Im thinking about fencing in my yard so that the dog can just run around rather than worry about getting tangled up on all the "obstacles."
I have heard people say that with a husky, since they are diggers, that you should bury the fence a ways to keep them from digging their way out. Is this true, has anybody done this?

It would be a good idea to bury some of the fence or put in a dig guard around the perimeter of the fence. http://www.inetdesign.com/wolfdunn/containment/digguards.html

I've found that my huskies like to dig a little bed right next to the fence and once they dig down far enough "Oh! We can escape!".

My fence actually sank into the ground over the years (I think it's been up since before I was born) so by the time we got the huskies, I didn't have to add a dig guard. I still try to fill in any holes that pop up right next to the fence though, just in case.

Ahhhh a Fence..... The first thing I had to rebuild when we moved into our new house.... Good Solid Fences, makes for Good Solid neighbors; Or so my father in law tells me .

It really depends on your dog as to what measures you will need to take into account, but if you do indeed have a digger on your hands there are ways you can go about limiting the chance of a break out. However if you have an escape artist they will find a way. Tika can JUMP my fence when ever she wanted to I'm sure.... I've seen her standing bounce up to look at a dog on the other side. There is also the chance a climber can find a way over if foot holds exist anywhere.

My fence pickets rest a couple of inches off the ground. This is to limit the amount of insects (wooden fence) that get into them and just general corrosion via the snow or dirt. We've never had a break out due to digging, repair men leaving the fence door open however is another story all together.


Here are a couple of ways to prevent doggy digging escapes.


Is this my...... OMG

Poop works wonders... Honestly it is the only thing we have ever had any success with and we have 2 major diggers. When you find a hole in your yard, or close to the fence drop some of your pup's excrement inside of it and bury it back up. It doesn't have to be buried deep...

A NORMAL HEALTHY DOG will not dig through their own excrement. As soon as they get close they will stop. You can even be proactive about this and bury it before a whole starts in a perimeter around the fence, but that just seems like you would need to save a lot of it... and that's a bit weird . Just be proactive and plug holes when you see them.

Redirection / Refocus

If you do have a digger building an area they are "allowed" do dig in can help a lot!!! Some members have built Sandboxes and via training have taught their dogs it's ok to dig inside the box.

We had a tree stump in our yard we couldn't really remove without a great big hassle. So I cut into the root system of it and made a 6 x 6 foot sandbox this summer. One weekend of playing in it with Tika and burying hr treats inside and she seemed to catch up... She still prefers to lay in it... But I've caught her digging in it too.

Being able to dig somewhere, anywhere, can help them get it out of their system so to speak....

Patio Stones

My breeder recommended this to us when we got Tika, as he told us his whole pack were diggers and he had to really watch them. We never tried it but if you can make it work and look nice more power to you.

Around the perimeter of his fence, just under his pickets were patio stones. It would prevent the dog from digging down right beside the fence and give a lot of warning before an escape was getting close.

Esthetically however it wasn't the nicest thing to look at, but it was practical and worked for him. And since he had a very big run for his dogs to play and run in it wasn't the worst thing in the world.

Hot Wire

I know some people use a hot wire buried under neath to prevent dog escapes... I personally don't as I'm not comfortable with them, but hey to each their own. If you're comfortable with them and can do it right and safely it is something you could consider.


Invisible

There have been much discussion on this forum as to whether an invisible fence is viable for a husky. Again this comes down to comfort and the stubbornness of your pup, but it is an option to consider again.

Accessories

Lastly there are all sorts of accessories you can find out there. The fence guard, as mentioned above, can work very well provided it is strong enough and installed correctly.

There are other "add-on" products as well you can use to help reinforce your fence to limit the amount of break outs. Check around and see what you can make work.



In the end I am a strong supporter of the excrement method. It works for us very well... Tika has all but stopped digging, only in her sandbox, and Ripley is still making potholes here and there but they have diminished greatly since we got her.

It doesn't cost extra money, you need to pick up their poop anyways, and for us at least it seems to work wonders.

Best of luck to you and I hope it helped at all.
~Chris~

Awesome, thanks guys, for the suggestions. Will definitely take them all in to consideration.. Ill keep you updated as to what I choose to go with. Unfortunately it probably wont be until later in the fall, or early spring that I am finally able to put one up, just was thinking about it and trying to figure out a plan.

This is the outfit I went with: http://www.k9kennelstore.com/

Cost a bit less then chain link, you can make it as big or small as you like. If you have a digger the anti dig bars stopped Adobo and she hasn't escaped since I installed it Oct. 2010.