fencing

[Deb & Pete]

I was wondering if anyone has there yard fenced in with the invisible fencing? we are considering it, but want some opinions on how it works with your doodle. We have a log home in the UP of Michigan and while we are in the "wilderness" and not right on the road, we want something that will help Pete know his boundaries. He will never just be left out completely on his own, but we sit out on the deck or front porch and like to let Pete run around the yard.

what do you recommend?

[BG and Gavin]

See this discussion from yesterday:  http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/petsafe-wireless-fence-exp...

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

We have had one for five years and love it. Right after he was trained to it he forgot his training and ran through the fence. The result wasn't pretty. Since then he won't get near it. We don't leave him out by himself for more than a few minutes.

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

We originally thought about the invisible fence, but I did not like the collar they had to wear and the fact you had to take it on and off when they went outside or inside.  Also wasn't comfortable shocking him, so we put in a physical fence and I'm very glad we did.  It's good to watch him run free.  We can also have other dogs over into our yard now that he can play with.  Without the actual fence we couldnt do this.

I also worried with an invisible fence that maybe something would come into the yard like an aggressive dog or coyote, and Yogi would be trapped, because he would have the collar on.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

These are my thoughts exactly. Very uncomfortable with jolting collar AND the fact that anything can enter the yard...dog, coyote, etc

[F, Calla & Luca]

My thoughts too.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

You will have some yays and some nays on this subject!  There is another discussion going on right now, as a matter of fact.

We have a wired electric fence that works great for our needs.  Our ALD learned very fast to steer clear and he knows the warning sound means to back off. He was trained with the setting on very low, but immediately figured out that he did not like the buzzy feeling.  I have tried it on myself, it is obnoxious, not really painful. Higher setting for more rebellious dogs probably do hurt, but again, that is after a warning sound.   At any rate, Quincy does not get "shocked", because he knows the boundaries and will not go near.  We do have to take him in the car to go down the driveway since he WILL NOT walk over the underground wire, even if his collar is off.  I have heard of people who take the collar off, lay down a towel as a "magic carpet" and then the dog will walk over that.  Since our driveway is ridiculously steep and long, we have no problem driving him down and more importantly, all of us driving back up!