# How should I fence my yard?



## Namenda (Oct 2, 2012)

I'd like to get some opinions on how to fence my yard. I've read that a 6 foot high fenced yard is best for German Shepherds. I have 4 acres though, and in my area, fences are very expensive. My lot is mostly wooded, there is a 4 foot high chain link fence topped with barb wire along the front of the property, and various fences along one side. When we first moved in, we had an estimate for fencing the front and the contractor came back with at quote for $20k!!  Unfortunately, on the other side of the chain link fence is a very busy road. Sadly, this is how I lost my last dog. 

The options that I'm considering are: 1. an invisible fence enclosing the whole 4 acres, 2. a chain link fence enclosing just the back yard, 3. an invisible fence enclosing most of the 4 acres, but leaving a dog-free zone along the driveway and front yard to allow access for the UPS guy and BGE.

One other thing you should know is that there is a lot of wild life on my yard. We have rabbits, squirrels, fox, deer, chipmunks, turtles, and snakes. We have quite a bit of brush as well. There are many visual barriers. This is part of the reason the fence would have cost so much - much of the land would have had to be cleared which is costly.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

fence in an area for the dog or build a kennel. don't
trust an e-fence to keep your dog safe. make sure
your dog can't jump the fence, climb out or dig under
the fence to get out.


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

Namenda said:


> The options that I'm considering are: 1. an invisible fence enclosing the whole 4 acres, *2. a chain link fence enclosing just the back yard*, 3. an invisible fence enclosing most of the 4 acres, but leaving a dog-free zone along the driveway and front yard to allow access for the UPS guy and BGE.
> 
> One other thing you should know is that there is a lot of wild life on my yard. We have rabbits, squirrels, fox, deer, chipmunks, turtles, and snakes. We have quite a bit of brush as well. There are many visual barriers. This is part of the reason the fence would have cost so much - much of the land would have had to be cleared which is costly.


I like option #2 and that's what I did. I couldn't begin to fence it all in financially speaking and I have far less than you. (I have close to an acre, all told.) My *eventual* plans include the rest of the property, but my first priority was doing what I could with the funds I had. As with you, completing it all will require clearing a lot of trees, brush, etc. I ended up with maybe 3000 sq ft of five foot chain link.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

If you want to be able to leave dogs outside unsupervised, I would fence in an area with 6' privacy fencing. At my old house we had a large lot, no chance I could afford to fence it, so I fenced in about 2600 square feet off the back of the house. Then if I wanted more space for the dogs to run or for training, I would use the rest of the lot. Being GSDs I didn't have problems with them trying to run off not having the whole lot fence if I was out there doing stuff with them or supervising, but I felt better having a physically fenced in portion if they wanted to sun outside for hours or be outside without me.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Agree with the others and budget for maintining any fence in a wooded area because branches etc. will fall on the fence itself. There is also issues with shorting out electric fence (farm fence not that invistible stuff).

The invisible stuff I would only consider in a yard as a "safety" for when I was out side with my dog, not when my dog was unattended.

Five foot horse fence is strong and a lot less expensive than chain link. It should contain most but 6 foot is more of a guarantee.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I have 6' privacy fence in the front/side area and 4' chain link in the back wooded part. We have two locked gates in the back chain link area and two big gates in the front on each side of the house for service or vehicles to get through.

If I had to do over(we put it up with a 10 yr old dog in mind) I'd do 6' chain link in the back too. But doing a livestock type higher fence wouldn't be too bad in the way back. We don't see it in the summer due to the foilage. 
As long as the dogs couldn't dig under it or bend it to get over, it would be fine. My dogs aren't left unsupervised for long though, so aren't able to get into trouble easily.


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## Manny6575 (Sep 30, 2012)

I went with 5' chain link in the backyard only. Two 4' gates and one 10' gate. Cost installed was $10 a foot.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I have an acre in a rural area, and I went with a really attractive wood post-and-rail "horse" type fence, with welded wire attached. Kind of like this without the attractive tops on the posts:









My dogs have never tried to escape, though I don't leave them out unsupervised.


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## gowen (Nov 4, 2011)

Emoore said:


> I have an acre in a rural area, and I went with a really attractive wood post-and-rail "horse" type fence, with welded wire attached. Kind of like this without the attractive tops on the posts:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I live in the city and have slightly less than a half acre and went with a split rail fence with green wire. Do date it has worked flawlessly keeping Dolly in and other critters out.


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