dkhedmo wrote:
Any ideas to secure the bottom edges of the chain link fence? New-to-us
dog tunneled under the brand new fence and bolted. The mister thinks we
should have the fence guy come back and secure pipe at the bottom of the
fence from post to post, clipping the fence to the pipe as along the
top. I'm not convinced this will solve the tunneling problem, just slow
the progress. I'm thinking some kind of metal edging that can be sunk
12" or so below ground, with a few inches remaining above to cover any
gap between ground and fence. If we were to go with this metal edging
idea, what kind of metal, and from whom do I procure it?

Any other ideas? For the time being, dog goes on a 40' tether on one of
those screw in stakes, just to run around the $1200 "fenced in" yard.
Grr...

-Karen-

Thanks very much to those who gave useful, constructive advice, it was
much appreciated. All the other stuff that cropped up, I'm staying out
of - dog breeds, owner responsibility, cat ownership, declawing... Have
fun, let me know when you're done!

In regard to those concerned the dog was being left alone in the yard
all day, this is not at all the case. I am a stay-at-home mom and the
dog is with people, both inside and outside, much of the day. We would
not have gotten a dog if it would be left home alone all day. In fact,
he was in the yard on a beautiful sunny Thanksgiving afternoon with both
our sons while the adults were in and out when he tunneled his way to
freedom. Thank goodness the older one saw him take off and ran to get
us. The dog is new to us and had been a bit neglected and without
training for a couple of years, so we're working on some issues and
getting into a class. I think his previous family allowed him to drag
them around on the leash and getting out into the neighborhood was a
regular issue they never really stopped effectively.

He does need more socialization with other dogs, I agree, and we are
working on that by meeting neighbors with dogs and getting them
together. There are also dogs at both houses on either side, which he
sees a few times a day. He had a dog friend with his previous family
before they divorced. Since then he's been tied up in the back yard
alone for much of the past two years. The ex-wife finally took charge of
finding the dog a better home than the ex-husband was able to provide.
(The wife had taken the smaller of the two dogs to her townhouse, where
rules only allow one dog.) So I think he's getting out primarily to meet
other dogs. And to run - he's a border collie mix.

He is walked at least twice a day for 20-50 minutes each time on varying
routes. The weather being so nice this weekend, I got out my bike to try
him running beside me and we both loved it and it really gave him the
kind of workout he needs. (Unfortunately, the snow is coming...) My
husband grew up with dogs, but this is my first dog and I've still got
to learn how to keep him busy and challenged, I admit. I'm on a list of
border collie owners, to learn more about keeping him challenged. When
we went to Lowe's today to get the paraphernalia to secure the fence,
the saleswoman who came to help us turned out to be a border collie
owner and trainer and gave me lots of good ideas for both securing the
fence and entertaining the dog.

The barbed wire idea is not something we want to do, because of the
potential of it hurting the pets and the kids. The cement under the edge
of the fence is a good idea, but the current location of the fence is
not where it is going to stay. We have a huge, deep back yard, but only
fenced a portion closest to the back of the house for the time being.
There is an above ground pool in the yard, and it does have a fenced
deck with a locked gate, but we felt it safest for the kids while they
are small to have a fence between the house and the pool. When finances
permit, and the kids are older, we will eventually pull out this chain
link perimeter and fence the whole yard with a nice wood fence - and
cement under the edges! We have done paving stones under all the gates,
and will do cement blocks or whatever along the fence bottom if the
current fix doesn't hold, but it's a pretty good length of fence and
will likely require the delivery of a pallet or two, so we're hoping we
won't have to do that.

Thanks again for helpful ideas.

-Karen-