Birdcag
 

Some of the end unit courtyard villas do not have an easement into the backyard. Another way around a fence is to have a birdcage in the back yard. With a birdcage you do have the option of a solid wall within the birdcage.

The verandas are very nice but typically they are larger houses squeezed onto a small lot. Definitely a shock to your dog who is used to room to roam. Best to look at a corner lot which often has more room. Courtyard villas have a walled yard like the verandas but generally do not take up as much space on the lot leaving more room outside. We have a CV with a nice very large corner lot with room for our 50 lb dog to run. It’s not like the 2 acres we used to have up North but it’s the best you can get in TV.
Because we are on the corner neighbors never need access into our yard. We have one house on the South side only. We need access to their property but as I mentioned our yard is totally private.

The new homes they are building west of the turnpike have “privacy fencing” in the back yard. You really need to contact a village realtor, visit the area, etc to see if the Villages is right for your dog lifestyle. Trust me there are tons of Village Realtors waiting to answer your every question!

Chatham Acres - 5 acre lots suitable for horses
 

Chatham Acres could possibly be good for dogs as well. Go to

55places.com/blog/chatham-acres-in-the-villages-offers-space-for-horses

Same for us in our veranda home. We have no issues with neighbors if access is needed. We had a locked gate for awhile and our neighbor had no problem with that, and in 15 months so far has never needed access. The section of their house wall that’s in our yard is very small.

If you read through the comments you’ll see that the OP has lived in FL for 40 years and is aware of all hazards.

I can tell you after few years for some of us koolaid starts to go stale and you might regret giving up what had? :throwtomatoes:

What predators do you think can take two 85 pound dogs? This isn't Jurassic Park.

Come for a visit and see for yourself.
 

A lot of opinions here that are confusing the issues. Come for a visit, find an agent, look at some properties. Clear up the confusion. Look at courtyard villas and verandas. The Villages almost require 2 agents. An MLS agent and a Village agent.

Rather on social media get in touch with an actual Villages sales associate---ask all your pertinant questions and ask for deed restrictions etc. MUCH better to know ahead of time and save on surprises that can't be fixed to your specifications later. NOT sure where in FL you've been living and not sure if that equates to living here! Homes are close together and IF your pets are left outside and bark, you might have unhappy neighbors. For the most part T.V. is supportive of pets but there are laws in place (dogs need to be under owner's control etc.) Have you visited here, that would be another question??!! So many folks don't do their due-diligence before hand then aren't happy once everything is said and done.

Unless they put up a birdcage (which is a great idea), a courtyard village wouldn't be suitable for them. Because of this:
The OP doesn't mention a budget, so I don't know how useful suggesting Chatham Acres or corner lots would be.

Needing egress to a CYV rarely if ever happens. Read all the posts.

:undecided: And what...... maybe 5 or 6 houses total? :shrug:

We live south of 44 in the new section. The Veranda homes are all fenced backyards and some with views on ponds and lakes. Some lots in Hawkins are 1/3 to 1/2 acre. So large lots are out there but unusual.

I can speak to the predator thing firsthand. We have a 7 lb schnoodle. We also have a patio villa at the end of a deadend street so we have privacy fence along the side of our house/patio and along the back of our house. My husband has constructed a movable gate area on the side and back of our house out of landscaping stones and a decorative wrought iron gates. The dog can see out of the gates, but can't get out. This area gives her plenty of room to run/play and go potty. I let her out on the patio one day and upon turning away from her, heard a "whooshing" sound and turned back to see a huge hawk flying down toward her, talons bared. My dog was cowering and trying to get away. Fortunately, the wing span was so broad on this hawk, that it got hung up between the side of the house and the fence, causing it to correct its flight and fly away. Since then our dog is NEVER outside on our patio alone! One of us is always with her the entire time. We live in the village of Monarch Grove, south of 44, and packs of coyotes are always around, as well as bobcats, raccoons, etc. More than once I've found piles of raccoon poop on our patio in the morning that weren't there the night before. One night we heard a loud "thump" in the middle of the night, only to find that something (or someone) had knocked over one of the stone walls/barricades in our back yard. (These landscape stones are heavy enough that my husband can only carry one at a time, so not easily moved). He figures some animal tried to climb or jump over this wall (4 ft) and pushed off of it, knocking that portion of wall over. Yes, predators will be your biggest worry here! And they're bold enough to come after your pets in broad daylight with you watching!!

I was just poking around on google earth and I was surprised by the number of verandas that have pretty good sized yards. When we were in the market we looked at a few verandas but went with designer due to the closed in feeling of the verandas we looked at. Looking at them from the sky many have larger yards than we do and entirely enclosed. You will probably have a tough time finding one for sale based on the number of them compared to everything else but if you're patient you shouldn't have any trouble.

Wow!!! Let's hope that you are not near me. Uncalled for.

Fenced lots
 

Completely understand, as we had a large yard for our pups up north. What you seek is available, but very limited.
As others have said, there are courtyard villas that give you access to both sides of the home, but there aren’t a lot of them.
There are designer homes in the village of Pine Hills off of Manly Place that have tall, vinyl fences and give you access to all sides.
There are a number of homes in the village of Bradford that have 3 foot fences that are contained within the property boundaries so you don’t share the fence with neighbors.

Also, as others have said, you just need a good Villages rep who knows what is out there and will listen to your needs. Try Erica Chambers. She was awesome for us.

Best of luck with your search!

