Fencing in yard, items I might need/want for dog?

I know, I know, just about everyone has a fenced in yard, but I don't and NEVER have my entire life no matter where I have lived. We are fencing in part of our yard starting this weekend (Ben is lining the yard this weekend, I think). We live on a corner lot of land, so we have land on both sides of our yard. Not a lot, but enough to fence it in and FINALLY give my children a secure place to play in the yard AND Ella a secure place to play and run.

I'm probably more excited about this than most people would be, but I have been collecting outside toys for Ella (this is part of why I got the glow in the dark Orbees), and we've already discussed building her a spring pole. YAY.

I am getting ready to order her a stainless steel water bowl to keep out in the yard for when we're out there and she gets thirsty. I am thinking about ordering a container to keep her outside toys in.

The part of the yard that will be fenced in is connnected to our garage, so basically I can release her into the yard via the garage which is going to be NICE for if she gets muddy.


Any outside items I might want to consider getting? I've got a leash rack already right next to the door I would use to get out into the yard, so I can hang leashes and collars in case of an emergency.

I've thought about stuff for my sons, but they're really kind of getting too old and big for a swingset, but we do have a tether ball pole that is going to be going up.


We'll be out in the yard all summer, together, doing stuff. I cannot wait.

A safe yard is so nice to have !!! Ollie can go into the garage too...great to have !

Hmmm...a little fort/playhouse?

All I can really think of is stuff for the fencing...like laying paving stones along the perimeter on the inside so she's can't dig a hole to the outside world. Not like you'd ever leave her out unattended, but it might also help to keep mud down if she starts running the fence line. That and mulch.

thank you!!!!
Actually, that paving stone idea is NOT a bad one at all!!! Especially because we're going to be connected to our neighbor's fence and they have two GSPs that LOVE to dig under the fence (which we're already going to fill up again) and I will ALWAYS be outside with her if she's out there, so there will be NO digging by the fence to get the neighbor's dogs. I will be inspecting the yard for dangerous debris too. I do not want her eating stuff that someone may throw over our fence, so she'll always be taken out via leash, and then once I've inspected the yard, I'll let her off leash.

How high of a fence?

I'm envious...I love the fact that my new house has a fenced in yard, but it's 3 ft. chainlink that is old and sagging. Sawyer could clear it without a second thought if he felt like it.

It's a 6' privacy fence.

I CANNOT WAIT!
this opens up a whole new world of work for Miss Ella aka: dog aggressive ho.

Personally, I would go with a light colored ceramic or plastic bowl for outside, stainless, in my expierence, gets hot too fast. Django and Saga have a couple Jolly balls for outside and and couple "outside only" stuffies.

Don't forget a wading pool !!!

I won't grammy! I highly doubt she'll use it, though. She's not friends with water.:lol-sign:


Ben just told me he has a bunch of colored concrete border stones (they were here when he moved in) and he's got enough to line the side of the fence where we'll be connected to the neighbor's fence. I'm not worried about HER digging since I'll be watching her, but I'm worried about the neighbor's 2 GSPs digging under the fence.
This will take care of that.

Awesome!! I can't wait for lots of pictures of Ella playing in her yard.


And your boys can not possibly be too old for a swingset. No such thing as too old for a swingset! My parents took mine down when i was like 13 i made them get me a new one for my birthday. in the summer i swing every day.

Yay! I'm sure Ella will love having a fenced yard of her own. : )

My dogs really like baby pools. Fozzie hated it at first, but after a few games of bobbing for cookies, he loves it. They both like to lounge on their Durabeds... they're cot-style beds, raised off of the ground. They don't get dirty and they're water-proof, which is a plus.

Eh if you think a swing set would be worth the money go for it. I know I still played on mine til I was about 12 (I don't know how old your kids are). But the thing is, my 'play' evolved from simply swinging on the swing set to running onto the swing, grabbing the ropes, and standing on the seat to launch myself high into the air and other assorted 'dangerous' (read: fun) things. So you might wanna watch for that if you're the protective sort.

I'm 18 and still swing.

Gravel or mulch for areas that are used a lot. Buy some seed this fall for re-seeding - you'll need it.

A WATERPROOF container for toys. If it isn't waterproof, don't buy it. We now have a large plastic tub that we don't know what to do with because the lid leaks. A kiddie pool and swings sounds really good to me, too, btw. Got to love swing sets. Make sure it's tall enough for older kids to swing, or make sure you can adjust the chains in a few years. Picnic tables/a bench/chairs are a must.. whatever works better for you. If you have a covered area outside, like a porch, an outdoor dog bed for Ella would be nice. Oh and make sure you have a yucky collar that fits her well but you don't mind getting scratched up/muddy/stained.

This is what we ordered from jefferspet the other night in preparation for being outside more and some items I ordered just to have because I didn't have them.

1 Fortiflex® 8 Quart Pail, black
@ $3.45 = $3.45

1 Fortex® Rubber Pet Bowl, 4 qt
@ $3.59 = $3.59

1 Kwik-Stop, 1 1/2 oz jar
@ $9.29 = $9.29

1 Doggie Dooley® Model 2000
@ $36.99 = $36.99

1 Waste Terminator, 1-yr supply
@ $9.99 = $9.99

1 Triple-Pet® Toothpaste, 2.5 oz
@ $3.29 = $3.29

1 Hold 'EM Bathing Restraint
@ $6.89 = $6.89


Ben isn't too hip on placing gravel on the ground because he still has to mow. We've already dug up some and planted new grass seed in various places, and new grass has already begun to grow in. Ben will be up on keeping grass seed planted. He's really worried about the yard being ruined from the extra activity in the yard.
I've already ordered her "junk" collar that I won't mind her getting dirty. It's a nylon collar (all her leather ones will NOT be used outside to play in and I'm donating the majority of her fabric collars).

Aedan has a gigantic peanut ball that will be going outside so he can use it for O.T. and Gaven has a baseball and bat and a rope tied to the tree to swing from (I am probably going to do a tire swing, though).

We have a 6 foot privacy fence for the backyard too, I had Kevin install it right after I moved in because we had a 2 year old and I LOVE it! I drink my coffee back there on the swing in my JAMMIES! hahahahaha

I put THIS in the corner for the dogs..........


They love to dig and it's part of their nature, so instead of battling nature out of them I just gave them an option of WHERE they can do it



AND it trims their nails for me, LOL.......Muahahahahaha, ulterior motives! Gotta love em!

Coop! Thanks! That's an awesome idea. Is that sand and soil? We could use the border stones to box of an underneath area, too, for a springpole and just lay sand underneath.

Yes Becca, it's about 6-7 bags (300 lbs) of sandbox sand thrown on top of fresh turned ground. We made sure the grass was completely out of there so it didn't rot and smell.

The fence is lined with stones under the sand, and we 'trimmed' the area with flag stones to create a boundary and it looks prettier

I planted hostas around the outside because they are VERY durable and hard to kill. I have hopes that it will catch the flinging sand as they get bigger every year.

The old tree stump you see to the right was something they wouldn't leave alone so we put it back there for them to chew up! LOL

Hiding toys in there is great fun!

That's what I need here Coop .....my back yard is a disaster !!!

Oooh cool! I need these ideas too...my landlady jsut showed me where they reseeded and they're putting down a bunch of rock along one section of the fence line to try and keep the mud down.