Fence for dogs - please help dog people

[Eden]

I need a fence at my farm for my dogs. I have a wooden 5 ft picket at my MD house. My B&T Coonhound digs under it or knock out slats and escapes through the pickets. My Rott, on hind legs, shoves with a bounce over and over on the fence, (like a bear does trying to get into a car for a snack) and has almost shook it loose - she's got the corner post loose. Don't ask me why, they have a dog door w/half an acre fenced, probably those mite infested rabbits I hate, but that's another story

So, I'm thinking, at the farm besides burying mesh wire under the ground when I install a fence, would that black aluminum faux iron looking fence last? I hate stockade, I like pickets so visually I can see the flow of the land. Can't see paying for wrought iron, too much $$$$.

Any ideas, please?

[Schag]

How big an area are you talking about?
My neighbor bought one of those invisible fences and it works real well keeping the dog in the front yard.
Not real expensive either.

[KathyJB]

We put up a hot wire fence but unfortunately it's not working right. My sister has Shnauzers and they kept escaping so they put up a hot wire. They learn pretty quick to stay away from it. They make them specifically for small animals like dogs and chickens so the jolt isn't very high.
I would have used an invisible fence but we just bought a red catahoula puppy and they will run right over an invisible fence.

[angolito]

i am very comfortable with hot wire fencing. i've had terriers that dug to china who learned quickly that the hot wire at the base of the fence STINGS . ditto on the top of the fence. some people feel they are inhumane, but honestly i've never known a dog that can't figure out what is going on after 1, 2 or three shocks . you do need to bear in mind that you cannot have shrubbery or planting/grass that will ground the wire, but a nice mulch bed along the base of the fence fixes that issue. be certain to get the type that has a battery backup in the event that you are off proerty and the power fails if you plan to be leaving the furkids out for periods of any length.

you can installl this on any type of fence. i've had diggers who thwarted the burried in the ground fencing far too easily.

[Eden]

Schag, thanks, I had the underground wire w/shock collar. Can't use it with a hound - mine gets so into chasing rabbits, squirrels or her nose catches a scent and she barrels through, yipes and either keeps going or is afraid to come back in so she wanders off. The Rott respects it..

Kathy, your pup is a hound, right? Gotta love a hound. I too was thinking about putting one of those small livestock wires 6-12" up from the bottom of the fence, because they will get shocked getting even near to a conventional fence. Have to use a fence behind the low lying wire so my hound will be stopped before she even tries to dig and my Rott won't be bouncing off the fence, double expense, LOL.

But still, anyone bought an aluminum fence? Lot of lakes in NY, most of us have ground water very close to the surface. My barn and shed have both been raised onto concrete foundations to prevent water rott. All that stone up in NY, beautiful blue stone and seems a lot of our barns have wooden foundations. Down in MD, people would do all kinds of yard scape with our stones, all sizes too...

So aluminum fences anyone?

[Eden]

i've had terriers that dug to china who learned quickly that the hot wire at the base of the fence STINGS.

That's it, at the base, a double deterent!

i've never known a dog that can't figure out what is going on after 1, 2 or three shocks.

Well, last time I was at the farm, I was leash walking both of mine and I thought the electric horse fence was off . My Rott has been very interested in the horses and they her - she's been licking their noses under the bottom wire, but got zapped and shrieked, running around and around me, wrapping my legs in her leash. I was thinking good, she thinks the horse did it and she has since kept a wide berth, watching out of the corner of her eye. Hope that stopped any interest in the horses from here on in, LOL.

[mross_pitt]

I have seen some aluminum fences near me that have been there for 20 years or more and look almost as new.

The problem with them is they are much more expensive(several times the cost of a wood fence). That would get costly to fence in a large area.

[KathyJB]

Hot wire fences without other fencing works good for livestock without any other fencing. We have solar powered box. It cost $129.00

[Eden]

mross

Thanks, yeah the aluminum ones sold at Lowes for $59 are 6 ft in width, whereby the less expensive wood ones are sold in 8 ft lengths... I'm not going to give them 1/2 an acre this time. Although the larger area keeps them from trampling the yard to mud.

I like that the aluminum ones last longer. The only cons so far seem their cost, so I need to research more before I take the plunge.

I wonder if aluminum will remain hot w/the hot wire against it Something tells me no...

[KathyJB]

Pretty sure you could use those plastic hold it away from the fence thingies for a hot wire. Just make sure you ground it good.