Need advice on Dog Fencing

Barnee · Dec 22, 2004

I use an electric wire strug along my pre-existing cattle fence. The chargers are made by Fido Shock. The charge is strong enough to hold small animals (squirrls, egrets, etc.) if they get on it so you have to be careful of what/who gets exposed to it. For dogs that are 20 lb. or more it works fine and only takes 2 or 3 'occurrances' to train them not to get close to the fence. After that you can turn it off so you don't have to worry about other small animals/people. In your case, you don't have a fence to begin with so this isn't a sole solution for you. I just wanted to provide my experience with this kind of deterrent.

Also, i don't understand how anyone can tell you what you can do with your dogs control on your property. As long as they stay within your property boundary I don't see that they have the authority.

Mike

GregMVT · Dec 23, 2004

All we are seeing is one side of this story. When I was about 14.....about 35 years ago, I was bitten by a German Shepherd. I was just walking up a gravel drive, the dog had been barking, she trotted out and bit me pretty bad. I had no way of knowing what was going to happen, she stopped barking when she left the building she was in, about 150 feet from the road. I found out after she had just delivered puppies so she must have considered me a threat of some kind. We have a GSD now, he just turned 9, and he is a wonderful dog, to us anyways, I wouldn't want to be the mailman if he ever got loose!! The point is, this guy is being judged without all the facts.

Soundguy · Dec 23, 2004

I would have said invisible fence.. but since you will have horses.. go with t-posts and 2x4 welded wire as about the cheapest option you can get away with. Use wood 6-8x8 corner posts with angle or H braces, and then H braces ever hundred feet or so.. depending on the land and fence wire.

If they dig out.. o rthe horses lean on the fence.. pay another 50 bucks and get an electric fencer.. a roll of thin fencer wire, and some fence standoffs. Run a bottom wire for the dogs.. and a top wire for the horses.. if needed. tie the wire together at some point. You will have to decide the height o fthe bottom wire.. make it low enough to keep the dogs away.. but no so high that they try to back up and tunnel out anyway.

While I'm not a fan of crabby neighbors.. I can kind of see his problem. He doesn't want someone else's dog to run over and bite.. or threaton to bit him... Remember.. on either side of that road is county right of way.. he can legally jog/walk on that right of way which abuts your property. My guess is your dogs would not know the difference between your porperty and the right of way.. and might bite someone 'tresspassing' on your side of the raod in defense of their teritory.. even if that may be on the county right of way. The fence is a good idea evin if just from a liability issue.

For instance.. when we got horses and longhorn cows.. we upped the 'umbrella' portion of our homeowners policy. If cost like another 50$ a year on top of the premuim to 'doub;e' the policy limit of the 'excess liability'.. that is the option that would cover.. say.. a horse biting a person petting him over the fence.. or the cow.. say.. bustuing thru a gate and goreing somebody.. etc...

Good luck..

soundguy

Currmudgeon · Dec 23, 2004

( If the dog(s) get out, it is a killer trying to get them back in. )

That's been my worry about the stuff. My elderly *****, The Stubbornest Dog In The World (tm) would possibly blow through it chasing a squirrel, but then find herself locked out.

I have 40 inch residential chain link in the front. The dogs could clear it, but they respect the fence, so they don't. In the back, I have a mixture of chain link and rotting wire mesh. The wire mesh will probably be replaced in kind, or with high tensile.

Currmudgeon · Dec 23, 2004

( it works fine and only takes 2 or 3 'occurrances' to train them not to get close to the fence. After that you can turn it off so you don't have to worry about other small animals/people. )

Some dogs learn to tell the difference. Smart little devils, them.

Before putting in an electrified fence, be sure to check the local ordinances. They're illegal in some towns. In other areas, they need to be posted according to the ordinance.

srs · Dec 23, 2004

( He yelled at me that the town has a leash law (which they don’t) and that he did not like dogs.

I got a call from the dog officer that he called the police 3 times yesterday about my dogs. )

Wow, what a jerk!! Welcome to the neighborhood #@*hole!! Can I say that? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

I agree with Freds that he should have been man enough to have a one on one and politely ask for you to keep your dogs on your property. I also agree with chucko who said that one day he might need your help or something. ****, I hate people like that. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif Best keep the dogs on your property, there are some nasty people ought there who do terrible things.

Bird · Dec 23, 2004

( he should have been man enough to have a one on one and politely ask for you to keep your dogs on your property )

That sounds like the thing to do, but if there are two big dogs running loose and barking at you, are you going to walk past them to go see the owner? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

GerardC · Dec 23, 2004

( I tried the invisible fence with one of my dogs, he ran through it. I even purchased the stubborn dog collar, he ran through the fence quicker.)

LOL /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif. G

tc18ny · Dec 24, 2004

Mike101,
The secret with invisible fence is training. My lab puppy would run through the fence for the first couple of weeks. If you follow a strict training program with a stubborn dog collar, you would have to drag your dog outside the fence. You can install the wire yourself with a middle buster and about $5 worth of modifications. I feel comfortable leaving my dogs outside all day, even while I run into town. Another great thing is that a few relatives have the same fencing, so I can take the dogs over to play with their cousins. I got my whole system for free (got lucky). Someone bought it and never installed it.

Dave

CtRick · Dec 24, 2004

Mike,
My dog used to dig under, or jump over, the wooden fence in the back of our old house. She would also run right through the Invisible Fence we had in the front of the house. Imagine her shock (bad pun intended /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif) when we combined the two. Not being able to run right through it exposed her to the shock for much longer, and it was apparently what she needed to learn. When we moved to our new house I put up the training flags while we waited for our new system to be installed. She never even attempted to cross them. Definitely not the cheapest solution, but piece of mind is very important to me.

Best of luck to you, we moved from our last house because of a neighbor who didn't like our dog.

Rick