• Basenjis are known for their Houdini-like escapes but I haven't had a problem with escapees in many years, until this summer that is. Twelve year old Logan decided that it was too hot outside and he wanted back inside in the air conditioning so he stared going over the fence in an attempt to find a new way back inside. I had to find a way to thwart this behavior asap.

    My porch is about 2 foot up from the ground and has a "fence" of vertical slats that are 3 foot tall. Logan was climbing the corner next to the gate and flopping over. I explored numerous options and I decided that a fence roller was the best deterrent. Professional fence rollers were too expensive so I designed my own D.I.Y. version. I designed, measured, and built the fence roller in just a few hours. It was very easy to do and the total cost was around $50. It can be modified to work with almost any kind of fence.

    I decided to make a double roller rather than a single to make sure it would be escape proof. I used metel electric conduit for the inner bar and pvc pipe for the outer roller. When the dog tries to go over the fence the roller spins and the dog is unable to go over it.

    Close up view

    Side view

    The gate area proved to be a bit tricky

    Closeup of gate area

    I hope this idea helps others who have escape artists. 🙂


  • What a great idea.
    Thanks for sharing.


  • Thank you for Sharing this Robyn. This is similar to what I have done on the back fence at my place. I think these are great for people who have lower fences. And your pictures make it very easy to see what to do. In fact I may have to redo my rollers, as yours seem like a more sturdy solution than what my mind came up with. 🙂


  • Thanks for sharing. Looks nice too!

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