Walk the Boundary at Dorper Height
Checking fencing for a Dorper sheep means inspecting it from the height and angle the sheep herself uses, which is mostly knee-high and lower. Dorpers are strong, agile hair sheep with a talent for pushing under and through rather than jumping over, so crouch at intervals and look along the base line for the signatures of escape work: soil scoured out under the bottom wire, wool caught on netting where a head has been forcing through, and a shiny rub line where bodies press the same weak stretch daily. Work the whole perimeter in one direction so nothing is half-checked, and carry wire, pliers, and staples with you, because a fault noted for later is a fault a Dorper will find tonight.
The Base Line Fails First, So Fix It First
Most Dorper escapes start at ground level, where netting meets earth and both are moving targets. Check that the bottom of the mesh sits tight to the ground along its full length, following dips and hollows rather than bridging them, since a hollow under a straight fence is a doorway to a sheep. Look where water runs: gateways, ditch crossings, and the low corner where rain scours a channel under the wire are the classic exits, and they need mesh buried, pinned, or weighted rather than merely watched. Re-tension stretches where the netting bellies outward under hand pressure, because a Dorper leans her considerable weight into a slack fence and walks the gap open a little wider every day.
Posts, Rails, and Corners Under Load
A determined Dorper tests a fence with her body, so push-test every post as you pass it and treat any that move as already failed, whatever the wire looks like. Corners carry the strain of both runs, so give them the longest look: struts sound, wires anchored, no gap opened where two fences meet at slightly different heights. Where rails replace mesh, check the spacing against a lamb as well as a ewe, since this year's lambs will find the one gap the adults ignore, and check boards for bowing at sheep-shoulder height. Hedges deserve suspicion too, because a hedge that looks solid from the track may be a tunnelled sieve at sheep level by late summer.
Gates: Daylight Underneath, Latches Above Suspicion
Gates are where careful fencing goes to be undone, so check each one closed, from the field side, exactly as a Dorper meets it. Daylight under a gate is an invitation: if the gap at the bottom would pass a lamb's head, it will pass a lamb, and an adult will work at the same spot. Check the swing and the ground beneath, because a gate that has dropped on its hinges often rides over a hump in the middle and gaps at both ends. Latches should need a deliberate lift-and-pull rather than a nose-push; chain-and-clip arrangements defeat the sheep who has learned to work a simple latch, and a gate tied with twine is not a gate but a rumour of one.
Watch Behaviour, Then Verify After Weather
The flock itself will tell you where to look next, so finish the check by watching where Dorpers gather, graze tight against a boundary, or stand looking through the wire at better grass, because sustained interest marks tomorrow's escape route. Re-walk the boundary after heavy rain and after any storm, since water and fallen branches undo more fencing in a night than sheep do in a month. Record what you repaired and where, so repeat faults reveal the stretch that needs rebuilding rather than patching. If a sheep still beats the fence, KinsLe's Lost Pet Alert System sends a free alert to nearby members, and a finder can message you directly about your Dorper.