This year, due to the increased snowfall, was particularly bad. This time, when the packed snow slid off the roofs, it damaged the fence sections--even knocking it down on the garage side. I've mentioned before that I managed to repair the fence and dig trenches (in some cases using my chainsaw to cut through the ice) on either side of the fence in those two areas so that the dogs could not simply walk across and escape the area. I should note that this makes it so that the fence is only about 2 and a half to three feet above the packed snow. Were my dogs more adventurous and less timid, they could easily escape.
Unfortunately, a visiting dog showed our dogs exactly how to do just that this weekend. Immediately after bringing them back into the house, I once again went out into the dog yard to deepen and widen the trenches (they had leaped from the edge of one trench over the fence and to the edge of the other trench). It was slow going and tiring work, but I felt that I had made enough of a difference that, although still capable of leaping the fence, the dogs would once again be intimidated enough to not risk jumping it.
This plan worked until yesterday when we received another inch of snow. Even though this didn't really change any of the physical challenge, the fresh snow made the jump look more accessible to our dogs. Thus, we found them happily running around the yard yesterday evening after they had made visits to our neighbors. Again, I went out and widened and deepened the trenches, still knowing that they had the physical ability to escape if they truly decided to do so.
It seems to be working. I've watched them from the security camera go right up to the edge of the trench and pace around, then sit and look across the fence. Hopefully, warmer temperatures on our horizon will melt the ice piles and make our fences truly effective in the near future.