How to Block Small Dogs from Escaping Through Fence Gaps

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A small dog does not need a broken fence, one low spot beneath an otherwise respectable-looking panel will do.

The first warning is often a nose pressed into the gap. Soon the dog is returning to the same place whenever it goes outside, which rather changes the meaning of “just letting the dog into the yard.”

A brick placed over the opening may buy some time, although it also gives the dog something to investigate. Loose stones tend to spread into the grass, while a piece of wood becomes one more object that has to be moved before mowing. None of these improvised barriers fixes the space beneath the fence.

Metal fence-gap barriers block it without leaving a collection of heavy objects along the fence line. Their narrow bars go into the soil, closing the opening between the bottom of the fence and the ground. The dog can still sniff around the boundary, but the convenient little exit is gone.

The Weak Spot Is Usually at the Edge

The obvious gap is not always the whole gap. Where the ground slopes, a barrier can cover the lowest section perfectly and leave a smaller opening beside it. Unfortunately, the dog is quite capable of continuing the inspection without assistance.

The dog may respond by moving to the end of the new barrier and starting again there. On uneven ground, covering a few extra inches matters more than making the panels form a perfectly tidy line.

The same dog may also treat an open doorway as an invitation. Keeping dogs out of one room without closing the door calls for a different barrier, but it removes the same tiresome job of watching an opening every time the dog is nearby.

Once the weak section is properly covered, going into the yard no longer begins with checking whether the brick has moved or whether the dog is heading straight for its favorite corner. The fence can go back to being a fence.