DIY Dog wire run.

Submitted by UtetopiaSS t3_zzb5dt in DIY

So I want to make a dog wire run. OK, thats the easy part. Wire, a couple of eye screws, and a spring to keep it tensioned. Thats not my DIY Question. What I want to do is a little harder to find and research, because any time I do a search for what I want, it just sends me to making a "normal" dog wire run (or shopping for enclosed mesh dog runs), or the bits I think i need come up with some entirely different...

Like i say, a wire dog run that goes from A - B is easy. I want a run that goes from A - B - C (tree - tree - house, for example)

I need a way to support a wire, and a connection, that allows a clip (like a caribiner clip) to "jump" from one wire to the next as the dog runs along it.

The only think i can really think of is joining the wire, and at the join, loosely encasing it in a steel tube with a slit in it, so that the wire can't pop out, and taper the ends of the slit (to draw in attached dog clip), so the attached clip or loop can slide through, and this outer casing is whats attached to point "B".

Any other thoughts?

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Guygan t1_j2alj01 wrote

I don’t think what you want to do is possible.

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jasmith-tech t1_j2ana0w wrote

You would need some sort of captured track. Rather than a loop running around a wire, the “running” part would be a carrier traveling through a track so that you could support it without interference and make the bend/turns you want.

Traveler tracks are the basic idea, but much more substantial than needed and overkill for a dog run, but the idea remains the same.

Unless there’s some kind of gated, spring loaded toggling bracket I’ve never seen.. I suppose you could fabricate your own fairly easily with some trial and error.

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UtetopiaSS OP t1_j2aqbap wrote

The traveler track is sort of the idea I had in mind for encasing the join. Perhaps a crimped wire loop would serve as how the dog chain was attached to the run, and it pulls inside the track as the dog goes past it. I'd only use that on the section of run where it needs to be supported at Point B, and where there's a directional change.

I've also thought of a gated, spring loaded toggling bracket, but it needs to be spring loaded BOTH ways, because the dog would go back and forth. I'd envision it as V-shaped, so as when the dog went past, it would flick down, and the V would ensnare the wire back into it. The base of the V, or where the hinge is, would be the part thats supported.

I actually did also think of running the wire around the back of the tree, sitting inside a C-shaped steel tubing. That tubing is fixed to the tree, allowing the dog to run around the back of the tree at Point B, but my dog's an idiot and wouldn't go the way i planned.

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MafiosoStyle t1_j2ao32j wrote

AFAIK there’s not a way to do what you’re describing only with cable. I like your idea but it would require tight tolerance to function without issue.

Not exactly a DIY, but depending on the size of dog, a retractable cable could be a good alternative.

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UtetopiaSS OP t1_j2b1dc6 wrote

You can also get poles that secure into the ground an have a lead off that... but I'm looking at 30m - 50m worth of run distance. We're on 6.5 acres, with a mesh perimeter, but no partitioned yard. He has virtually zero recall (although in training), so if he's 150m away, or heavily distracted by rabbits or trails, he's not coming back. Hence the long run.

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Kesshh t1_j2asp5y wrote

What you need is a fixed track with a wheeled running on the track and the leash connected to the runner. Think barn door. So depending on how long a track you want to run, it can get expensive.

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UtetopiaSS OP t1_j2b1p6h wrote

I wanted about 30m - 50m worth of run distance. And by doing it point - point - point, like 2 sides of a triangle, it'll give him a nice overlapping area

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jjammeh t1_j2b1ddz wrote

Do you want something along the lines of a curtain track, but rated for how hard your dog will pull…?

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cashew996 t1_j2buapz wrote

It could be done and I kinda have a picture in my head of how, just not the right terms

It would have to be the same type of fittings as a ski-lift chair would use, since they successfully jump(?) across the supports for the cable, perhaps adapted from zip line fittings?

ETA: Or something along the line of how roller coaster cars are attached to the pipes they run on.

Probably not a cheap set up

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03223 t1_j2bvmcz wrote

I think you either need a slotted pipe, with a carriage that rides inside; or a pipe with brackets to mount it and a ring that goes more that 1/2 way around it. I can't see a realistic way to implement it. Your other option is an electric dog fence. These are popular for a reason. You pick any area, bury the wire, and the dog (once trained, stays in.

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TownAfterTown t1_j2c567r wrote

Treetop trekking places do this. Forget what they're called but the safety line clips into a sort of box with angled wheels that rides along the cable. The wheels are close enough so the cable doesn't slip through, but there is a gap at the top between the pairs of wheels so the brackets holding the cable can pass through. That's maybe a poor description, but it's like a U-shaped bracket with wheels at 45 degree angles at the top of rack side of the U.

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