Fences

[Guest LindsaySF]

Younger females tend to be the best leapers. In the kennel they normally occupy the upper crates and have to be taught to jump into them. They get very accomplished at it and they can startle you with how easily they do it.

 

Forget all those "world records" you've seen on TV. A determined female can jump a six-foot fence if she really wanted to, maybe higher. Once they are out of racing trim and have a little age on them, they tend to be less motivated to jump.

 

We have five-foot fences all around, but we've had only males and a retired brood, so we haven't had a Greyhound that fits the profile yet.

Ironically, the worst fence jumper I know is a large male Greyhound. He can jump 6 foot fences.

 

Females jump into the top crates, but they have something to land on, same with jumping into the back of a car/SUV. Most Greys aren't confident enough to jump or climb over a fence because they don't have a clear landing area/platform on the other side. If they ever figure it out though, then you're in trouble.

Edited March 30, 2010 by LindsaySF

[Sighthounds4me]

Oh, regarding gates...Mine are all locked. I had an incident a year or so ago, where I had a guy just wandering around my yard. Backyard is fully fenced - he let himself in, to check cable stuff. I was shocked - I read the info on the cable company's website - they SHOULD HAVE called me to let me know they were coming, but even if they hadn't, it sure would have been nice if the guy had knocked on the door first! What if the dogs had been out there?!

 

So, that night, DH and I bought lengths of chain and padlocks (our gate closures don't have the ability to be locked), and wrapped the gates to the fence posts and locked them. Now, no one can open the gates without me or DH - dogs can't get out that way!

[Guest WarmheartedPups]

I have a four foot fence....and all has been well. Then I took my pup to the doggy day care (DDC) lady who she loves. DDC lady was in the front yard and Roo was in the back yard behind her 6 foot fence .....and Roo Flew over the fence with ease to get to the DDC lady

 

So....when content the fence works....when she wants something...I am not sure what could stop her. I guess I always have my eye on her when she is out.

[kronckew]

i have 4 foot fence and gate (give or take a bit) neither blue nor millie have made any attempt to get over it. blue will put his paws up on the top rail if someone is there to pet him. we have a 6 ft. block wall between our garden and kittynextdoor's garden which kittynextdoor used to sit on to taunt the doggies. until millie did a 6 ft. standing high jump and almost got kittynextdoor. kittynextdoor will sit just outside nose range by the 4 ft. fence to sun itself and the dogs get excited and want to eat kitty, but they do not try to go over. there are bushes and flowerpots along the base of the fence to discourage crawling under.

(from last winter) millie is looking at kittynextdoor who is just behind the tree trunk.

Edited March 31, 2010 by kronckew

[GreyTzu]

5 foot chain link.

[Guest 4dogscrazy]

When I got my first grey, I had to put up a fence because the group requires it. I chose 5 foot chain link. It works well, and I have not had anyone go over it (yet)! My oldest female was a good racer, and that girl can jump a big baby gate without even blinking! Just one hop and she's on the other side! But she has never tried to hop the fence, and I agree with the idea that chain link gives way under weight, so no one has ever even put their paws up on it. I have three now, another female that can not jump because of a broken hock, and a male that can't even hop over anything! So I should be good here. I also have pad locks on my gate, that hang open with the key inside. I use that because at first glance it looks locked, and as a reminder to us to secure the gate. I would definately recommend rigging something up as a reminder.

 

Something to consider though, we have had a lot of snow here in PA this year. At one point, our 5 foot fence became 4 foot! I think if I would have gone with 4 foot originally, my jumper *might* have decided to go for a stroll or after the neighbor dog. After all, that would have been only 3 feet and I've seen her do that with my own eyes! It doesn't say where you are from, but I thought I would mention it in case you get lots of snow.

 

Also, about your neighborhood/town requirements, a fellow and his family adopted a grey and then wanted to put a fence up (different group). They got special permission to get a higher fence from their neighborhood council (or whatever), it took some work on his part, but they signed off on it!

[Guest burgerandfrey]

Younger females tend to be the best leapers. In the kennel they normally occupy the upper crates and have to be taught to jump into them. They get very accomplished at it and they can startle you with how easily they do it.

 

I've read that's why females sometimes jump on counters for "counter surfing." I think the Greyhounds for Dummies book calls them "surfer girls"

 

Fortunately our girl has not tried to jump the fence or the counter. She'll jump onto the bed or the sofa though!

