Repairing pasture fence: can it be dog proof?

Sounds as though he may need to replace some t-posts and tighten up his barbwire. You shouldn't be expected to purchase these things, but you could point out where the fence is damaged to him and offer to help repair his fence if he supplies the materials. As for your dog,(poor guy finally makes it to the country and still cant be a dog) lining the fence with chicken wire so he can't slip between the wire could help.

There is an invisible dog fence you can buy that will stop your dog if you use it properly. You bury it in the ground and it sends a radio signal to a collar that you put on the dog. But you have to teach you dog what it means. If he gets to close it will cause him to get an electrical charge that feels very much like being stuck with a needle.

I've lived and worked in rural America, agricultural areas most of my life. You do NOT want to get involved with fixing someone elses fences, unless it's a "for hire" job. Especially since you are the new city person.

You need to fence YOUR yard, so your dog cannot get out, and his cows cannot get in. Don't worry about helping someone else with their fence. Trust me on this one, you just don't want to get involved with that. There's not enough space here to explain all the reasons why, but when country folks have lived for generations in an area, they may concider a farm or land to be "theirs" even though it was sold off by their grand granddaddy generations ago.

Fence YOUR yard, and land, and let the other folks take care of their own. You can offer to help out after you have been there 10 years or so. Not I'm not at all kidding about that, not in the slightest.

You can top your fence with an electric wire. It will keep his cows from pushing on your fence and entering your yard. What-ever you do, keep your dog at home, or he will be shot.

I've lived in country neighborhoods with dog wars going on. Dogs being shot, and poisoned. It's simply horrid. I myself have had to shoot "sweet neighbor dogs that wouldn't hurt a fly." Then I would walk around the pasture shooting my goats they had torn the tails and anuses off off. I've had my own livestock guardian dogs which live with and protect my goat herd 24/7, killed by pit bulls. By the time a livestock guardian dog is old enough to do their job properly, I have about $1000 invested in them. It's a hard loss for a farmer to take, both emotionally and financially.

If your dog digs, then also run an electric wire down low, to keep him away from the fence, and prevent his digging out.

Even though you live in rural Georgia, NO, you cannot allow your dog to run loose, not ever. Your dog does not have the law on his side. Farmers with livestock have the law on their side. It is their right to shoot your dog, should it cross onto their land. In some places the dog doesn't even have to molest the livestock, just be on someone else property.

You should also know in many of those rural areas there are horrible problems with feral, and semi feral dogs. Keeping your dog home safely fenced will prevent a feral dog pack from killing and eating your dog. Nope, I'm not kidding about that either.

We have 8 working farm dogs on our farm, about 80 goats, 11 sheep, and 8 horses. Our livestock and dogs stay put on our farm. We've spent thousands of dollars fencing to make sure our dogs stay home (we have a crazy neighbor woman who threatens to kills dogs), and to make sure our idiot neighbors who don't bother to keep their dogs fenced in don't have to find out their dog was shot by us for killing goats and/or sheep and then pay for our livestock.

You'd be how suprised it makes dog owners to find out not only could their dog legally be shot, but they have to pay for the livestock it killed.

Good fences will also keep your dog safe (or safer) from rabid animals.

Be a good country neighbor and dog owner and fence your own property.

I'm sure you think I'm a ***** with a capital "B." However you are recieving extremely sound advice from a woman who's been a dog owner for 37 consecutive years, and lived in very rural areas most of that time.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

Responsible dog owner 37 consecutive years (our dogs die of old age, not being shot, nor poisoned).