Jeff, there are really only a couple of things that will keep a dog in when he wants to be out--supervision and more secure fencing.
1) If you absolutely have to leave him outdoors in a pen, run or fenced yard, then put him in a covered run that he cannot jump or climb out of. Most people can't 'cover' their entire yard, but they can usually float what it costs to cover a simple 4 x 8 or 4 x 10 chain link pen. However, if you take the upstairs escape route away by covering the pen, and you've got a budding Houdini, you should make sure the covered pen is on concrete so he can't dig out.
2) Do not leave him outdoors alone unsupervised; that's only contributing to the behavior. When you're not out in the yard with him, keep him indoors or crated. When you're outdoors with him and he goes for the fence, you need to convince him that's not in his best interests. I know a lot of people like to leave dogs out in the yard, pen or fenced area, or give them indoor/outdoor access. However, if you've got an escape artist, that's dangerous. A dog's gotta earn freedom, and fence jumpers have a negative freedom balance.
3) You can electrify the fence, but it's a lot cheaper to invest in an electric collar for the dog. Then you can use the e-collar correction to teach him that approaching the fence is not acceptable. If you've never done this, you should really talk to a pro trainer who has...teaching a dog NOT to jump a fence is a lot like snake proofing. Mistakes (on the dog's part) will eventually be fatal, or seriously damaging. The correction to keep him in the yard and away from testing the fence will have to be pretty serious.
4) Neutering can help with wanderlust if that's part of the problem. It can also not have any impact at all. But it can't hurt and it's healthier for the dog in the long run.
I kept a very athletic group of gordon setters, english springers and a mixed breed in yards where at least one portion of fence was only three feet tall (city and town regs that front yard fencing could be no higher than 3 feet tall.) When we had snow buildup, sometimes only a couple of inches of fence would be shoing over the drifts--they could have walked over it. And when I am on the road with the crew, my ex-pens are only 36 inches tall. The male springer jumped 30 inches in competition, and the gordons could jump 36" from a stand. I invested a LOT of time teaching my gang that fences were not to be challenged and jumping on or over the fence was unacceptable. That training had NO impact on their jumping style in competition, where they have to handle 12-18 obstacles in a run. They just learned the difference between jumps, and fences...and fences are feet off!
But for awhile I had a rescue gordon girl, very small at 22", who was clearly interested in taking off and couldn't be trusted out in the yard without supervision. I bought covers for my expens years ago because my smallest springer girl (just barely 18" at the shoulder, the one who wasn't supposed to jump because of a leg injury) could find any hole or weakness in any fence, and what she couldn't jump she would climb over or knock down. She could also open gates, but that's another problem.
M. at 15" tall will occasionally attempt to 'climb' a fence, so she's never in an uncovered expen or left in an open fenced area unsupervised. Someday, but not just yet. It's always an eye-opener reminder to have to reteach acceptable fenced yard behavior after years of having dogs who respected boundaries...but often, respecting the boundaries DOES have to be taught.
Hope this helps.
by WarPony » Sun Nov 04, 2007 7:44 pm 
I know how to stop him from digging. 
My only realtively cheap idea I have is some 16 penny nails in the top of your posts and some thin colorful wire strung tightly between them about 2 inches apart, it might confuse him or he might just ignore it.
...Lots more pix here!
