Needing Opinions!!!
 

We currently use a 10ft wide kennel outside for our dogs to go potty. It sits about 100ft from the front door. Reason for this?? We sit on about an acre of unfenced yard. Our house sits way in the back corner of the property. So that means, super long driveway, HUGE side yard.....and 100% no back yard....not even a back door.

With the way our house sits, is it possible to fence it?? Would that make it easier for us and the dogs?? The kennel is fine, don't like the placement.....

If we fence the entire yard, it will most likely have to just be the "side" yard.

I will have to take pictures of all of the yard....its very very hard to explain. The driveway is forever long to the road....if you walk halfway down the driveway, and stop....look to both sides and there are our neighbors houses.

In the end, I am asking what the best option is. Keep the kennel and move it? or build a big fence? Or maybe put a tie out in the ground??

I think moving the kennel would be the easiest and quickest. Tie outs offer no protection from predators....

I didn't even think about that with a tie out. My BIL (our neighbor :cool:) uses a tie out....but he has a pitbull/lab. And it really makes sense because I don't want him messing with my babies. He tends to get out often.

:eek:

Yup...I know! My BIL doesn't even seem to care! He thinks it is way too funny! :eek:

Our kennel is 6ft high...so he has not and cannot get in there. My concern with the kennel is that I feel it is small for them. Yes they are small dogs, but is 10x10 big enough??

Having a fenced in yard really rocks in my opinion. If you have the money I would say build a fence. I am not fond of tie outs other things can still get to them and I have heard of dogs being able to get out of there harness or collar when tied out.

Sounds like the kind of person who should not own a pit..........

Is a fence something DH and I could do on our own?? I am thinking a 50x50 square?? If I go that route....you think that would be a decent size??

Like I said, when the sun comes out, I am going to take a few pics so you can see how awkward our yard is! lol!

My thoughts are that if you build a fence, make sure it's high enough so the other dogs can't jump it and get to your babies. Just a thought.

I'm not sure how hard it is honestly. My dad has put a fence up before. I'm sure 50x50 would be great for yorkies :)

pictures
 

Here are a few pics of my yard....excuse the random tree limb and toys.....the last storm blew a lot around! :p

All were taken from my sidewalk and part of my driveway

The first pic is the side yard.....the tree in the very very center of the picture is the end of our property.

Second pic is looking a little left.
Third pic is even further left.

Last pic if our "front yard" / driveway. The big privacy fence divides our yard from BIL's...and as you can see....no yard on that side. The little speck by the light is our mailbox by the road.

They call a land cfg like you describe a "flag lot" here, and, if it is a huge area, fencing would, of course, be really nice if you can afford it. Depending on the 'codes' for fencing, you might be able to fence directly to the house if you are looking to be able to just open a door or install a doggie door and have your babies safely enter a fenced area directly from the house instead of having to cross an open area to get to the kennel.

It you do not feel you can do the work yourself, you could call a fencing contractor...they could give you recommendations, too. Some kinds of fencing are pretty easy to put up...the kind that come in panels, but you did not say what kind (that I remember :p) of fence you would be interested in. A 10x10 offers 100 sq.ft, which is probably sufficient for sunshine and potty, if regularly cleaned. It may not be a great amount of 'run' space; considering that they potty there, they may not want to run in it...not sure if yours are 'squeamish about stepping in potty, or if they are 'neat' and use the fence line like my Yorkie-Poo used to do, etc.

Were you wanting to move the kennel because of the distance to it from your house, or were you thinking of relocating it around the available yard space for cleanliness or the area, or...?

If you do fence, you may want to keep the driveway out of the fenced area to avoid possible accidents. Plus, unless the kennel would be in the way of the fence, would you need to move/remove it to install a fence? What do you use your yard for? Would there be party feet that would make keeping the kennel for the safety of the fur babies desirable?

I agree about tie outs being inappropriate. Yorkies are too small to be on unsafe tie outs in unfenced areas.

:D

SUCH a huge help!!! As for the fence....whatever is the easiest! We just moved in here in October and put the kennel up at the end of the sidewalk, next to the house. I think you can just barely see it in the first pic; closely I can see the gate off to the right. I was standing in front of my door taking this. Ill attach the pic again.

As for a doggie door.....does it need to be placed in a door?? My door leads out to the driveway...where the fence wouldn't be. I dislike walking down the sidewalk to the kennel in the dark. Its very dark, no light reaches out there....not even the flood light above the garage.

We don't have many outdoor things other than bbq's. My son always plays on the driveway because he has a bunch of ride-on toys. Even when we have bbq's, they are done on the driveway/patio area and then we eat inside.

Since we just moved here, my goal (if we do a fence) would be to do my outdoor things around it. Fence first, patio stuff, etc. after.

Yes you can build a fence a on your own. My Husband built a privacy fence (board by board) around an acre of land for our Rottweilers. To be extra safe - he stapled chicken wire around the bottom of the fence when we brought Delilah home.

I dont think doggy doors are good for yorkies in all areas where they could be alone and a preditor like a hawk can get them.