Fencing For the Dogs

We adopted these adorable pups last November, and have been working on getting them trained and integrated into family life since then.   They're rescues - so they came with some behavioral and emotional baggage, so it's been quite a long road.  One of the things we're dealing with is fear and anxiety around other dogs.  Especially dogs we encounter while we're out on leashed walks.   When our dogs see another dog, ours lunge and bark and become aggressive, all based on a fear of the other dogs.  

So we need to build a fence in our yard so we can have outside time without encountering other dogs.   We're lucky that our back yard has two sides already fenced with chain link.  While I'm not a big lover of chain link fencing, the fact is that it's there and it's functional, so we're not going to replace it. Because we live in a historical neighborhood, we are not permitted to erect new chain link to match the old.  So we are going to put in wood picket fencing on the remaining sides.   Wood because the historical society won't allow vinyl or PVC.   I think it's going to be pretty and functional and provide shelter and containment for our dogs to relax and play without worrying about other dogs.

I've got all the necessary approvals from the neighborhood architectural board, the city's historical society and the permit from the planning board.   Here are the details of what we're going to do:

Our house faces west (the left side of the plat above), and there's a 20' hill drop on the south side of our property (the bottom of the photo).  Our lot is divided by our driveway that goes up the hill around the to the left.    We have existing chain link on the north (top) and east (right) side of the back yard, and we plan to add new wood picket fencing on the red ink areas.

Here are some concept photos:

We may install a white arched arbor around the 5' gate in the future, but not right away.

This view (below) of the back yard shows how the fence will come up along the driveway (out of view on the right), take a turn, and then turn again back toward the house.

 The photo below is what it might look like from inside the gate near the house...

...and what it might look like from the middle of the back yard.   The grassy areas in the corner outside the fence would be turned into mulched flower beds, and some of the grass near the fence on the inside would also become mulched flower beds.  

I'm pretty excited about this project - it'll be nice to be able to play with the dogs off leash in the yard, without worrying about them getting away or being afraid of other dogs.  And I think the pickets will really complement our 1925 Colonial home's architecture, and provide some wonderful backgrounds for pretty flower plantings.

The fence is due to be installed soon - woohoo!

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