[GuyWin]

The head of our family here in Boca Raton, Florida is a little ten pound bichon. She can come and go whenever she wants through her doggy door. Our back yard is completely fenced in.

We are building a Designer Home on a golf course lot in TV and will be moving to TV when we retire next year. We would like to install a doggy door that opens to a small closed-in area just outside the Lanai. Is there any way we can do this that would be acceptable to TV?

We have an attractive metal fold-up fence that can be set up in a minute and folded back up just as fast. It's makes about a 4' x 6' rectangle and it's about 30" high. Would that be acceptable? Or what about a small area boxed in by hedges? Maybe with a thin wire mesh lining the inside? How strict are they?

Any thought, comments, or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by GuyWin

The head of our family here in Boca Raton, Florida is a little ten pound bichon. She can come and go whenever she wants through her doggy door. Our back yard is completely fenced in.

We are building a Designer Home on a golf course lot in TV and will be moving to TV when we retire next year. We would like to install a doggy door that opens to a small closed-in area just outside the Lanai. Is there any way we can do this that would be acceptable to TV?

We have an attractive metal fold-up fence that can be set up in a minute and folded back up just as fast. It's makes about a 4' x 6' rectangle and it's about 30" high. Would that be acceptable? Or what about a small area boxed in by hedges? Maybe with a thin wire mesh lining the inside? How strict are they?

Any thought, comments, or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

The Villages "RULE" is ... no fences! Other than Courtyard Villas. This is NOT negotiable.

You also have the option of using invisible fencing around the outside of your lot .. a very popular option of Villagers with view lots.

In actual fact .. as long as your neighbours don't rat you out .. you can be creative with a little hedging/fencing option.

Just observe the Villages rule ..... shhhhhhhhh .... don't draw attention to your situation. Don't ask .. don't tell.

[redwitch]

If you're close enough to the golf course to be pretty visible, forget about hedges, portable fences, etc. You can pretty much guaranty that someone will report you. Your best bet would be the invisible fence.

Another option might be to convert a small corner of your lanai into a doggy toilet area (it helps if you have a very large bird cage for this).

What most have done is retrain their dogs and themselves. Dogs go out at regular times on a lead. You put in a staked lead outdoors to pop the pooch onto so it can get some sun and you don't always have to walk it. You use a doggy door with an invisible fence.

While it seems like a major concern now, I think you'll find that it will quickly become a minor inconvenience (if even that) once you're here permanently. Most have quickly found a very workable solution after moving here.

[coffeebean]

Japanese yew (Taxus Cuspidata) becomes VERY thick hedge material if trimmed frequently enough. Noone will be the wiser if you line the inside of your hedge (facing your home) with chicken wire. The chicken wire will be invisble as it will be totally encompassed by the hedge. No worries.

[Allen]

With all due respect to anyone offering advice to the contrary... I would like to suggest that your best bet is to just follow the rules. That way you won't have any "issues" with your neighbors, or anyone else.

[zcaveman]

I have seen birdcages with grass and a doggy door. I have also seen lanais with a small birdcage with grass off to the side with a doggy door.

[The Great Fumar]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

The Villages "RULE" is ... no fences! Other than Courtyard Villas. This is NOT negotiable.

You also have the option of using invisible fencing around the outside of your lot .. a very popular option of Villagers with view lots.

In actual fact .. as long as your neighbours don't rat you out .. you can be creative with a little hedging/fencing option.

Just observe the Villages rule ..... shhhhhhhhh .... don't draw attention to your situation. Don't ask .. don't tell.

If you do , a village employee will show up at you door and notify you in writing that you have sixty days to remove said enclosure, If you do not comply then a couple of maint. types will show up with a deputy and remove it for you and the bill will be added to your property taxes.....
Supposedly this happened to a couple in the Village of Piedmont who had a 1/2 bathtub buried near their shrubs with a bust of Junior Sample in it ...They were turned in by 17466 villagers ......give or take a few !!!

THE WALLS HAVE EARS..... BUY BONDS........

[Boomer]

Please forgive me.

But I really cannot help it. And I kept waiting for somebody else to say this. But nobody did. And now, if I do not, I will surely pop.

You see, sometimes when I see thread titles I get a picture in my mind before I know what the thread is about. And sometimes the picture is just silly. And that's what happened when I saw this one titled, "Is there any way we can use a doggy door?" ..............

Well, maybe, as long as you don't get stuck.

Boomer

[SABRMnLgs]

................... as long as you do everythng their way ??????

[Pturner]

Originally Posted by SABRMnLgs

Doncha just luv the Friendliest home town................... as long as you do everythng their way ??????

Yes, I do. I love it very much.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by zcaveman

I have also seen lanais with a small birdcage with grass off to the side with a doggy door.

We actually considered adding a doggy birdcage when we moved from a CYV to a house. But we were told by Whites Aluminum that this is not allowed in TV .. that any birdcages they build must have a fully cemented floor to be approved.

We didn't feel comfortable with the hedge/hidden fence option. So we opted for the invisible fencing. It is working quite well. I tested the dog collars on my arm before we purchased the system. When the dog collars are turned to a low setting, it is more of a tingle than a shock. And they get a warning beep from the fence before they get a correction. They quickly learn to avoid the beep.

Fumar, never mind.

[Pturner]

Originally Posted by The Great Fumar

If you do , a village employee will show up at you door and notify you in writing that you have sixty days to remove said enclosure, If you do not comply then a couple of maint. types will show up with a deputy and remove it for you and the bill will be added to your property taxes.....
Supposedly this happened to a couple in the Village of Piedmont who had a 1/2 bathtub buried near their shrubs with a bust of Junior Sample in it ...They were turned in by 17466 villagers ......give or take a few !!!

THE WALLS HAVE EARS..... BUY BONDS........

I heard that a TV couple using Cialis also has a bathtub in their back yard.

[GuyWin]

Thank you all for your great suggestions and comments (especially Boomer's about getting stuck in the doggy door).

We especially like the invisible fence idea. But our biggest concern is whether our little roadrunner can be stopped in time. She goes from zero to 60 mph in under three seconds without a thought of where she's going. We're also worried that, even though she's the cutest little thing you'll ever meet, she's not the brightest. Will she be smart enough to figure out what's happening? She may just conclude that that's what it feels like when she's breaking the sound barrier.

Will an invisible fence really work for a little speedster who loves to run at full speed without a thought in her head? Would love to hear opinions from folks who have actually used the invisible fence.

[Halle]

We had Invisible Fencing installed at our home in The Villages and we love it. The installer/trainer came to our home and taught us how to train the girls and it was amazing how fast they learned where their boundries were. They are both very fast and we did have a couple of incidents where they went through the fence, but this was our fault because they were at the stage of training where we should have been using the extended leashes. They were doing so well we were over confident, we were right there with them and we thought it would be ok to have them in the yard without the leash, but when they can go from 0-60 in seconds we had no chance of stopping them. They mind very well an came back as soon as we called them but it was still a wakeup call for us to follow the training schedule. Fred the regional manager for Invisible Fencing did the installation and training. He informed us that he has never had a dog that could not be trained, just owners. We learned about Invisible Fencing from our neighbors who have it and it has worked great for them too. If you would like more information I would suggest you call Fred at Invisible Fencing 352-351-1055.