Dog run

TravelJunkie

Hi A couple of people here have mentioned having a dog run. This appeals to me because my garden (v.large) is fenced but no gate, and it's not financially an option for me to chicken wire and gate at present.

I have a space to make a large run aka garden for dog, my question is what materials do you use for this. I tried some chicken wire, as a test, but the dog just wanted to jump through it so I took it down.

My main reason is if I want the dog to run around outside, which she loves (still a pup), but I can't stand outside to watch her all day.

Space is not an issue, just safety of materials to use as fencing so it doesn't hurt the dog physically if she runs into it.

Any ideas?

Sigma Force

Yeh, chicken wire is pretty flimsy. Can you get your paws on some of the stronger chainlink wire if you can buy it by the foot it is probably cheaper than buying the full roll depending on how many feet you want to make it.
It is approx 1 euro a foot and you can get a roll for around the €65.00 mark at a co op hardware or similar shop or farm shop. It will last for ages, you need to put it up on thick timber posts that have been whacked into the ground by machine or dug in and cemented by hand. 5 foot high should be enough but if you want to run wire along the top in case puppy is a houdini then you might want to make it a bit higher so you can stand up in it.

Alternatively there is the pet safe ones available in many hardware shops they are a metal pole with the chainlink but if you're handy at diy then they are a bit pointless.
There's also the Cilldara.ie dog runs which you can move around and are very easy to put up I love them they are very tough and last for years, have 2 of them. Or you can buy just the gate panel from them sometimes it's hard to get a gate to fit a run unless, again, you're good at diy.

I think the heavy duty chainlink wire would suit you best from the sounds of it, if it's proving a bit pricey then you could make a smaller one and then as she grows add on to it.

Hope that helps.

Roisinmor

Hi,
Have you ever thought about using a radio fence? If your pup is over 4 months old, this would be suitable. They cost about £220 for the complete kit (in Newry, don't know how much they are in the south) they can cover a large area (up to 2 acres) and I know the Petsafe one is very good. Make sure you get the one with the collar for large breeds if it is a large breed dog (labrador, even collie).

Rory123

If you are driving any wooden stakes into the ground do not cement around them! This is a common mistake. If you cement around them the water will still seep through the timber over time and will rot quicker as it will be held in the timber by the cement. Then you will be left with lumps of concrete in the ground after a few years.
Use pressure treated timber driven that little bit deeper into the ground. It will be a bit less work than cementing them in and will last just as long, if not longer.

Your local hire shop will hire you a petrol driven auger and a pile driver to do the job. Use the auger like a big drill and the pile driver or a slege hammer to bash in the stakes.

ecaf

Just to let you know, if you fence off a small area as a dog run, and only have grass in it, this will become very mucky very quickly. Especially if we have a lot of rain for any length. It will be hard to clean up after the dog too.

I have our two dogs in a dog run with a concrete base, which makes it much easier for cleaning. But outside the gate of the run is grass, and some paving slabs up to it. Even the grass outside the gate is very bare from the dogs running out the gate every day, its getting a bit mucky now.

greatdane

i built a dog run from the fencing builders use around sites, they are a steel kind of mesh fence and come in single panels.

I then welded (welder bought in lidl) all the panels together after burying them in the ground with concrete.

Cut one up to make a door, still going strong 3 years later and i hav very big dogs.

I got the fence from a buddy who was a builder. He had lots of them So all up only cost 50 for welder , some concrete, a lock for door and time.