We had the same rusty wire situation, and honestly, I kinda liked the rustic vibe too. But after snagging my favorite sweater on it (twice...), we switched to coated wire. Definitely easier on clothes—and fingers. Still miss that accidental "vintage" charm though.
"Definitely easier on clothes—and fingers. Still miss that accidental 'vintage' charm though."
Yeah, same here. I held out with the rusty wire for ages—mostly because replacing it felt like another unnecessary expense—but after the third bandaid-worthy scrape, coated wire won me over. Practicality beats charm sometimes...
"Practicality beats charm sometimes..."
Haha, learned that lesson the hard way myself. Here's my foolproof guide to garden dog-proofing:
Step 1: Convince yourself rusty wire adds "character."
Step 2: Realize your jeans now have more holes than fabric.
Step 3: Admit defeat after your third tetanus scare.
Step 4: Begrudgingly buy coated wire and wonder why you didn't sooner.
Bonus step: Watch dog immediately find new loophole in fence... repeat steps as necessary.
Haha, your tetanus scare hits close to home—I’ve been there. My "quick fix" involved chicken wire, zip ties, and misplaced optimism. Worked great...until my lab discovered he could just dig underneath. Finally bit the bullet and buried some garden edging a foot deep. Not exactly charming, but hey, practicality wins when your tomatoes survive.
I get the practicality angle, but honestly, burying edging a foot deep sounds like way more work than necessary. I've flipped a few houses with gardens and dealt with my fair share of determined dogs. Instead of going deeper, I usually go smarter—dogs hate stepping on anything uncomfortable. A layer of pine cones or even some rough mulch around the perimeter usually does the trick. My neighbor swears by citrus peels scattered around, says her retriever won't even come near them.
Not saying your method doesn't work, but sometimes simpler solutions save you from breaking your back digging trenches. Plus, garden edging can be pricey if you're doing a larger area. Just something to consider next time your lab decides to test your defenses...
