My property is quite a bit smaller than yours, but I live on 10 acres of rural land in the middle of umpteen acres of forested land. Fortunately we're miles from any sort of busy road, but... that doesn't always guarantee safety for free-roaming pups.
We have a secure 4' high welded wire fence in a small area adjacent to the house which they have dawn to bedtime access to via dog door, and about 4 - 5 acres of our property fenced with plastic mesh deer fencing that the dogs are allowed to roam on when we're out in the 'yard' area with them.
My personal experience is that the dogs have pretty much no interest in roaming around out & about on the property without us. If they want to be outside (unsupervised) even if the gate up close to the house is wide open, all the dogs either hang out in the house with us or on the deck. They wait for us to join them in their wandering pursuits. We do take local walks with the dogs on a daily basis (generally 1 - 3+ miles) and at least weekly take individual dogs on special outings. This seems to satisfy their urge to explore.
I guess my question to you would be: "Why do you want your dogs to spend more time outside 'unsupervised'? and what do you think they will gain from the experience?"
We have a secure 4' high welded wire fence in a small area adjacent to the house which they have dawn to bedtime access to via dog door, and about 4 - 5 acres of our property fenced with plastic mesh deer fencing that the dogs are allowed to roam on when we're out in the 'yard' area with them.
My personal experience is that the dogs have pretty much no interest in roaming around out & about on the property without us. If they want to be outside (unsupervised) even if the gate up close to the house is wide open, all the dogs either hang out in the house with us or on the deck. They wait for us to join them in their wandering pursuits. We do take local walks with the dogs on a daily basis (generally 1 - 3+ miles) and at least weekly take individual dogs on special outings. This seems to satisfy their urge to explore.
I guess my question to you would be: "Why do you want your dogs to spend more time outside 'unsupervised'? and what do you think they will gain from the experience?"
