There are a massive amount of methods that dog and puppy owners use when building a fence to border their garden. Some owners choose to use chain link fences, portable vinyl or composite designs are also becoming more popular. However, a very common method that is used to keep a dog or pet in the garden is the popular dog ear fence. Although the aforementioned designs have a similar finish the dog ear fence design is named this because the individual panels or pickets resemble a dog's ear.

All fences come in a variety of designs - probably the most easy designs are the fences that slot together nice and tight due to the angle of the way the slats are horizontally cut. Obviously this will add to the privacy of your garden but may not have the aesthetic appeal of the fence design shown in the picture above where a space is left between each wooden slat. It actually does'nt matter which design you go for but remember the 'dog ear' design only refers to the top of the slats where the corners are cut off to resemble half of a hexagon.

One thing that you should always consider when building is that you should treat the wood. If you don't treat the wood then there is a strong possibility that Termites might start to burrow into the wood. It is possible to purchase pre-treated fence panels. Another top tip is to make sure that the panels are not touching the ground as this will stop the Termites from tunneling. Staining and treating the fence panels is also a good way to slow down the wind and rain decaying process that can slowly destroy and rot the wood panels.

If you are keen to keep your fence panels from decaying and rotting completely then you should consider purchasing vinyl fence panels or other composite materials. They are not quite as strong and sturdy as wood and don't have the same character but they last a long time.

1. Building this type of fence has never been easier. You should start by soaking the bottom third of the fence panels in preservative, stain or whatever is recommended to preserve the wood. You should ten wait at least twelve hours before you start to construct the fence.

2. Now it's time to decide exactly where you want to have your fence border. This is very important as getting it wrong and increasing your border will not only upset your neighbor but will result in you having to take the fence down. Mark your border with some paint spray which you can purchase from most garden stores (it is not normal spray more of a chalk that is easily remove).

3. If you want to have the fence panels off the ground then you will need to have two posts separated by a few metres buried one foot in the ground. In between the two buried posts you should attach two horizontal posts that you will then attach the fence panels to.

4. If you want to bury the fence panels in the ground then dig a hole that is deep enough to cover the panels up to where the treatment that you undertook the previous night ends.

5. Some people choose to use cement to fix the panels in to the ground but it is actually not necessary as this type of fence are not prone to movement. You should then fix the panels using screws and possibly brace the panels for a few days.