So has anyone used it???? im thinking about getting one for when my dog gets a little bigger....cant afford a fence til next spring and theres a mean boxer across the street that has attacked three dogs, one who is a doberman....im scared and wont be leaving my dog unsupervised outside and i know it wont keep that mean boxer out of my yard but it will keep my dog from going out into the street and possibly getting attacked on that dogs turf. what do you guys think about this system???and at what age do you start training for it if anyone knows????
As you said, it won't keep the other dog out of your yard. My HOA won't allow physical fences so I had the invisible brand fence installed and my dog will not leave the yard! His collar is set on the least static correction there is and he learned his boundaries in a day. He had maybe one correction that looked more like it startled him and definitely didn't look like it hurt him. I kept the flags up a little longer than recommended but I could see that he really would study those flags. Now they are down and I can run out of the yard and he will not follow me (and he is a total mama's boy and wants to be with me everywhere), he will not chase a toy outside the boundary and he doesn't even try to follow kids outside the boundary. I started training him at 16 weeks. I NEVER leave him unattended and at night I do put a leash on him to potty outside. I love it as he can run and chase things in the yard without having to be on a leash and I can throw balls and such and he runs and runs and runs. We do training and everything. As I said though, I never leave him alone outside. I'm either with him or sitting on my porch watching him. I would never leave him out there if I was leaving the house. I followed their training exactly and it worked like a charm. I only did my back yard though as you can never allow them to walk through the boundary even if you turned the system off. So keep in mind that if you install it around your whole property then to take him for a neighborhood walk you would have to put him in the car to drive him off your property as you could not allow him to walk through the boundary. So really discuss with the salesperson exactly where you want the boundaries to be. Hope this helps!
Most Invisible fence companys will give you and your dog training when you have them installed, if your doing it yourself might take a little more time to learn but they come with instructions also. Never a good idea to leave a dog unattended in a yard, at any time. Not only can it be attacked by other dogs, animals, etc., but someone might watch your dog and walk off with it. You can also start teaching your dog your lawn boundries by walking them, and when your dog goes to cross over the boundries you can give him a correction, when they stay within the boundaries give him treats.
I have had several over the years and find they work very well, but I think much would depend on the breed of dog: My goldens are a little docile and are not head strong at all. Secondly, the first 1-2 months of training are crucial. One needs to be meticilous with consistancy.
So Leigh, when Sterling comes to visit, he can wear his Petsafe wireless collar for work outside of the fencing?
He does great with ours although, at night, I do take him out on leash....after all, he is a black doodle and I cannot see him well enough. And, you know--there are other critters out here that might get him! LOL
We have 4 1/2 acres with an invisible fence. As with anything training is the most important part. My five are never left out unsupervised no matter the weather or time of day. Like anything it has its pluses and minuses. I never have to worry about mine darting out an open door or someone leaving a fence gate open. But it doesn't keep out the farmers cows or horses or neighbors dogs. But what scares me the most is that someone could grab one of my dogs and disappear with them, but that has happensed to dogs in fenced yards also. Supervision is the best I can do to keep the "Z" crew safe. Also, ours was installed by Pet Stop and he did the initial training and they will not train a dog less than 7 months old.
We have a 2 yr old goldendoodle that we got when he was 13 months old. We have a large front yard but no back yard and we couldn't let him run in the yard as he wanted to greet and play with every dog and human that walked by. We got the invisible fence and it has made a huge difference. He can play and run in the yard. The neighborhood dogs parent's all know that Bo has the fence so if they have a friendly dog they bring them within his range and if their dog does not like to play they walk them on the other side of the street. Unlike Sally and Echo we have not had a problem when we walk Bo. We take off his fence collar and put on his leash. When we get to his boundary he stops. All we have to do is say "it's okay" and he will cross the boundary. If he has the fence collar on, he never tries to cross the boundary in the driveway. I would definitely recommend the invisible fence. It has made us and Bo much happier and relaxed.
Hi Katie,
I have 2 friends who had invisible fences and both dogs had been well sensitized to the jolt from the collar of the fence. However, each one suddenly saw a squirrel or ball and suddenly bolted out to the street. And sadly, the dogs were both killed by passing cars. IDOG won't even allow adoptions to families with electric fences. They create a harmful false sense of security. I'd feel safer being outside with your dog in the yard and keeping him on a long tether.
In my backyard, on the far border we didn't have a fence. So very inexpensively we installed the wire mesh fencing (little rectangles) that is supported by 5 foot posts that hold the wire. You may want to do something like this at first, until you can afford a sturdier fence.
Liz
well in my neighborhood the houses are close together...and im not too sure of all of my neighbors so im thinking that im better off with a real fence since i dont have acres and acres of land...plus with the mean boxer, a rottweiler and dobermen it will be better protection, plus i would hate someone to have someone steal her....thanks for all the responses......soon enough it will be winter and a yard full of snow so i dont have to worry about fencing for a while...lol
I know a lot of people that love their invisible fence. We however decided that it was not going to work on our property. The property lines are too close to the area where the dogs go. I hope to put up a real fence someday. We had one at the previous house we lived in and loved it. In the meantime we use a Sport dog E-collar on one dog, the puppy is on a tie out or leash and the other one sticks close to home. One of us is always outside with them. Time consuming now, as our German Shep is only 3 mo. I use the e-collar because Sam (LD) loves to run.We live in the woods, but have a close neighbor. I can call him back easily and quickly. Most time now it is to the sound, not the zap. He is 1-1/2 yr. We even bought the fence, put it up and than decided after testing it that the boundary in the one area was impossible to get far enough away for them to safely manuever and the neighbors did not want us to go beyond the property line. So now we are going to give it to our daughter as she plans on using one when they get their puppy.