Fences wrt to rescues?

[MrsJohnMurphy]

We will be looking for a dog next year I think, I have small children too so am prepared for a bit of a wait with rescues. I have read though that fences seem to be a bit of an issue, we would ideally get a greyhound/whippet/lurcher type dog, exactly how high do fences have to be?

Our back garden is enclosed, but the height of the fences varies, we do have lots of bushes/hedges along them too. They are not actually our fences, but belong to the bordering houses, so if we wanted them higher I think we would have to put out own fence next to it iyswim, which would be a massive faff and expense .

[Scuttlebutter]

Unless you end up with a very quiet, elderly greyhound (which is possible, and they are lovely ) what you have currently would not be suitable, as I understand it. You should have a solid fence of at least 5' and personally I'd go with 6' - even quite small whippets can jump amazingly high. If the boundary is just hedging, a greyhound on a mission WILL get through that and be after next door's cat in a flash.

Many greyhound charities will mention this as a requirement on their websites - may be worth having a look.

Usually, you will have a homecheck and this is one of the most important aspects - the homechecker will be looking to see that your hound will be safe and secure. However, you can discuss this in more detail with the homechecker, they will be on the spot and can advise. It's worth getting this right as it brings so much peace of mind.

[MrsJohnMurphy]

I think the fences are mostly 5' but I could be wrong will give them a measure, I could always discuss adding a bit of trellis with the neighbours though. There is a bit of fencing which I think could be 4', but it has a massive apple bush/tree in front of it.

The garden is my nemesis atm, but I would get it shipshape before even considering a dog. I suppose I could always apply, the fencing is all solid, no gaps.

If the rescue said no and I got a puppy, could you not have a supervised dog on a long lead in the garden if jumping over fences was an issue?

Not sure if this is a terrible idea or not.

[D0oinMeCleanin]

Could you add trelis to the top of the fences to make it higher?

A supervised dog on a lead would be okay, but never, ever, leave a dog unsupervised on a long line. There is a possibility they could tangle themselves and injure themselves. Also they could chew through it.

The thing with getting a puppy if a rescue turns you down is that rescues generally have very good reason for turning people down. Sometimes a family's set up is just not suitable for having dogs.

Although even rescues get it wrong sometimes. The lady who runs the rescue I work with had our dogs while we were away. She's had the same fencing for over 10 years and never had an issue. My dogs were left in her garden while she took a phone call. Later that night we had a call (while we were on holiday) from a vets we had never heard of regarding a stray dog brought in, with our details on his microchip. My terrier had tunneled out of her garden and she hadn't wanted to worry us while we were on holiday. She was frantic, poor woman. You could literally hear the relief when we told her our dog was safe and at the local vets. Secure fencing is a must. What happens if the door bell rings and the dog won't come in? Or you need to deal with something urgent in the house and nip inside for a minute or two? That's all the time an determined dog would need to do a Houdini on you.

[Inthepotty]

I'd really second the idea of very secure fencing! We had six foot wooden fences and one eight foot wall put up when we got our boy. He's only lab sized but after watching various breeds scale a six foot vertical scale at a working trials comp recently it reinforced how bloody determined some dogs are!

My dads cat like thing tiny whippet once jumped over their 4ft fence, luckily she only made it as far as the corner shop before giving up the adventure and having a lie down

[MothershipG]

My mini schnauzer could easily clear a 4ft fence and get through a tree/bush, she can be very determined!

I do home checks for a couple of rescues and I think you will certainly have to do some work to secure your garden, whether you go for a rescue or a puppy or a puppy from a rescue!

[MrsJohnMurphy]

Thanks for your advice, I suppose a good place to start would be to actually measure the things .