Invisible fence DIY

[Jess & Stewart]

Does anyone have experience with the invisible fences that you set yourself?

My dad has a very large yard that backs up to woods, 3 acres in the backyard. He has farm fencing up, 2 wood posts across 2 vertical posts, which works to keep the horses in, but it would cost so much money to put wire/flexible fencing over it so it's secure for Stew. The actual Invisible Fence salesperson quoted us over $1,500 to fence in a large area which seems outrageous to us.

Our neighbor has a tower in her house where she sets the limits outside for the fence. She had a black lab that NEVER crosses his boundary. She told us to get the same one & she would help me train Stew with the collar. I believe her system was $400 and was recommended from her trainer.

We're considering this for Stew, since I know he knows the difference between his 60 ft line and the dog park. Any thoughts, caveats, advice?

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

I would be more concerned with something ( coyote ) coming in. The black lab can defend himself, Stew could not. That being said, coyotes jump our 6 ft fence all the time, which is why Enz is not allowed out by herself on our property.

[Jess & Stewart]

He would always been supervised. I think I'm only going to set the boundary to the back of our yard that we use, to the back of our gardens, well before the fencing that the horses go into.

I'm more curious if the self install systems work? I feel better doing training etc. with Stew under someone's guidance than doing this myself. But I'm guessing if I follow the directions it should be ok since they provide you with all the training materials.

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

I have a system that my friend helped me put in and it works fine.  I paid (I think) about $200 (Petsafe) where you run the wire around your property.  The key to success is the training - do exactly what the instructions say and you will have success.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

you should look into this prior post about a wireless system.  Not sure what the bottom line was-but interesting. 

 www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/alternatives-for-fence

We have a wired system.  Quincy trained very, very quickly and has stayed very respectful of the boundaries.  Good luck! We supervise also, but he loves the freedom of running around in our wooded, hilly area. 

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

correct link:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/alternatives-for-fence

There are many discussions on DK about e-fences.  (some heated) There are two basic types of e-fences - wired and wireless.  With the wired you have definite borders, with the wireless you get a circle that defines where the dog can go.  They work differently - with the wired when a dog comes near the border the collar is activated by receiving a signal - usually first a warning beep, then a warning vibration and finally a "corrective" shock.  With the wireless I am not sure if they get the warnings but they work the opposite of a wired system - the collar is prevented from correcting by the collar receiving a constant radio signal.  When they don't get the radio signal the collar shocks

We have used the wired for many years with success.  Of course it is best to have a physical fence but if that is not possible an e-fence is a good choice.  With any system training is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

Good luck.

[Stella]

I have the Petsafe wireless fence that gives a circular boundary. You can set the size of the boundary. When the signal from the box in your house gets weak, the collar gives an audible warning. If the dog keeps going, the beeps get closer together and the the correction (shock). If you train your dog correctly, they will learn very quickly. We made a game of approaching the flags and then running and racing each other back to the house for a tasty treat!! As others have said, this does not stop other dogs or wildlife entering, so your dog should not be left outside alone. I am really pleased with the fence, as I could not afford to put in a physical fence over such a large area.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

I believe the wireless system is "portable" too.  Of course you would have to re-teach boundaries if you set it up somewhere new