Wireless Electric Fence | Please Advise
October 5th, 2007
I have a small dog and he really likes to run around but unfortunately I don't have the time to take him for long walks everyday.
I am planning to purchase a wireless fence, so he can run around the backyard. However, I heard from some of our friends that wireless electric fence isn't a solution because, they think my dog will just run through perimeter and will wonder on my neighbors backyard.
Is it true that wireless fence won't keep my small dog (25pound) confined within my yard? If this true than I am in trouble because I don't want to build a real fence around my property.
Please, let me know if you have a wireless fence and if you are satisfied with it. I am open to any suggestion so please, let me know what solution worked for your or your friend.
Thanks a bunch!
Comments
There are many problems with
There are many problems with "invisible" fences.
While most breeds can be trained to stay in their "home territory" with such a device, some cannot. The breeds less likely to stay "home" with an invisible fence include the terriers, sight hounds, and scent hounds.
But failure to contain dogs is only one of many big problems with these non-fences.
In some municipalities, for example, they are not even considered legal containment systems. So you can be fined for "dog at large" if your pet is "inside" an "invisible fence".
The biggest problem I see with them, however, is that they do not protect your pet from stray dogs, wildlife or neighborhood kids. This issue is especially important for small breed dogs.
I know of small dogs being killed by stray dogs because an invisible fence did not protect the pet.
An actual fence serves 2 purposes. It contains a pet. It also keeps others out. An invisible fence only does one of these things, and not always that well.
Hi Mike, Thanks for your
Hi Mike,
Thanks for your feedback! Do you think a Puggle could not be confined with an electric fence? Puggles are a mix of Pug and Beagle. I guess I understand that an electric fence isn’t a good solution for protecting my dog from neighbor kids and stray dogs. But at this point I don’t have the option to build a real fence. Hence, I think I would be happy to stay outside with him while he is running around in the backyard. So the main purpose of the electric fence would be to contain my dog within my property. But if you think that an electric fence won’t work for a Puggle than obviously. I will have to come up with another solution.
I would be interested to hear from somebody who has a small dog and an electric fence system installed on his/her property.
Mike thanks again for your valuable feedback! You raised a few questions I never thought of.
Whether or not an invisible
Whether or not an invisible fence will work for you will depend a lot on your individual dog. Beagles are scent hounds, and prone to go where ever their nose wants to take them. . .
I have seen these new "track" systems that seem to work really well. They consist of a non-obtrusive metal track that is tacked into the ground. An attachment slides back and forth in the track. A long leash is then attached to the track. Using such a device, you can give a dog full run of a yard, and have them, at least, secured in the yard.
This sort of thing may be problematic if your yard has lots of trees, etc. in which the leash could get tangled.
I have two puggles, and I
I have two puggles, and I have a real fence. They want so badly to "follow their noses" that they actually dig underneath the fence and get out of the yard. In our case, we are considering the electric fence as an improvement over our current fence. I have spoken to people with full breed beagles who have said their electric fences work just great.
Also, you should know there are small dog meetup groups like Pint Sized Play (pintsizedplay.com) or Puggle meetup groups (on meetup.com search for puggles) where you can bring your dog to get rid of all that extra energy, too. On the puggle meetup you could also post a comment asking if any of the other puggle owners have experience with electric fences.
Wireless fences are far too
Wireless fences are far too risky to depend upon as a safe containment system for your dog. Sorry to tell you something you probably don't want to hear! Are you certain you absolutely have no time at all to take your dog for brisk walks and play in a dog park? There's no substitute for exercise for dogs, and your dog wants to spend his time with you, not running alone in your yard.
Dogs usually don't exercise
Dogs usually don't exercise themselves. Hire a dog walker, weather permitting, to walk you dog.
or
Buy an electric treadmill and teach your dog to walk on that, supervised of course. The Dog Whisperer recommends these.
I have a shuggy, which is a
I have a shuggy, which is a pug and a shit-zui. We had always thought of getting an invisible fence, but decided again it because our puppy can be a little presistant. If he wants something he is going to get it. I don't think I would trust the fence with him because of this. I have heard that with the invisible fences some dogs will fight the shock to get where they are wanting to go. I do wish my dog could get more exercise too, but in our situation I couldn't trust the fence.
Hi Haley, I have an 11
Hi Haley,
I have an 11 months old puggle. He was very rebellious and we could not let him out alone to our backyard without a leash. We were debating to install a wireless electric fence system, but we heard the same rumors that you heard. "The dog will run through the system and he won't be able to come back etc."
So instead of the electric fence we decided to purchase a "wireless remote trainer collar". Let me tell you, it made all the difference.
Nowadays, I can let my dog out the backyard and he won't run off the property.
I was able to teach him with this awesome device where our property starts and ends. He also learned to obey our commands, and because of that he also earned my trust. Our relation with our 4-legged friend improved immensely because of the Dog Remote Trainer. Maybe this is something that could work for you too. Good Luck!
I have a three year old
I have a three year old Pemrboke Welsh Corgi, and a seven month old Labrador Retriever-Blue Tick Hound mix. We have an electric fence and both our dogs stay in our yard. The problem with the slide track where your dog is on a leash and can run up and down is, it is almost like telling your dog it is there to guard the area. That is my personal opinion at least, but don't hold my word as law. Also, it I think it is unlikely your dog will be content running up and down that confined strip of ground.
For my Lab-Hound mix, all it took was one shock to stay inside the fence. After that one shock, he doesn't even go near the edges. My Corgi will stay inside, but if the fence goes down she usually finds out and runs off. But, as long as the fence is on both dogs stay inside. Now, I do not have any stray dogs in the area. So, the thought has never even crossed my mind. But, I'd say as long as you don't leave your dog out overnight, and not for extremely long periods of time, you should be alright. The electric fence gives your dog the ability to run around the yard, and is a very good choice in my opinion. The only problem we have had is with the fence breaking, but we have a lot of moles and that may be part of the problem.
Hope the advice helps!
Also, with the little dogs
Also, with the little dogs being persistant, I could say my Pembroke Welsh Corgi was very persistant. However, as long as you teach the dog with the instructions they give you, you should be alright. Depending on the dog, all it may take is one shock. For our dogs we do not even have the shock on, only the beep. If you get the fence, you might want to keep an eye on your dogs for the first few weeks, if only you glance out the window to make sure they're still there.
As long as you train them with the fence correctly, a beep and small shock should keep them in.
The invisible fence is
The invisible fence is wonderful for containing almost all dogs. I have had experience with three dogs - a lab, rottweiler and shih tzu. The lab and rott, after several months, don't even require the collar. My recent shih tzu learned containment in one afternoon. It is a very reliable device.
Stray dog problems are so rare it shouldn't be part of your consideration. Good luck.
How can i keep my neighbors
How can i keep my neighbors dogs from going to the bathroom on my yard is there some device i can install that transmitts a high frequency that will deter dogs from coming on my propetry electric fences are not allowed