Fencing Question

[Carole (*Koda*Monty*Bindi)]

I have a question.....are doodles know to be fence jumpers? I ask this as Maddy (our hound mix) in her prime would scale a fence like there was no tomorrow! She's WELL past that stage now due to age and we are about to fence in our property and are wondering just how high we need to go for a doodle. Now let me explain THIS doodle.....Gaston Cramer HATES stairs(he'll cling to the wall going down and up!), will not jump ON or OFF the bed(though loves to be in it! LOL) and has to be PRODDED to jump into the back seat of the car (but goes everywhere with me!LOL). Would it be safe to assume that I could just put up a normal slit rail fence, without any additional height to it like I had to do in our previous house with Maddy? Are doodles jumpers? Let me say too that I know with all that I am that Gaston-Cramer will not be our last doodle............that having been said I'm not having 5 dogs *LOL* but do want to plan for the future and do this fence height thing only once! LOL

So if your doodle can/does jump the fence I'd love to know it :)

Thanks :)

[Phoebe's Mom]

Thanks so much for asking this question as I have been lax in asking it myself. We are considering a fence for our property and we are trying to keep the costs down as much as possible so, we were thinking of going with a standard four foot fence. Will you be letting Gaston-Cramer out on his own? I will always be out with Phoebe so I was wondering if I might be able to get away with the lower fence. I know that each dog is different but I find it interesting that we both had the same question! thanks!

[Dot, Maggie and KoKo]

If I were to invest in fencing for a Dood, it would be a six footer. My Rosie is a mini but can she jump. My bed is quiite high and Rosie has been jumping up on it since we got her at 3 months. I left one of the patio chairs out during the winter months and she was always hopping up on it and looking over the four foot fence we have around the patio area. I was so afraid she would use the chair as a launching pad and go over that fence. Dot

[Sam]

We just fenced our yard and used a 5 foot rural fence which is fully meshed. He has never jumped it (ollie is a medium ld - 9 months old). Inside his area he can get onto the deck which has a short gate about 3 foot high at the section near the front door. He jumps like a kangaroo when we get home and I'm sure he could get over if he wanted to but has never come close. I do leave him out there when I go out - which is the reason we put it up. Hope this helps...

[Adina P]

We have a 6 foot tall wooden fence. Rosco is like Gaston when it comes to jumping...he won't do it (though once, while parked in my friend's driveway, he jumped out my car window when he saw a cat!). But I would be afraid Thule "might" as she tends to be a little goat and loves to climb on top of things.

And yet, NONE of my doodles have ever jumped over the baby gate, so who knows!

[April Cliber]

Hi Carole,
I have a 5 foot fence and my doodles have never tried to climb or jump it. However.....My poodle will climb or jump ANYTHING! I think this is pretty common for poodles. Poodles are finer boned and very agile. They use their paws like fingers. (At least mine does) Doodles have a thicker, heavier body, which isn't as easy to to get over a fence. If I were you I'd go with 5 feet, but I'm not sure what slit rail is? I prefer chain link for safety, but I know it doesn't look as nice.

[Carole (*Koda*Monty*Bindi)]

OMGosh April yes!!!!!! Gaston-Cramer uses his paws like fingers!!!!! It's the weirdest thing! We laugh at it all the time. Now I know where it came from----his Mom! LOL

*split rail is like this and you can make it pretty much as tall as you want to make your posts and typically is lined with wire mess so dogs can't go through or under

http://grassrootsscapes.com"/>

[April Cliber]

That's what I thought. Where I come from, that a horse fence. LOL!! As long as you have wiring (like goat fencing) attached to it and you make sure to tighten it, so it doesn't bow, it should be fine. Chain link may be easier and safer though.... I'm getting ready to plant pretty bushes in front of my chain link to hide it. :o) We had ours installed for us and I thought it was fairly reasonable. But that will vary greatly depending on where you live.

[2m42srv7vi6sq]

Ironically, our Poodle wouldn't jump the fence, if his life depended on it! It's the Doodle that flies like the wind!

[Janie]

My Daisy can jump our 6ft. fence easily.My Takoda cannot jump it but can climb it. I would get the 6-8 foot fence..if I was you.

[Jaime]

When Penny was a puppy - 8 months, I would take her to doggy day care if I was going to be busy for a full day. At one point she jumped a 6 foot fence to get into a pen with other dogs. It was a chain link fence which they are able to scale. I don't think she actually jumped. She never did this at home or ever again. Our fence at home is wooden.

[nonnie browne]

I would suggest you consider whether Gaston Cramer will be left outside unattended or not to help answer the question. A dog let out from time to time who knows "mom" is home, is probably less motivated (although there is an exception or two to every rule) to develop this skill, even if they are physically able. It doesnt sound like he is super motivated to be an athlete in the first place LOL, although that can change if he starts to compete with a new dog someday! If dogs are left out while you are away, then a 6 ft fence would be the safest. Four feet would definitely be scale-able for a motivated, bored dog. Too many years ago to even recall, I had a sheltie and I was a young, single girl with no business owning a dog. I left her for long periods outside (which I should not have!) inside a four foot fenced yard. She was tiny, but motivated and learned to depart. Once learned, it was as if I never had the fence in the first place - every single time she was let out to potty, she jumped over like it was a trick. Fences are so darned expensive I would hate to see you invest in one and have to start over again! Especially if you are considering another doodle who may have a more athletic personality! Good Luck

[Carole (*Koda*Monty*Bindi)]

You're right Nonnie...I should have clarified if Gaston-Cramer would be left unattended or not. The answer is NOT! LOL Putting the fence up is for a multitude of reasons, but in regards to the dogs its so that GC can run around like a maniac with Maddy, Bindi and Keegan (well, not so much Keegan! LOL) and I don't have to worry about him forgetting he's not at the dog park and there are boundries here. Our backyard looks very much like the dog park we go to and our concern was that he would think he had 5 1/2 acres to run if let off lead like he does there instead of the 2 acres that we have here. We want the put the fence up to set boundries for him while outside, supervised, in play. Sorry I didn't make myself clearer :).

And yes! Fences ARE darned expensive! That having been said, we are thinking of putting up a "rural fence" like the one shown in an earlier post in the area of the property that is wooded/natural (which is about 1/2 of it) . The slit rail would be in the visible areas up front and those are the ones that I was most concerned about the height of. Madison, in her day, would laugh at our slit rail fence regardless of our high we made it. She's just FLY over it! Her flying days are over gratefully! LOL

Gaston-Cramer is not the "athlete" at this point....he's more the flop-a-doodle, walk like he's sauntering-type of doodle. He loves to run like the wind but jumping/climbing is just not his thing. Even the motivation of coming to me (who he is grossly, and unaturally according to my husband,devoted to) would make him think twice about going down a stair to get to me! LOL But the fence is going to put in right in the first place and once!

I really am appreciating the feedback and everyone's experiences. Thanks so much and keep them coming!