Perimeter fence ideas

[ramp]

Skye is mid drive Border Collie. We live in a rural area at the end of a dead end street., surrounded by state forest. Never lost a dog before but Skye is only a year old and in need of checking out her surroundings. Strongly thinking of an electric fence but have no prior knowledge of them. I'm thinking of laying out an acre perimeter. Thoughts

[Sue R]

By "electric fence" do you mean above-ground (like a livestock electric fence) or below-ground (an "invisible" fence)? I doubt anyone here would recommend the below-ground invisible fence - it does nothing to protect your dog from any person or animal entering your yard/space and it does not provide a physical barrier to prevent your dog from leaving (and many dogs will run right through it, either because they are smart enough to sense when it's not working due to a dead battery, removed collar, or system turned off, or because there is something enticing enough on the other side - which can leave your dog on the outside, reluctant to come back inside).

 

A physical barrier fence, while more expensive to erect and requiring some maintenance, is still generally the best alternative, making sure that it is high enough, non-permeable, and close enough to the ground to avoid escape below.

 

How do many of us deal with the possibilities of failure that any fencing may have? Never leave the dog outside unsupervised. An unsupervised dog can get bored and do damage in the yard; bark; become obsessed with shadows, planes, leaves, squirrels, etc.; escape; and, perhaps worst of all, be stolen.

 

I am sure you will get some good feedback from others - I live in a rural area, on a dirt road, with no yard. I have three Border Collies right now, and none are ever out without supervision, but that's simply my choice on how to deal with my situation, taking into consideration the alternatives and possibilities I have looked at.

[ramp]

Your response is extremely appreciated.

When I am home, issues like you represent do not exist. It's the other times that I am concerned about.

For some reason I have been struggling with this issue as the weather gets warmer and the days longer here in New England. Cost is not my concern. She is our dog! I wish the best for her.

I am leaning heavily towards a fence that all partiies will comprehend.

[GentleLake]

What Sue said.

 

I used to have an IF many years ago. My dog at the time (not a border collie) would decide when it worth getting shocked to cross it to wander the neighborhood. He'd sit far enough back that he didn't get the warning beep and think about it. Most of the time he'd decide it wasn't worth getting shocked, but often he'd make a different decision. When he did, you could watch him brace himself for the shock before dashing over the boundary. He knew it was coming and had made the very conscious decision that it was worth it to do what he wanted to do.

 

I'm not sure what you mean in your reply to Sue's post when you say that "issues like you represent do not exist." But I can't think of a single thing she mentioned that hasn't happened either in my own experience or someone's whom I know personally -- IOW, not questionable friend-of-a-friend type rumors.

 

It doesn't matter where you live, there are considerable risks to leaving a dog out unattended. Dogs are stolen all over the country from what their owners believe to be secure yards. Often it's an organized group doing the stealing. I volunteer for New England Border Collie Rescue and we get reports with alarming regularity of dogs having been stolen, often in very remote areas. The sheriff's department in the next county over from me in upstate NY has just issued a second report of a rash of thefts of dogs throughout the county left out in yards with IF, tied out or in an outside run. A few years ago several dogs very close to me were stolen right off of people's front porches. My dogs are always supervised when they're outside in my fenced backyard. It's not a risk I'm willing to take.

[Gloria Atwater]

Skye is mid drive Border Collie. We live in a rural area at the end of a dead end street., surrounded by state forest. Never lost a dog before but Skye is only a year old and in need of checking out her surroundings. Strongly thinking of an electric fence but have no prior knowledge of them. I'm thinking of laying out an acre perimeter. Thoughts

 

 

Hi there!

 

I also live in a rural area and the only fences I trust are fences that keep the right things in and the wrong things out. I would never trust an electric "invisible" fence because they are basically a bluff. If a dog decides it really has to chase a deer or squirrel or whatever, they're going to break that barrier - and when the chase is over, they can't get back in their yard. Your dog cannot come home. If a coyote or stray dog decides to go after your dog, again, she has no protection. And if the invisible fence somehow fails or the collar stops working, your dog is on open range.

 

I simply would not risk it.

 

Our place came with a chain link fence dog yard, but I also like no-climb wire horse fence or something similarly sturdy. It's not cheap and it requires work to build, but the dog is secure. My thoughts, anyhow!

 

~ Gloria

[D'Elle]

Agree with the above responses.

No electric fence is effective unless it is paired with an actual secure fence and used only to discourage a dog from climbing the fence. Even then it may not work for the reasons stated above.

 

I live in rural area, dirt road, dead end street. I have about 1/3 of my acre fenced in with 4"X2" wrapped wire mesh. Basically the no-clime fence that Gloria mentions above. Metal poles you can pound into the dirt yourself and it is inexpensive relatively speaking...much less than chain link and works just as well. Any fence requires occasional maintenance and should be checked perhaps once a month for defects.

 

It really is never a good idea to leave your dog outside if you are not home, for reasons stated above.

I would never leave a young border collie or one of my small dogs outside if I were not home. Having said that, I confess that when my Jester was 15 I left him in the fenced yard when I went to work because if I did not he would destroy the house (which he never did when younger), and pee. He destroyed a metal crate, so I left him outside and he was happy there. And now with Kit who is 16, I sometimes leave her outside if I am to be gone many hours or she will pee in the house because she is too old to hold it and doesn't mind being out if the weather is nice.

 

Where I live no one comes down the road unless they are lost or going to one of the houses. People don't just drive by. No one walks out here. It's unlikely that anyone would steal my old border collie. I know even so I am taking a certain risk, but they would have to cut the fence or climb over and then lift the dog over, there are much easier dogs to steal elsewhere, and the wrong kind of person would have to be here looking for a dog to steal, and their car would be noticed by the neighbors as not belonging, and all in all it is unlikely so I take the risk.

 

As I say, though, I would never do it with a young and nice looking dog, nor with a small dog.

Just be very aware if you do leave your dog out that you are taking a risk each time.

[ramp]

Thanks for the input. Off to the store.

[GentleLake]

I wish I could find the video again, but I saw one online once that was taken of a dog theft. 2 guys drove up in a van across from a house with a 4' fenced yard. The van was still moving when one guy jumped out of the van, ran across the street and jumped over the fence. The driver put the van in park and ran across to meet his accomplice as he lifted a golden retriever over the fence to the other just as he got to it. The two of them ran back, the one who was initially driving hopped in the open side door with the dog while the other jumped in the driver's seat and took off.

 

The whole thing took less than 2 minutes.

 

A rescue applicant told us about his 6' covered kennel with a padlock that he left his dog in when he went out. He came home one day and the dog was gone. Bolt cutters had made short work of the padlock.

 

As for remote areas where few people travel and far from neighbors, that's really a perfect set up for dog thieves. It just means they're less likely to bee seen and caught.

 

Some dog thefts are people "flipping" dogs, stealing them and then watching for rewards being posted or taking them to other areas to sell them. Who knows what they do with the dogs if their owners aren't willing to pay a reward or they can't sell them? They're probably used as bait dogs in fighting rings, which is where most of the other dogs that are stolen end up going. Older dogs and small dogs are used to entice the younger dogs to fight without getting frightened by more able bodied dogs who'll put up more of a fight.

 

If I have an old dog who pees, I set up an ex-pen with a piece of waterproof flooring remnant underneath. Like I said, it's not a risk I'm willing to take.