Apologies for the very long review. Below you'll find a story of our trials with our dog and a bit of his story. I hope this serves as a kind reminder to owners looking for a solution to a "runner" that there is hope and to keep at it. With regards to the product, this is a top quality item and I've paired it with BV Pet BV-PE-STAKE-L Steel Dome Tie Out Stake For Large Dogs. ---- We adopted the most kind and obedient pup I've ever met almost six months ago now. His name is Kahn, and he's a 100lb Akbash. Originally purchased from a breeder, he cost his original owners $1,500, so because they gave him up at 14 months tells you just how bad his running habits are. Anyway, queue us adopting him because we do kitten fostering for the local humane society and they knew we had a dog pass of cancer a few months earlier that broke our hearts. Obviously we have to have a special kind of dog that works well with our fostering, and our foster contact knew this was the guy. They actually wanted to keep him at the shelter as a mediator dog because he would break up fights and in general just kept the other dogs in line. But, Kahn had other plans. Even his first home, a 40-acre mini ranch where he was being trained as a livestock guardian (what Akbash are bred for in Eastern Europe), he didn't have enough room to roam. He was hurting himself on the kennel fences, cutting up his muzzle and paws on the chain-link. So, of course we had to give this big guy a shot. We knew it wasn't going to be easy. We fostered him for a month, and in that time he escaped at least 20 times. He chewed through door frames, tore off handles, jumps our 6-foot cedar fence like it's a minor annoyance, and all the while I fell in love with him. But, we needed a solution for him. I was starting to get overwrought with fear he was going to get hit by a car, someone would steal him, or I was going to die of a heart attack. Behavioral issues aside -- he has severe separation anxiety -- we've been working closely with the humane society to find the right medication, training, and exercise for him, we still needed to take him out to potty without needing a leash every time. I could tell he was getting tired of that, and so were we. A stake and cable was our solution, and try as he might, he just can't pull this thing out of the ground. It's been about three months now and I think he quite likes the freedom the stake gives him. We don't have to watch him closely every time we let him in the backyard, I can have him in the garage with me when working on projects because his stake is near the door, and he's only gotten tangled up in it once.
