We are going to be looking at fencing our backyard in the Spring. We have 2 dogs ( a 75lb mutt, and 45lb pit bull) The mutt won’t test any kind of barrier, even a cracked open door in the house. The Pit mix we have only had a month, but is usually respecful to gates and really doesn’t want to be out of our sight. Any suggestions? We have no fencing at all right now. We would like something that won’t break the bank but still is of good quality.
How big a backyard, what sort of budget, and any sort of neighborhood covenance?
You could pretty easily do some sort of 4’ or 5’ no climb, like you’d use for horses, and that would be less expensive than a solid fence while still being sturdy.
Or even train the dogs to an underground radio electric fence, if you live in an area where OTHER dogs/vermin/etc won’t come in. That would probably be cheapest, if you have dogs that will respect it.
I fenced in part of my yard with wire horse fence and T posts for my Pit mix. We did put in chain link gates with cemented in posts. It doesn’t look bad and was affordable. Think hard before using underground or other radio fencing. If your dog breaks through it can’t come back in without getting zapped, and it doesn’t keep other dogs out. Plus with a Pit they are not recommended. No matter how sweet your dog is, you have to be more alert and responsible. So an invisible fence is not a good idea.
We are not going to do an invisable fence for sure. Across the street is a forest preserve, and we regularly see deer so we would worry about the dogs going after the deer and not being able to come back home.
There was a homeowner’s association when we first moved in, but when the market when down the tubes, all of the builders bailed and there was nobody to enforce it so new fences have been popping up the past 3 years.
I’ll look into the no-climb. I like the idea of a chain link because of the durability and I like being able to look through the fence for both ourselves and our mutt, but it might be less stimulation (in a good way) for the pit if it is not a look through fence.
I am not sure as to the dimensions of the backyard, I’ll have to look at the paperwork or measure myself. Our budget is flexible for the right fence, but we really want to keep it to a minimum.
Has anybody had any experience with the Best Friend Dog Fence?
Twotrudoc has experience putting in chain link. I’d be inclined to go with no climb, wood posts and a sight board on top. I’ve also seen cattle panels nailed to wood posts with a sight board or with two boards sandwiched for a sight board. It’s a pretty attractive fence and really easy to install. I think the panels run about $19 for a 16’ section.
Here are some examples: http://www.pinterest.com/explore/cattle-panel-fence/
Non-climb horse fencing might work, but think about how to keep the bottom taut and level with the ground, especially if your property is not flat. We have non-climb for my horses, and where it meets the yard our dogs have pushed against it to try to sneak underneath it.
For the rest of the yard, we have regular chainlink with a bottom “rail” like this: https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTVCwChmoIDX5AcPB_b1imJe3oIZLDaVXIGIrnsYz2rHyKMpShK
It keeps the fence from being pushed and stretched - and allowing dogs to go under. And, while I’m sure our dogs could jump our 4’ fence if they really tried, they only try to go under - my dog snuck out a 4" spot where the gate was set on a slight hill. It didn’t even seem possible to me that he could have fit through such a small space until we set up a “sting operation” and I watched him do it.
We need to do the same thing soon…dogs are doing OK now, as the ancient ACD doesn’t go anywhere and we leash or heavily supervise the BC mix. But, when ACD is gone (she’s currently almost 18), the younger dog will need a new companion and with two younger dogs we’ll likely finally want a fence.
I was thinking of this type of fencing (deer fencing):
Our back yard is very large, so it can’t be super expensive, we have no privacy issues and I’d like it to be as near invisible as possible (we have nice sightlines out back and I don’t want to put up chain link, which would be too expensive anyway). An actual invisible fence isn’t an option as there are coyotes and bobcats living along the edges. We’d need to tuck it under and stake on the inside and we’d need some metal mesh along the bottom to keep rabbits from chewing holes, but I’m thinking it might work. We could even put it a few feet into the brushy/woodsy area (also ours) on the edges of the “lawn” (weed field ;)), to make it less visible. I think the mesh wouldn’t be strong enough to hold a climbing bob cat or jumping coyote, but I’d guess 6’…might even keep some deer out so we could plant something, though that isn’t the primary goal.
