invisible fence

[DisneyScraps]

We had a huge yard and we put in an invisible fence. We got it at WalMart and it was less than $200 I think, it only took us a few hours to install it, you just have to tack it down in places and with time the grass and dirt grow over it.

My dog was friendky so no problem with people coming into the yard. There was a ton of foot traffic on the sidewalks in that neighborhood so he was letted all the time.

My dog was shocked on time and after that he understood and the only problems we ever had was twice when the power went off.

I would highly recommend it and I would do it yourself rather than hire a company.

 

[deedeetoo]

Personally, I think they're cruel and think that obedience training or a physcial fence are much better options.

Neighbors of ours have an electric fence and their dog has gotten out so many times that they finally put a physical fence around their backyard and keep him there now. Dh "rescued" him from the street many times and had to remove the collar in order to get him back into the yard.

This isn't right. There was either a problem with the fence set up, the dog training, the collar setting, or maybe he is a breed that it just doesn't work for. Our lab has gotten out exactly twice in the three years we have had the fence. Both breakouts occured when he wasn't wearing his collar and there was so much snow that he couldn't tell where his normal boundaries are. As a pp mentioned, the dog gets trained to where the yard ends so that after awhile they don't even need the collar. They just stop when they get to the boundary. In both cases he ended up down a few houses visiting a neighbor dog. I went and got him, and we made sure to use the collar until the snow melted.

 

[kiddo76]

We are on a 1 acre lot and have an invisible fence for our lab. He's only been shocked once and he's never gotten through. The collar for our system has a rechargable battery. We take off his collar when he comes inside and put it on the charger, so the battery is never dead. We never leave him outside when we are not home and do not have a problem with other dogs or kids coming into our yard. We love it.

 

[gigi1976]

I called our vet today to see what she thought about it and she said she has had one in her last 2 homes and they were great for her dogs (we both have cavaliers) and that their dogs haven't even had their collars on for 4 months now.
I think we are going to go for it and get the wireless version so that we don't have to dig or lay them near the sprinkler system lines.

Thanks for all the info and opinions, I love this board!

 

[2binak]

This isn't right. There was either a problem with the fence set up, the dog training, the collar setting, or maybe he is a breed that it just doesn't work for.

The fence & collar worked just fine. The dog would yelp when he ran "through" it and the 1st time Dh brought him back home, he yelpped again & tried to get out of Dh's arms because dh didn't think about the collar. Poor Dh felt horrible! He ran back into the street, took the collar off, brought the dog into the yard & replaced the collar.

I'm sure training was a part of the problem since the owners hardly ever interacted with the dog, and they still don't. I truly believe they were using the fence as a doggy sitter. He would sit in the yard and bark and cry at anyone who was outside in the neighborhood. I'm sure he was looking for attention and his drive for attention was high enough that he was willing to get zapped so that he could be with people.

I'm not sure if his breed has anything to do with it. He's a maltese.

 

[rubato]

I have the kind that has a unit inside the house, and it sends a signal to the collar. I can shrink or enlarge my fence size as needed. It is not cruel, if, and only if, you work with your dog. So many people think they can just throw the collar on and throw the dog outside. I spent 2 weeks outside with my dog on a leash training him that when he heard the beep (he gets 3 warning beeps before the zap), that he was to come back to the house. He gets it! I, of course, being human, made a huge mistake. Put him in the car to take my son to school and forgot to take the collar off. Poor thing. He got zapped twice before I managed to get it off him. Bad mom!

I have had other dogs come into my yard and my dog was fine. I have a sign that warns that my dog has an electric fence. We have had squirrels and rabbits come through and he chases them until he hears the beep and then, heads for the front door. Children run through my yard all the time and they all love my dog. That's why we didn't put up a fence. We have one of the only areas that have open back yards and all the kids can play together.

 

[ceecee]

I LOVE ours, the best $ I ever spent. We put it in the new house as well, the dogs instictively stayed in the yard, but I wouldn't trust that they always would. A lot of people who say they don't work had off brands. DH spent $200 and put one in himself, our dog get shocked so bad because a car radio with the same frequency we're guessing drove in the drive way, the poor dog wouldn't go out for 2 days! She really had to go so bad she went on the porch!!!
Invisable Fence had a 100% $ back guarantee and showed us a box full of out brands they replaced and we had a lady come out 3 times to train them. They hear the beep and run, they have been shocked once or twice but it beats getting hit by a car. Our neighbors dashound comes over to torment them (2 70lb labs) and they just back away from it, normally they like dogs at the dog park but they are afraid of this one. The great thing is they no longer bark when they are outside.

 

[shan136]

We have a radio frequency electric fence for our 70lb pointer mix. It is the right solution for her, she is has a timid personality but loves to hunt and is very energetic and would always get tangled in a lead or escape a physical fence. It also allows her a great deal of freedom that she would otherwise not have.

It is true that you have to know your dog. A determined dog could probably get through it, but that is true of any fencing system, our last dog was a beagle who got off of a lead and escaped a fenced yard and ran into a busy road and was hit by a car.

I am highly dislike electric fencing. A friend of mine had her dog killed by a snake because the dog couldn't get out.

I am not sure how this would happen since the dog has physical freedom and can run away from the snake. As to worries about dogs getting into the yard, that is a possibility, I feel strongly that all dog owners should only have their pets outside while they are home so that they can monitor situations like these.

 

[crisi]

The fence & collar worked just fine. The dog would yelp when he ran "through" it and the 1st time Dh brought him back home, he yelpped again & tried to get out of Dh's arms because dh didn't think about the collar. Poor Dh felt horrible! He ran back into the street, took the collar off, brought the dog into the yard & replaced the collar.

I'm sure training was a part of the problem since the owners hardly ever interacted with the dog, and they still don't. I truly believe they were using the fence as a doggy sitter. He would sit in the yard and bark and cry at anyone who was outside in the neighborhood. I'm sure he was looking for attention and his drive for attention was high enough that he was willing to get zapped so that he could be with people.

I'm not sure if his breed has anything to do with it. He's a maltese.

Some dogs are really stubborn. And some people don't train. If you go with "The Invisible Fence Company" AND buy their training, they will guarentee that your dog will get trained or money back. (Or that was the deal when we put ours in).

I will say that it took our trainer three collar settings to find one our dog would even feel enough to discourage him. He's got that "lots of skin and hair" sort of dog neck - and on the "light" setting he'd blow right through.

Our trainer did say she'd managed to train all breeds of dogs to the fence. There is a very well trained beagle down the street - beagles are notoriously bad at being invisible fence trained because they are good at listening and live by their nose (remember UP, and "squirrel!"), but if you put work into it, you can train them.

All pet containment systems have issues - the dog across the street jumps the six foot fence in the backyard - its now an eight foot fence and her dog was still in my yard visiting my dog last week (my dog - although the battery was dead in his collar, did not go visit her dog, but waited patiently for his friend to come over - its happened a few times). Dogs dig under fences, the break leads (or strangle themselves). You need to still take some responsibility for watching your dog.