Invisible Fence

[Melissa, Jack, & Moose]

I don't know if I am posting this in the right group or not (sorry if his doesn't belong here!)- does anyone have or have had/experience with invisible fence???

 

It came pre-installed in the new house we just bought, and I am nervous about it. I would much rather have a VISIBLE fence that I can physically see and have comfort in knowing that I wouldn't have to worry about dogs getting out! We have a HUGE yard (obviously w/no fence) and putting a real decent fence around it would be huge money, so Eric pretty much kaboshed that idea. Someday I will have a real fence though!!! :)

Should I be worried that it could potentially malfunction and stop working? Can the dogs ignore it and leave the yard anyway? Does it shock them/hurt them? Last thing I wanna do is scare/hurt them at their own home. Or am I over-reacting?????

 

Not looking forward to this at all :(

 

Thank you in advance for your input/advice!!

 

Melissa

[Adina P]

It will probably be fine.  It is possible for it to malfunction or if the battery wears out in the collar.  It has happened where a strong enough stimulus (bunny, whatever) made the dog ignore it and leave the yard anyway.  It does give them some level of shock but not without warning, as I understand it.  In any case, a small shock is a temporary discomfort.  Worse is the discomfort from running off (because of NO fence) and getting hit by a car.  Typically the dog learns the boundaries and the consequences for crossing the boundary and then avoids it so there is no hurt/scare/fear/etc.

[Melissa, Jack, & Moose]

Thanks Adina. Still not sold on it! :(

[Adina P]

Well around I've never used one.  But if you can't have a solid fence, an invisible fence is better than nothing.  I probably would not allow much unsupervised time outside if I didn't have a solid fence.  Invisible fences do not keep other people or critters from coming into your yard and bothering or teasing your dog either...so that's a downside and a reason for supervision.  But I know some of our members have e-fences/invisible fences and they can better tell you about them.  They really aren't going to HARM your dog though.  The dog will avoid doing things that will make it uncomfortable and thus it is very unlikely your dog will choose to go near the border on purpose.  If it does NOT choose to go into the border on purpose, it won't get any electric stimulus and everyone is happy =)

[Melissa, Jack, & Moose]

That's a good way of looking at it...thank you I appreciate the feedback! I'm sure we'll be okay :)  I'll let you know how it goes!

[Amy and Truman]

We have an invisible fence and a very small yard. After training the little dog has crossed once to go chase a dog that was walking by. She came right back and hasn't crossed since. In fact her collar was lost for a week and she never knew it was off, and never crossed the line. Truman the big doodle has only been "shocked" twice during training. He refuses to go within three feet of the barrier for any reason, not even to retrieve a tennis ball. He just looks at me like crazy woman why in the world would you throw a ball over there?

They are not outside alone except for potty breaks 10-15 minutes max. I would not be comfortable leaving them alone outside unattended because of the fear of another dog getting in the yard, barking at passerbys, and digging issues.

I would say if a dog is properly trained with the fence they would only be shocked a couple of times max in the beginning and then they know the rules. it has worked out really well for us so far.

[Janice Hammond]

Your invisible fence willlwork really well.We had one for many years for our Labrador in fact it is still installed but Sadie our doodle never leaves the property  ( we are on 2.5 acres) You will need to work with the dogs and before long they will know exactly where the boundaries are.Prior to getting a shock ( you can control the intensity) there is an audible warning.

Check the battery in their collar frequently to make sure it doesn't need changing.Most of our neighbours have invsible fences for their dogs and very few of them ever challenge it.

Even physical fences can be scaled or dug under.Our one neighbour with a physical fence has a bassett that escapes and visits us regulalry.

[BG and Gavin]

We have one at the cottage and I love it!  Careful training is the key.  Gavin has even generalized his learning. When he stayed at my friends house for a week, he wandered over to the neighbour's so they put their dog's collar on him and the next time he went near the property line, he heard the beep and backed right off.  Never tried again. 

[Lauria Orr]

I had an invisible fence installed when I first got my Beagles, some years ago.  Now Beagles are highly motivated escape artists.....to say the least!  The invisible fence was effective for 3 or 4 days only.  They decided any uncomfortable consequence was worth the freedom of exploring new territory. I had a fence put up. I did not fence the entire yard,due the the expense. The front and sides are cedar, and the back is black rod iron.  It (the rod iron)  blends in with the landscape and you don't really even notice it.  There is another 25 feet or so beyond the fence that we don't really utilize as a part of our functioning yard.  There is a creek and native trees and plants back there that are beautiful and left natural. We can enjoy that through the rod iron fence, and we have a gate if we want to get back there.  Melody and Morgan do not run off the way our Beagles did.  An invisible fence may have worked for them....?

[Melissa, Jack, & Moose]

That's what I am afraid of!! Beagles are a totally different breed but still! We will be living close to a very busy road about a block away from the house and we too have a creek but it's across the road behind our neighbors. I don't want them in anyway finding out about that OR finding the busy road!! I will just have to see what happens/just watch them really close. I want a rod iron fence so bad! Eric laughed at me when I brought that up lol! (Someday I will have one. I don't care.) If anything, I may have to just section off part of the yard like you....we'll see it it goes! :)

[Lorraine Bromley]

Well from my perspective, we love it. Neely rarely wears the collar anymore. We still have to cross the invisible line in an exact way if going for a walk or he won't cross even with us. We used to have to drive him out the laneway. He got shocked once! There are warning beeps and then a shock that is adjustable, we have never had it past the lowest number. A bunny took off from under our tree and Neely ran after it full speed until it went through the fence past his line. The brakes went on and he looked at me like well can you go get it?! I didn't say or do anything just hoping he would stop without his collar on. 

I will say that you NEED to train with the flags first. Don't even turn on the system first. Just put flags across each line. Then keep them on leash and walk them the perimeter correcting them as soon as they go too close to the flag. When they are getting the idea that the flags are off limits you turn on the system and use the collar. walk the perimeter again on the lowest possible If they are really aggressive against the flag training start the collar earlier. You can turn on the system and not put on the collar while flag training as well. That in our experience helped because Neely seemed to scents or sense the wire as well. Do not allow them to get shocked without being on the leash! When they do get shocked they act alot worse than it is, it scares them more than hurts. I have been shocked with it and it doesn't hurt or leave any residual pain, and I don't have fur. While being on the leash and getting shocked you can redirect them back to you by re-calling and heavy praise and treats for returning. We actually had one of us try and coax him across the line to shock him the first time so we KNEW what he would do. This was the best investment we ever made. We are unable to fence our front that faces a busy highway. This also means Neely has the run of the property and gets more excercise than having to be leashed. He often sits in the laneway like that old sheep dog on the cartoons watching the world go by. 

BUT the FLAG TRAINING is the KEY! We can put flags around anything we want him to stay away from and it works so we didn't have to do our flower beds or anything like that we just used the flags!

[Melissa, Jack, & Moose]

Thank you SO MUCH for telling me about the flags, I will definitely be doing that, I feel so much better!!! You have no idea.

 

LOL!! Sheep dog!!!! That is TOO funny, I can just picture that! :) Jack reminds me of a big ol sheepdog too- I am actually dreading his first major haircut. I wish I could keep his hair super long and shaggy all the time! :'(

Thank you again for helping and reassuring me with this! I will let you know how it goes!

 

[Lauria Orr]

Yes, the training with the flags, just as Lorraine describes here, is imperative, or it would just be confusing.  When the fence didn't work for our Beagles, we gave the fence to our neighbors and went through the training with them. They had a lab mix,who took well to the training.  I think if we had put them in a 5 acre yard they would find the edge and try to figure out how to cross the boundary.