[QUOTE=LauraKY;7926672]
I’ve also seen cattle panels nailed to wood posts with a sight board or with two boards sandwiched for a sight board.[/QUOTE]
To contain dogs, why a sight board? Not arguing, curious to learn the reason! Some of those pinterest fences are gorgeous!
Having fenced my modest property and being one who lives on an obsessively tight budget I would say–do NOT cheap out on your dog containment system. Do it the right way the first time at whatever it costs and enjoy the peace of mind it buys for years to come. Go 6’ solid wood panels between concrete set posts with a brick, no-dig, underlay and be done with it. No dog is getting out of that (except perhaps the worst fence-jumpers) and you will not have to worry about it anymore. It’s worth it!
Edited to say I paid to have the fence put up but I did the brick underlay myself with those cheapo concrete faux-brick blocks (look like 4 bricks laid side by side) from the big box home improvement store. I just dug a little trench at the base of the fence and laid them in. The trench had to be deeper in some places then others depending on the ground level. There ends up being a 1" or 2" gap between the bottom of the fence panel and the brick along the length of the fence. The result is 100% dig proof and 100% wiggle-under proof. Doggie Alcatraz!
Thanks for the replies all! I has given me some good starting places to look into!
[QUOTE=Bicoastal;7929633]
To contain dogs, why a sight board? Not arguing, curious to learn the reason! Some of those pinterest fences are gorgeous![/QUOTE]
Don’t know why other folks have done it, but in my case (4’ no climb mesh with an oak sight rail) it was to match the rest of my fencing. And personally, I think it looks much nicer with the sight rail - more “finished.”
[QUOTE=Bicoastal;7929633]
To contain dogs, why a sight board? Not arguing, curious to learn the reason! Some of those pinterest fences are gorgeous![/QUOTE]
It just looks better. That’s all.
when I put up my fence, I used 16 foot livestock panels. They were about $16 a panel, strong enough that the deer would not run through them, sturdy enough that if I wanted to plant privacy plants, it could hold them up, and did not need corner posts. They are probably more now. They are galvanized so there is no rust, and no need to secure the bottom. If you still need to keep the dogs off the fence, this is where an underground would be useful.
1 Like
Since you live in an area that used to have an HOA, I’d think about making it safe for your dogs from the outside world too.
I live in a populated area, and I’ve had to yell at numerous kids not to tease my dog through the chainlink. It’s nothing more than an annoyance because I don’t let her out unsupervised (shared yard), but it convinced me I want a solid fence when I build my own.
OP, not clear on how much land you are looking to fence for the dogs, but you might consider a “graduated” approach.
We have “Canine Alcatraz”, six foot fencing for runs, then 5’ area of about an acre, topped by a 4’ run of deer fencing (plastic) so the total is about 9’ (one person asked me, “What are you trying to contain here, gazelles?!”), then a perimeter fence on 17 acres which we are in the process of replacing now, with 5’ wire fencing on metal posts. They are only in the perimeter fencing when walked, supervised.
Oh, I forgot the 8’ fence off the house (4’ - 4 board fencing Backed with 2" x 4" wire topped with 4’ of plastics lattice), accessible via dog door, and another area off a bedroom with dog door access that is a separate 6’ solid board fence, mostly used by visitors who sometimes might have a bitch in heat or other dog(s) that they may not want to mix with the general population.
You cannot have too many fenced areas with different access!
4.5 year old thread bumped by new forum member- illinoisfence- reported as potential spam
We are out in the country. We put up chain link. I’m guessing about 1/3rd acre. The materials cost $1,200 in 2003 and DH did all the work.
included in that cost were two double gates big enough to get a dump truck thru and two man gates:)
We removed an advertising post that bumped up this old thread.
2 Likes