Come for a lifestyle visit & tell the agent what you need; be sure the agent shows you multiple dog parks.
The dog parks south of CR 44 have 7-8 ft tall fenced sections for large (over 30 lbs.) & small (under 30 lbs) dogs. In the dog parks south of CR 44 you’ll find agility equipment, covered shaded area with benches & free water plus free poop bags so you can…. Only you can decide if your dogs will be happy with the size of open space for running, chasing each other, retrieving balls. Strongly suggest considering a dog park with SHADE. Sun here is always hotter than up north; FL is closer to equator & literally, closer to the sun. We’re from VA & can feel the difference.
Also note which way the sun hits the shaded area. The Dudley Dog park for small dogs faces north & we always have shade, year-round. The Dudley big dog side faces south & gets some shade in the summer. There’s a new dog park near Saw Grass Village that has a covered area with benches but faces east & west. NO SHADE! Can’t imagine how they let that happen.

We have a beloved 15 lb., overweight poodle mix, about 13 yrs old. She doesn’t run or chase or retrieve but is happy laying on the cool cement of the shaded area, looking at other dogs & waiting for treats from the humans. When I take her into our backyard for a quick pee, she’s always on a leash. Alligators roam, sometimes, esp in spring. Also there are ocassional hawks, eagles, coyotes etc. Our house is a Designer model, meaning no fence. Veranda models, which are Designer models with solid fences, and Cottage models, also solid fenced, might be your best options. Best of luck. This is a great place to live, very safe, lots of friendly, active people!

Thanks, everyone, for the responses. We are weighing all our options.

We currently live very rural, with acreage on a river. We've spent almost 25 years sharing our land with a variety of hawks, eagles, owls, the occasional rattler, and the amazingly-rare gator. We have (knock wood) not yet lost a pet to a predator. That said, our land affords abundant critters that are much more desirable to a bird of prey than is a dog within 20 feet of a human. The same probably can't be said for TV.

We also come from a culture of "good fences make good neighbors." Out here, someone traipsing around on private property is likely to be shot, or at least aggressively warned. We very much respect property lines and the kings of the castle, as it were. It would be a large paradigm shift for us to need to afford access to others onto our property. We understand it would be a substantial alteration of mindset for us to relocate so an area like TV, which is drastically different than our current locale. However, we think the amenities that TV affords is unbeatable. Out here, a journey to Publix is a 30-mile round trip; a nice restaurant, or a decent bar, or an afternoon throwing pottery, or an evening book club, is 60 miles around.

Good Luck
 

Good Luck, a situation like you want may not exist. CYVillas are hard to find and most are over $400,00, depending on what you want to spend. In The Villages south, the bonds are quite High.

Most dogs are unhappy campers if they are year around residents. The Florida summers are killers and getting increasingly hotter every year. Most summer residents with dogs bring their dogs inside from about 10 AM until 8 PM, and bring themselves in. Florida works out better for those that can maintain 2 homes.

I wouldn’t want any dog to come face to face with an alligator.

Where ever you live there are predators big enough to snatch a small dog. There are black bears and coyotes practically everywhere. One solution would be to get an animal-"keep away" spray and put it on the base of the wall and perimeter. But, the frequent rains might wash it away. There are also electric fences that "might?" be helpful.
........Note.....The Villages are a VERY PET FRIENDLY community.

Dogs will be happy in MOST any conditions as long as they are well fed and see a Vet. regularly. And they get attention from their humans.

Well......any home with a birdcage large enough for the dogs to roam would do. Right? You don't need a court yard villa for the dogs to roam and be safe in a birdcage.

There are photos of cougars standing on top of fences, ready to pounce. It is scary to say the least, knowing they can pounce on people too, besides pets. I like the enclosed lanai for pets and me too. LOL.

Just get a Veranda without a view. Then it will have a high wall behind it and not a short fence.

I asked such a good, experienced Villages realtor if I could plant a garden in the villages. The reply was "Sure. You own the land."
I walked into a CDD office and asked an officious woman the same question. Her terse reply, "If you get ARC approval."

Also keep in mind you are only allowed to have 2 dogs and certain breeds are prohibited.

No breeds are prohibited, where did you get that idea? Buyers can have more than two dogs, I know someone who bought with 5 Irish Setters!

As the dogs die off TV doesn't want them replaced, which some people do, some don't.

https://www.districtgov.org/images/D...209/S9-178.pdf

2.24 Birds, fish, dogs and cats shall be permitted, with a maximum of two (2) pets per Homesite. No other animals, livestock, or poultry of any kind shall be raised, bred,or kept on any Homesite or on dedicated or reserved areas.

Check your district as there may differences, but this is the rule in most.

I have seen several large yards with trees in the background that use electric fences. I have used the electric fences for a long time and love them, but in Ohio I have a white picket fence around my acre back yard to deter other animals ( 2 and 4 legged ones) getting in.

None of these rules are enforced.

Which breed of dogs are prohibited?

If you read all the replies before picking the best, you'd have noticed that the OP stated that they have lived in FL for many years and are very familiar with the wildlife. So no, not "best reply", just another repeat from non readers.

Read your deed restrictions for full details.

We also had a country house with an acre of 6 foot wood fence for our dogs. We bought a court yard villa and they love it. They are velcro dogs and they use the yard for thier business and chasing bugs and lizards. The wall around us We hear very little noise and they have learned to not react to the other dogs ( I think courtyard villas attract other dog owners which we love) they don't seem to miss the large yard at all and enjoy thier walks meeting everyone and getting new smells. Dogs need walks. We aren't real into dog parks but they are beautiful here and well maintained. I dont understand the question about property lines. It's not like your neighbor is going to come over the fence and put in a tree. .if they do I think you have bigger issues. The homes are very close together here but to us not spending every weekend cutting the grass triming the trees weeding the yard raking the leaves has been heaven.