# Fencing Height



## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Pricing fencing for the spring. We're in the country so no restrictions on height.

What is the recommended height for German Shepherds? 5'?


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## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

The rescue I tried to go through wanted 6 feet.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I'm not getting a rescue so don't care about their requirements. I'm not putting up a 6' in the back. Maybe when we put it in the front, I'll put up the pvc privacy panels but not in the back.


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## MichaelE (Dec 15, 2012)

My part GSD and part kangaroo can clear five feet without batting an eye.

For a jumper I'd have to recommend 6' too. They still may be able to crawl over it, but it'll be harder than 5'.

If you don't have a jumper I'd say you could get away with four feet.


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

We went with 6', though I think 5' would be fine unless the dog has a history of jumping fences.


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## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

Jax08 said:


> I'm not getting a rescue so don't care about their requirements. I'm not putting up a 6' in the back. Maybe when we put it in the front, I'll put up the pvc privacy panels but not in the back.


If you don't plan to do any higher than 5 feet, then you already have your answer.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

My male GSD can jump 5' and he's not a jumper by nature... it was just no problem for him to get over. My male border collie can almost jump our 6' privacy.. I'd personally go no shorter than 6' with my dogs.. Definitely privacy because they're both more likely to go over a see through fence. :/


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

We have 4ft fences and the dogs are never out there by themselves so it is not an issue.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

alot of dogs will respect a fence, no matter the height

Mine is 5 feet, a couple of my gsd's could have cleared it with no problems, and would at times when I was in the front yard and they weren't.

But then, my other dogs respect the fence and have no issue with even thinking about jumping it..


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## bill (Nov 8, 2013)

I had a 130 rott go over a 6 ft fence; he broke his penis; got uramnic poisoning it killed him! The vet said he saw that happen too horses; but not a dog said he read about it
This dog was never taught to jump. The neighbor had a dog in heat. Bill


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I'd also go 6' if possible. We have 6' privacy front and sides & 4' chain link in the way back and my dogs haven't jumped it, but with 2 feet of snow on the ground that fence gets short really fast!

Bill that is just horrible! Poor boy


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Jax08 said:


> I'm not getting a rescue so don't care about their requirements. I'm not putting up a 6' in the back. Maybe when we put it in the front, I'll put up the pvc privacy panels but not in the back.


I am not sure why you are asking this question. Most of the books say six feet. Rescues want six feet, usually. You can actually train a dog to go over fences by starting out with fences that are not large enough. Then building up, the dog learns he can climb, etc. 

This is what I have found. Most of mine respect a 39" baby gate with a 4-6 inch step, making it approximately 45 inches in all. Most of mine respect any gate, but mothers with pups will go over 2' x-pens usually, and 2' whelping box sides. I have seen Jenna clear a 36" x-pen when I had taken her pups out front and she still wanted to be with them. 

I use 6' privacy panels in the back on the sides and in the front. These are not super strong, so I do not leave the dog unsupervised in the enclosure, unless by accident -- Joy who won't go over or through, sometime, I forget to latch her kennel last thing when I leave. So she sometimes has the yard as well as her kennel. The back is 5' horse fence. That you can see right through, but the back is a ravine, and a river so it's not like the dogs are looking at the neighbors and barking. With Joy and the dogs older than she, they remember that I put an electric wire fence along the bottom of the horse fencing, and they totally leave it alone. That's been down for a while, so my youngsters do not have the added aversion to messing with fencing. But as I don't leave them out there alone, no one has ever tried to molest the fence or go over it. 

I guess it really depends on what you want to do with the fence. If you plan to leave the dog in the yard while you are washing floors and carpets, then I would go with six foot. If you don't want to cut off the view, use some type of chain link or horse fencing. If you want an area where you can throw the ball for the dog, 5' should be fine.


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## TAR HEEL MOM (Mar 22, 2013)

There was an existing 4' fence on my property line. I used it as one side and tied into it using the foundation wall and 5' fencing that we bought. It worries me that mine might figure out how easily he can jump that 4' fence but so far he hasn't attempted it. They are never out there if I am not home. There is an old wisteria vine growing on about 20 feet of the old 4' fence and it adds a good 2 feet to the height. I am planting it all along the rest of the fence and encouraging it to spread to cover the whole thing. It's pretty as well as functional!


