Our beagles are runners and they are diggers. This is a difficult combination to find a good yard to contain them. They squeeze through small holes and cracks. The fence was very secure. It goes all the way to the ground and there are no holes for them to get through. This is a lot harder to satisfy than it sounds. There are also a bunch of rocks near the fence that stopped them cold from digging. There is a deck, but the underneath is wide open so the dogs cannot dig themselves underneath and get stuck. I could even crawl underneath and pull them out if I had to. There is also a doggie door, so I don't have to worry about letting them out. Other than that the area is very nice. There are a fair amount of good restaurants within a few miles of the place.