Reasons for Fencing

When The Mister and I were searching for property, we knew that it would require a fenced yard. We had viewed several properties with and without a fence before deciding to purchase our current home. Since the property we purchased did not have a fence, we knew we would need to build one. Several reasons we wanted a fence include:

Reason number 1: Her Majesty

If dogs can have ADD, I'd like to think Her Majesty would be a good candidate. She goes wherever her nose takes her with no concern of where it is she is going or who or what might be coming. She likes to explore and wander. It's the hound in her, I guess. Or maybe it is because she is a dog.

Her Majesty is now at the age where she is well adjusted to senior dog food and it must be presented to her at just the right time. Her hearing is also not quite what it used to be, but that's what happens when you rule a household as long as she has. So regarding the fence, we wanted to install something that would keep her safely contained and yet allow her enough room to satisfy her roaming urges.

Her Majesty giving me the "Why haven't you fed me yet?" look

Reason Number 2: Privacy

I grew up living in the country. I always thought that I would move back to the country. When your neighbor is several miles away, privacy is not really a concern. When The Mister accepted a position in our current town, we purchased a house that was in the hub of town activity. Privacy soon became a factor on our list of considerations on whether or not we should build a fence and what type of fence would be appropriate. After all, if today warranted eating a stack of Giant Oatmeal-Spice Cookies on my back porch, I may not be in the mood to share that day. Please don't judge, you know you've done it too.

Reason Number 3: Noise

This ties in with privacy. In the country, the only noise I heard were animals and nature. Living in town, the sounds are different. There is construction a few blocks away. Vehicles pass by on the main street. People are conversing along the sidewalk and dogs bark in the middle of the night. It's the sound of a town.  While we know that a fence will not completely block out the noise, we hope that having a fence and in the future layering the space with some greenery and maybe a water feature will help to dampen some of the sounds.


Her Majesty surveying her kingdom prior to fence installation

Reason Number 4: Little Ones

The Mister and I do not currently have any children, but know plenty of people with little ones. We really enjoy having people over for dinner and backyard parties. We want our friends and family to feel comfortable having their children play in the backyard. Our property is near a busy street, so having a fence to help corral these and future little ones and give them a sense of boundary was important to us.

Reason Number 5: Other Animals

The Mister and I knew that we wanted a garden and we wanted a backyard that would be safe for Her Majesty to smell the grass and lay in the sunbeams. Our neighborhood frequently has unleashed animals roaming around. While we knew that we could not keep all animals out of the yard,  (Hey Squirrel!) we hoped that the fence would deter aggressive animals from getting into the yard.

Squirrel on a portion of the fence. Can't keep these critters out.

Once The Mister and I addressed all of the reasons why we would like a fence, we began discussing what type of fence we wanted.