A garden boundary that keeps a dog in needs to work on three levels at once: high enough to stop a jump, tight enough to stop a squeeze, and solid enough at ground level to stop a dig. Get those three right and you can still have a fence that looks good, lets light through and survives a British winter. Here is how to plan it properly.

Start by Knowing What You Are Containing

Before you order a single panel, spend a week watching how your dog uses the garden. The escape method tells you what to build.

• Jumpers and climbers: a fit collie or lurcher can clear 1.5m from a standing start, and a dog that has learned to scramble up a trellis will manage more. For most medium and large dogs, treat 1.8m as the working minimum rather than 1.2m.
• Squeezers: terriers, dachshunds and puppies will push through anything wider than about 50mm. A 75mm gap looks trivial to you and like an open door to a determined Jack Russell.
• Diggers: if your dog excavates under the fence line, no amount of height will help. You need a barrier below ground as well as above it.
• Sightlines: a dog that can see the pavement will bark at everything that passes. A solid lower section with a slatted or open upper section often calms things down while keeping the light in.

Also check your boundaries before you build. In England and Wales, fences over 2m generally need planning permission, and over 1m where the boundary meets a highway. If you rent, get written permission before you alter anything.

Choosing Fence Panels and Heights

For a dog-friendly boundary, closeboard or feather edge fencing beats standard lap panels comfortably. The vertical boards overlap, so there are no horizontal rails to use as a ladder and no gaps for a nose or paw to work into. Choose boards at least 12mm thick and set on concrete or steel posts rather than wooden spikes, because dogs lean on fences and a leaned-on post works loose within a season.

Height guidance that works in practice:

• Up to 10kg: 1.2m is usually enough, provided the ground is level and there is nothing to climb on.
• 10–25kg: 1.5m to 1.8m, with a smooth top edge.
• Over 25kg or any known jumper: 1.8m, and consider adding an angled section at the top, tilted inward, which is far more effective than simply going higher.

If your heart is set on a low boundary, run a second inner fence or a planted hedge behind it — but remember that a hedge takes several years to become stockproof.

Closing the Gaps That Matter

Most escapes happen at the joints, not through the middle of a panel. Work around the whole perimeter with a tape measure and a critical eye.

• Panel-to-panel joins: butt them tight, or cover the joint with a vertical batten. A 20mm gap repeated every 1.8m is a network of small doors.
• Post lines and corners: fill any triangular hole where two fences meet at an angle. Offcuts of board screwed in place do the job.
• Gate edges: a gate hung with generous clearance will soon have a dog-sized gap once it sags. Fit a stop batten on the closing side.
• Under hedges and shrubs: lift the lower branches or run a low rail through the stems, because dogs will happily push through foliage that looks impenetrable.
• Drains, air bricks and gaps under sheds: check the whole boundary at dog eye level, on your knees if necessary.

Stop the Digging at Ground Level

A gravel board along the base of the fence is standard practice, and for dogs it is essential. Set the board so its bottom edge sits below soil level, then bury a strip of galvanised weldmesh or heavy-duty rabbit netting about 300mm deep and bend it outward in an L shape away from the garden. A dog digging at the base hits the wire and gives up; the outward turn stops it simply tunnelling under the fence line.

Alternatively, lay a 300mm strip of paving slabs or setts along the inside of the boundary. It looks tidy, discourages digging and saves you strimming. Whichever method you choose, do it before the fence goes up, because retrofitting mesh under an established fence is miserable work.

Gates, Latches and Everyday Handling

Your gate is the weakest point of any boundary, so give it more attention than the panels.

• Fit a self-closing hinge and a latch that needs a deliberate lift or squeeze to open. Children and visitors leave gates open; springs stop that becoming an escape.
• Add a second, higher bolt if your dog has worked out how to nudge a handle with its nose.
• Sink a kickboard or mesh skirt across the bottom of the gate opening to close the gap between gate and ground.
• Keep the gate hung so it clears the ground by no more than 25mm, and re-hang it when it drops.

Consider a double-gate or porch arrangement at the main access point if your dog is an opportunist. A small holding area means a mistake at one gate is not the end of the story.

Timber Care That Keeps the Boundary Working

A fence that rots or warps opens gaps. Treat the boundary as a piece of maintenance, not a one-off purchase.

• Buy pressure-treated softwood, or larch or cedar if the budget allows, and check the treatment specification covers ground contact.
• Apply a brush-on preservative or stain every two to three years, focusing on cut ends, the base of posts and anywhere timber meets soil. These are the points that fail first.
• Clear soil and leaf litter from the base of the fence so the bottom 50mm can dry out.
• Check post fixings each spring and autumn, and re-tension or replace any board that has warped or split.
• Prune climbers and shrubs back off the timber, and keep the digging mesh clear of roots that might lift it.

A boundary built with the dog in mind — the right height, small tolerances, a buried barrier and hardware that behaves itself — will quietly do its job for fifteen years or more. It will also let the light in, look like a proper British garden fence, and mean you can open the back door without checking the road first.