Dog Invisible Fence

[Matt Meiser]

The wireless one just basically does a circle though, right?

[Bryan Morgan]

Depends on what kind of dogs you have and how smart they are. I have a border collie and an australian shepherd and those collars don't work with them. They are smart enough to know not to mess around when the collar is on but as soon as you take it off they do whatever it is you are trying to prevent them from doing (bark control collar, fence, etc). I've been watching the dog whisperer and using those methods and it actually works pretty well.

[Aaron Hastings]

We have 2 hunting dogs, one 50 lbs, one 85 pounds. Most times they wouldn't cross the boundary. But if they really wanted to chase something, they could care less about the shock. We could never rely on it; and other animals could come in. We went back to a real fence. I suppose our smaller dog could clear it, but never has.

[Rich Stewart]

Reminds me of the story about the lady who called Invisible Fence and asked, "Will it keep skunks out of my yard?" The guy says, "Yeah, if you can get them to wear the collar."

[Matt Meiser]

All the neighborhood cats, rabbits, and dogs have learned where our dogs border is and how far they need to run to safety. The little Lhasa Apso from across the street will come about 5' from where he can go and bark at him for a 1/2 hour. When I was installing my parents' cabinets, my mom came to our house to pick my daughter up when she got off the bus. She took the dog with her and let him out on the wrong side of the fence. He was really confused and upset!

We've had him since he was about 6 months old and he's had the collar his whole life. Even without the collar he won't just run across the border but will eventually end up outside, probably without realizing. I usually notice the battery is low because I see him sniffing around the yard further than normal.

[Paul Ryan]

Depends on what kind of dogs you have and how smart they are. I have a border collie and an australian shepherd and those collars don't work with them. They are smart enough to know not to mess around when the collar is on but as soon as you take it off they do whatever it is you are trying to prevent them from doing (bark control collar, fence, etc). I've been watching the dog whisperer and using those methods and it actually works pretty well.

Bryan,

My brother has a border collie and has not trouble using the collar with the dog. His dog is the same as all others. After a while they dont even realize when the collar is on or not. 99% of the time the collar is on the dog. But he goes out every no and then with out it and still behaves the boundries.

As far as dogs chasing through the fence it has never been a problem for us. You just have to turn the collar up. We have all heard stories about how persistant male dogs can be when a female is around and in heat. My lab still has his package, and wont cross the broundry no matter what. My neighbors had a spring spaniel that went into heat last fall. My dog still would not cross the boundry to get to her. Now it didnt' prevent her from comming into his area.

Yes the wireless is a circle. The 2 draw backs are if you need a large area, over 1/2 acre you need 2 units (double the $$) and it is only a circle. So if you want the dog to be able to run every were and not just a circle then it is not the right thing. One unit is just enough for me. I have 1/2 acre of yard and the rest is woods and ravin. So it keeps the dog out of the woods except in places were he can just get to the edge were he does his business.

[Matt Meiser]

One other question on the wireless--what happens when the power goes out? With wired, you lose the "fence". Does the dog get shocked with the wireless because the "circle of trust" is gone?

I've wondering about getting the wireless for over at my parents' house.

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

Peter, We have a Jack Russell that could be your avatar's twin. We have a Dogwatch brand fence and I highly recommend it. We have a full 2 acres fenced in. It only took her one hit to be fully trained. She doesn't associate the collar with the correction so she doesn't even need to wear it. She just knows the area beyond the fence line as the "bad place". I've seen her chase squirrels and rabbits full speed to the fence then puts on the brakes when she reaches it. She won't even venture out for her favorite thing, the tennis ball. She barks at it and makes you get it. When she does wear the collar it's only set at level 2 (out of 5). Feels like a hard static shock.

I ride a bicycle and on one of my favorite routes there are 2 rottweilers that would love to get a piece of me but never cross the line. You can see a path worn in the field where the fence line is. I think it would work on pit bulls too.

PS We had it installed, it cost us $1k for 2 acres and it's completely seamless. By contrast, at out old house, we had a chain link fence which cost us over $3k, it only was the back yard and it was butt ugly.

