Detail Work in the Dog Yard

They say the "Devil lives in the details", but so far I'm not suffered any demonic harm (touch wood). I got all the fencing back up, including the new sections to accommodate the expansion. With the dozer tracks all over, the yard looked a bit rough so I thought I'd try a little experiment.

I mounted the snow blade onto my little garden tractor to try to do some surface grading. To my surprise and delight, it worked very well. I buried all the edges of the fencing to prevent dogs from ducking under, and then went to work on gates.

The gates in my yard are just wire fencing stretched into a PVC pipe frame. They are very light weight and mounted to hooks and rings rather than hinges so they are easily lifted out of the way and the height adjusted depending upon snow depth. With the expansion of the yard I took the opportunity to replace one of the old gates, which I had boogered up when I originally built it.

I then let dogs loose off their chains to run out into the yard and test the new work. Even my most dedicated escape artists were well contained and loved running around free for a while. Here are photos of the finished yard:



The last little detail was to mount my Mush with P.R.I.D.E. Kennel Certification sign on the main gate. I put in a lot of effort to manage my kennel in a way that meets or exceeds the P.R.I.D.E.'s sled dog care guidelines and am very proud to be a member and to have earned our certification.

Today I'll spread the grass seed and water it down well. If enough of the seed germinates and grows it will help control erosion.

So, the primary project for this R&R is very nearly completed, with a couple of days to spare. I have just a few small chores to finish up and I can call it time well spent.

Swanny