Help! Woven wire fence question

[Anonymous Poster]

Cindi, we adopted ours from one of the services that saves racing Greyhounds. She was only 2 years old and had never raced; she was due to be put down because they apparently couldn't get her to chase the rabbit. We think she had been pretty severely abused during the training attempts - she spent the first year almost as a statue when anyone was around. Her attitude was, "If I don't do anything at all, I can't do anything wrong."

We've had her for about 5 years now, and she's coming out of her shell. She's still terrified of me -- and all men -- but she'll make up with women.

There's a good dog buried deep in there somewhere - we've watched her through the window when she thinks no one is around, and she plays like a puppy, throwing toys around and prancing. She is also a bit of a devil - teases my wife when she wants the dog to come inside, hides behind trees and such, not because she's scared -- you can tell she's being devilish (the dog, not my wife).

Our current yard is small, but we've had her out to my daughter's acreage many times, and she purely loves to run. I think she'll come even more out of her shell when we move to the 5 acres next to our daughter - total of 7.5 acres to run! Also, I'm pretty sure my wife will adopt another one once we move, and maybe Grandy will learn by example how to be a dog.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Just give her time, like you say, she'll learn to trust you. It's a shame that someone made her that way. If it's any consolation, Elvis is the same way with my husband. He'll let him approach but if Fred tries to pet him, he'll run away and bark, and go down on his chest and chin with his hindquarters in the air, like it's all a big game. He will let Fred pet him if he's on the leash and can't run. He just won't sit still for it if he has a choice. He was never raced though, he's a mix, but somewhere along the line a male did him a bad deed and he has not forgotten it. And he's very sensitive about his head and neck. Even I am not allowed to touch him around the eye head or neck area and I know he's healthy. He just doesn't like it.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Here's how I do a woven wire fence over a pipe framework.

Wooden posts work fine. But this system will outlast just about anything else.

First I tie off the far end. What is important here as far as I'm concerned is two things. The first of course is the wire is tied off perpendicular to the lay of the land. If there is a bias then the wire shouldn't be cut and finished plumb.

What I usually look at is the section to see if the roll in the land isn't balanced. If it goes down then back up about the same distance then a plumb finish is called for. If it's a steady grade change then that angle determines the bias cut and finish.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I like to pull past the end post. I will jump through hoops calling out bad words to pull past the post. Pulling past the end post allows me to finish out a section like it's supposed to be done. I can do it pulling to the post, it's just not as easy, harder to make look good.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Then comes the fun part, peeling the vertical strands away to expose the horizontal ones for wrapping the posts.

I use end nippers.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

There are probably as many techniques as there are fences for removing the little wire clips holding the wires together. I've done the unwrap, the two plier'd detwist, etc. But the best technique for me is using the end nippers to cut across the tie like this.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

After the verticals are removed then the horizontals are cut and wrapped around the post one at a time in a random manner. You don't want to start at the top and work to the bottom or vice versa. I usually save the top and bottom heavy wires for the last to do.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Here's what it's all about. A fence that's tight'er Richard's hat band and even it it rolls with the ground it does so in an even and attractive manner. I'll go back and put five ties on each post and as many between posts.

It'll stay tight and last for a long long time.