Need Advice on Hidden Fence

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

I'm looking for advice and product reviews for hidden fencing.  We are not allowed to have a physical fence and are looking to having an electric, hidden fence installed.  Does anyone here have a DogWatch Hidden Fence?  The reviews that I can find on line are all good but of course who can you really believe?  How does this fence compare to the Invisible Fence line.  One of the good things that is has is that it uses standard batteries so no having to go to the dealer for expensive replacements is a plus.  My boys would NOT be allowed outside without me right with them - this is so that we can play and potty in our yard off leash.  Any help or advice?

[Yvonne N]

We have an Invisible Fence brand hidden fence.  Third house we have been in with one.  GREAT product.  I'm sure they are all very similar.  What is key is the training.  You must follow the training program and the time recommended is very important.  If it says not to cross the line for four weeks ~ don't cross the line for four weeks.  We have two neighboors who did not following training program and they each have a dog that is totally confused about where they can and cannot go.  Astro obeys his boundries even without his collar.  We also have two inside disks that work with the collar to keep Astro out of our dinning room and our daughters room.  At Christmas we put one of the disks under the Christmas tree to keep him away from that.  Good luck.  It is a great investment.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Thanks Yvonne for the reply - question - what do you mean don't cross the line for 4 wks?  What if we want to go for a walk around the neighborhood, I'm assuming that taking the collar off when putting the boys into the car to drive out the driveway and then driving to the dog park is then o.k.?  Just want to make sure that I understand.

[Ginny Nightingale]

I will answer that too if you don't mind--it you are taking them out of the yard, make them wait by the bou

[Ginny Nightingale]

I also have invisible fence and LOVE it for my three doodles--I installed another product myself years ago and it did not work well with my terrier--but the Invisible fence works much better. I agree that the batteries are a pain and I am on a plan where they send me batteries four times a year so I don't have to think about it, but they are expensive. I am training my puppy now (the other two were trained as puppies and learned it quickly). The invisible fence can be set to different levels of correction so you can adjust if your dog is not obeying the "zap".

I agree that taking your time with the training is key. My puppy has had the flags around the yard for three weeks and we walk the boundary on a leash every day. I started putting the collar on this week but I do not pull him across the boundary--I let him wander across it (he is on a flexi-lead). The first few days, he never crossed the boundary, but yesterday he did and when he heard the beep, he turned around and came back--so, so far, he has not had the "zap" at all. My other dogs got "zapped" once and never crossed it again. 

It is true that you need to keep an eye on the dogs--I rarely have stray dogs around here, but a few weeks ago, THREE intact male dogs were out in the yard sniffing around--thank goodness my three (one of which is an unspayed female!) were in the house. That was scary and unexpected.

The last thing I want to mention is that you should carefully think about where you want the dogs to go--my boundary includes several gardens and I am sorry that I did not block those off from the dogs. It is also good to reduce the amount of boundary that goes along the road and makes the passing cars, etc, less visible. One of my dogs like to GUARD the house (which I hate) and I am glad that she only has a few places that she can see joggers, etc. Her view is blocked for the most part which cuts down on the barking. 

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Thanks for all the info!  Sadly our yard is not that big (golf development) and what we will most likely end up with is the front yard (with all cars/joggers in view), down one side of the house and then an area in the back.  If the sides are too narrow then we'll have a front yard space and then a back yard space but no connection between them.  That option actually might be the best on as far as keeping both dogs in eye sight.  The rep is coming to our home Friday. 

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

My father had one put one around a HUGE yard, took forever and now they don't even use it. That's because they did not use it properly, never followed the training guidelines, what a huge waste of time and money! I know you would do the right training with your boys though-we did have a neighbor that had one and worked wonderful for  his lab. Did you check consumer reports?

[Tina, Clover, Plus 5 More]

Jane, one thing you need to consider is Stuart's age.  From experience training Apollo for field work using an e-collar.  The trainer said he should be at least 6 months old.  Before that, most dogs aren’t mature enough and don’t have the attention span for the training to be effective.

I did look into invisible fencing a little over a year ago.  Some of the things I needed to consider having multiple dogs.

Correction levels -  I needed one that had multiple correction levels that would work with different size and temperment.  Some of the the systems you had to have the company come out to adjust, I wanted one that I could adjust.  Also the more correction levels the better.  If there is only a couple of levels of correction one level could be to low and the next level up to high with nothing in between.  At least that is how it is with an e-collar.  Invisible fence systems are basicly the same thing. 

Receiver size - Some only have one size receiver on the collar which makes it bulky and uncomfortable for a smaller dog.

False corrections - If I remember right the AM frequency is not has consistent as FM.  What I mean by that is the distance from the buried wire.  It can vary alot more with AM.  This causes a correction at a distance that the dog was shown as being safe.

Batteries - I wanted one that had rechargable batteries or ones I could get at the store.

Just so you know the same company makes Invisible brand, Petsafe, Innotek and Sportdog.  I've heard several success stories using invisible fencing "IF" trained correctly.  Good luck making a decision.

[Jeanne, Tura and Dolly]

Just an FYI note re: training.  I was at the vet once and a guy came in with his lab, neck burnt badly.  The dog ran thru the Invisible fence after another dog.  The vet said he sees a lot of these burns.  So I assume training is really important...

[Lynne of Fountain Falls]

I have invisible Fence brand hidden fence and love it.  The only thing is the expensive batteries and the expense of any repair.  My mistake was to get 5 acres of fence which doesnt cost a whole lot more that just one acre.  The problem is there is more potential for breaks.  Had a mole chew through and then turn around and chew through again two inches down.  Still, it is so worth it.  To see my dogs being able to run and play outside wether Im with them or not is worth every penny.  Training is the key. Dont skip anything.  

I  would never put a collar on my dogs that I thought would burn them.  I felt the correction myself and although not pleasant, left no kind of mark.  We had several run thrus early on with very little ill affect except  that they havent tried it again.  Ive watched raccoons and deer walk by on the other side.  All my three do is whine.  Another plus is that if we dont dead bolt every door, our standard poodle can open them and let herself out.  Used to be a big worry but no longer.  Worth the expense.  

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

For real? Who let the dog out? That's amazing that she can just come and go if she wanted to.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Thanks for all your advice, here are a couple benefits of the DogWatch fence (their claims). 

It uses FM radio signal which they claim protects from unintentional corrections caused by appliances, etc.

Lifetime equipment warranty & they have the longest battery life - 2 years!

They use 16 gauge wire instead of the 18 that other companies use (I'd prefer 14 though which is best).

20 corrrection levels.

The receiver on the collar is 1.5 ounces and less than 2 cubic inches.

 

 

[Tina, Clover, Plus 5 More]

Wow!  If I was still looking to install an invisible fence I would definitely consider this brand.  At the time we were considering Dogtra.  One of the downfalls was the size of the collar it was to bulky for a small dog.  Maybe DogWatch would install 14 gauge if it works with their system.