electric fence questions

[dwbonfire]

i am in the process of refencing the pastures and property. i originally had two pastures for the horses fenced with 2 strands of the electric white tape. that wont keep the sheep or goat or dogs in or out, so im planning to refence with 14 gauge wire. i have 4 or 5 ft. T posts, and i was going to do 3 strands of electric with one strand of tape on the top for the visibility for the horses. i want to keep the goat and sheep in, and also my new pyr. i am told pyrs can be tough to contain in fencing, so i dont know if this is going to work or not... what im wondering is how close should the strands of electric be so that he wont be tempted to squeeze through, or underneath?
the frontage of the property is fenced with 4 strands barbed wire. personally i dont like the horses in barbed wire, but i cannot take it down. the first strand is about 6 inches off the ground, then each strand is 1 ft. apart. i figured for the frontage i would just add one strand of hot wire between the third and bottom strand. should this be ok?
i figure once i get all the fencing done i will walk my dog around the perimeter to let him learn the fence lines. i know it sounds mean, but i am thinking i should get him to touch it so he knows its hot. does anyone else have thier livestock and dogs successfully in electric wire?
if money were no object i would field fence the whole place, but i cant afford to do that. so im trying to go a cheaper but still effective route!

 

[dwbonfire]

i was hoping id get some feedback, i plan to string wire this afternoon! i just dont want to get it done then have someone chime in that i put the strands too far or something lol that will be my luck. please any advice is appreciated! just need to know how close to put the strands of wire to keep my pyr and critters in.

 

[beckyburkheart]

i used electric fence for years with our horses but during the last drought the ground was so dry that it didn't conduct well enough through their hoofs and i had an entire generation of foals that learned not to respect the fence. even after it started raining, that group still taught the younger ones to get through it so i eventually had to bit the bullet and put up real fence. i don't think it's going to work well at all for sheep or goats.

if it's at all possible, i think if you could put up any kind of field fence, even a cheap kind, it would be better, and you could run an electric strand around the top.

or, if you have to do electric, i'd run at least six, maybe eight, strands and alternate it hot and ground.

 

[Karma]

My mastiff mix house dog is horrible with electric, if she wants something on the other side more than she wants to avoid the shock she will dive straight through touching two of the wires without even a yelp. I imagine a LGD would be similar in that if there is an intruder on their lands, an electric fence alone probably won't stop them, especially not only 3 stands. I would also go with field fence with a hot strand or at least 5-6 strands of electric.

 

[dwbonfire]

oh darn, not what i wanted to hear lol. well if i went with a mesh fence, how tall would it have to be? i have used this rabbit fence http://www.tractorsupply.com/garden-zone-gard-n-fence-rabbit-guard-28-in-x-50-ft--3632149 before and put two electric strands above it to give it more height. could this work? i dont mean to sound ridiculous, but with the amount of fence i want to do, im not sure we can afford field fence right now. im looking for a cheaper kind either at lowes or tractor supply, but the prices arent always on the websites. hmmm

ETA: i found this field fence at lowes http://www.lowes.com/pd_51320-307-7...entURL=/pl__0__s?Ntt=field+fencing&facetInfo=
would 39" tall with a strand of electric above it be high enough for my pyr to hopefully not jump? he hasnt tested my fencing yet, and hes currently out in 36" welded wire with electric above it, and then that rabbit fence against the barbed wire along the frontage. he seems fine.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

We keep our cows in with two strands of electric. No problem as long as the fence is up. They respect it and stay away from it. Our Black Lab however, likes to be with us, and he has learned to time his creep under the wire so that he doesn't get shocked. He has got zapped before so he knows what it is. He just got smart about it. I am guessing that your dog would too as long as he could belly crawl under it after he got the timing down.

I don't have one so this comment is purely from what I have read and not experience. But what I am coming to understand is that your LGD will much rather be with the herd, stay close to them and would rather be within the area that they are in. If an intruder comes, I assume that the LGD would bark and run towards the fencing only leaving that boundry if it felt no other option. I am interested in hearing what people that have experience with LGD's say in regards to keeping them within the electric fenced area, as some day, I hope to have a LGD of my own.

Best wishes!

 

[carolinagirl]

I have my pasture cross fenced with 3 strands of electric and once in a while a sheep hops through it. The pups have not, but they have not really been that motivated to. I would not trust it to contain sheep and dogs unless you are doing a proper high-tensile fence with multiple wires.

A pyr can easily hop over that 39" fence. But they can also easily get over 48" fence too. Use woven wire fence topped with a strand of electric to keep them in.

 

[r4eboxer]

I vote no on the 36" for Pyrs, I have two 5 month old pups and have my compost pile fenced with 36" fence. They clear it easily. My run is fenced with 60" fence and they cannot begin to clear it.

 

[Mzyla]

"...am interested in hearing what people that have experience with LGD's say in regards to keeping them within the electric fenced area, as some day, I hope to have a LGD of my own..."


If they want to go somewhere, they will go at any cost; digging, getting shock, etc...
Majority of times they are staying with herds/poultry within designated perimeter.
There has to be valid reason for them to go "over" our perimeter and that for example, could be hot pursuit after predator.

They will jump over in a heart beat, if you happen to close them in a small space.
I closed my Pyr for a moment when I had visitors in a house.
This is what he did as soon as I got inside of the house;

[/img]

I'm talking with gazillion of LGD owners. All of them have to constantly improve and reinforce their fencing/security system
in order to keep LGD's in within property.
Oh well...this is the "risk of a trade" of being an owners of these magnifficient animals.

 

[redtailgal]

lol, that dog in the background is like "DUDE you are so cool!"