Above ground "invisible" dog fence- any advice?

[shefor24]

We are looking at doing our yard- about 1/3rd acre in the above ground type dog fence. Don't want a lot of expense and we don't really want to bury it since we'll do it ourselves. Has anyone ahd experience with what to buy/not to buy for this application? We have an English Bulldog and I think we'd just use the regular collar not the "stubborn dog" or anything. He is pretty mellow. (lazy).
Any advice?

 

[disneynutt1225]

Are you looking for something like this?

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=1108&N=2001+113529

 

[lovebuzz]

We have the pet Safe brand of electric fence and love it

 

[agentpleakley]

We have the petsafe wireless system as well -- our yard is not fenceable (well, the front is - not the back). Three dogs -- all happy. One battery lasts about 3 months.

 

[KristinU]

We have the pet Safe brand of electric fence and love it

Ditto. Ours is buried, but we did it ourselves (almost a 1/2 acre). We bought a Black and Decker edger/trencher thing for maybe $50 (not sure, this was 6 years ago!) that we just included in the cost of the project. We love the invisible fence!

A side note - some neighbor kids were over playing with us a couple of weeks ago and a little girl was asking about why our dog doesn't leave the yard - I told her it was an invisible fence...she started asking all sort of questions - did we put it in? how did we know where to put it if we couldn't see it? How did it come? (in a box was my answer) Could you see it in the box? It blew her mind when I told her that she had walked right through it! Her older sister got a big kick out of it! ...and yes, I did eventually explain it to her.

 

[badblackpug]

...I'm going to say it...flame away...it is cruel to tazer your dog.

 

[agentpleakley]

The petsafe emits a beeping sound before the actual shock. I've shocked myself -- it's a shock and doesn't hurt. The dogs will use the beeping sound after the first shock to know that they can't go further.

Even when my dogs don't have their collars on -- they do not go near the perimeter.

Some may think it is cruel -- but it is a loss less cruel than having your dog killed by a car.

 

[jmcross]

We tried the Petsafe version of this on our dog. It broke my heart when he yelped after the first shock. I couldn't do it. We returned it and built a regular fenced in area for the dog. Much less traumatic.....

Just my opinion.

Joanne

 

[eh24fan]

It can't be that bad. Both of my dad's dogs, Rottie/Black Lab mixes, think nothing of barrelling right on through. In fact, they had to double up on the collars on one of them because he just did not care! They are getting better now but it was a mess for awhile there. So it can't be a big shock, even with the stubborn dog collars...that's the one that they used 2 of....

 

[Minniemouse07]

My neighbor's MIL is on a crusade to have these fences banned. Her dog died after they had one installed.

I don't know the details, just that she is adamant about telling everyone she knows (and then some!) not to get one.

 

[agentpleakley]

The question is: are electric dog fences inhumane? The answer, unfortunately, is not so simple. People (and dogs) fall on both sides of the fence, so to speak.

It seems that an invisible electric dog fence is the perfect solution to keep your pet within the boundaries of your home, without having to put up a fence they may detract from the design of your home and your yard. Of course, is the beauty of an invisible “fence” worth the chance of injuring your beloved pet? Certainly not.

Here is what you need to know about invisible electric dog fences:

· They are not as inhumane as people might think.

· They do not deliver a full out shock – rather, the shock that your pet receives as it tries to cross the line is more similar to a static electricity shock that we can give after rubbing our feet along the carpet and then touching someone. Before you buy a shock collar, ask to test out the shock on yourself -- if it feels awful, then you want one with a lower shock power.

· Again, it is important to note that the shock that your dog would receive should not be painful – it is merely uncomfortable, something that your dog will want to avoid.

· Many shock collars have multiple levels of stimulation – you can keep yours on the lowest setting.

· The collars cannot burn your dog’s neck, even when at the highest setting.

· For years, electric fences have been used to control livestock…

· A mild shock is a million times better for your dog than what could await it if it escaped – a mild shock is not nearly the as bad as the dangers of traffic or running away.

· It is OK if your dog get stuck in a severe rain storm with its collar on – it will not electrocute it.

· The batteries may run out on your shock collar, and you will therefore have to replace them. Of course, once your dog has learned the boundaries, it is much less likely to cross them.

