Pros and Cons of Chain Link Fencing For Dogs

Chain link fencing has long been considered the gold standard of fencing in the United States. Invented in 1844 in Britain by Charles Barnard, it’s become commonplace around the world in nearly all types of fencing applications from tall security fencing for corporations to residential front and backyards.

Most fencing that is used to contain dogs today is of the chain link variety and for good reasons:

• Cheap
• Common, so it’s easy to find
• Easy to install
• Easily removed
• Require little to no maintenance
• Impervious to pests like termites

Because of the above reasons, chain link fencing may be a great solution to your dog containment problems. Cost is typically the most important factor when someone chooses to buy this type of fencing, however; better options are available for the following reasons.

If you have a large dog or if your dog is a climber, chain link fence may not be the best solution. The weave design of this fencing makes it easy for even small breed dogs to climb over. I should know, my pomeranians used to climb ours when I was younger. With this type of fencing, dogs don’t need anything to climb on top of in order to scale it, like trash cans or chairs. They can climb it from any point along the perimeter and jump over it.

Because this fencing doesn’t penetrate the ground in any way, it’s easy for dogs to dig under. Unless you’re vigilant and do regular checks around the perimeter of your fence, it’s likely your dog will be able to escape at some point. It doesn’t take long, especially for a large dog, to dig a hole out, even if there are no pre-existing weaknesses in the fence.

While chain link fencing is generally cheap, easy to install, and requires almost no maintenance, it fails in two key aspects when being used to contain animals. If you’re interested in fencing that is cheaper than chain link and solves both of these problems, checkout this post.