A dog that patrols and tests is doing the audit for you all winter, pressing, digging and watching. Spring is when you catch up with its findings. Treat the check as one slow walk of the entire line with gloves, a screwdriver for probing suspect wood, and a notebook, then fix what you find before the garden becomes the dog's unsupervised territory for the season.
Posts, Boards and the Rot Test
Start with structure. Grip each post at the top and push firmly: movement at ground level means the post or its footing has softened, and a determined dog will find that give before you do. Probe the base of posts and the lower edges of boards with the screwdriver, because rot begins where wood meets wet soil and hides under sound-looking paint. Check gravel boards and kick boards along the bottom, the line taking splash, frost and the dog's paws. Tighten or replace loose boards and fixings, since a panel that flexes invites pulling, and a gap that shows daylight at dog height is already a project the dog has noticed. On wire or mesh fencing, look for rusted breaks, lifted bottom edges and corners worked loose, and re-tension runs that sag enough to push under.
The Base Line: Digging and Gaps
Now walk again at ground level, reading the fence the way the dog does. Fresh soil, scratched earth or a shallow scoop at the base is digging evidence even when no hole exists yet, and it marks where to bury mesh, lay edging or sink boards before the attempt succeeds. Clear piled leaves and soil that have raised the ground against the fence over winter, quietly lowering its effective height. At gates, crouch and measure the gap beneath: a gap a dog can work a muzzle and then shoulders into needs a threshold strip or a lowered gate. Check the ground under the gate swing too, because frost heave can lift a slab into a ramp or drop it into a channel. Inside the garden, give the digging drive a legal outlet, a defined digging spot encouraged and praised, so the boundary stops being the only interesting place to excavate.
Gates, Latches and Storm Damage
Work every latch by hand, several times, including with the gate pulled as a dog jumping up would pull it. A latch that needs lifting, jiggling or faith is a latch that will one day sit open; replace or adjust it so it closes positively with an audible click, and consider a self-closing hinge on the gate used several times a day. Then read the whole line for winter weather: wind-loosened panels, cracked boards, a tree limb resting on the fence, tiles or debris leaning where they fell. Storm and wind damage often shows as small shifts rather than obvious breaks, a panel bowed a few centimetres, a post leaning just enough to open a corner gap. Finally, scan both sides for launch aids: vegetation grown into a climbable staircase, compost bins, log stores, planters and children's play equipment parked against the fence. A boundary-testing dog does not need to clear the full height from flat ground, only from whatever the household has stacked beside it, so move the aids or move the dog's access to them.
Fixes and the Recheck Rhythm
Record each finding with its fix, and finish structural repairs before relying on the fence again; a dog supervised on a long line for one more week is a small price beside a dog rehearsing a successful escape. The spring audit is the deep pass, not the only one. Keep the season's recheck rhythm quick: walk the line briefly once a month until autumn, looking only at latches, the base line and any new digging, plus an extra check after storms or garden work. Households stay consistent when those findings live where everyone can see them: Family Sharing in KinsLe puts the audit notes beside the dog's profile, so the person who spotted the loose board and the person who lets the dog out at dusk work from one picture.