GSD kinds of guys

Early in our courtship, Pre-Mrs ERJ told me that one of the things she liked about me was that I was a GSD kind of guy.  No, not German Shepherd Dogs kind of guy.  Getting "Stuff" Done kind of guy.  Her previous beau talked a great story, bought all the books, could expound for hours at parties, but never got around to putting a hammer-to-nail.

Well, we now have German Shepherds.  Mrs ERJ held out a long time.  The picture in her head was that there is no reason to have a dog that weighs more than 40 pounds.  She held firm until Belladonna melted her with charm.  Now we have two of them.

For a long time, the dog run that was designed and build for the 25lb-to-40lb dogs worked.  It is about 16' by 32' and the perimeter fence is 48 inches high.  It worked...until it did not.

And that was this week.

Zeus started jumping out at will.

He had been scaring the delivery people.   They could see that he could leave any time he wished.  We started having to pick up the large USPS parcels that would not fit into the mail box at the post office

What sealed the deal is that we have been alternating which dog we take on our daily three mile walk.  And, this week, Zeus decided that he did not want to wait his turn.

Mrs ERJ authorized me to do something to improve the perimeter fence on Stalag 13.

Roll of welded wire is very artsy looking.  I opted for 2" by 4" welded wire fencing.  It is easy to work with.  It might not be stout enough to stand a ground-level assault by the dogs but it should be plenty to tip the dogs back, over into the kennel.

Side post.  8 foot long, treated 2X4s.  Two "U" bolts attaching it to the existing fence posts.  Hercules is the older German Shepherd and he is watching the proceedings with great interest.

Corner post.  It took  a little bit of chainsaw whittling to get them to snug down.

Another failure mode is Zeus jumping up and opening the latch.  That was fixed with a carabiner.  Long experience taught me the value of tethering the carabiner so we don't lose it.

Zeus is a young dog and a little bit ADHD.  Surely he can jump out over the gate but he would have to give up the delight of barking and jumping at the person coming up the drive (right side of picture).  Seven feet sure looks much taller than four feet!  Is it a fashion faux pas to have dog fencing that mixes diamonds and plaids?

The sharp observer will notice some black "sewer pipe" at the bottom of the post on the right side of the gate.  That sewer pipe was a fix to prevent the Boston Terrier from squeezing through the gap at the bottom.