· Realize that you can simply set up and electric fence and expect your dog to immediately understand – you must still train your dog.



** If you choose the invisible fence-- please use the training instructions enclosed. You can vary the setting for your dog. Take the time and train your dog using a leash walking to the boundary and by using the flags. All 3 of our dogs do not even go anywhere near the boundary any longer. If you use time and patience with your dog, the system will work. Take off the collar when you dog comes inside.

 

[Heather543]

I used one of these for my beagle, she would dig out of our fence, so I put this inside the fence. I shocked myself once. Do not change the batteries while walking near the perimeter of the yard. It didn't hurt, but it sure made me jump and look where I was. I guess I didn't hear the beep. Because ours beeps too. Since then I've moved and my beagle had moved on to a happier place. My new dog doesn't need one.
Heather

 

[KristinU]

Just adding to the conversation that yes, I have shocked myself with our pup's collar and re-do it every time we change the batteries so I know what level it is set at (mild). Given that, I believe I have been shocked by it more times than she has. She went through it just once when we were training. If you have a highly trainable dog they may never get shocked and learn the boundary only from the audible beeping sound.

All that said, I forgot to mention that invisible fences are not legal physical fences, meaning that if a child were to come into your yard and be bitten or hurt by the dog, the fence wouldn't count as a means of keeping the dog physically contained (which kind of goes without saying, but it is worth mentioning). We don't send our dog out in the yard without either being out there with her or keeping a watchful eye on her...although she's 10 and is more interested in holding the lawn down and supervising the growth than dashing around anymore.

 

[mom2jamie]

As other have mentioned, once your pet knows the boundaries they will not go near the line. We have a golden retriever who at the age of 4 months got out of the house and ran into the road which is heavily traveled. Thanks for the cars that stopped in both directions or he may have been hit. Scared us enough to look at this option based on opinions of others without having to fence in an acre of land. This was the best thing I could have done. It was installed for us, trained the dog and they have a number of different packages based on what you need. I recommend it to many people.

 

[Jeanne B]

We have the Invisible Fence also. We have two ShihTzu's, one is fine and doesn't go near the road, the other is a different story. We always had to have her on a leash because we were too worried about her running out into the road (my parents ShihTzu was killed by a car a few years ago when she snuck out the door so we've always had that fear of the same thing happening to us). We had the fence installed last fall and she trained very fast, within a matter of days. She knows the boundaries and never goes near the fence, it was expensive but she has so much more freedom now and less worries for us.

 

[ceecee]

We did the invisable fence. DH put it in 1/2" deep and it shocked our Lab once, she wouldn't go outside for 2 days!!! That was at the medium setting, so we tried again and she got shocked when a car pulled in the driveway and she was on the porch, not even near the wire (radio interference we were told). For some reason she did not seem to hear a beep and would get shocked. Just seeing the collar put her into shock! It does take some training with the dog which we didn't devote enough time to. We are looking into a regular fence now. Our neighbor had one put it and the dog just barrels though it and takes the shock to run after what it wants to, it won't go back in to the yard though!

 

[PrincessKitty1]

The question is: are electric dog fences inhumane? The answer, unfortunately, is not so simple. People (and dogs) fall on both sides of the fence, so to speak.

It seems that an invisible electric dog fence is the perfect solution to keep your pet within the boundaries of your home, without having to put up a fence they may detract from the design of your home and your yard. Of course, is the beauty of an invisible “fence” worth the chance of injuring your beloved pet? Certainly not.

Here is what you need to know about invisible electric dog fences:

· They are not as inhumane as people might think.

· They do not deliver a full out shock – rather, the shock that your pet receives as it tries to cross the line is more similar to a static electricity shock that we can give after rubbing our feet along the carpet and then touching someone. Before you buy a shock collar, ask to test out the shock on yourself -- if it feels awful, then you want one with a lower shock power.

· Again, it is important to note that the shock that your dog would receive should not be painful – it is merely uncomfortable, something that your dog will want to avoid.

· Many shock collars have multiple levels of stimulation – you can keep yours on the lowest setting.

· The collars cannot burn your dog’s neck, even when at the highest setting.

· For years, electric fences have been used to control livestock…

· A mild shock is a million times better for your dog than what could await it if it escaped – a mild shock is not nearly the as bad as the dangers of traffic or running away.

