Invisible Fence

[Mossy]

Okay, my dog has been jumping the fence lately. I don't have the money to put in a taller fence so I'm thinking of getting one of those invisible fences. Half the people I talk to say they don't work, they will deal with the quick zap to leave the boundary really fast. Others say they work great. My other option is the old fashioned electric fence, which might be a little cheaper but not as asthetically pleasing. Anyone have experience with either of these? I cannot remember if I have already posted this question here or not, I've been asking around quite a bit. Thanks

[Rich McVey]

What kind of dog? I've heard from people with smaller dogs that invisible fences work great. My Chessie (90 lbs) would just wunder WTF and keep right on movin. He likse to push the boundry of what is and isnt allowed.

[Anonymous]

I have both a neighbor and a co-worker with the invisible fence. Both dogs are about 75 lbs. They both swear by the fence.
It's the funniest thing to watch the dog in the neighbors yard having a fit because he wants to charge my dog and I while we are walking. He just jumps up and down but won't cross a particular area.
Remember, it's all about conditioning... once they get a couple of zaps from a boundary in your yard, they will learn not to go near that area. Don't feel like you are just shocking the bejeebes out of the dog. I don't believe they allow themselves to be shocked once they have learned where not to go.

If you go with an "Electric" fence I think you will open yourself up to some liability to anyone who happens to touch it. Remember on the invisible fence deal, your dog wears a collar/transmitter so only he is the one getting a wake-up if he crosses.

[bionic_one]

he wants to charge my dong

Ask the people that have them what kind they got. I'm willing to bet that the people that say they don't work, bought the cheapest one they could find, and the people that say they do work, payed for the quality unit.

[Amx]

1] an invisible fence won't keep other dogs OUT and they can come in and cause problems.

2] if a dog runs OUTSIDE the fence while chasing a rabbit, cat, squirrel, or other dog, the invisible fence will probably keep the dog OUT as he won't want to cross the fence to get back home = loose dog.

3] if your dog has a heavy coat then it is REAL hard to have the contacts in the collar make proper contact with the dog's throat skin for a 'proper charge/shock'.

So, you have a short 4' ? fence and the dog is jumping it. What kind of fence? Wire? Wood? By how much is the dog clearing that fence? 6" 1 foot? What breed of dog?

Just running a wire along/above the top of your fence won't always work, as the dog has to be touching the ground to make a compleate circut and get shocked.

Run an electric wire 1 foot above the ground so the dog will sniff it and get shocked. It is best if the dog doesn't watch you install the wire. When you let him back into the yard, stand just inside the house/door and watch him. He'll go sniff the new wire and when he gets shocked YELL at him NO!!!! LEAVE IT!!! BE SERIOUS ABOUT MEANING NO! Making him KNOW that he isn't to mess with the wire and so not mess with the fence.

Go ahead and install the invisible fence, say about 2 or 4 feet from the old fence, and he'll then associat the shock with the wire, and the old fence and so wonder why he is now getting shocked just by getting too close to the old fence and when not even touching the wire. Yes dogs can reason all this out, unless it is a real dumb dog. Yes there are a couple breeds really dumb enough to never learn.

[kantill]

Well I put one of those in once and it was going to work for one of my dogs a king shepherd. I started the "training" he got one zap and wanted nothing to do with it. Then I took my akita up to it and he liked it. He just stood there while its shocking him wagging his tail. So needless to say it didn't work for me.

[Mossy]

He is a 5 year old lab, 85lbs. It's a standard height chain link fence. I already spent a couple hundred dollars planting some 5-6 foot shrubs along one side of the fence because it seems like that's where the old lady and my neighbor sees him get out but one area I couldn't plant one is where we have a sprinkler head and he's not exactly clearing the fence anymore because he has to wiggle his way between the shrub and sprinkler. He almost has to crawl over the fence in that area. I figured I'd just put a rose climber in that spot but then I saw him clear another part of the fence since he can still get a running start.
I was thinking about the liability of an electric fence as well. One of the other neighbors likes to pet him when she's in the back yard.

[The Quadfather]

he wants to charge my dong

OK..... I fixed that typo!!

[Pradeep]

I ran one of those electric wires around my yard to make sure my pit and rottie stayed within the backyard. I also tied yellow flags on the wire about every 3 feet or so to help them know exactly where the boundary was. Within 10 min of turning the unit on, my Rottie peed on the fence and got the shock of his life. Never went near the fence again. My pit must have hit it at some point as well because if I threw a ball and it went anywhere close to the boundary, he wanted nothing to do with the ball. Both my boys have passed on and I now have an 11 month old old English mastiff. He's 163 lbs and the folks that we bought him from uses the "invisible" fence with their dogs and they said it works great. They don't even have a true fence. It's all open but the dogs (probably 200 lbs ea) did not break the imaginary fence line.

As mentioned above, I had to let my neighbors know that my fence was "hot" just to help avoid any unwanted liability issues. Not that I think it would have helped if they got hurt.

We are going to purchase the invisible fence for our guy for sure in the next couple weeks. Just need to find a colar that will fit him.

[Rich McVey]

If you havnt already... add a pic of your pets.

http://www.washingtonlakes.com/forum/ya ... r-Pet.aspx

[Mossy]

Well, I went and bought a system. I have half of it buried but unfortunately I'm not blocking off the entire yard so I have to run another next to the first and tie into the other to make a double looped sytem. I'll let everyone know how it works for me after I get it finished and the initial training is done. Won't be able to get back to it until saturday, I'm hoping for soft ground when I get back! Thanks for all the advice.