[Guest Houndie]

Thanks again for the input. Per our homeowner's covenants, we are only allowed wooden fences. We are in eastern Kansas, so we do get a fair bit of snow some years, but usually less than a foot at a time. We, too, have had utility workers enter our property without the required notification, so a lock is a must. Glad you all have mentioned these things, as they are definitely good to know. Thank you!

[Guest Drumhellergrey]

I went with a 5 foot fence when I built mine. To make it a bit more intimidating for Ted I topped it with 2 by 6 laid down flat. I don't really have any pictures of it to illustrate, but it is a good looking fence.

[Guest MyBoys]

When we moved here 3 years ago we had a 6 foot solid PVC fence put up, it is actually 7 foot at the posts. We were not taking any chances of any of them getting any ideas to jump since we have woods all around us and lots of little critters in the area.

[Walliered]

My fence is 5' and my hound has not yet tried to jump it. I tried to get the homeowners to sign off on a 6', but they said no.

[Figma]

Haven't read all the replies on this. We have 7-8' fences around our yard though I've never seen our Grey try to jump anything in over 7 years.

However, a couple of years ago, a Grey that *never* jumped anything got spooked in a friend's back yard and sailed over a 6 foot fence and off she disappeared in an orchard. Thank goodness, she waS

[CaliforniaGreys]

I have a 5' wall here and the dogs don't really even go near it. I'm having a fence put up at the new house this coming week and I wanted wood and insisted on 6'.

 

I don't ever want to be posting my dogs on the amber alert forum

[fourofem]

I bought my house pretty much for the awesome fenced back yard. 6' privacy fencing all the way around with three gates. I've never had a problem with any of them trying to jump or climb the fence but one of my gates failed me on New Years Eve 2008. All of my gates are padlocked but it was very, very windy that day. The wind must have pushed the gate to the point it pulled the lock off leaving the gate wide open. All four escaped and I wasn't home. Three were rounded up quickly but Lewis spent the night out on his own. Secure your gates!!!!

[Guest Lacy]

hehe, our fella can clear a 4 foot fence, without even thinking about it. My bosses Grey, 30 years ago used to regularly jump their 6 foot fence. I'm moderately certain it's still a greyhound that holds the high jump record. It was over 5 feet un-aided (no scaling).

 

The reason our dog doesn't jump the fence is simple. The first time he was chasing a cat across the yard, I realized what was about to happen and screamed his name (fortunately our 'yard' is only about 16 feet deep. He turned to look, in mid lung and smashed into the fence.

The cat is no longer around, and I'm guessing he thinks he can't jump the fence. He's never, tried it again,

[sobesmom]

It totally depends on the dog. We've had 2 greys, and a dozen plus fosters that did fine in our fence - 4 ft. high on 2 sides, 6 ft. high on the 2 sides that border our neighbor's pasture (his fence). All welded wire fence. Nobody has ever tried to jump. That said - we NEVER NEVER NEVER leave our dogs outside when we're not home. Any of them could jump the fence if something came along and they felt the need to.

 

If I ever wanted to leave my dogs outside during the day, or have a dog-door that they could access at will when we weren't home, I'd have to have a 6 ft, solid (stockade so they couldn't see through it) fence. We're not going to do that.

 

I think many greys will do fine with a 4ft. fence, as long as you don't leave them out there and leave the house. If you have a KNOWN jumper - that should be disclosed to you.

 

The only dog I've lost out of my yard - went UNDER it. A 6" gap from the ground in the far corner, covered by shrubs. That girl was HUDINI reincarnated! Thank goodness she had awesome recall! She got out 3 times before we figured it out!

[Guest greytkidsmom]

One other issue to consider is how "high prey" your dog is. I have a high prey girl who saw a cat on the other side of a 4-ft chain-link fence and over she went. If she can see it, she will try to get to it. Our current house had a 3.5 chain-link fence surrounding the backyard. We actually had the fence replaced with a 6ft privacy fence. It has been worth every penny to see her play and sunbathe at her leisure. Only once did she make an attempt to go over - a squirrel wandered into the yard and she gave chase. She gave up as soon as he "disappeared" to the other side.

[GreytNut]

We have a solid 6-foot wooden privacy fence at this house, though it's seen better days. When we have our own place it'll probably be 6-foot chain link with a bar across the top. I'm uncomfortable with less than 6 feet because I know that either of the dogs, properly motivated, could clear anything shorter. In this area we also have concerns with critters jumping IN.

