Moving to the Forest- update and questions

[jenn D]

Hi everyone. It's been so very long since I've been on DK. Life has been changing dramatically for me and my family. My son who is 7 has a variety of health issues and we simply cannot get the care he needs here. So we are moving to a neighboring state for better options.
As some of you know we have 2 kids and 4 standard doodles: Mac, Pickles, Brisby and Jake. As with everything my 2 legged and 4 legged kiddos are always on my mind. Therefore locating a property in Colorado has been tricky as I need to accommodate our Crew.
Husband and I decided on a home in Northern Colorado Springs. It's forested on 2/3 of an acre. My doodles and kids are suburb born and raised so this will be quite a change. I know both the doodles and kids will love having lots of area to play. In addition, the basement has an extra bedroom that will become the doodle room (yes the boys are getting their own room) which will have my grooming area and bedding, house their toy boxes, etc.
We are getting the property completely fenced in. Probably a 5 foot chain link as my doodles are not jumpers but I'm going above the typical 4 foot fencing just in case. In addition, I'm going to enclose a smaller section of the "yard" with extra secure perimeter for potty runs and basic doodle short term frolicking when I need to let them out while I'm doing basic housekeeping.
My concern is safety and security of the doodles with fencing- both big perimeter fence and smaller yard. Our current house has concrete cinder block walls. Good for no line of site viewing of what neighbors are up too. Also you cannot dig under. Our future property will not have this (unless smaller yard area done in pickets). Even though I know they will have tons of room to run, I worry about them digging out from under the perimeter of the chain link.
I plan on watching them, not leaving them go for extended periods of time outside but now I can leave them out for a half hour to an hour and not worry about them.
This will be new for them. Lots of room to roam but I want them safe. I'm a bit nervous about their new found area of freedom and how they will react to wide open spaces secured by fence that can be seen through (the more I think about it the more I'm convinced the smaller yard needs to be enclosed with something they can't see through).
I've gotten some comments that I'm crazy for enclosing our entire 2/3 an acre property with serious fencing but I'm a safety but I guess.
So any thoughts on this? Any thoughts on living with doodles on lots of property especially if forested? I'm pretty new to all this mountain living with dogs.
Excited and worried. Moving in about a month and a half. I'll try to post some pictures of the house and property.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Jenn

House in summer
[URL=http://s280.photobucket.com/user/Jennsnoopy/media/image.jpg1_zpsuqpar83g.jpg.html][IMG]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk171/Jennsnoopy/image.jpg1_zpsu...[/IMG][/URL]

House in winter:
[URL=http://s280.photobucket.com/user/Jennsnoopy/media/image.jpg1_zpsoda2kius.jpg.html][IMG]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk171/Jennsnoopy/image.jpg1_zpso...[/IMG][/URL]

Back of house:
[URL=http://s280.photobucket.com/user/Jennsnoopy/media/image.jpg1_zpsn2pxznml.jpg.html][IMG]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk171/Jennsnoopy/image.jpg1_zpsn...[/IMG][/URL]

Backyard:
[URL=http://s280.photobucket.com/user/Jennsnoopy/media/image.jpg2_zpsmrcbntky.jpg.html][IMG]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk171/Jennsnoopy/image.jpg2_zpsm...[/IMG][/URL]

[Stella]

I live in the woods on 2.5 acres in Canada :)

Any kind of physical fence was out of the question for me because of cost, so I have a wireless electronic fence. My doods got used to it very quickly and respect the fence boundary. But, because of wolves, bears, coyotes and my neighbours dogs who wonder up and down the road, my two are never outside without me being with them. They do bark to 'alert' me to a neighbour driving past, but they are both good at stopping when I ask them to after a couple of barks. And as I live alone, I don't mind people hearing them bark every now and then and knowing I have dogs on the property/ in the house. The only time it is a problem is when my neighbour - two lots over - has their dog outside. They have an invisible fence and he is outside alone a lot, he barks and sets my two off and then they just keep barking at each other. I always end up bringing my two into the house, because they never take him in.

I think you are very sensible to fence in your property, that way your four can run and play outside and you know they are safe.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Of course you need to fence your property with dogs.  It is not lazy, just practical.  My son fence his whole yard when he moved and one of his dogs is a digger.  He dug a trench around the property and poured concrete in it and set the posts in that.  It has worked wonderfully for 5 years.  In southern California in the temperate areas we can get cyclone fencing that has been powder coated with black paint.  It is more expensive, but not as much as wrought iron, etc.  We don't have hard or long freezes so it may no be practical in your area.

Enjoy your new home it looks lovely and I hope you can get the medical care your son needs.

[Janie, Jackson and Jilly]

Jenn, congratulations on your new home! I would be fencing the whole yard too, no matter how big it is. I think fencing a smaller area is a great idea also. Peace of mind is priceless!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We had our fence installer, pour concrete in a 'ditch' below the fence so dogs couldn't dig out - or critters couldn't dig in.  If there are animals (bears, wolves, coyotes)  living in your forest, you will need fencing that will keep them out.  I  hope this move gives you access to the best care for your son.

[Kaitee and Orwell]

I live in the suburbs technically, but on the very edge of them. We get deer and coyotes wandering about at night sometimes. Because of this, and because of where you are moving, I would just keep in mind that it would probably be best if you go out with them at night time to make sure nothing happens. I do that with Orwell even though our yard is fenced as well and theoretically nothing should happen (though, I guess coyotes can dig if they find something appealing in our yard).

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

We have the 7' block walls around our home and chain link at our cabin up north. When we are at the cabin and my two see or hear anything move, they are off running and barking. That is the biggest problem I've had with chain link. We do use a bark collar when they are out there with us during the day or we'd be correcting and corralling them all day. Mine aren't diggers so that has not been a concern, but you already have some good suggestions here.

The best advice I can give you is if you haven't been using flea and tick, that will be a MUST now.  Big difference in living in the "burbs" to the forest. 

[Sharon & Monty]

fence it, you will always be glad you did.  We have the laziest dog ever.  1 acre property in the woods.  We put up horse fencing (pound in posts)  it was terrible putting it up, we live on a mountain of rock.  guess what that silly dog rarely leaves the deck, however the bear has no hesitation to crush our silly fence down!

[Sharon & Monty]

fence it, you will always be glad you did.  We have the laziest dog ever.  1 acre property in the woods.  We put up horse fencing (pound in posts)  it was terrible putting it up, we live on a mountain of rock.  guess what that silly dog rarely leaves the deck, however the bear has no hesitation to crush our silly fence down!