As far as enclosure for the dog in the yard - I am not exactly sure that metal mesh will be the way to go. In my opinion, you will be dealing with a lot of dangerous sharp edges - read more about the welded and woven wire mesh here www.bwire.com -
I know this is a tort forum - but lets not go...
They also sell the rolls of the welded wire mesh on these 2 websites:
http://www.bwire.com/
www.mcmaster.com
What size do you guys think is most effective? I bought some Galvanized 1 x 1 mesh (1 wire per inch and 1 opening per inch) and that seems to have worked out best for me so far...
I would even go futher as to put another level of wire mesh around this cage. Does not have to be anything crazy, but you migth end up kicking yourself, if, god, forbid, something gets through these layers.
If you have more layers of fencing or wire mesh, it will take any predator a hell of...
What size hardware cloth / wire mesh do you guys use?
http://www.bwire.com/
I have been using 2 x 2 mesh from these guys and it has seemed to work well so far. I buy it by the roll because it is cheaper and I end up using so much of it that its better to have a little extra laying around.