Treat Every Jump as an Escape, Not a Trick
A dog going over the fence is one bad landing or one busy road away from serious harm, so work on this as a safety problem first and a training problem second. Until the jumping stops, he is never in the garden alone — not for five minutes, not while you shower. Most fence jumpers are not constant escape artists; they leave for a specific trigger, so your first job is spotting exactly what he jumps for and when.
Read the Boundary Like an Escape Artist
Walk the fence line from your dog's height and look for help he is using: a compost bin, bench, woodpile or kennel roof close enough to launch from, a low dip where the ground rises, or a corner where two fences form steps. Move launch furniture well away from the boundary. If he clears a sound fence from a standing start, add height or an inward-angled topper or roller along the top rail so the clean arc he relies on no longer works.
Find What Is on the Other Side
Dogs jump toward something: a neighbour's dog, passing joggers, cats, the post arriving, or plain understimulation in a bare garden. Watch from a window and note the trigger. A dog leaving for company needs more exercise and play before garden time, not just a taller fence; a dog leaving for passing dogs needs distance work and a visual barrier along the trigger side so the provocation stops rehearsing itself daily.
Make Staying the Better Deal
Scatter part of his meals through the grass to hunt, rotate chew toys that only appear in the garden, and play his favourite games inside the boundary rather than only at the park. A garden where food appears in the grass, games happen, and someone interesting is present competes with the street; a bare patch he is shut into for hours never will.
Rebuild the Recall at the Boundary
On a long line in the garden, practise recalling him away from the fence line itself, rewarding returns heavily, so moving away from the boundary becomes a trained, paid behaviour rather than the end of fun. Keep sessions short and end before he fixates. If he has already escaped more than once, or clears fences despite changes, bring in a qualified behaviour professional — determined escapers escalate, and the stakes of failure here are traffic.
Check the Rest of the Escape Routes
A dog committed to leaving rarely stops at one method, so while the fence is being secured, audit the alternatives: gates whose latches bounce open, gaps under the fence where soil has washed away, and digging spots along the shady side where the ground stays soft. Block under-fence gaps with buried mesh or a concrete edge, and fit gates with latches he cannot nose or paw open. Securing only the famous jump point while a quiet dig-out develops two metres away is the classic way this problem seems solved for exactly one week.
A single escape can put him on unfamiliar streets within minutes, so keep that backup ready in KinsLe while the fence work beds in: anyone who spots his map alert under the Lost Pet Alert System can reach you with a direct message.