Wireless Dog Fence?

[belle032]

Does anyone have any experiences with a wireless pet fence? We have a 4 month old lab puppy who is becoming more and more adventurous. We live on 2 acres with a creek on one side, a large corn field on the back side, and a neighbor with a small dog on the other. He's already bolted to the neighbors when their dog is out, mainly because the little thing barks constantly. Then this morning he crossed the creek and was running through the field on the other side. I know he is young and just gets excited, but I don't want to wait until he takes off into the road or through the cornfield!

Can anyone share their positive/negative experiences with a wireless fence? Or recommend a good brand? I'd love a real fence, but fencing in a large property is just not a option for us financially. Any advice would be appreciated!!

 

[trip]

I think the best answer about how wireless fences work is "it depends". Have had neighbors that love them. And also had a neighbor whose dog would run through it if he wanted to get out bad enough.

 

[3 MEN AND A BOAT]

It sounds like you live in a more country type setting, which is a plus for wireless fences, I probably wouldn't try it in a city environment. Mine works well with my pitbull, the only time she crosses the line is when the battery in her collar dies, I change it out and it's good to go. I have the pet safe wireless, the radio broadcast type. When I decided on trying one I didn't wanna have to bury a wire around my yard, I plugged it in put the collar on my dog turned the intensity up and away she went. I've had it for almost 3yrs and I like it

 

[Jennasis]

A wireless fence is how we wound up with our dog, who must've escaped from one. When we found her she had an electric fence collar on (and was emaciated and covered with ticks but no tags...we spent weeks looking for her owner). If a dog is a bolter, a hound, or just wants out bad enough, an e-fence won't stop them.

PS...our dog is TERRIFIED of beeping sounds. So much so that anything that makes even the slightest beep (like the thermometer at the vets, or the one that signals our washing machine is done) sends her into fits of uncontrollable shaking. Why? Guess what an e-fence collar does to warn a dog it's too close to the fence line before it zaps them?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The best time to teach this is, unfortunately, before the dog learns they can get away. Once they see how much fun they have leaving the yard, it's hard to "unteach" it.

Some dogs, depending on their size and block-headedness, will run right through it if they want to get out badly enough.

A pp mentioned another drawback - if the batteries run out.

It also doesn't stop other animals from coming into your yard.

 

[xlxo]

There's a few GPS pet tracking devices on Amazon. Main complaint is battery life. I can't be bothered with daily recharging like my smartphone.

Here's a device that works great on seniors.... is there a way to adapt it to lojack your dog? Rechargeabe batteries are good for a few weeks.

 

[parrothead365]

we use one and we have it on 2 acres. it takes time to train the dogs but ours had no problem learning. it successfully contains a toy poodle a chihuahua and a large German Shepard. go with a reliable company that offers training assistance.

 

[mjkacmom]

My neighbors have one. Their backyard is fenced, but the dog is a runner, and they were afraid of the grandkids letting the dog out. The poor thing was so traumatized, he won't leave the house now without being leashed, so they can no longer let him out back on his own.

We have s Tagg GPS on our dog. She is not a runner, but likes to meander around the neighborhood.

 

[2Kds2K9]

We've had an Invisible Fence for 20 years now and have trained 5 dogs on it. We also have over an acre of land and the fence is on the perimeter of the yard, so the dogs have the run. I know I'm in the minority of being one who loves it, but I would never use it if I didn't have such a large yard. The "zap" feels like hitting your funny bone, so I'm told by my DH who was holding the collar next to the fence.

With a yard so large, the dog is not going to be up by the fence constantly. Our dogs pretty much stay away from the edge as they have so much more room to run and roam. When we trained them, we used the words "back, back, back" and would pull them into the yard. This training proved useful when we were at my BIL's house and had the dogs in his unfenced yard. When they got close to the edge, we'd yell "back, back, back" and they'd come back into the yard. We don't put the dogs out by themselves for hours at a time, and never leave them out when we are not home. We are either outside with them, or in the house and keeping an eye out. The fence will keep the dogs in, but won't keep other critters out.

