Buffarino-
If it is true that "no dogs could get in the backyard", then yes, I think they are safe from having the chainlink fencing torn up. Raccoons can't go all the way through chainlink; they can only reach in or slide under. If you have prevented them from sliding under (remember, the chain link has a lot of give at the bottom, unless it is staked down every few feet), it sounds like you have made them safe.
At the animal shelter, we ran wire at the base of the fence, and hog-ringed the wire to the fence bottom. Then, we staked 18" lengths of rebar through the bottom 3-4 "diamonds" on the chainlink fence. We did this at the midpoint between the fenceposts (which were 10' apart). If the fence was particularly loose in a section, or if the ground dipped away from the fence, we divided the 10' into thirds, and put in two bars on that section. Doing those extra things kept all but the smallest, slipperiest Houdini dogs from escaping under the fence.
If it is true that "no dogs could get in the backyard", then yes, I think they are safe from having the chainlink fencing torn up. Raccoons can't go all the way through chainlink; they can only reach in or slide under. If you have prevented them from sliding under (remember, the chain link has a lot of give at the bottom, unless it is staked down every few feet), it sounds like you have made them safe.
At the animal shelter, we ran wire at the base of the fence, and hog-ringed the wire to the fence bottom. Then, we staked 18" lengths of rebar through the bottom 3-4 "diamonds" on the chainlink fence. We did this at the midpoint between the fenceposts (which were 10' apart). If the fence was particularly loose in a section, or if the ground dipped away from the fence, we divided the 10' into thirds, and put in two bars on that section. Doing those extra things kept all but the smallest, slipperiest Houdini dogs from escaping under the fence.
