Electric Fences

[Patty Barnes]

My heart is heavy and I am crying. I received an e-mail from one of my adoptive parents saying her 18-month-old puppy was killed by a car two days ago. The pup ran through his electric fence and into a car. When people ask me about electric fences, I try hard to discourage them from using them. There are too many ways a puppy/dog can get hurt or killed. Dogs need a solid barrier to protect them. Period. I feel terrible and wish I had been louder expressing my feelings about electric fences. I will never forget that puppy's little face and chipper nature. This is a sad morning.

[2m42srv7vi6sq]

I also feel very sad for the driver of the car. My husband and I once ran over a Rottie puppy that squeezed through the space between the two driveway gates, in his driveway and ran in front of our car. Both my husband and I cried for the senseless death. All the people would have had to do was put a piece of metal on the inside of the gates so that there was no opening.

I have to believe that we will be reunited with all our loved ones, both 2 and 4 footed, someday. (Boy am I going to have a crowd!)

[Patty Barnes]

You are right, Gail, whoever ran over the puppy must feel horrible. Thank you for mentioning this. Sadness upon sadness.

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

It is very sad to hear of this.

We do have an electric fence and all of our dogs are very good with it. I think that each one of us must decide for ourselves whether or not the electric fence is appropriate for us. I don't agree with the balnket comments that they are "GOOD" or "BAD". Dogs can get out of regular fenced yards also. (Door left open, a void at the base of the fence). So please let's not condemn the electric fence.

This was a horrible accident and hopefully we all can learn something from it to avoid a similar accident in the future.

[Patty Barnes]

I am happy the electric fence works well for your dogs and, you are correct, dogs can escape from solid barriers. Whatever system one chooses, it is good to be informed and to commit to training one's dog for the chosen system. Glad you commented.

[Patty Barnes]

Friday I learned that the family had just removed its barrier fence and put in the electric fence. Sadly, one must suspect that the dog did not have enough EF training. By the way, the person whose car hit and killed the dog did not stop.

[Tamara & Giada]

DID NOT STOP!!! That is horrible...............shame on them. Who could run into a dog, and not stop!??!

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

Patty - Thanks for posting this additional information. It must have been difficult for the poor dog to understand about the electric fence since he was used to a barrier. The most difficult time with an electric fence is in the beginning. You have to watch your dog while he is outside and not trust that he/she will respect the fence. We did not "trust" our dogs for months. Mariner has never gone through the fence. Shayna and Boomer only went through when my wife was across the street on the neighbors driveway. They have not crossed the fence in over a year. We do keep an eye on them to see if they are "testing" the fence. But it they do know their boundaries.

You are correct it is a matter of training and that training can take months.