A Temporary Fence Installed

I knew before I decided to buy the house from 1700 miles away and only looking at an online sales ad, plus some photos of the house I had found through internet searching back in April 2021, that I would have to install a fence. I did not know what kind or how much of the backyard to fence but I knew eventually I would need one. A temporary fence was not in the plans since my "tether system" was working like I expected it to. Walter ran free supervising Henry and Watson. I would have to untangle the two tethers but that wasn't a big deal. Yet, after living here almost 40 days things had changed and I needed a temporary fence installed fast.

Monday was the icing on the cake and moved me into action faster than planned. I had a scheduled date of August 1st for the installation of an invisible fence. We had to wait until Watson was 12 weeks old before he could be trained for that type of fence. That would give the hounds and the dog all of the backyard and some of the side yards to run free. I was looking forward to having that installed. 

To backtrack a little, when I was deciding to buy the house I asked my old friends that lived in this neighborhood for 20 years, how were the neighbors and neighborhood. I was told it was quiet, friendly people, private but not intrusive. That sounded perfect to me. That first week when I was in the front outside people would stop by to introduce themselves. Many of them, in fact all but one, I have not heard from again. We wave when we see each other but they are not showing up at the house unexpectedly.

The neighbor to the left of me when standing on the patio was becoming a problem. They like the hounds and the dog, they didn't mind if Walter would run to their tree, pee and then sprint to his patio door. They were friendly but as time went on, overly friendly. I told them many times I was concerned about the hounds knocking down the older lady who has dementia as Henry would wrap her legs up with his tether as he would seek attention. The daughter/caretaker basically would ignore my concerns and every time the dogs were outside it was the same thing every time. She would even get her legs tangled in the tethers as she leaned over to pet all the dogs.

The hounds and the dog would see them and go running their direction every time I let them outside. I mentioned no treats as they were on a dog food diet, she kept giving them treats. They kept getting tangled up in the tethers and kept saying they hated I was putting a fence up. When I would explain why, I was ignored. I was getting tired of the tether system. The fenced area and open door in Arizona had spoiled me I guess. 

They have an older "little yacker" dog that would play occasionally with Henry or Watson and recently Watson. Monday his play got a little too aggressive. In fact while we were standing there talking I heard a dog in the attack mode. Their "little yacker" was in Watson's face fighting. He was fighting back but at the time was getting his butt kicked ... that is until Walter ran over and pinned the attack dog to the ground smothering him. His pup was saved.

Not a move by the neighbor to separate them. I reach down, grabbed 56lb Walter by the back of the neck pulling him off the "little yacker", then pulled the small dog by the back of the neck lifting him off of the puppy. Watson ran off to the house when he was free. When I heard "they were just playing" I didn't say a word, got Walter and Henry moving in the right direction and headed home. My anger cannot be describe here. 

I would guess over 20 times I have talked to the daughter about having her mother walk into my yard when the hounds and dog are out in their yard minding their own business. I didn't want any chances of her getting knocked down. I also didn't like the day I glanced out my patio door while watching baseball to see her walking in my backyard and up on the patio. I finally asked directly to stay out of the yard and told them a fence was being installed.

Everything thing I would say would be ignored. I couldn't keep the hounds and the dog outside on their own and in fact they could not keep there little dog in their yard like they were use to because dogs want to meet, sniff and play. Sometimes fight obviously.

Luckily the ground was pretty soft with last weeks rain. It took me a little less than an hour to pound in 14 posts. It was 91° by 10:30am but I wanted to get this fence up.

The other neighbor does not have a dog, has met and petting all three of mine. Does not have one weed in her yard and has manicured landscaping. I told her the first day we met not to worry, I would be installing a fence so they would not be in her yard. She had no problem with that. We wave when we see each other but do not stop and talk every time we are mowing yards or getting mail. Whereas the other neighbor has to come over and talk, every time!! As long time readers know, I like my privacy. My friends tell me what I have described to them is not the norm for the neighborhood.

I had changed the area to be fenced at the last. I was going to go out further into the yard but this would work for what I needed. My fence company said it would take 4-6 weeks (after my visit to their store I chose the black aluminum fence that they had in stock. They come out to take measurements July 12th with installation within 2-3 weeks after that. So by the end of July or the first week of August the hounds and the dog will have their large backyard back.) before they would have the open date to install the fence, including the lead-time to get the materials. I will be at their store this morning early to make the final choice on a vinyl privacy fence or an aluminum see through fence.

There is one piece to this puzzle you might not know about ... the next photo explains the weird look.

That fence line is down the center of my shed. WHY???  Without a gate I needed a way to get my mower inside the fenced area to mow as well as getting outside the fence line to mow. So that is what I came up with although I am not a fan of the way it looks.

You know how I am unless it is buying cars or trucks ... I have a hard time making a decision on which kind of fence to buy. I like seeing out into the yards but there are days I do not want to see anyone as I sit on the patio. That is possible at 5:30am but not in the afternoons or evenings. A solid privacy fence takes away the "view" but keeps their little yapper out of my yard. No, they will not change anything nor should they, when it comes to their older dog and his freedom in their backyard. They have lived there since the house was built in 1956.

The black aluminum fence would be great because I could still see my view but I just thought this morning, those gaps in the aluminum fence design are big enough for their dog to squeeze through and get into my yard. Even if he wasn't fighting on Monday, I still don't want the dog in my yard. Also with the see through aluminum fence the hounds and the dog can see next door and of course would run to that side of the yard to see any people next door. They don't bark at them ... no Henry does whey they start walking towards the puppy ... so it might be best if the hounds and the dog cannot see next door. 

Most of the backyard will be fenced in.

