# Aluminum Fence Height



## scottkeen (Feb 20, 2014)

Hi,

I'm new to dog ownership and Ruger, my 2+ year old GSD, is my first dog. He's a great dog, but needs lots of outdoor activity.

I live in the bottom half of my house which is very small for me and Ruger, so I'd like him to run around outside in the side yard, in addition to the exercise walks we do twice a day.

The breeder described Ruger as "leggy" and he's pretty tall and weighs 90 lbs.

I'd like to install an metal aluminum fence around my yard. This particular fence would not have horizontal rails except at the very top and very bottom. It's what I think they call "2-rail". My neighbor has the exact same fence which is 48" from bottom rail to top rail, and about 54" from the ground to the top of the post.

This is the fence I'd like to have:


Is this high enough to keep Ruger contained unsupervised? I don't think he could climb it because there's no mid-height horizontal rails to get footing on. He'd have to do a running jump at it to clear it.

If this isn't high enough, what's a good height?

Thanks,


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

It really depends on the dog. In Wyoming I had 4 foot fencing and not a problem with the dogs - it was an acre and they got a walk in the morning and a walk at night and knew it. In Arkansas, I lived in town. I had 6 ft privacy fencing on the top part of the property and 4 ft chain-link on the rest. No problem with dogs jumping the fence. Other dogs will scale or jump a 6 foot fence.


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## scottkeen (Feb 20, 2014)

OK, I guess I understand it all depends on the dog. Ruger knows he gets a walk in the morning and one at night, and he's pretty well-behaved (as best a 2-year old can be, I guess). I just want to let him have mid-day exercise and lounging around outside instead of indoors in our cramped space.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

It does depend on the dog, 54" could be jumped easily by some, regardless of the lack of middle support. My previous dogs, a lab and malamute would fly over my 4' fence. If your going to leave him unsupervised, I'd go with 6'.


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## Jlmaiorana (Nov 25, 2013)

I plan on putting up a fence for my GSD this spring and did some research. I learned that if you don't want the dog to jump the fence, build it as high as possible because if you put up a 4 foot fence and the GSD learns to jump it, then you add another 2 feet the GSD will learn to jump that and on and on. That is how they train GSDs to jump. So I am being safe and putting up a 6 foot fence right off the bat. Also need to put chicken wire or something down in the ground under the fence or they will dig their way out.


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## nktigger99 (Aug 22, 2006)

We had a foster boxer who could jump our 6` stockade fence....you just never know..

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## scottkeen (Feb 20, 2014)

So when you guys say that a dog can jump a 6' high fence, does that mean "jump over without touching a 6-foot high fence in one motion", or does that mean the dog can jump up and climb its way over a 6-foot high fence?

Along the same lines (and probably a similar answer, "depends"), what's the *typical* maximum a GSD will jump down? I live on a hillside and one side of my property is a slope which goes down about 30 feet. I'm thinking to excavate part of the slope and put in a 6-foot retaining wall into the face of the slope instead of fencing on that side. The top of the 6-foot retaining wall would be few inches above grade of my property. To escape, the dog would have to jump down off the 6-foot high retaining wall plus a few feet of slope below depending on where he lands. Would he do it?


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

I personally don't leave my dog outside unless he's on a tie out inside our fenced yard. I had a GSD climb our fence (and they can climb any height) so I'm very wary of leaving him out alone. Right now I don't. The only time he's been outside on tie out in the yard, my husband was actually outside working on the fence. I'm planning to put a kennel up with floor and roof this spring for him to lounge in in the mornings so he doesn't have to be crated. However, it's going to be behind the house, padlocked with a webcam so I can keep an eye out.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

My previous two could easily clear the 4' without touching it, so the lack of lateral support doesn't matter. They both could jump over 6' fences made of wood or chain link, but the style you posted in the OP @ 6' would *probably* keep them secure, unless you have a digger. The thing is, once they learn how to jump a 4' fence, they'll more than likely try the 6' as well. Best to go with 6' from the start.


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## zyppi (Jun 2, 2006)

For most dogs a 6' fence would probably contain. 4' might tempt him.


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

I have a 4 ft fence and Gus can easily clear it. This winter witg our horrific amount of snow he easily walked over it. We had to install additional 4 feet of snow fencing to keep him in. Now he can easily climb the snow fencing if left unsupervised. 
Go as high as you can right from the start. I will be looking at 8ft fencing this summer.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

If he wants to, he can even clear 8 feet. 

This dog was trained to do it, but I wanted to show what their capabilities are.


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## nktigger99 (Aug 22, 2006)

scottkeen said:


> So when you guys say that a dog can jump a 6' high fence, does that mean "jump over without touching a 6-foot high fence in one motion", or does that mean the dog can jump up and climb its way over a 6-foot high fence?
> 
> t?


In our case the boxer never touched the fence and he could do it from a sited position. It was crazy.

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## DTMax (Jul 13, 2020)

scottkeen said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm new to dog ownership and Ruger, my 2+ year old GSD, is my first dog. He's a great dog, but needs lots of outdoor activity.
> 
> ...


scott
what did you end up doing regarding this fence? I’m looking at fencing and considering similar ornamental fence rather than chain link, and 6 ft v 5 ft. Cost is significant so if all options are only 50:50 chance of GSD jumping, I’m not sure what to do. Any advice?
Dennis


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## Gwyllgi (Aug 16, 2017)

The OP has not posted since 2016.

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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

That post was from 6 years ago and I don't think he's been on the site in 2 years ...

Any GSD can clear 4' without trying, my older male does that daily as part of our walks. 6' they usually need to touch halfway up and scramble over; chain link and wood fences help with that. A 6' ornamental fence like the one pictured by the OP should work for 95% of them imo. But it's only good for inside a fenced yard as lots of little hands might go through there to pet Rover


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## DTMax (Jul 13, 2020)

Thanks, that helps!


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## Buckelke (Sep 4, 2019)

Did I ever tell you about the night Ellie went into one of her panic attacks (weather) and tried to go up the stairs inside from the side? The screaming made us go look and there she was with her head stuck between the spindles. I'd be leery of a fence like in the picture. Lucky came from the shelter because a neighboring county had ordered him out. Seems he was regularly jumping a 6' fence for a nice chicken dinner. The neighbors did not appreciate him. Duke can take a flying leap over the 30" gate on the bottom step - 9" for a total of 39" without ever touching it. I think the best you can do is just whatever you think will work, but there is no guarantee with a dog as athletic as GS's.


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## ChickiefromTN (Jun 16, 2020)

scottkeen said:


> So when you guys say that a dog can jump a 6' high fence, does that mean "jump over without touching a 6-foot high fence in one motion", or does that mean the dog can jump up and climb its way over a 6-foot high fence?
> 
> Along the same lines (and probably a similar answer, "depends"), what's the _typical_ maximum a GSD will jump down? I live on a hillside and one side of my property is a slope which goes down about 30 feet. I'm thinking to excavate part of the slope and put in a 6-foot retaining wall into the face of the slope instead of fencing on that side. The top of the 6-foot retaining wall would be few inches above grade of my property. To escape, the dog would have to jump down off the 6-foot high retaining wall plus a few feet of slope below depending on where he lands. Would he do it?


I just wanted to confirm what others have said. My 1 year old girl will be excited when I get home and she will come out and sit and then jump over me and I'm 5'10"... uggghh.

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