One of the first layers of protection for your home is your fence. Fences are a fantastic way to keep bothersome pests and other guests out of your yard while keeping kids and household pets safe inside. You’re probably inclined to believe that fences are a perfect barrier to contain your roaming pets. However, there are several ways your precious pooch or curious cat can take down your fence.
The Perfect Fence for New Homeowners
For new homeowners, a fence is a significant expense that requires several considerations. Spend time deciding exactly what your fence will be used for so that you can find the perfect family-friendly fence for your new home. Whether you have a growing gaggle of children or an uncontrollable canine, you can find a beautiful fence that fits all your needs.
Types of Fences
There are several stylish types of fences to choose from to protect your property adequately. Many new homeowners opt for the following styles because they are durable, affordable, easy to install, and allow for customization in height, color, length, and more:
- Vinyl fences
- Vinyl picket fences
- Vinyl privacy fences
- Chain link
- Ornamental wrought iron
- Ornamental flat top fences
- Ornamental spear top fences
- Wood or cedar fences
Although these fence styles are typically incredibly sturdy, there are several ways they incur damage from family pets. Consult with a fencing professional to determine the best fence style to suit your family’s needs.
Different Ways Pets Can Damage Your Fence
Finding the right fence to fit your family’s needs can be a challenging task. If you have a large, energetic dog or a curious, climbing cat, you need to consider the damage they can inflict upon a fence. Let’s find out all the different ways pets can damage your fence before deciding on the right style option for your property.
1. Digging
Does your beloved family dog love to dig? Digging is incredibly detrimental to the structure of your fence. Holes beneath your fence posts not only allow pests like raccoons and rabbits into your yard but also affect the stability of each post.
Exposed fence posts are more susceptible to damage from strong winds since nothing is holding them into the ground. There’s also a higher probability that your fence posts will crack or snap if any added pressure (i.e., a jumping puppy) is applied.
2. Jumping
Another typical way for pets to take down your fence is with excessive jumping. We all know just how excited a dog can get when the mail carrier arrives. Although their jumping is harmless to humans, the force of a dog’s body repeatedly bouncing against a fence can cause severe structural damage or snap a fence post.
Vinyl fences are especially susceptible to damage from jumping dogs. Although the vinyl material is exceptionally strong, dogs of a significant weight will easily snap or crack the material with their high-intensity movements. With enough forceful jumps, a massive dog can push your fence over entirely. To avoid damage from jumping pets, consider an ornamental spear top wrought iron fence, which will stop or, at the very least, seriously hinder your pet from jumping up along the fence.
3. Climbing
Dogs and cats alike are curious creatures by nature. Fence posts are a fantastic spot for feline friends to bask in the sun. They’re also a great barrier between your dog and the outside world. However, some pets are more persistent than others, and you might find that your energetic puppy is an excellent escape artist.
When animals like cats and dogs climb over fences, it adds unusual weight and pressure to the fence posts. A repeated climbing action can cause cracking, snapping, leaning, or other damage to the fence on your property. The repeated motion can also create sagging areas in certain locations or completely knock over your entire fence.
4. Scratching
Cats are some of the cutest creatures out there. However, they’re also known for their love of needless destruction and, thus, can cause irreversible damage to your fence with scratching motions. When a cat repeatedly scratches the same area or post on your fence, it weakens the material. Little by little, the fence post will break down, making it defenseless against weathering and other damage in the future.
Although owners of vinyl and chain link fences don’t need to worry about this type of damage as much, it’s prevalent for pet owners with wood fences. For this reason, among other prominent issues related to wood or cedar fences, many installation companies choose to retire cedar fences entirely.
5. Chewing
Just like babies, when puppies begin to grow out of their primary set of teeth, they experience discomfort. This discomfort leads to the annoying act of teething. Although it’s out of their control, teething puppies can cause an immense amount of damage to your fence.
The repetitive gnawing motion from teething is especially damaging to cedar and chain link fences. It creates weak points in the wood or galvanized wire of chain link fences. These weakened spots cannot stand up against harsh weather conditions or other damaging agents and break under enough pressure.
6. Taking Potty Breaks
Finally, one of the most harmful habits your dog probably does every day is to use the bathroom. Although this is decidedly difficult to deter, it can cause high levels of damage to your fence. When moisture lingers in a fence post, it often leads to mold or mildew, impacting the fence structure’s durability.
Another reason your pet’s urine is so damaging to your fence is because of the discoloration it can cause. You’ll not only notice faded grass patches around the area but also on your fence posts. Discoloration or fading on fences is unsightly, unappealing, and often indicative of weak points in the posts’ structure.
Avoiding Fence Damage From Pets
For homeowners with pets, it can be challenging to avoid the damages often inflicted on fences by our furry friends. The easiest way to prevent irreparable damage is to regularly ensure that your fence is structurally sound and well maintained throughout the year. Be careful to check for cracks, water damage, leaning, or other structural issues. With proper care and accurate installation, your fence should last between 15 and 20 years.
You can also take time to try and teach your dogs or cats to control their destructive behaviors. Show your pup the perfect spot for potty breaks away from your fence. Deter cats and crazy canines from climbing or jumping on your fence by installing ornamental wrought iron.
It’s easy to get annoyed or angry with your pets when they cause costly problems on your property. However, it’s important to remember that they’re just animals, and at the end of the day, they don’t mean to cause any purposeful pain. Although pets easily cause some fence issues, you can avoid them with proper fence installation. Contact a professional to install your fence accurately, ensuring that any possible damages brought on by a pet are minimized.