heislove1980
New member
3 years ago we moved into a new house and put up a 54” 4 board wooden fence around our~.75 acre backyard. Our property backs up to about 700 acres of woods and the neighborhood is large and spread out with all types of country wildlife so keeping our dog contained is a must. At the time, we had an extremely gentle and laid back plot hound and while she had the ability to jump, she never tried jumping over anything, even when she was a puppy at our old house with a much shorter fence. We never worried about needing a much taller fence or a metal fence with vertical slats. She passed this past fall after a short but horrible ailment so we are now without a dog. I have wanted a German shepherd since my first dog(a GSD/Black Lab that lived to be 16) died 12 years ago. One thing that he did really really well was jump on the top of and over my parents’ 4 board wooden fence. It was maybe 48” or 42” but he had no problems getting over it even well into his senior years.
We haven’t started looking at breeders or rescues(different conversation) yet as we have just started getting over our Plot Hound passing and we have 2 young children(9 months and 2.5yrs) we are wanting to be a little older before we bring another dog into the home. In the meantime, my biggest worry is the fence. I have lived with a GSD who had a 6’ vinyl fence with verticals slats and have a neighbor GSD with a 6’ metal fence with vertical slats so I know I’m already lacking. I think it would be very easy for a dog to get over or through the fence(especially a puppy) if they wanted as the boards are about 10” apart.
What are some options, besides training, that could keep a dog contained that wouldn’t require me to replace the fence? We had the option of getting black wire paneling for the fence when we built but the HOA doesn’t allow it and at the time we didn’t need it. Looking back I wish we had done it because that would have kept a dog from getting between the boards. I know I’m going to have to do something similar. it’s hardly visible and the fence is about 150’ from the road anyway and screw the HOA. Has anyone increased the height of their fence with success?
My parents rescued an American fox hound that used to be an escape artist and loved to run into the closest woods to their neighborhood. They got a gps collar so they could find her if she did get out while they were shoring up their fence. Has anyone had luck with an e-collar?
We haven’t started looking at breeders or rescues(different conversation) yet as we have just started getting over our Plot Hound passing and we have 2 young children(9 months and 2.5yrs) we are wanting to be a little older before we bring another dog into the home. In the meantime, my biggest worry is the fence. I have lived with a GSD who had a 6’ vinyl fence with verticals slats and have a neighbor GSD with a 6’ metal fence with vertical slats so I know I’m already lacking. I think it would be very easy for a dog to get over or through the fence(especially a puppy) if they wanted as the boards are about 10” apart.
What are some options, besides training, that could keep a dog contained that wouldn’t require me to replace the fence? We had the option of getting black wire paneling for the fence when we built but the HOA doesn’t allow it and at the time we didn’t need it. Looking back I wish we had done it because that would have kept a dog from getting between the boards. I know I’m going to have to do something similar. it’s hardly visible and the fence is about 150’ from the road anyway and screw the HOA. Has anyone increased the height of their fence with success?
My parents rescued an American fox hound that used to be an escape artist and loved to run into the closest woods to their neighborhood. They got a gps collar so they could find her if she did get out while they were shoring up their fence. Has anyone had luck with an e-collar?