· It is OK if your dog get stuck in a severe rain storm with its collar on – it will not electrocute it.

· The batteries may run out on your shock collar, and you will therefore have to replace them. Of course, once your dog has learned the boundaries, it is much less likely to cross them.

· Realize that you can simply set up and electric fence and expect your dog to immediately understand – you must still train your dog.



** If you choose the invisible fence-- please use the training instructions enclosed. You can vary the setting for your dog. Take the time and train your dog using a leash walking to the boundary and by using the flags. All 3 of our dogs do not even go anywhere near the boundary any longer. If you use time and patience with your dog, the system will work. Take off the collar when you dog comes inside.

An alternate view:

"Stimulation" is a euphemism for shock.

"Invisible fence" is a euphemism for a mechanism that delivers shocks to a dog.

A "mild shock" vs. running out in traffic is NOT the choice. The choice is between shocking your dog or putting in a real fence or taking the dog for leash walks.

Dogs are not livestock--do we really want to treat our dogs the way livestock is treated??

Would you use an "invisible fence" on your children? Of course not. So why would somebody use it on a canine family member?

 

[chewbacca]

Our neighbor had one put it and the dog just barrels though it and takes the shock to run after what it wants to, it won't go back in to the yard though!

This is what happened to us. Our dog would yelp when she came close to the fence and just keep going. Of course she did not want to come back into the yard and we always had to go chasing after her. Our vet told us it does not work for some dogs. We now have a chain link fence and love it...esp with a toddler and living on a busy road!

 

[disneynutt1225]

An alternate view:

"Stimulation" is a euphemism for shock.

"Invisible fence" is a euphemism for a mechanism that delivers shocks to a dog.

A "mild shock" vs. running out in traffic is NOT the choice. The choice is between shocking your dog or putting in a real fence or taking the dog for leash walks.

Would you use an "invisible fence" on your children? Of course not. So why would somebody use it on a canine family member?

I have had an invisible fence for well over a year for my very active Beagle. If he's been shocked more than twice (once when we first got it, and another time shortly after we got it) that's saying a lot. He knows his boundaries and stays well within the allowable area. All it takes is for him to hear the beep. We even forgot to put the collar on him one morning in our foggy state and he went about his business and came right back in the house.

We would have gone the route of a real fence, but this provided more peace of mind for us because my mother is handicapped and cannot run after Toby if he runs out the door. We still take him for walks, but since he spends the majority of his time home alone with my mother, we decided the best way for him to get outside to go to the bathroom would be for him to be contained with an electric fence.

To each his own, but I think unless you've felt the shock from the fence (I have - it's not bad, just annoying) you can't chastise those of us who choose to use it. My dog is not abused, and I resent the implication that because we utilize a stimulated correction system he isn't being treated well.

 

[WDWBetsy]

We ended up building a 6' privacy fence. Our dog is a beagle/terrier mix that we adopted at 8 weeks old. When he was a puppy we used to put him on a tie out for some outdoor playtime and a hyper neighbor boy would run into our yard and basically tackle him wanting to hug him. It really had an effect on him so that he's a bit nervous when children approach wanting to pet him. I would be outside when this would happen and try to get him into the house before the boy would do this, and I would ask him to stop before he'd get to the dog. Eventually he moved away - thank goodness! Now when we take him on daily walks, we use a Gentle Leader collar so that helps keep him calm, and he readily allows children to pet him without being afraid.

That said, an invisible fence was not an option for us - we wanted to be able to let him out into the back yard without the fear that someone (especially a young child) would come into our yard to pet him. My husband installed inside gate latches so someone can't easily come into the yard from the outside. The little girls in our neighborhood are crazy about him when they see him and get all excited. Before the latches were installed, the neighbor girls would let themselves into our fenced yard to get a ball. That made me anxious knowing he could possibly chase them if I happened to let him outside when they were out there, or if they didn't remember to shut the gate correctly. I also didn't want to risk having other dogs come into our yard and chase him around or hurt him. It's not often, but I have seen an occasional loose dog.

He's a gentle dog, but he does like to bark and run like crazy when people walk by the fence. I honestly don't think an invisible fence would contain him.