[Al Willits]

Many years back the wife used to be a service manager for the Invisible Fence System, she says they had about a 2% failure rate when they installed the fence, not so when customers did the DIY thing.

She mentioned Akita's were one breed the the fence had trouble with.

Trainning the dog is the hardest, maybe have a pro install and train your system.

Al

[Michael Gibbons]

I had one installed about 5 years ago and the only real problem I had is when I plowed up some ground because I forgot where the actual wire was so I had to fix it. I had a company come out and install it. Cost $1,000. Worth every penny. He laid wire around 3.5 acres and hooked it all up. Used a neat trenching machine- digs the slot, lays and pushes the wire in then recovers the trench. The system is made by Innotek. the collar stays on at all times because the dog is outside at all times except when really frosty out like it has been this weekend- then we let him in at night.

[Matt Meiser]

I did the same thing. Actually we had 2 problems requiring repairs. First was digging through it doing some drainage work. A new piece of wire and 2 waterproof wire nuts fixed that. The second was when the driveway turned to mush where it ran through and the conduit they put it in floated to the surface.

At the old house I had to cross an asphalt drive. I just bought a fiber blade for my CS and cut a kerf all the way across which was as easy as cutting plywood. Drop the wire in and fill with sealant. The next year when we had the drive sealed they just resealed that like any other crack. 7-1/2 years later it still looks good driving by at least.

[Paul Ryan]

One other question on the wireless--what happens when the power goes out? With wired, you lose the "fence". Does the dog get shocked with the wireless because the "circle of trust" is gone?

I've wondering about getting the wireless for over at my parents' house.

I am not sure I have never lost the power while the dog is on it. Seems to me he would get shocked, but I thought they addressed that. I know it has a 20sec limit on stimulus. I can go a couple of weeks now with out putting the collar on the dog he still obeys. All I know is he never tests the limit. If the power were to go out and he got shocked he would get over it, and forget what happend 15 minutes latter. I think it is a great product because it works excellent and takes 2 minutes to install.

[Bryan Morgan]

Bryan,

My brother has a border collie and has not trouble using the collar with the dog. His dog is the same as all others. After a while they dont even realize when the collar is on or not. 99% of the time the collar is on the dog. But he goes out every no and then with out it and still behaves the boundries.

Is this the one with the little shock probes on it? I was told not to leave it on the dogs for more than a couple days because it would mess up their skin or something...

One of my dogs responds to the shocks pretty well while the other doesn't seem to care but doesn't like the citrus sprayers at all.

[Lee Schierer]

I bought an invisible fence from Innotek and installed it my self. It took less than 3 hours to fence in my 1 acre. If you put the fence in in the spring before the grass grow, you can just staple it to the ground and let the grass grow over it. I have a rechargeable collar and it has worked reliably since we learned only to charge the collars when they were asking to be charged not every night. It has adjustable stimulation levels and our dog and my daughters dog when it visits rarely gets zapped. They hear the beep and immediately retreat. I feel confident that my Brittany will not cross the fence while wearing the collar no matter what. Our fence is set on the lowest level of nine levels that actually zap. Even with the training for the fence, I can put my dog at heel with the fence turned off or the collar off and walk him through the secret gate (one specific place) into the back field, yet he won't go on his own when left unattended and won't cross other areas of the fence even if called.

Let me say this however. NO DOG will stay inside the fence unless it is properly trained. Training isn't a five minute job after you poke all the flags in the ground and let the dog get zapped a few times It takes several weeks to do it right and you have to observe that the dog is ready to be on their own before letting them be on their own. Some learn much faster than others. Dogs that bolt through the fence have not been properly trained. Innotek has a great step by step training video with their product.

With regard to keeping other dogs out, it is true that the electronic fence will not. But you have a lot more leverage with the folks that let their dogs roam if yours doesn't and won't. Most areas have laws that can be enforced about dogs roaming on their own. They are very effective with your electronic fence.

[Matt Meiser]

We've had the collar with the probes on ours 7 solid years-no skin problems. He gets scared when you take it off. Bath time!