Extremely narrow sheltie

[sandy6]

We adopted Rose just before Christmas & were told she was 18 months old. We just finished fencing the yard by running a 5 ft. aluminum fence from the house to a neighbor's fence. We have a couple acres, so it cost almost $6,000. The rest of the yard has wood fencing. I was so happy I wouldn't have to walk her any more and she has been enjoying the freedom. But...we had some thunder, and she's scared to death of thunder. She was in the back yard, and we were in front & next thing you know, she's right beside us. The only way for her to get out of the back yard is to go through the fence, and the pickets are 4" apart. So I felt her frame carefully and her shoulder bones are only about 2" apart. This does not seem normal. Obviously, her hips are narrow too. I'm wondering if this will cause health issues for her. She can zoom with the best of them though. Meanwhile, we will have to invest in some chicken wire to run along the bottom of the fence.

[corbinam]

That seems a little on the thin side, but I will tell you that my girl has always been very long and lean. She has just started to fill out over the past year and she just turned 3. So your girl likely has more filling out to do.

How tall is she and how much does she weigh? What does your vet say?

[celloyogi]

I would also suggest going and checking the entire length of your fence (not just the part where she may have gotten through), for any loose or missing parts anywhere along the height/width of the materials. Double-check that nothing was spaced out too far to accommodate space/materials available.

How high is your fence? Is there anything anywhere along it she might have used to get a leg up over the fence? You'd be amazed how strong the Mountain Goat gene is in many of our shelties.