Yes, some dogs will take the hit, but this is usually when the yard is on the smaller end, and the enticement of going through is worth the hit to them. Our dogs have only left the yard once, and that was when our compost pile got so high, that the radio frequency could not be felt on their collars as they walked over the pile! Once they realized they were out of the yard, they came running back to us. We've since relocated the compost pile.

Again, I think they are great with acre plus yards, and with training, your dog should do fine. Good luck!

 

[sonnyjane]

I'm not a fan of them in practice because while they keep your dog in (hypothetically - examples have been given already of the contrary) they don't keep anything OUT. Other animals (or people) can cross over to your yard and that could make your dog vulnerable unless he chooses to run outside the perimeter (therefore getting a jolt and no longer being confined).

 

[manning]

My neighbor has one. She said it takes four weeks to train them.

 

[luvsJack]

We have one for our young cur and ds has one for his pit, we both love it. It took him a couple of days to train his dog and Draco knew his boundaries in a day.

His pit chased a rabbit out of her boudary once. She ran just past it and stopped. Dil had to go out and get her but she didn't keep running amd hasn't crossed it again.

Draco chases any and all cats out of his area but has never gone beyond the boundary. He doesn't even have to hear the beep anymore.

My niece had the underground wire for her lab and it never worked for him.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

We have a lab puppy (now 11 months old.) We put her collar on for the invisible fence when she was about 6 months old. It took about 2 zaps before she learned to stay in the yard. We are in a subdivision with 1-5 acre lots.

 

[mamamary]

We had Invisible Fence with our first lab about 17 years or so ago. We have a large fenced in yard and couldn't figure out how he got out. Well we finally caught him climbing the fence. So we had our invisible fence installed around our wooden fence. After a few weeks of training he knew not to go up to the fence. After a year or so we stopped even putting the collar on him. He was doing his climbing when he was about 2 years old so I guess by the time he was 3 he was out of that stage.

 

[gottaluvPluto]

It depends on the owner and the dog if these types of fences will work. Personally, I hate them in my area, but that has to do with the owners. The collar doesn't work, they don't have the collar on and the fence needs repair of some sort. All my neighbors have these fences and all their dogs continue to come into my yard. One dog is also aggressive and chases me into my house. I talked to my neighbor, but he does nothing. I am about to get fart spray and put it in a water gun and spray the darn dog with it. Then it will become a problem for my neighbor (well, if the smell bothers them).

 

[luvsJack]

It depends on the owner and the dog if these types of fences will work. Personally, I hate them in my area, but that has to do with the owners. The collar doesn't work, they don't have the collar on and the fence needs repair of some sort. All my neighbors have these fences and all their dogs continue to come into my yard. One dog is also aggressive and chases me into my house. I talked to my neighbor, but he does nothing. I am about to get fart spray and put it in a water gun and spray the darn dog with it. Then it will become a problem for my neighbor (well, if the smell bothers them).

When you say they need repair, I assume you are talking about the underground wire fences? I have been told that a lot of people have issues with those and one is that there will be a weak spot or a dead spot and the dog figures out really quick how to get through it.
The kind that is truly wireliess, won't have that problem.

 

[luvwinnie]

From what I understand, they can't keep predators OUT. Recently near us, a coyote snatched a small dog who was inside such a fence.

 

[Anne34]

We've had an invisible fence for 5 years now. Very easy to train our 2 Corgis to stay in it. We often don't even put the collars on anymore.

 

[jt'smom]

We had the Invisible Fence brand on our 1 acre yard for our 2 cocker spaniels. I think it depends on the dogs. We loved ours, and it only took 2 training sessions with the Invisible Fence guy to teach our dogs. They hugged the house at first, but got to where they knew their limits. We were on auto-ship with fresh batteries every 3 months, and even when we lost power, the base unit in the garage had a backup battery in it.

 

[TLSnell1981]

We've used the PetSafe Wireless Pet Containment System for years. It works very well for us.