B's and fences..

[DiegosMom]

I need advice from those of you who have B's and fences in your backyard.. In regard to fences I am specifically talking about privacy fences.. For fences that the bottom are at surface level/flush to the ground.. Do your B's try to dig under them? Do you let your dogs go in and out as they please when you are not home (via doggy door)? Is there anything you do or can do to prevent them from digging? (put something in the the ground? on the ground??) I am looking to move and want a privacy fence, but was wondering about the dogs trying to escape.. Any advice or suggestions??

[BasenjiDiva]

We have a privacy fence and haven't had any problems with either dog trying to dig under it. We made certain that the fence is flush to the ground. Since the fence is older and the gates a little warped, DH supplimented the regular latch with another one at the bottom of the gate. They worked a few old boards loose and so we have had to replace some. We discovered one board was loose when our neighbor found Cory on her deck. Now we periodically "walk the fence" to check it out for security purposes. They are wiley dogs!!!

Pat

[sharronhurlbut]

We have a 5 ft fence with a doggie door.
Mostly, the dogs lay on the deck in the sun, or run out to chase the birds, but otherwise, just use it when they need it.
They find the feather beds much nicer to rest on than the deck!

[tanza]

My B's have never tried to dig under our privacy fence… however we do not have neighbors with dogs either on either side of us.... ... but we make sure they are flush to the ground... and I would be more concerned if there were neighbors with dogs... and if so, I would go to using a "hot" wire on the bottom to keep them away

[nomrbddgs]

Mine do not dig under fences, but my one girl, Sugar, will climb them-as well as trees. I live in rural area, so mine do not go outside when no one is home-too many ifs, ands, or buts, could happen.

[DiegosMom]

@tanza:

My B's have never tried to dig under our privacy fence… however we do not have neighbors with dogs either on either side of us.... ... but we make sure they are flush to the ground... and I would be more concerned if there were neighbors with dogs... and if so, I would go to using a "hot" wire on the bottom to keep them away

Tanza- whats a "hot" wire??

Thanks for everyones responses! What about letting them come and go when you aren't home.. I figured it was ok with a privacy fence but wanted to make sure??

[tanza]

I leave mine out (via doggy door, so can go in and out) when we are not home. But we have 10/12 Ft privacy fences and have all the gates padlocked so that no one can get in. We are in a quiet neighborhood with a nursing home behind us. And we have a very large lot.. and the back yard is set way back from the street/front of the house.

I am very comfortable with this and never had a problem. Others have different thoughts….

Hot wire is electric fencing wire.. so if they touch it.. they get a shock... only takes one time....

[DiegosMom]

I've never heard of the hot wire but thanks for letting me know! I am going to look into it.. And if I do move and have a privacy fence I will use the padlocks and such.. I think it would be great to allow them access to outside when we aren't home..

[setidog]

Unfortunately we have had a problem with Seti digging underneath our fence, however I think it may have started with some raccoons. Once he discovered that he could dig and possibly get into the neighbors yard it became a problem. We put some large rocks in the holes and now he's stopped digging. No doggy door for us…I don't trust Seti at all.

[MacPack]

Rocks in the holes, or concrete pavers all along the fence work for diggers. I have heard that laying wire mesh, like chain link or other type of fencing, right on the ground all along the fence bottom,works. The grass grows over it, and if they try to dig, they run into the wire and can't dig through it.

We leave ours with a dog door and access to the yard all the time. We only have 4 ft chain link fencing but ours are not escapers. A lot depends on the dogs….or the temptations!

Anne in Tampa

[kristink]

Sol is a climber, not a digger. I have 500 feet of 4foot cedar fence, and he jumped over it the first week by putting his paws on the cross beam and pulling– I then installed a 'hot wire' run by a small generator across the cross-beam, and he touched it once and never again. He now loves the yard so much that when he's gotten out a gate left ajar once or twice, he just goes back in-- but I think he might still jump and chase when the neighbor's cat is around, so i keep the fence 'hot'.

Kris

[DiegosMom]

@kristink:

Sol is a climber, not a digger. I have 500 feet of 4foot cedar fence, and he jumped over it the first week by putting his paws on the cross beam and pulling– I then installed a 'hot wire' run by a small generator across the cross-beam, and he touched it once and never again. He now loves the yard so much that when he's gotten out a gate left ajar once or twice, he just goes back in-- but I think he might still jump and chase when the neighbor's cat is around, so i keep the fence 'hot'.

Kris

Where do you get the hot wire from??

[LiveWWSD]

@DiegosMom:

Where do you get the hot wire from??

You can get them at any farm and tack store. We used them for our horses as they would jump a barbedwire fence, but not an electric fence.

[sharronhurlbut]

I have also heard that if you put PVC pipe, with a wire in the center of it, along the top of a fence, andyou have a climbing basenji, the b will touch the PVC pipe, it will roll and the b will not be able to go any further.
I like this, as it doesn't cause any pain.
But then, I have not had a climbing b…so keeping them comtained is the main thing!

[wizard]

EL D had never given me any trouble (and I have dogs on all sides) with just a regular chain link fence (4 ft I think and he can easily jump nearly 5 ft from a sitting position but never went over the fence) nor with digging … UNTIL ... one neighbor bought a stupid pretend poodle who comes out and eggs EL D unmercifully. Then he started jumping so I put some boards up because I didn't want him to clear the fence nor hurt himself. So then he started digging to get under and it didn't matter what I put down there -- big rocks, little rocks, sticks. I was just about to sink some concrete blocks when I instead bought a 6 foot panel of privacy fence and had a talking with the neighbor. It hasn't stopped the stupid dog but EL D doesn't dig as much because he can't see through the fence. But he wasn't really a digger to begin with so I don't know if that helps you or not.

[sharronhurlbut]

My 2 b's have dogs on either side..it funny, cause when Maggy the black girl lab barks, they both run out and run the fence.
When Rosko barks, the male lab on the other side, they pay no attention.
Poor Rosko, he so wants to run the fence with them!
laugh

[DiegosMom]

Well I am building a privacy fence.. So any suggestions with anything about a privacy fence would be helpful! Someone said something about concrete pavers under the fence or something?? what are concrete pavers?? Sorry I'm clueless about this!

[BasenjiDiva]

Concrete pavers are like outdoor tiles made of concrete. I'm sure you've seen them in the outdoor area of Lowes or HD. They come in varying shapes and sizes. We have them under our gates so that the gates can be closer to the ground without dragging on the dirt when we pull them closed. Our privacy fence is a shadowbox style which is no real problem because neither of our neighbors have dogs. However, one of our neighbors has an "indoor" cat that they put on a tether in their fenced in back yard on nice days when one or both of them are at home. The cat can reach our fence. Cory and Jayden, who were around cats when they were little puppies, are thrilled when "Ralphie" is outside. Cory especially likes to reach through the slats to try and "pet" Ralphie. Ralphie likes to harass them a bit by hissing but he comes right up to the fence to commune with them.

Pat

[lvoss]

The PVC with wire through it sounds like a DIY version of the Coyote Roller.

http://www.coyoteroller.com/coyote_roller

[CyrusVirus]

We have actually been really lucky in this regard. Our backyard is enclosed by a picket fence reinforced with chicken wire around the bottom. It was here when we moved in last year. Cyrus has never tried to dig or climb out of the fence at all. We are actually hoping to replace our fencing with vinyl this year, so it will be even more secure. Cyrus does not have access to the outdoors when we are not home, however. He is too clever for his own good, and we worry about what he would do if left to his own devices!