I had the first wall of fence up in 27 minutes. Not bad doing it alone but it was getting extremely hot by 11:25am . I headed inside for a break of lunch, cold Gatorade, air conditioning and a rest. My phone was telling me it was 91° but "feels like" 99° and my t-shirt and ballcap were drenched with sweat. I was tying to figure out how I could keep the 50' of fence up so I could connect it to the posts by myself. Before I had been able to attached the last section at the top with a tie-strap as I stretched and pulled it tight along that wall. That was going to be hard to do with 50' of fence compared to 24'. That was the section I put up alone in this photo.

I hear my phone receive a text. It's my old friend around the corner telling me he was on his way to help. He knew what I was working with as those poles were his and he knew I was putting this fence up in one day no matter what. I told him that with both of us working on it, I didn't think it would take longer than 45 minutes to complete the job.

He was a lifesaver. As he pulled and tightened the next section of fence I was able to attach it to the pole with zip-ties. We were able to connect the two pieces of fence where the last section was a little short of the pole. That kept me from using the 3rd new bundle of fence so I can return that today for a refund.

When I was pounding in the 2nd pole earlier, the older lady came over to see what was going on. She kept telling me "I don't want to be the nosey neighbor" but .... She will not remember our conversation today. For the first time ever I did not see her daughter/caretaker outside yesterday where we would have the chance to talk. She is probably not too happy about what happened Monday and is definitely not happy about the word "fence", never has been.

It might not look like a lot of space compared to the places they could explore on a tether. It's only temporary until the permanent fence is installed. After we installed the final piece it was time to let the hounds and the dog out for their inspection. Would Henry go back to his digging days in Arizona and try to get under this fence? So far no signs of that. What would Walter do, who likes to run next door to pee? Well he stood just inside the patio door looking around at the new yard and refused to come out at first. Later he loved it was he walked the total area.

Watson was a different story and a big help in developing fence security. He put his nose to the ground and walked the whole fence line. He ever attempted to go under the fence. He did not jump up on the fence just as Henry had not. BUT ... he gets all the way to the closed shed door where I cannot connect the fence to anything nor can I put the pole right up on the door. There was a small gap of a couple of inches. 

Without any effort he put his nose in that gap, then his head, wiggled his body through it and was outside the fence. LOL I held Henry and Walter as my friend opened the shed door and walked outside the fence to grab Watson. The solution was easy. IF that small piece of fence I installed to fill the gap was connected to the door someway it would be stretched and tight enough to block that gap.

We used a small carabiner to attached the bottom corner of the fence to the door handle. NOW ... I will have to put up some sort of sign near my lawnmower to remind me to unhook the carabiner before trying to open the door to get the mower out. Without a note of some kind I know I will forget the door is attached to the fence.

I also had a gap next to the house. That was my first post to pound into the ground yesterday and as you see in a photo above it was straight. The stretching and tightness of the fence pulled that pole that direction. My friend had also given me some pvc pipe in case I needed it. That was the perfect piece for that gap. Looks weird but works and that is all I am wanting for the next 4-6 weeks.

With all that work yesterday with their yard inspection in addition to the extreme hot weather, they were wore out last night while I watched the Reds game. Walter had already walked back to his sleeping bag in the bedroom and was in a deep sleep snoring in the dark, even before sundown with the blinds closed. Oh, it didn't take us more than 35 minutes to complete the fence after he came over.

This morning was going to be a good test for the hounds and my fence. Later I spent time hiding inside behind the window to see if they were making any attempts to escape. I saw where Henry was going back to his Arizona days of dragging his chew toys and anything else he wanted out to the yard. A first time for that since our move. Watson did a lot of nose to the ground exploring but no signs of trying to get out of the fenced area. 

These next few photos are why I would like to have the aluminum fence you will see at the end of the post. I like this view from the patio. No, it is not as beautiful as the Huachuca Mountains I would see every day at my house in Arizona but it is still not a bad view. It's quiet and the air is filled with the sounds of birds.

The hounds seem to love their new yard. I left the patio door open while I put this post together and they played inside and outside until they feel asleep in the hallway a few minutes ago. Like always it is a little past 7am and they always sleep then. Walter finally went outside this morning. And yes I can still pick up dog poop with my scooper and throw it into the berm/weeds, up an over that 5' fence without a problem.  Ha Ha.

I have a feeling that the hounds enjoy their freedom to walk outside without a tether attached to them. In a month or so they will get their big yard back for them to roam and explore.

Here are the three types of fence I am considering.

This one would have to be a custom build since it is not listed in their product line. Or my friend and I could build this fence. He does have a post hole digger but after yesterday I am not sure I want to build a fence in the middle of summer. I am also not sure I could build a professional quality fence either. They install fence for a reason, they know what they are doing. 

Yes, there are other options for this aluminum fence, where the gaps would be smaller to keep the "little yacker" out of my yard. I will find something like that today when I visit their store.

Anyway the sun is out, it's only 73° early this morning with the windows open, ceiling fans on with Watson trying to snore sleeping on his back. Henry and Walter sleeping next to the puppy in the hallway. Watson is growing by the hours. I have no doubt he will fill in his AKC description of 25" tall at his shoulders and around 120 pounds if not bigger.

The hounds and the dog survived July 4th evening and the 5th where heavy artillery was explode just outside the house. All launched by the neighbors across the street, in the street. All three slept through the noise as I had moved us to the bedroom, door shut and the blinds closed with the light on. That deadened the sound a little and keep the bright flashes from the explosions for getting into the bedroom. They went outside later to pee while the last of the bombs were going off. No signs of stress by them hearing those explosions of fireworks.

It is going to be a good day here in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana ... it feels good to open the door and let the hounds and the dog outside without hold Henry and Watson back while I TRY to get the tether on their collars on the patio step. Im thinking of going to the Evansville Otter's baseball game tonight.