Fencing a yard for a dog in Durham

Durham does not make you fence your yard, but it does make you keep your dog from running loose. A fence is the usual way to do that, and some rescues will not place a dog without one. Here are the local rules, what rescues ask for, and how to build a fence a dog can't get past.

What Durham's rules require

• Durham County makes it unlawful for a dog's owner or keeper "to intentionally or negligently allow the dog to run at large" (Durham County Code ch. 4). The County's ordinance also applies in the parts of the City of Durham that are in Durham County (Durham City Code ch. 6).
• "At large" means off the owner's property and not under restraint. Restraint can be "a secure enclosure located on the owner's property, attended leash, or electronic device of sufficient strength", and "Voice command is not recognized as adequate restraint" (Durham County Code ch. 4).
• A secure enclosure is one "from which an animal cannot escape by means of digging under or jumping over the enclosure" (Durham County Code ch. 4). A fence that counts has to stop both.
• Tethering (chaining) a dog is banned, with narrow exceptions, such as up to seven days at a time for herding, hunting or training, or an attended leash, where you are outside with the dog and can see it (Durham County Code ch. 4).
• For a dog run or pen, the ordinance counts it as abuse to keep dogs in less than 100 square feet of open space per dog of 20 pounds or under, or less than 200 square feet per larger dog (Durham County Code ch. 4).
• A dog kept outside less than 15 feet from a public street, road or sidewalk is listed as evidence of a nuisance when it "poses a threat to the general safety, health, and welfare of the general public" (Durham County Code ch. 4).

Durham's fence rules still apply

• Between the house and the street, within 50 feet of the street, a fence is limited to 4 feet outside the Rural Tier. Side and back yards away from the street allow 8 feet (Durham UDO 9.9). A dog that jumps belongs in the back yard.
• Buried electric pet fences are exempt from the fence rules. Above-ground electric fences are limited to government, utility and industrial uses, or where state or federal law requires one (Durham UDO 9.9).
• The finished side of the fence has to face away from your lot (Durham UDO 9.9).
• In a local historic district a new fence needs a Certificate of Appropriateness first (Durham COA). See fences in historic districts.

The rest, including corner sight triangles and easements, is on the rules page.

What Triangle rescues ask for

• Triangle Sheltie Rescue wants a fence "at least 4 feet high and which cannot be climbed or burrowed under by a sheltie", a lockable gate with a spring that shuts it, and says "An in-ground electric fence is NOT acceptable" (Triangle Sheltie Rescue).
• Best Friend Pet Adoption says "You must have a secure fenced yard or be committed to multiple daily leash walks in all kinds of weather" (Best Friend Pet Adoption).
• Triangle Beagle Rescue says "we do not advocate for their use as a primary containment method for beagles" of electric fences (Triangle Beagle Rescue).

So a buried electric fence, which Durham allows, can still fail a rescue's home check. Ask your rescue for its rules before you build.

Stopping a dog that digs

• The American Kennel Club's advice: "Attach an L-footer along the bottom of the fence, facing in" (AKC).
• Humane World for Animals suggests you "Bury chicken wire at the base of the fence. Be sure to roll the sharp edges away from your yard", or "Bury the bottom of the fence 1 to 2 feet below the surface" (Humane World for Animals).
• Burying wire or a footer means digging along the whole fence line, so check the 811 rules first.

Stopping a dog that climbs or jumps

• "Some dogs jump fences, but most actually climb them, using some part of the fence to push off from." An extension that tilts inward at about 45 degrees helps (Humane World, runaways).
• The AKC says to "Remove climbing aids", such as woodpiles, garbage cans, benches or chairs next to the fence, and that coyote rollers along the top stop a dog "getting the foothold he needs to get over" (AKC).
• Keep the whole fence, extension included, within Durham's height limits above.

Gates and gaps

• "Make sure all the latches on gates and fences are secure." A double gate, where you close one gate before you open the next, keeps a dog from slipping past you (AKC).
• The AKC also suggests self-closing gates, and warns that "many dogs are experts at squeezing through the gaps" (AKC yard safety).

The limits of invisible fences

A buried electric fence is legal in Durham and can count as restraint under the animal ordinance (Durham County Code ch. 4). Vets at VCA Animal Hospitals list its limits: "Stray dogs and wild animals can still access the yard", a dog "may breach the electric fence, ignoring the electric stimulus", and it fails with "a cut wire or dead battery in the collar" (VCA Animal Hospitals).

What it costs

Prices per foot by material are in the cost guide, and the materials guide covers posts in Durham's clay. Ask each contractor to quote any footer, buried wire or extension as its own line.