Invisible Fence

[Icepuck]

I'm planning on putting in a PetSafe in-ground fence myself. I've thoroughly read the directions and have a few questions for anyone who's either done it before or knows something about them.

1. One of the requirements is that the wire must be "twisted" for areas you want your pet to safely cross, as this cancels out the radio signal.

What it doesn't say is if this is a completely separate piece of wire? Or a portion of the signal bearing wire? For example, if I want to create a single loop around my yard, if twisting the wire means "twist together the leads returning to the transmitter" this allows for only one piece of crossable wire. Obviously I won't be able to create, say, a crossable piece in the middle of my loop (say, for a gate).

2. How effective are these things? Right now my dog escapes the yard so often, we are considering giving her up, since she is beginning to wreak havoc on the neighbor's property while we are gone.

3. Does my dog always need to wear the collar? Does she eventually "learn" so that it is not necessary?

4. I'm finding that placement of the transmitter in the house may be difficult. I haven't tested it yet, as the work required to place the wire will be a lot, so I want to know - one of the requirements is that the transmitter must be far from metal appliances, and it's strongly recommended that it be far from other cables. I don't think I have a place anywhere outside my house that DOESN'T have some kind of electrical line nearby. How good do these work if you run the cable past the meter outside your house?

 

[huntr1]

I'm planning on putting in a PetSafe in-ground fence myself. I've thoroughly read the directions and have a few questions for anyone who's either done it before or knows something about them.

1. One of the requirements is that the wire must be "twisted" for areas you want your pet to safely cross, as this cancels out the radio signal.

What it doesn't say is if this is a completely separate piece of wire? Or a portion of the signal bearing wire? For example, if I want to create a single loop around my yard, if twisting the wire means "twist together the leads returning to the transmitter" this allows for only one piece of crossable wire. Obviously I won't be able to create, say, a crossable piece in the middle of my loop (say, for a gate).

2. How effective are these things? Right now my dog escapes the yard so often, we are considering giving her up, since she is beginning to wreak havoc on the neighbor's property while we are gone.

3. Does my dog always need to wear the collar? Does she eventually "learn" so that it is not necessary?

4. I'm finding that placement of the transmitter in the house may be difficult. I haven't tested it yet, as the work required to place the wire will be a lot, so I want to know - one of the requirements is that the transmitter must be far from metal appliances, and it's strongly recommended that it be far from other cables. I don't think I have a place anywhere outside my house that DOESN'T have some kind of electrical line nearby. How good do these work if you run the cable past the meter outside your house?

I have a PetSafe WireLESS fence for sale. All the convience of an underground fence, with NONE of the work of buring the cable, or worry about breaking the cable in the freeze/thaw cycle or during yardwork. I loved this fence, but since I had to have my dog put to sleep, I no longer need it.

 

[krazd_kat]

Personally I don't like these fences although they are better than nothing. I have known of too many dogs that get through these (mainly the bigger breeds). Also, while it might keep your dog safely contained it does NOT keep other dogs away, if your dog is outside it's susceptible to being attacked and hurt. If your dog isn't hurt but kills another or seriously injures the other dog chances are someone will try to hold you accountable and heaven forbid if you have a Rottweiler, Pit Bull, Bulldog, etc... then it's due to the breed (not the other dog running at large).

2. How effective are these things? Right now my dog escapes the yard so often, we are considering giving her up, since she is beginning to wreak havoc on the neighbor's property while we are gone.

Now, why is your dog running loose without a fence? You should be walking it on leash, if it needs/wants to be outside on it's own at certain times you can at least built it an outside kennel, or even an above ground cable system (this is only for temporary time outside, not 24x7 tethering).

If you have a current fence and the dog is escaping that, consider putting up an electric wire around the inside perimeter of your yard, I've never had a dog that had to hit that more than one time, after that all they had to do was see the wire and they stayed away from it.

 

[Icepuck]

I thought about it, but the main reason I went with the in ground is because I just want to prevent the fence-climbing, fence digging. She HAS an enclosed yard, she just won't stay in it. She's a big dog, strong, stubborn and runs pretty damned fast.

Looking at the wireless versions, I wasn't confident that I could create a configuration that would allow her to freely move about the yard BUT NOT to cross the fence - it seemed like its function was to keep the dog within a a certain range from the house, and every configuration I saw was more or less circular.

I am somewhat worried about something else - water. The collars say they are "waterproof" but I think they just mean that water won't bother the battery. It doesn't say anything should my dog splash about in a puddle or get water all over her - and end up getting shocked. That's why I am hoping the correction period doesn't need to be permanent.

 

[Icepuck]

Now, why is your dog running loose without a fence?

That is not the situation. She has a completely enclosed yard.

If you have a current fence and the dog is escaping that, consider putting up an electric wire around the inside perimeter of your yard, I've never had a dog that had to hit that more than one time, after that all they had to do was see the wire and they stayed away from it.

That's the plan. My major concern about the configuration is being certain that it will retain the signal.

