dog pen

[Dawn]

We will be moving in a couple of weeks and we are still undecided about how we will keep Lucy confined to the yard.  We are leaning towards putting in a dog pen but the question is....do we try to plant grass or put something else down.  Planting grass will be almost impossible.  Are there other options?   

We don't want to use the invisible fence because we are worried she will run through it and not come back.  Our yard is very large and close to a highway. 

Thanks!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Need a little more info  -- are you buying or renting?  How much time is she spending in the area?  What type budget are you talking about?  What part of the country do you live in?  If you are buying is this a place you plan to stay for a long time and don't mind spending the money to make it work really well?  There are all sorts of options available, but just really need more info to know in what direction to go.

[Dawn]

We will own the house and do plan on staying long term.    The area will be used when we want her to be outside but can't watch her.  We would like to put a dog house in the pen so she has shade.  We currently have a fenced in yard but she never stays outside for more than 45 minutes at a time.    I prefer that she be indoors most of the time unless she wants to be out or we need her to be out.    We also plan on putting a run line so she can still have room to run in the yard.  Our yard is 2.5 acres so we won't be fencing it in.  We're fine with spending the money on something that will keep her safe but still give her some room to play.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Would it be possible to fence in just a portion of the yard, adjacent to the house?

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

What is planting grass nearly impossible ... that would obviously be the first choice for me.  I would also be looking at just fencing a portion of the yard. 

[Wendy and Myla]

We made a chain link dog pen for Myla for when she's outside and we can't watch her.  It is 16' x 9' and she has access to her dog house.  We laid down concrete blocks as it is a lot easier to shovel snow off of in the winter time and they are quite cool in the summer time.  We do have a large carpet in front of her dog house for her to lay on but she never uses it.  She always sleeps right on the blocks. We played in it a lot with her (bouncing her ball on the blocks etc) so that she got used to it before we left her in it alone.  Whenever we put her in it we give her a treat and now she always goes in willingly with her tail wagging!  There is also a bone in the pen which she only gets when she stays in there alone. 

 

[Christine & Camus]

I have friends with a dog that, well lets just say he is a pickle and can get into trouble in minutes if left outside in their fenced in yard.  Their arrangement for him is a dog run on the side of the house.  There is a small patio then the dog run area which has pavers surrounded by round stones (not the real small stones).  It runs the full length of the house, works well and can easily be cleaned.

[Deborah and Molly]

We also had this dilema.  I would spend hours every day in the yard watching Molly (doodle puppy) and our two other smaller dogs to keep them safe.  Since our yard is large (2.5 acres) we fenced a portion of the yard so the expense could be kept down.  They have access to the yard and our covered deck from the back door.  For me, it was the best thing we ever did.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

My ideal solution is to have a fenced in area accessible by a dog door in the laundry room or mud room or enclosed porch.  This keeps the cost of fencing down and I use the area on the inside of the dog door as the "dog house".  Some version of that has worked well at all our houses.  My first choice for the "flooring" would be Easy Turf - expensive - but awesome - a thick layer of pea gravel, or concrete, or sand with closely set paving stones, next best.  I am intrigued by a new product - "paving stones" that have their own grout.  I think you can find them on the DIY or HGTV site on the intern.

For fencing - everything from chain-link to powder coated steel to concrete block.  If you have digger, it pays off to trench the fence line and pour concrete or sink concrete blocks two deep, before putting in the fence.