Wire fencing/Dog run questions

[wolf_Q]

My friend who has the german shorthair, Lady, was wondering about that type of fence...where you bury a wire underground and the dog has a collar...I'm not sure what it's called. I told her I'd ask some opinions on it.

She lives with her parents and doesn't have a fenced yard, nor will her parents fence the yard. Her dog, Lady, is out all the time, but she's on a tie-out...Melissa would like to be able to let her run and play more. I know she'd only put the collar on when she let her out and she'd never leave her out there unsupervised. Just wondering if anyone has tried it, if it works, etc.

And a question from me. Nebo has a large dog run that he just stays in when I'm not home. He hasn't really tried to dig out or anything, but it's just dirt (well, it used to be grass lol)...at the bottom of a hill...so when it rains, he's just *covered* in mud. I was wondering about doing something with the floor of it sometime...like cement, bricks, gravel...something....as it's really not easy to carry him up 2 flights of stairs to wash him off all the time when it's rainy. Any info on what's the best/least expensive would be great, thanks!

[wolfsoul]

electric fencing isn't as bad as alot of people think, in my opinion. It's only a small shock. But I think it's pretty pointless after the dog figures out that once it crosses a certain boundary, that it's fine lol. That's what happened with my aunts golden retriever, Brandy. She figured it out right away
But if your friend isn'tgoing to leave her dog unsupervised, why would she need this anyway? Couldn't she just call the dog when she sees it wandering?

I'm not sure about your other question? I would probably try using wood, although I'm not really sure...that would get rotten faster...I would try planting grass, but that's no good when winter comes along and ruins it lol I guess you'll have to leave it to some one else for that question lol, I'm not help

[Z dawg]

I've never used an underground fence for my dogs but did have a bad experience with a dog "on" one while out walking my dog. If your dog sees something that it wants that fence is not going to stop him/her. An obedience trained dog and supervision is a must with these fences.

As for ground cover in a kennel...I have gravel in my dogs run. Mud is not a problem here.

Stacey
Zoey ~ Giant Schnauzer

[Blustang24]

Hey Amy!

My mom just got doing our dog run ground. She was soooo sick of them tracking in all the dirt (what was once grass too). It would get in our air conditioning vents and clog those up, cover our sofas, etc. What she did was take 12"x12" cement paver bricks and spread them a few inches apart going in an arch. At the end she put a layer of small 3"x5"(about that size) bricks, Then a few feet of sod/grass. She then put little bits of sod (mostly roots) in between the paver bricks. That was the dogs still have an area to go to the bathroom(grass) since they won't go on the paved part, and the mud and dirt doesn't really get tracked in the house and it keeps them clean too.

The pavers cost about 50 cents each...maybe less.....not completely sure...and the grass is fairly inexpensive too so it's easy to replace a few times a year.....just make sure it's watered heavily at first.

Just a suggestion....i will take some pictures of it tomorrow in the daylighjt to show you how it looks. Hope this helps.

[slleipnir]

I hear those electric fence things are good..but if you think about it, it keeps your dog in, but doesn't keep others out..I don't know if thats a problem or not, I guess if shes tired it wouldn't but anyway..I doubt I'd use it myself..too paranoid, but I'm weird lol..

I remember when I was a kid, I went to see my babysiters dogs..she had 2 GSD and she kept them in dog runs..she had cement for the ground and dog houses at the back for them if it rained..it worked really well for her

We just fenced in our yard here. With normal fencing. It's impossible to have 2 dogs on chains lol

[kingrattus]

My dad met this guy (by luck) that had used the electric fence, he said it was great, but the wire goes bad within a year or 2 & using the lightest shock doesn't even work... The guy said he had pros but one in, the wire was much thicker & had lasted 3 yrs so far with no problems & he got the heavy duty shocker & it actually worked... he said he tried it first to see it it was too strong & he said it gave him a good jolt, but didn't cause any pain... so get the pros to do it

stay away from the ones in stores

[wolf_Q]

There's really not much of a problem of other dogs coming in. She's tried training Lady not to run off, but well, she's only a year old, and being a hunting dog...is ruled by the nose. She'll usually stay in the yard pretty good, but if she decides to run off, she'll run off....she does not CARE who is calling her. She doesn't stop either. I know, as I've helped her catch her a couple of times...she wouldn't even come running to Nebo...she was determined to run and not stop! The only way we were able to catch her (before she ran into a busy street) was with the help of some kids who cornered her on their porch.

She'd love to just fence the yard, but her dad won't let her, and she can't pay for that much anyway. Though I'm not even sure if the collar would even stop her if she really wanted to run off.

Thanks for the suggestions/advice about that and also the dog run. I was thinking if I did put something in his dog run, I'd leave an area of sand for him to dig and possibly a grass area for potty. I'd love to see some pics of that setup, Lauren, thanks.

[lv4dogs]

All the suggestions & opinions are dgood but another to consider is if the power goes off then ther will be no fence. German shorthairs have a strong prey drive, what if it see's other animals? Will it chase throught the shock to get to them. I know you said your not worried about other animals comming into the yard, but why? You never know if a mean dog is loose or a wild animal enters your yard it could cause serious problems like injuries or diseases.
You say she will only let the dog out supervised then maybe she should enroll into an obedience class to better the dogs recall.

[Blustang24]

Okay...here's some pics Amy. Sorry I took so long in the day to get them to you.

[Blustang24]

And a few more...







This is the fence we put up too....simple and somewhat inexpensive too

[ramanth]

Originally posted by lv4dogs
You say she will only let the dog out supervised then maybe she should enroll into an obedience class to better the dogs recall.

Sometimes this is not the case. Kia has been in obedience classes and she still will not come when I call her if she sees something more interesting. It's a Husky trait and I'm sure Amy or Anna could vouch for me.

Go to just about any website about Huskies and they can never be off leash unless in an enclosed area. If they want to run they will run and you can scream until you are blue in the face and they will ignore you. Other breeds can be just the same, just like Amy explained.

[Cataholic]

Lauren,
That is some very nice brick work!!!

[Blustang24]

Thanks.....I like it alot...I think it turned out well and there is virtually no dirt tracked in the house, and mud is minimal when it rains. I'll let my mom know that you liked it!

[Cataholic]

Do the dogs go potty on the triangular grass area? I would like to limit, as much as I can, where Binx goes potty. I figure it will be easier to clean up, and still keep some of the postage stamp sized lawn intact. I wondered about river rock, too...it would be small...but, I wonder if he wouldn't like the feel of it under his freezer sized paws.

I just think the brick work looks sharp. Did you mom do it herself? Just use a hand shovel to dig? Did she dig it all out a few inches deep, lay the brick, then roll the dirt over it again??

[Blustang24]

Yes, the dogs go potty on the grass. Usually only the grass.

My mom did it all by herself. She dug with a little hand shovel a couple inches down into the dirt to place the bricks there. Then she dug between the bricks and placed bits of grass/roots in the dirt the covered the pieces of grass/roots with dirt....when she was all done she swept the excess dirt away into the grass in the corner and along the fence....until it was all off the stones. Hope this helps...