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## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

i went with six feet. jax, you also want to keep other animals out, 5 feet might not do it. we are getting some critters by me that would have no problems getting a 5 foot fence.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

I've always had a 4 foot fence and have not had a problem. 
I did have a dog before who I *know* could jump 4 feet because she did it in high jump competition, but she never attempted to jump the fence and had no interest in escaping the yard so it wasn't a problem.
However, if I was going to be building a new fence I'd probably go with 6 feet.


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

My yard had an existing 4 foot chain link. My dogs do not try to jump it. My boy will put his front paws on the top of it, but he won't jump it. Most dogs do respect any fence higher than 3 feet (3 feet a bit too easy to jump), and won't jump a fence unless they're shown they can do it.

If you do have jumping dogs, a 5 foot fence is not going to stop them as they would still be able to jump and probably get their front paws on top of the fence to pull themselves up and over. With a 6 foot fence, it generally takes more of a climbing action to just get to the top.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

selzer said:


> I am not sure why you are asking this question.


That would make two of us. Not sure why I ask any questions anymore.

oh wait...It was because I was interested in other peoples experiences with varying fence heights. Yeah..that's why.

Thank you to everyone for sharing your experiences. I think a 5' in the back would be good for our home and surroundings.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

When we rented, our duplex had a HUGE yard, it went way back. In the back was a wooded area and then beyond that was a mall, so there was already a 6' chainlink behind those trees. Our property had no fence however. The landlord allowed me to put up a "non permanent" fence using steel T-posts and 4' agricultural type mesh. Any GSD could be over, under, or through that fence in seconds but my GSDs have always been respectful of visual barriers and boundaries. They were actually fine with no fence, but we had issues with other loose dogs coming in our yard and the kids next door trying to provoke my dogs. The only time Nikon EVER got out or left was when I forgot to close my make-shift gate, went outside, and he was standing by the trash can. I called him and he came back in. In fact, my make-shift "gates" were made of 3' expen panels. That's shorter than my dogs are trained to jump for a SchH retrieve. Sometimes I did some training outside the fenced portion of the yard and would call Nikon to just jump the 3' gate. That said, he never escaped. The fence was more to keep other people/dogs OUT.

When we bought our house it came with 6' wooden privacy fencing (shadowbox style) around the back and sides. Then the owners had put 4' chainlink gate across the driveway. I had this removed and installed 6' chainlink instead.

In both our rental and our home, with the 4' fence we still had issues with people/kids walking up and reaching over. Yeah, dumb as all get out but people never cease to amaze me. If you live in the suburbs or country this probably isn't an issue, but for me being in the city if I'm paying to install fencing, from now on it will ALL be 6' even if the dogs are very respectful of a visual barrier.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

front yard


Back yard


Not a neighbor in sight 

Our dogs are left out alone, no stupid people around us, surrounded by 400 acres of family farmland...only concern would be a deer jumping the fence but it's rare to have one that close to the house when they have large fields they can feel safe in behind us. And we'll train them to respect the fence.

I do want the 6' pvc privacy panels at the front because we are so close to the road. Might plan shrubs around the remaining fence.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

5' even 4' should work. IMO if a dog is a climber or jumper, 4' or 6' makes no difference (I'd still not trust the dog at 6'). Same thing with diggers. I have a digger and have to always be diligent, even now that I have the top spec fencing with a thick bottom rail below the level of the grass. If he REALLY wants out, he's out.


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## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

we have 6 feet on the back wall and on one side of the front part of the backyard wall. We don't have a fence in the front. The side neighbors did not want us increasing the fence height with more cinder blocks. So, one one side we added grape vines that grow on supports adding another 12 inches. on the other side we will be adding sections of trellis type fencing to increase at least another 12 or more inches. These are 5 feet walls. so we are trying to make them taller in a way that the neighbors will be ok with.


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## 3dognite (May 28, 2003)

JakodaCD OA said:


> alot of dogs will respect a fence, no matter the height
> 
> Mine is 5 feet, a couple of my gsd's could have cleared it with no problems, and would at times when I was in the front yard and they weren't.
> 
> But then, my other dogs respect the fence and have no issue with even thinking about jumping it..


Ditto to this. My Cardigan Corgi has created holes under the fence, til we put up a lightweight electric fence about 10 inches off the ground. But I've never had dogs go over it.

Mainly I just don't let them figure out that they can I guess...and I don't encourage it.


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