pup and took it away. Vet was knocked to the ground and injured.

No, havingfun, I know what you meant about the shock collar. :>)

edenchild, Ollie won’t get out of the car, either. I am more concerned that in a serious accident, he could be so frightened of the rescue attempt, he would just bolt. The seat belt would also protect him while inside the car during an accident. So, "buckle up” is the rule for me and for Ollie.

Not Ollie, but this is the seat belt. Leash can be lengthened so he can lie down if he wants.

mine is seatbelted too, but he knows how to get out if necessary. i am the one who is not- damage.

All those cute dogs reminds me of the ultimate dog house.

Many thanks for this piece of advice. I am early enough in the building process that changing out a door handle will be no big deal.

So glad your dog was found and safe. Yes, to seatbelts we have a pug and she rides is a doggie car seat that is belted in like a child car seat it has a three point harness that keeps her in place and allows her to see out. When she was a puppy I put her in the car drove five blocks to pick up daughter from the library in a rain storm another driver ran a stop sign slamming on my brakes she slid off the seat. Thankfully I was going less than 10 miles an hour I bought that car seat the next day; she is so used to it she sits right down.

my neighbor down the street rescues mini donkeys. She had to change her back door lever to a knob after she kept finding her newest rescue in her kitchen pantry, lol. We live in the country- she also has big dogs and never locks her doors. Now he just looks in the window with sad donkey eyes until someone gives him treats, lol.

A donkey in the pantry…I can’t imagine! Funny, but only because I wasn’t there. How do you get a donkey out of a pantry? “Here, donkey, donkey”?

LOL, JudyG!

isn't that what they make bran flakes for?

We let my Dad’s sweet girlfriend stay in our cottage for a few years after he passed away. One night she was sitting on “the throne” and a racoon fell through the skylight screen, right on top of her. At that point she would have perferred a donkey. Neighbors heard her screams and called the police. Racoons are vicious when trapped and it was shot. Lots of drama and my husband and I, who lived next door, slept right through it all.