Wrought Iron and Other Picket Fences
A lot of no dig dog fences these days employ wrought iron pickets that come all the way down to the ground. That’s a good solution for the purveyors of wrought iron fences, but it has drawbacks. First, it’s expensive. Second, it neglects height, because many of these no dig dog fences are only 2 or 3 feet tall. Third, if the fence is tall enough (generally 4 to 6 feet for medium to large dogs) it will typically require professional installation. Fourth, the fence will be highly visible. Fifth, unless it is so short as to provide the dog no opportunity to exercise or so long that it serves as a boundary fence for the whole property, it tends to look out of place. And finally, if the dog is a determined digger it may not work.
True, having pickets that come down to the ground makes digging difficult, because the pickets get in Rover’s way. But consider a determined digger like, say, a border collie. A border collie will dig such a hole that the pickets on this reputedly no dig dog fence are no problem. More generally, if you have any dog that has proven its eagerness to dig, these marginal pickets may not restrain it. So from our vantage point of admittedly limited experience with pickets, it would seem advisable to install this sort of fence only if you want to install it for other reasons, recognizing that its marginal anti-digging properties may prove insufficient.
Better No Dig Dog Fences
We think a better answer is to test the waters, if they have not already been tested, with a more affordable better-looking fence. Give Rover room to exercise (which discourages digging). Make sure the fence runs flush with the ground. Stake it down if appropriate with 12-inch ground stakes every foot or two. And then see whether digging under the fence becomes an issue.
If it does not, then this is enough of a no dig dog fence for you. On the other hand, if digging becomes an issue, or even if it threatens to, try a modicum of training plus some dog repellent along the fence line.
If that won’t resolve the issue, up the ante by installing our digging barrier to create a true no dig dog fence. This barrier is a two-foot wide strip of green metal mesh fencing that comes with ground stakes and zip-lock ties. The ground stakes keep it flat, so it remains invisible in the lawn and your mower goes right over it. The zip-ties serve to attach it to the bottom of any mesh or wrought iron fence.
Unrolled and staked along the inner boundary of your existing fence, this no dig dog fence barrier will keep just about any dog from digging. It’s fairly pricey (a bit over a dollar per foot). However, unless the existing fence is very long (over 500 feet) it will cost less than the other obvious alternatives — an above-ground electric fence or a below-ground shock collar fence used in combination with the existing fence to prevent digging.
Our McGregor Dog Fence Digging Barriers
We sell digging barriers with metal hex fencing in 50 and 150-foot lengths. The fencing is rolled out next to your upright barrier dog fence, joined to it with zip-ties, and staked down with ground stales provided with the fencing. If your upright fence is already staked down with ground stakes, lift those stakes before applying the zip ties and use them as supplemental stakes for staking down the digging barrier. If your upright fence is wooden, get one or more bags of U-nails for attaching the digging barrier to your existing fence.