 

We keep our gates padlocked. Solid brass is a good choice because it is weather-resistant and won't rust.

[Guest mcsheltie]

My choice is 6 ft privacy fencing. I have seen too many dogs climb out of chain link, no matter what the height. And cutting down what they see on the other side of the fence reduces the problems in your yard. Like redirected aggression when kids or dogs are running by.

 

Pay attention to the ground under the fence. I like to lay cement patio squares under the fence to keep them digging out.

[moofie]

I have 6ft wooden privacy fencing on 2 sides and a 4ft panels with a gigantic privet hedge (i've just cut it right back and its still about 8/9ft)on the other 2 sides. While my dogs don't appear to be jumpers, they may well have a go if in pursuit of a cat so i prefer at least 5ft fences and I like the privacy from the neighbours too

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

I have a 6ft wooden privacy fence. That said, I had 4ft chainlink for years with Greys, Salukis, a Borzoi, and Whippets. Only the Whippets could jump it, but they wouldn't unless I walked down to get the mail and left them. They would jump and follow, and the big dogs would cry and fuss

 

My greys also will not jump a baby gate, of course the Whippet does like it's not even there. This is handy, though.

[Guest urchin]

I definitely would have answered this question differently a year ago when we had only two (non-jumping) greys. Last June we brought home a grey that within four days jumped a 5'+ fence cleanly from his hind legs only because he saw a small dog on the other side. I definitely agree with the others that a privacy fence that limits vision is key to limiting the desire to go over in the first place. A lot of it just has to do with the grey. My other two boys wouldn't jump a baby gate!

[GreytNut]

I definitely would have answered this question differently a year ago when we had only two (non-jumping) greys. Last June we brought home a grey that within four days jumped a 5'+ fence cleanly from his hind legs only because he saw a small dog on the other side. I definitely agree with the others that a privacy fence that limits vision is key to limiting the desire to go over in the first place. A lot of it just has to do with the grey. My other two boys wouldn't jump a baby gate!

 

I agree that a solid fence is best. That new engineered wood which lasts forever is fantastic if you're made of money. In our case it looks like we may be moving out on the prairie, where the wind would shove a solid fence right over. Depending on how large an area we have to fence, it might also be prohibitively expensive. Chain link allows wind and snow to pass through with little resistance. But it has occurred to me that there will be problems with jackrabbits, deer, coyotes, antelope and the like passing by. Our workaround is to have a separately enclosed dog run with a top on it, and only allow the dogs in the yard when we're out there with them.

 

If anyone's got any suggestions on how to build a solid fence for severe wind/snow areas, I'm all ears.

[sobesmom]

Younger females tend to be the best leapers. In the kennel they normally occupy the upper crates and have to be taught to jump into them. They get very accomplished at it and they can startle you with how easily they do it.

 

I've read that's why females sometimes jump on counters for "counter surfing." I think the Greyhounds for Dummies book calls them "surfer girls"

 

Fortunately our girl has not tried to jump the fence or the counter. She'll jump onto the bed or the sofa though!

 

My surfer-girl came to us as a foster. Took 2 steps in the door, and immediately jumped up on the kitchen table and just stood there like ok - give me my food and close the door. She obviously thought that you walk into a building and jump up about 3 feet (crate height). Then she realized there was no food being served up there, and no door, so that was the end of that. Shocking though!

 

I've seen her stand beside me, jump straight up into the air (no running start), and grab a bird out of the air that was well above my head. I'm 5ft 6in. Her knees were at my eye level. She was just over 2 at the time. That said - She NEVER has tried to jump our 4 ft fence. I don't think it would occur to her that she "could" jump the boundry.

 

I was told when I adopted my first grey, that greys are very respectful of boundries - won't cross anything in their path - if you want to keep them out of a room - a laundry basket will do the trick. Um - true for some - NOT all greys.

Edited April 20, 2010 by sobesmom

[Guest 1of42]

I am considering adopting a greyhound in the future, and am currently studying up on them (and reading the Greyhounds for Dummies book). So far they sound like pretty awesome dogs.

 

I have a rather odd yard, with a driveway running all the way from the street to the back of the lot. I am considering running a fence down one side of the driveway, so the yard would be fenced by three sides of fences + the back of the house. Because it would bisect the yard, I am thinking of going with a 6' aluminum fence, so it could still be seen through. Would this be a problem with a greyhound (for them to be able to see through the fence)?

Edited April 22, 2010 by 1of42