The kit has flags that you put up so that the dog associates the boundary with the flag. I would really love to leave up the flags, but take the collar off. It bothers me to think she would have to wear it all the time.

 

[GWguy]

A neighbor has been using the electric fence with great success and 2 dogs. They will not venture near the line. However, I have another friend whose dog will just plow right thru the fence like it's not there, even on the highest setting. He just shakes his head a bit when he gets jolted, but it won't deter him. In the end, it has to do alot with the dog's personality. It may work, it may not.

As far as the wiring layout, crossed wires, etc., I'd call the manufacturer. They should be able to answer all of those kinds of questions.

 

[krazd_kat]

I'm not talking about an underground set up. I'm talking along this line Garden Pest Control Solutions. These are very easy to put up and fairly inexpensive. ( I just did a quick search and this came up. Lowes also used to sell something like this).

No collar to wear, the wire is the deterrent.

 

[ironintestines]

I'm not talking about an underground set up. I'm talking along this line Garden Pest Control Solutions. These are very easy to put up and fairly inexpensive. ( I just did a quick search and this came up. Lowes also used to sell something like this).

No collar to wear, the wire is the deterrent.

This "garden-pest" thing is nothing more than an electric fence for goof-balls that think it will keep coons & squrirrels out of the strawberry patch and is nothing more than a waste of money..

The invisable fence, the hard wired kind, is very good for dog containment purposes. The wireless kind operates off of a radius from the transmitter, a big honkin circle. If your yard is rectangle shaped, there will be areas inaccessable for your pet.

The twisted section of wire is a section that the signal is canselled so Cujo can cross the line & not receive discipline. The wire is one continuoius loop, starting at point "A"(the transmitter) & terminating at point "B" (the transmitter). A wire that borders your property line. A property line of any shape or form.

For example on the twisting- my transmitter is located in the shed. the shed is 40' inside the encapsulating circle of wire. the wire comes from the transmitter, goes straight 40' to the property line, turns 90 degrees to the left, runs all around the proterty line 360 degrees, turns left 90 degrees, runs straight 40' back to the shed & ends up back at the transmitter. One continuous loop. The 40' between my shed & the property line is what is twisted. A easy-peasy tool to twist this section of wire is a cordless drill. Insert the 2 ends of the wire into the chuck (the starting & ending point of th wire), secure the wires 40' away (the point where one goes left & one is coming from the right) & pull the trigger. It will twist uniformly..
The dog can cross over this section of twisted wire because the transmitting signal is cancelled. The reciever will not activate.

The invisible fence has critics because the dog was not trained properly. Puppies are easy to train. It's all they know. Our boxer was nearly 2 years old when we invested in this contraption. He was very difficult to train because he was kinda set in his ways..

True, some dogs are hard headed. For this problen, there are stronger recievers on the market that will litterally knock you on your azz when it's activated. I hold onto the recievers to sample/feel what it does. It's only fair that you take a shot before you give it to your dog.

Training is the key to making the fence work for you.

Sorry about the spelling if it angers anyone.. Oh BTW- pentobarb is available in pink OR clear..

 

[krazd_kat]

This "garden-pest" thing is nothing more than an electric fence for goof-balls that think it will keep coons & squrirrels out of the strawberry patch and is nothing more than a waste of money..

It's fairly cheap and it has worked to keep every dog in my yard that in the past has been a fence jumper or a digger and there isn't really a lot of training required. They hit it, they get zapped they don't hit it again.... Coons and Squirrels are always welcome....

Sorry about the spelling if it angers anyone.. Oh BTW- pentobarb is available in pink OR clear..

You really are an azz aren't you.....

 

[Robin]

The invisible wireless and underground system work great. We have had in the previous house the underground system. I have 2 dogs that are a smart but difficult breed to train. (Stubborn) They are American Eskimos and sisters and at the time almost 2 yrs old. One would go through the other followed even with a beep warning and a shock. We put the flags just at the beep warning and that gave them something to think about if they passed them. We never left them un attended they were either on a leash for normal walks outside or tied out on runs but close to the beepwarning flags to train them. Be patient it is not a overnight training and instant solution. However, give it time. The beginning was not making me a believer. We had to get stronger collars from the invisible fence company. extra $, but I am so relieved we have them. I wanted them to be able to be outside when we were outside and not have to put them in danger with chasing our horses. When they are in the house the collar is off when they go out the collar is on.
We replace the batteries in the collar once a month, they dont last as long as the Original Invisible fence batteries. The training and persistance took 4 months, even with everyday training. Our Great Danes took 1 shock and stayed 20 feet inside the flags.

 

[cattitude]

As I've posted before, we have an invisible fence. It is used in conjunction with a 4 foot physical fence that covers about two acres of our property. One of our boxers is a jumper. It has worked very well for the most part, although for many months she would still jump the fence when the neighbor's dog was out and if something else caught her eye. Thankfully, she hasn't done that in a long time.

We've also had to put heavy chicken wire type of fencing across her favorite jumping corner.

While I don't like the idea of "zapping" her, I'd rather have that than have her injured or killed by a vehicle.

