Fencing vs. Invisible Fencing

[Gayle Miller]

Hi everyone!  Just wondered what your thoughts are on split-rail fencing vs. invisible.  Had an invisible for our sweet little Westie for 17 years and it worked, although admittedly, when it was "down" unbeknownst to us, we would get a call from the neighbor us the street that Nikki was visiting!  But with so much innate hunting in the Labradoodle, I'm thinking a physical fence might be the way to go.  While I like split-rail, our backyard that boarders woods will not look as nice once a fence sections off the  yard from the woods, but I'm thinking I'll have to give the asthetic look up for the safety and peace-of-mind for our new puppy.  ;Your thoughts please....especially if you went with the invisible fence. How is it working for you?  Thanks!  Gayle

[Camilla and Darwin]

The only issue that I have with invisible fencing is that it doesn't keep anything out. So animals, aggressive dogs, people, etc could come in. I wouldn't feel comfortable with that.

[Gayle Miller]

Thank you all for your  opinions on fencing vs invisible fencing!  Pros and Cons to weigh.  I'm thinking post-and-rail to just not have to worry about anything but I think I might have a difficult sell to my husband who lives our backyard just as it is!  But....I know I'll win  this battle if it's what I really want!  Thanks agin for your comments!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

What I did when we were looking is drive around and look at the various types of fencing.  I started out to just look at the Split rail, and that is when I noticed how it looks better on the wooded type lots.  I think, done correctly it can add to the look of the place and not be a distraction to the view.  Our neighbors have one that I think looks really really nice with their house and lot.   Make sure you don't have a jumper though because I've had fosters that could of cleared a split rail standing flat footed.

 

We actually left our invisible fence when we put in our new fence in the event ours tried to dig under or consider going over because we just put up a 4' fence.  Fortunately though our girls aren't jumpers.

[Lori (Wilson and Woody's Mum)]

Hi Gayle - We have underground/electric fencing for the doodles.  I did not use the Invisible Fence brand because I did not like their attitude.  However, the original founder of the company started a new company --- same ideas, better equipment, better philosophy (for me).  Anyway - e-fencing is NOT my first choice and I fought tooth and nail to avoid it, especially because we live on a fairly busy city street.  Unfortunately because of the topography of our property, physical fencing was really not an option.  Even doing e-fencing was challenging. 

 

I wanted the greatest success, so having professional installation and training was important and worth the money.  The person who owns the franchise is actually a behaviorist and a trainer and I really liked her training methods --- I believe the key to success.  I worked with the doodles for 4 weeks before allowing them out on their own.  It was a lot of work and time, BUT Wilson has only broken the fence once (during training, while I was standing right there) and Woody has never broken it.  Even now, I watch them when they are outside.

 

A couple of thoughts: 

We don't have any risk of wildlife coming onto our property (except squirrels and bunnies) so that isn't an issue.  Because your property borders wooded land, please consider what animals might come onto your property. 

 

The personalities of both my dogs are a good fit for the fence.  Not all dogs do well with this type of containment.  Wilson is kind of a flight risk, except in his own yard.  He is such a chicken, he would never break the fence.

 

Good luck with your decision!

[Jennifer Tramell]

I definitely prefer a physical fence HOWEVER I am in the process of setting up an invisible fence for my 2 dogs.  We have 6 acres - mostly wooded - and our neighbors all have 5 acres or more.  We have a lot of rock on the property which makes it quite difficult to drive consistently deep and secure fence posts.  An invisible fence is currently the best choice for us to keep our dogs on our property but I hope that we will eventually have a smaller yard area fenced in - maybe set up a deer fence.  We moved in to our new house last April and we are far from finished both on the interior and exterior of the house.  I think the invisible fence will work well for us, especially since my parents have a 4 ft chain link fence and Webster flew over the fence without even thinking about it!  The boy can jump!

[Gayle Miller]

Wow!  Never thought of the jumping!!  How large is your Doodle?  Your property sounds beautiful!  I am a country-gril at heart and would LOVE to live on acres and acres!  Where do you live?

[Adina P]

Oh yeah...some doodles are expert jumpers!  And some, if they can't jump, will climb or jump and climb the rest of the way out.  I've seen it happen with fences taller than 4 feet.

[Jennifer Tramell]

I am still in shock over the latest weigh-in.  Webster registered 83lbs on the scale.  I'm in denial and claiming the scale was off and that Webster is still "only" 78 lbs.  Yeah, right. He stands 24 1/2 inches at his shoulder.  Funny thing is that he didn't think he did wrong by jumping the fence, it was just in the way and noone was there to open the gate.  My dad raised the fence to 6 ft in that area.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Yep, Peri is a mini and she has almost scaled a 5 foot retaining wall to run after a deer.....

 

I agree with everyone - physical fence would be best in my opinion.  We are buying a house right now and it is not fenced in.  We are just going to start saving up for one of those aluminum ones....

[Gayle Miller]

Hi Lori,

I certainly do appreciate your comments!  We do have deer that frequent our backyard.  Sometimes, I''ve been told of red fox but I have yet to see and believe that is very rare.  I've had an e-fence for my Westie and while it worked, so often it would go down (either because of deer hoofs spliting the wire, or a dead battery that I was not aware of) and Nikki would break through. My real concern with this breed is the hunting instinct that might make it even more challenging!  I do think I will go the end of split rail but now have to convince my husband!  Puppy is not due until July, so I have time to work on him!  Thanks again for your comments!

[Stella]

We have the Petsafe wireless electronic boundary unit.  It works really well on one of my LDs, but the other will run through it for the deer.  They are never out there alone, so I don't worry about other creatures getting in.  The wireless unit 'corrects' for 30 seconds and we have the collar on the highest setting, but still my younger guy runs through it - squeeling the whole time, but he can't resist the deer.  He doesn't go through for anything else though.  We just have to check outside carefully for deer before we let them out!

[Stacie]

I used the invisible fence for many years and only had one problem. My oldest golden retreaver was so smart she kn ew the warning beep did not shock her. So she would lay where it beeped till it stopped beeping then she knew she was free to go. We had to replace the battery monthly to ensure she did not escape.

Fast foward we put up a privacy fence and as we did took down the invisable fence only she knew that it was gone so she would break the fence boards from thbe bottom and dig out whenever we left her unattended. Took her about 3 min to escape. Then since she was pack leader and the others did not have colars on anymore they all left.

Up untill she passed on we had to use both...lol