Dog-proof material

Get a 16' roll of ¼" hardware cloth (wire mesh) and staple it in place. The

Remove the drywall from the floor to 4 feet and replace it. retape and repaint then, Options include light gauge sheet metal, they will dent it, and the drywall behind. ply/osb board, will have to be replaced occasionally. Personally I would get an electric fencer, use light gauge sheet metal and they will learn in less than a week. Being board in a garage is something that you can not get around. Learning bad habits for a large dog is only asking for problems later when they are older. (I have a 100 pound wolf-hybrid that looks at me occasionally and just does it anyway. She is 13 now)

We used to have a shepherd that, when put in the basement while we were away, would break out a basement window to escape. In short, a lot of dogs just do not like being left alone or with nothing to do.

You'll need to repair the wall first of course -- I'd go ahead and cut out the old and replace it with new, then tape and mud.

As for the dogs, you'll want to work on the behavior. For starters, you might want to consider cage training them. They will not like it at first of course but they'll get accustomed to it. This will give you a relief when the garage is not an avaialble option plus it gives them their own spot in the garage. A set of pillow beds and a number of toys may help also. Can you determine the cause of the behavior? For example, is it just that they want to be in the main house with you and your wife or is there something frightening them? Is the room dark and they get upset by it? You can also try some of those barrier sprays that keep pets away from certain objects/areas -- it will require frequent applications of course but this may just do the trick. Lastly, there are indoor versions of the electric fence -- dogs get too close to the boundary and they get a light shock -- this would help you train the behavior out.

If keeping them away from the wall is not an option or does not work, then you'll need to shore it up in some fashion. A roll of sheet metal such as aluminum will do this well. You can try putting furniture such as shelving units in front of the wall to protect it but depending on how determined they are that may be a stop gap at best (40 pound dogs can move an awful lotta weight when they want to do so!).

Naturally, I'd give these ideas a try before fixing the wall -- no sense having to do it twice. :)

James

Do yourself a huge favor and get rid of the dogs. You will live happy & peacefully forever after. I bet your dogs are also barking their fool heads off while you are away and driving your neighbors crazy. We have a couple of dogs nearby that do that. I am planning to poison them as their owners will not believe that they bark constantly when left alone.

Can't you let it in the house?

"Sycamouse" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

Our next door neighbor's dog barked constantly. We recorded it, called the animal warden and played the recording when they came out. After one warning and a second offense, the dogs were hauled away.

Our next door neighbor's dog constantly got out of the yard. Umpteen calls to animal control, frequent complaints to the neighbor, all made no difference -- they still have the dog and, until here recently, he was still getting out frequently. Animal control claimed to have paid the owner a visit or more but it sure didn't seem to make any difference. The dog used to get out every day.

Animal control told us we can shoot any dog on our property.

OK, based on the many responses (and thanks for those), I guess I didn't fully explain the setup.

We have fenced off the yard on the north side of our house into a dog run. It is about 45' x 25', and has planter boxes with trees and shrubs, dog toys, and a couple of automatic watering dishes. When we are at home, the pups (and our ten y.o. mutt) are in the house or or the rest of the yard (1/3 acre) with us (me, wife and kiddies). They are never in the run all night. The pups spend the night in our bedroom in a crate, the mutt has one of those big dog beds next to our bed. FYI, the male pup snores, the mutt farts. I cut a doggie door into the garage so that on rainy days (Sacramento, CA, it doesn't snow here) they would have some place to get in out of the rain. I have fenced off about a 6'x6' area inside the garage, and it has a wooden pallet to get them off the concrete and some of those fleece dog blankets. Also, I had an electrician put in overhead lights that we can leave on for them. When I die, I want to come back as MY dog, because they have it pretty good. The neighbors on either side of us and in back tell us that they are very quiet, probably because they have each other. I think that one of them clawed the drywall in the garage because I was trying to sneak in and do some work without bringing them in. They heard me inside, clawed off some paper, then found that fun, dusty stuff under the paper. Now they have a hole in the wall and it is something new and interesting.

So I appreciate the tips on sheet aluminum and Hardiboard, and will head to HD or Lowes later today.

Thanks, Dave

The simplest and least expensive product to use is FRP (fiberglass reinforced panel). I do not know if it is available at the box stores, it is available at any commercial drywall house. Easy to cut, easy to clean, easy to install.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing. . . . DanG

You an evil person that clearly missed out on the joy a dog can bring into your life. I am very sorry you are so angry and afraid of life. Perhaps your children have also learned to hate and to seek destruction of others source of great happiness. Good luck.