yard advice????

My brother is moving his dog this weekend and does anybody have any suggestions on a good set up? Chain length? Chain wieght?

 

Get a car axle,and drive it into the ground with an O ring around the axle.Get a transport chain (length would depend on trees,fences tec. distance from the axle) I would want at least 8 foot,most of mine are on 12 footers.Get a good swivel from the hardware store and attach to the collar.As far as collars go,I use the two inch seatbelt collars from Stillwater.

 

Some people either bury the car axle entirely, or leave the top about 6 inches from ground level. If you do not completely bury the the axle, attach a good bullet style swivel (they are weight rated) between the o-ring coming from the axle and between the chain. Also put a swivel between the chain and the o-ring your dogs collar will go through. So one 2" o-ring for the axle,a D connector that can be securely screwed shut, a good swivel, another D connector, your chain, another D connector, and finally the o-ring to run your dogs collar through. Most farm supplies only carry the 2" o-rings, but you can sometimes find them closer to 3". The only difference is the 3" o-ring makes it easier to slip the collar through it.
Chain weight really depends on how big the dog is, and how hard he works the chain. Smaller than 40#'s 5/16 weight chain works. bigger dogs, go with the 3/8 chain. Make sure your connectors are the same size as the chain, or they may not fit in the links! Total, around $40.00 per set up (depending on length of chain.) Like gh32 stated, chain should be at least 8'. if calculating spaces, dont forget to include length of connectors, swivels, and o-rings...
2 o-rings
1 or 2 swivels
D connectors for swivels (between 1 and 3) depending on how you set up axle
5/16 or 3/8 chain
2" collar is great, I would suggest using nylon. Leather collars stretch when they get wet.

 

Thanks that's great

 

I got my chain set up from stillwater ! it has a o ring
Swivel chain swivel o ring ! Chain is ten feet...
Its a great set up with the two inch collar he sells !

Nmdogs

 

You could actually get most of what you need from Walmart believe it or not.
The pet section has yellow stakes with a chain attached to it for like 8 bucks. these stakes you have to pound into the ground there about 2 1/2 -3 feet long and they are easier to find than axles. They need to be pounded into the ground with just the chain exposed.
Then go into the hardware section and buy a ten foot chain that comes in a sealed plastic packaging. Now you can go to Lowe's or Home depot and get a large ring, and large swivel, there are three sizes of swivels you need to get the largest one, and three chain links the kind you have to hammer closed. you could also get any length and gauge of chain there also. But the Walmart chain works as good.
Connect the stake with the chain onto your ten foot chain with one of the links then connect the other end to your swivel with another link, lastly use the final link to connect your large ring to the swivel. Now run the ring trough your collar and there ya go.
Get a good sturdy collar not the cheap adjustable one's.
This set up is plenty strong and many of our dogs are set up like this.

 

this will help you out a bit at least on how to connect everything. if you use an axle you want to ask for a Axle Shaft from a junkyard and will run you $10-15. it may be a little rusty when you get it but that's fine. just sand as much of the rust off as you can and what i do after i sand it off and clean it a bit is i spray paint the axle with rust-oleum. the video should help you out on setting it all up. he uses a earth anchor which is an alternative to an axle, but an axle is the overall best way to go for security and ease of mind. just use common sense as this guy in the video does on the chain sizes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6InnUlGPp4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEwIfXDYPrI&feature=related

 

I would never recommend Wal Mart for anything,that I really cared if failed or not.I get my car axles for $5 each,they're as easy to find as any rear wheel drive junk car rearend in the scrap yard.That's as cheap or cheaper than anything Wal mart sells and 100 times better. I also wouldn't recommend the cheap chains in the sealed plastic bags,at least not the ones I've seen.It's easy enough to just go to the hardware store and have a length of transport chain cut to the length you want.Those chains in the plastic bags claiming to be strong enough for a 110 pound dog are terrible.I've seen 35 pound dogs bust the cheap Wal Mart chains.They look like kiddie swingset chains is what they look like. I'd hate to have a $1000 dog and lose it because I wanted to save $15 on my chain setup.

 

Thats not the kind if chain I'm talkin about They are REAL CHAINS Not the swing set kind! Also The stakes WORK GOOD! I don't think you know what your talkin about!

 

no he does know what your talking about and i have used that Walmart in the ground stake for a temporary system on a puppy and the he broke the the attachment that was connected to the stake. its not safe man and if your dog is a adult you are looking at failure. your dog might get off and cause trouble for you and your family. this is a place to learn things and the hard thing to do is relearn what you thought you already knew. Its walmart not BULLMART. the stuff they sell arent meant for our dogs or any bull breed of dogs. heed the warning and re-learn for you own good and for your dogs sake before they put him down for getting out of your yard.

 

if you insist on not using a Axle the next best thing is not anything you want to buy in a pet store or walmart. it would be a EARTH ANCHOR. like the video i posted. i dont like the lenght and think a longer one would be better for a 50-60 lb dog. they come in all sizes but the one the guy uses in the video is for a 30-35 lb dog so its understandable he went with the little one. A Earth anchor like that is the only next best thing to a axle. you can even put the earth anchor in cement to really secure it. i think its just easier to use an axle because all you need to do is pound it in the ground with a 15lb sledge hammer and it goes in alot easier..

 

DON'T USE ANYTHING FROM WALMART!!! Just sayin, not exactly quality

 

Yeah,I do know what I'm talking about,not sure you do though. It's the POS chains that come ready made in the bag for someone to stake their ankle biter on during a potty break.I got one in a pinch once when I had a dog that needed tied and was short on chains and nowhere was open.It was busted.Would you like to know what busted it,it was a 36 pound female Border Collie/Blue Heeler mix I use I a cattle dog.Hardly a bulldog.LOL.Anyone that insists on using Wal Mart hardware for these dogs,or any dog really, don't know their butt from a hole in the ground about containing a dog.So save your exclamation points,they don't impress me.If you want to lose your dog to Wal Mart crap then do so,but try and refrain from recommending it to others.

 

That's what I was trying to say.

 

Ok alright my bad, Must be it's our bulldogs aren't as strong as yours. Those Wallyworld stakes would only work for our stuff me thinks.

Look no explanation points.

Did I mention that you could get any length and gauge of chain at Lowes? Oh wait, me thinks me did.
Anyways we only have those little dogs that are kind of on the skinny weak side, so we can get away with using less costly type metals and fasteners with them.

 

Tractor trailer supply has everything you need except good swivels cheaper than Lowes or home depo (get the swivels at Lowes or home depo) about 35-40$ full setup.

 

Jockamoe,this is from your post,I believe you said Wal Mart chains are just as good,your words not mine.They're not.It's not about how big your dogs are,I wouldn't put a Boston Terrier on a Wal Mart chain.I told you a stock dog mix broke the POS chain.You can use your discount chains if you please,but your giving some bad advice to someone needing good advice.With that said,the good advice has already been given.Thread Closed.

 

Someone asked about D connectors. Heres a link that has a good picture of them. i wouldnt recommend using bronze, stay with stainless. Make sure the connector is the same size as your chain! It looks like the link thats posted may only sell in bulk, so check local hardware store.

http://catalog.kmsinc.net/viewitems/quick-links/style-7350?