Fence advice: The good, the bad, the impossible...

[PrairieSmoke]

Hello all,

My husband and I have 2 huskies and another dog. We just bought a house with a huge yard and plan to move in another month. We want to use a large part of the yard as an outdoor dog run/enrichment area, and the first thing we need is a fence. I have been doing research for months, and I'd like to hear about experiences from husky owners. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

• What kind of fence did/do you have? What material, what height? What length & width?
• How much time do your huskies spend outside? When you are home? Not home?
• What was successful in your fencing? What did you think would work but did not?
• We are planning for 6 feet tall, plus a no-dig under barrier. Thoughts?
• Advice about materials: I've read that chain-link is easier to climb than wooden or metal pickets. What do you think?

Thank you in advance for your advice!

 

[Shepsky5]

We have a wooden 6 foot fence. It took forever to get it, because we had to get approval from our HOA...draw a map showing where fence would go, get forms signed by our neighbors, and submit in triplicate!! It also cost a LOT. Solid wooden fencing is a lot more expensive than chainlink.
It also has to be stained and maintained.

So...our husky/shepherd mix barely uses the yard at all. He has a dog door which is open to him all day, but he lies in the hall outside my office. He never goes in the yard unless I go in the yard. He never tries to dig out or escape, and actually is a "velcro" dog outdoors as well as indoors. I never had to hotwire or put in "no dig" barrier. He actually did not need a solid 6' wooden fence at all, but our HOA design restrictions only allowed that kind of fence!

What I like most about the fenced yard is that on nice days, we go out there and play Chase, or train, or play with the "flirtpole".
My dog and I go on a long walk/jog of about 1 hour every day, that's about the most time he spends outside each day.

(Plus, our combo of dogdoor + fenced yard is great for bouts of diarrhea...that's why I installed the dogdoor! There were a couple of nights where I slept on the couch, getting up to open the backdoor for him every few hours...I was like, "We need a dogdoor!")

 

[2Huskyfun]

Iron fencing. 6 feet tall. Use chicken wire at base 3 feet up on fence and fold out 2 feet on bottom (just under ground to keep them from digging. Put sunshades in the corners. 

I have wood fencing and it is a night mare!!! My run is 6 1/2 x 22 feet for two. My girl spends all day eating the fence and neighbor dogs charge at it.

They are not aloud in the backyard unsupervised and they only sunbath, play sometimes, but mostly just for potty time in the run.

 They are ran 3-5 miles a day and walked at night.

 I am retired/ going back to school. Only have one class on campus so far, the others are online. Soooo I am pretty much home all the time.

When I am not home they are in the hallway (tile flooring, all doors closed) and I use kiddy gates to block them in. And have only been left for two hours.

[wolfpup]

Mainly 6ft wooden fencing  with bottom concrete panel about 1ft high  for my two boys.      Where the wooden fencing falls below 6ft I have temporary builders panels  6ft x 11ft long.   Luckily neither boy is particularly keen on digging  -  -  but both are keen on jumping - especially if a strange cat dares to enter their territory   (believe me it doesn't stay long).

[Andy]

Mine is 6ft overlapping planks, around a 150ft length garden. I've been here for 7 years and they haven't escaped (YET!!!)

I've got a dog flap in the back door so they've got 24/7 access to the back garden to do their business when I'm out or in the middle of the night.