Wrought fence addition to prevent dogs from digging under a modified fence

Abstract

An addition for a wrought iron fence to discourage dogs from digging under the resulting modified fence. The addition has a horizontal support bar affixed to the fence near the bottom of the fence. Guide tubes are vertically held to the horizontal support bar, close enough to prevent the passage of a dog between adjacent guide tubes. A spike is inserted into each of the guide tubes and driven into the ground to provide an underground barrier. The present invention is also for the process of using the addition, including the steps of attaching the horizontal support bar to the fence. Next, a spike is inserted through each of the guide tubes. Lastly, the spikes are driven into the ground to form the underground barrier. An O-ring may be placed over the spikes above the guide tubes to limit the downward movement of the spikes for use, for instance, in a gate. Also, an O-ring may be placed over the spike below the guide tube to prevent the lifting of a spike by a dog.

I claim:  
     
         1 . An addition to a fence to discourage dogs from digging under the resulting modified fence, said fence being supported over the surface of ground and said fence having a bottom edge, said modified fence comprising: 
 a horizontal support bar affixed to said wrought iron fence near the bottom edge thereof;    a plurality of guide tubes affixed to said horizontal support bar, said guide tubes being vertically oriented; and    a plurality of spikes, one spike passing through each guide tube, each of said spikes having a lower point driven below a ground surface.    
     
     
         2 . The addition for a fence of  claim 1  wherein said horizontal support bar is held to the lower rail of said fence by a plurality of hooks and by the contact of the plurality of spikes driven into and supported by the ground and by contacting the guide tubes.  
     
     
         3 . The addition for a fence of  claim 2  wherein spikes of different length are used along said horizontal support bar.  
     
     
         4 . The addition for a fence of  claim 1  wherein said guide tubes have a square cross-sectional shape and said spikes have a round cross-sectional shape.  
     
     
         5 . A process for discouraging dogs from digging under a fence having a bottom edge positioned adjacent a ground surface comprising: 
 attaching a horizontal support bar to said fence near the bottom edge thereof, said horizontal support bar having a plurality of spaced guide tubes vertically affixed thereto;    inserting a spike through each of said guide tubes; and    driving said spike into said ground below said ground surface whereby an underground barrier is formed which provides a barrier to any dog attempting to dig under the fence.    
     
     
         6 . The process for discouraging dogs from digging under a fence of  claim 5  wherein said horizontal support bar is attached to said fence by placing hooks affixed to said support bar over portions of said fence near the bottom edge thereof.  
     
     
         7 . The process for discouraging dogs from digging under a fence of  claim 6  further including the step of selecting a spike of a particular length from a collection of spikes of different lengths depending on the spacing of the ground surface from the bottom of the fence.  
     
     
         8 . The process for discouraging dogs from digging under a fence of  claim 5  wherein said fence is a wrought iron fence having an upper rail and a lower rail and said horizontal support bar is attached to said lower rail.  
     
     
         9 . The process for discouraging dogs from digging under a fence of  claim 8  wherein a guide tube is positioned between each stile of said wrought iron fence.  
     
     
         10 . The process for discouraging dogs from digging under a fence of  claim 5  wherein each spike has an enlarged head larger than said guide tube and each spike is driven into the ground to a distance wherein said enlarged head contacts said guide tube.  
     
     
         11 . An addition to a fence to discourage dogs from digging under the resulting modified fence, said fence being supported over the surface of ground and said fence having a bottom edge, said modified fence comprising: 
 a horizontal support bar affixed to said wrought iron fence near the bottom edge thereof;    a plurality of guide tubes affixed to said horizontal support bar, said guide tubes being vertically oriented;    a plurality of spikes, one spike passing through each guide tube, each of said spikes having a lower point driven below a ground surface; and    an O-ring surrounding each of said plurality of spikes adjacent an upper surface of each of said guide tubes.    
     
     
         12 . The process for discouraging dogs from digging under a fence of  claim 11 , and further including a second O-ring surrounding each of said plurality of spikes adjacent a lower surface of each of said guide tubes.