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Best spacing for 3 wire fence with dog and sheep
Author: scorpleather 
Date:   01-14-08 16:02

I will make a 3 wire fence with Intellibraid6 to keep the Dorset sheep in the grazing area and also to keep the Border Collie on the other side so it doesn't play with the sheep. Because of cost and complexity I don't want to use more than 3 wires. I plan to make the bottom wire a "hot neutral" and also electrically connected to a chain link fence post, because the weather is very dry here in the summer.

I am not sure how tall I should make the bottom wire, and the spacing for all of them. If I make the first hot wire too high, the dog can possibly step over the neutral and not get a shock from the first hot wire. How tall should the top wire be to make it effective for the sheep? I understand that the dog can easily jump over, but I would like to count on the training to respect the fence after a few encounters. Would that work with 3 wire?
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Re: Best spacing for 3 wire fence with dog and sheep
Author: gordon 
Date:   01-14-08 17:40

It would be best if you give me a call 1-800-282-6631 ext 33. There are
several things that we need to talk about in order to make this fence work
the way you wish.
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Re: Best spacing for 3 wire fence with dog and sheep
Author: scorpleather 
Date:   01-15-08 02:36

I called but it was after hours.

I decided not to connect neutral to the fence, to be safe I'll use a separate ground rod.

Now, I am thinking of running the neutral rope as the middle rope of the 3. I've come across examples using various locations for the neutral but without explanation why.

Keeping the sheep in the area is the primary goal, and it is ok if the dog gets in on rare occasion (because it is in the kennel area when we're not home). But it is a nice plus if this 3 wire system will keep the dog out most the time.

The purpose is for grazing - to keep the sheep eating the right area. We also have a Maremma guard dog for predator control that stays on the sheep side.
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Re: Best spacing for 3 wire fence with dog and sheep
Author: gordon 
Date:   01-15-08 11:49

I need to know what state you live in . Does your soil get dry and do you
have a lot of snow in the winter. Is this fence the only barier for the sheep.
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Re: Best spacing for 3 wire fence with dog and sheep
Author: scorpleather 
Date:   01-15-08 12:55

I'm in Southern California, and it gets dry in the summer. The soil is hard packed clay and during the hot months sometimes it is so dry the clay soil forms cracks. We don't get any snow, just rain in the winter.
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Re: Best spacing for 3 wire fence with dog and sheep
Author: scorpleather 
Date:   01-15-08 12:58

Also, forgot to mention, this fence is the only barrier to the sheep. Right now they have been trained on electrostop netting and they learned to stay away. These are just a couple "show sheep" with no lambs in the future.
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Re: Best spacing for 3 wire fence with dog and sheep
Author: scorpleather 
Date:   01-16-08 04:44

Gordon thanks for the tips on the phone. I decided to go with 5 or 6 wire and I ordered some EnduraSoft. One of my other concerns I forgot to mention was that with more wires, I need more gate handles, and takes more time to open the gate. We need to pass through the gate frequently. I decided to just use a wooden gate for this small opening, so I could use more wires and it will still open conveniently.
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