The importance of fencing to your pet’s safety cannot be underestimated. There is a good reason that most shelters, rescue organizations and responsible breeders require that you have fencing in place before approving an adoption. A fully fenced yard keeps your pet off the road and away from the risk of being hit by a car.
Small breeds are unlikely to jump a fence that is four feet or more tall but athletic, medium to large sized dogs an easily jump four feet and are better off with a fence that is six feet tall. However, jumping is not the only escape risk. Many dogs are avid diggers and can easily dig under a fence.
So what fence is right for you?
Invisible Fencing. While invisible fencing will keep some dogs contained, many determined breeds will run through the electric shock. This is most likely to occur if your pet is intrigued by a wild animal or another dog. Below, you can see just one Twitter post, but dogs running while they are being shocked is a very common problem . It also does not stop other dogs or predators from entering your yard. This means that another animal can enter your property and harm your pet (like coyotes sometimes do).
Chain Link Fences. Chain link fences are popular because they are cheaper than wood, vinyl, and aluminum fencing but they are not as effective as a Pet Playgrounds Dog Fence. Dogs can use the stiff chain link metal fence just like a ladder, and simply climb right over your fence! Your dog doesn’t even have to be a large or tall dog as you can see in the video below. In fact, chain link fences are like ladders to dogs. They actually help your dog escape.
Wood Fences. Many people think a decorative cedar wood fence can contain their dog, but unfortunately wood fences simply don’t work either. In addition to climbing a fence, dogs tend to dig under a fence as you can see in the video below. Wood fences also are very hard to maintain. If your wooden fence happens to be hit by a hurricane you will likely have to replace a large section of your fence.
So, what is the best option?
A Pet Playgrounds fence is the best dog fencing system that you can get for your dog. To prevent dogs from climbing over the fence we use a 1000 pound break strength polypropylene mesh which is incredibly strong, yet very flexible. This means that dogs can’t get a grip and climb over the fence like they can with chain link fences. It feels like a net to a dog and other animals. This material is also incredibly strong. If you take a look at the video below, you’ll notice that a tree fell on one of our fences after a hurricane. We simply cut the tree to push it off the fence, and connected back the material with a hog ringer (a simple hand tool that we provide in our kits). The whole process took about 20 minutes. If this had been a wood or chain link fence you would have no other option but to replace an entire section.
Secondly, we use an 1800+ pound galvanized rubber coated welded wire netting material that doesn’t stop at the bottom. In fact it continues about 6 inches, towards you – like a backwards “L”, like this shape: ⅃. Although it is not the only component that creates your dig guard to prevent your dogs from digging under, it is the most critical component to keep a digging dog secure on your property. We then use special zig-zag shaped ground stakes to keep the steel welded wire netting material bonded to the ground.
Together, our system is comprised of 12 components that can easily be installed by the average homeowner, or a professional installer.