The collars are indeed waterproof and are very tough. One of my other dogs will pull her collar off and then we have to search for them. Sometimes the collar is lost for months and the only issue is a dead battery.

As Ironintestines said, training is key. You have to work with the dog to ensure it understands the concept.

Icepuck, I noticed from your post that it appears you leave your dog unattended in the yard. This is probably a big part of the problem...he/she is probably bored and escapes the yard in search of fun and companionship. When I hear my dogs barking or I notice another dog walking by, etc., I call my dogs in or at least check on the "jumper."

While the system we're using works fairly well for us, I am not completely comfortable trusting the life of my dog to a fence.

 

[ironintestines]

The invisible wireless and underground system work great. We have had in the previous house the underground system. I have 2 dogs that are a smart but difficult breed to train. (Stubborn) They are American Eskimos and sisters and at the time almost 2 yrs old. One would go through the other followed even with a beep warning and a shock. We put the flags just at the beep warning and that gave them something to think about if they passed them. We never left them un attended they were either on a leash for normal walks outside or tied out on runs but close to the beepwarning flags to train them. Be patient it is not a overnight training and instant solution. However, give it time. The beginning was not making me a believer. We had to get stronger collars from the invisible fence company. extra $, but I am so relieved we have them. I wanted them to be able to be outside when we were outside and not have to put them in danger with chasing our horses. When they are in the house the collar is off when they go out the collar is on.
We replace the batteries in the collar once a month, they dont last as long as the Original Invisible fence batteries. The training and persistance took 4 months, even with everyday training. Our Great Danes took 1 shock and stayed 20 feet inside the flags.

Them 9v battery recievers are the mac-daddy when it comes to the runners & beep deaf pups..

Boxer #1 was the toughest one to train. I feel we started 2 years too late on him. That's why he was so stubborn & testy. Since then, 4 others have been nuthing but cake to train.. It's all the know..

Very Very true- training is the key & from day one..

Good post

 

[ironintestines]

It's fairly cheap and it has worked to keep every dog in my yard that in the past has been a fence jumper or a digger and there isn't really a lot of training required. They hit it, they get zapped they don't hit it again.... Coons and Squirrels are always welcome....

Obviously, they (the dogs) are really not interested in what you have "protected" w/ the garden-pest devise.. Must be some kind of "special" garden if only dogs are to be kept vacant but squirrels & coons are allowed to run a muck..

You really are an azz aren't you.....

My dogs sporting their shock collars think very same thing.. My wife- I can't divulge what she says about me.

However, they know pentobarbitol is available in clear also.. Not just in pink as some believe..

Is potassium chloride or xyla-ject available in pink also?? Just wondering.. Both offer the same end result as pentobarb..

 

[krazd_kat]

Obviously, they (the dogs) are really not interested in what you have "protected" w/ the garden-pest devise.. Must be some kind of "special" garden if only dogs are to be kept vacant but squirrels & coons are allowed to run a muck....

The only reason I have ever used this fence was to keep my dogs in my own backyard, it's worked for every stray dog that has been incorporated into my home. (I could just care less where the squirrels and coons hang out.. I feed them all my extra bird food, so I don't try to keep them out of anything)

My dogs sporting their shock collars think very same thing.. My wife- I can't divulge what she says about me...

Probably not fit for a public forum...

However, they know pentobarbitol is available in clear also.. Not just in pink as some believe..

Is potassium chloride or xyla-ject available in pink also?? Just wondering.. Both offer the same end result as pentobarb..

This, again, I could care less about what color it is, I don't work with it or around it and I wasn't the one arguing this point, so since that was a different thread, I think that we are both here and I won't refer to it again....

 

[Icepuck]

Icepuck, I noticed from your post that it appears you leave your dog unattended in the yard. This is probably a big part of the problem...he/she is probably bored and escapes the yard in search of fun and companionship. When I hear my dogs barking or I notice another dog walking by, etc., I call my dogs in or at least check on the "jumper.".

There's nothing I can do about that, unless I retire, and that won't be for a long time. We both work, and I can't keep her in the house all day. She has a doggie door to go in and out, but I can't bring myself to confine her all day. She loves to run too much, and she's wicked fast.

When I am home, I let her go freely in and out, and most of the time, she follows me or sits at my feet. When I am in the yard or working in the garden, she's usually within a couple of feet and at night, she sleeps with us. I give her attention but I can't be there 24/7. You are lucky that you can call to your dogs when they're out - I'm over 50 miles away.

 

[cattitude]

I'm over 50 miles away.

I work over 50 miles from home too. My dogs do not outside unsupervised, they stay in when we're not at home.

 

[Icepuck]

I work over 50 miles from home too. My dogs do not outside unsupervised, they stay in when we're not at home.

Can they "hold it" that long? My girl can't. She tries, but she can't last all day.

 

[cattitude]

Can they "hold it" that long? My girl can't. She tries, but she can't last all day.

Yeah, they do fine. Generally, our son is home earlier and they can go out.