Invisible fence: Possibility in this situation?

EllenCherryCharles · 05-13-2007, 12:30 PM

Ok, so here's the situation: We live in the country on a long dead end road. About a mile from the nearest main road. We picked this spot mainly because it was a) secluded and b) had a big yard for the dog (6 month old 30 lb puppy) to run around. Well our next door neighbors just got a new puppy. He's adorable and named Ralph. Well, Ralph is outside a lot. The wife over there is a stay at home mom, so just kind of lets Ralph in and out as he pleases. Ralph doesn't really leave the yard, unless MY dog runs over there and we try to retrieve him. Then Ralph will follow him. They LOVE each other, and overall Ralph is a great dog. Our yard is not completely fenced. So, since Ralph has arrived, Dakota (our dog) will just run off to their yard at the first glimpse or when he remembers that Ralph *might* be over there. So this has limited our outside running around time. I just don't trust him to not go bolting off to the neighbors yard. And really, "throw the ball, dog retrieves, forgets what's going on and runs off to the neighbors, owner runs off after dog and drags him home....repeat" is not my idea of fun.

Ok, so you may be asking.....why not just fence the whole yard in? We have thought seriously about doing that. But the thing is, we are renting (H's job isn't permanent yet) and the backyard is EASILY half an acre. It would be really expensive and possibly something that would have to be ripped down when we move in about a year.

So, I've been considering an invisible fence. It would be something we could take with us, and something we could use ONLY when we are outside playing or working in the yard or otherwise supervising our dog. Just so we don't have to constantly be chasing him around. It would be really nice to be able to enjoy our deck (maybe eat out there) without worrying that Dakota will disappear at any moment. What do you think? Or are these things horribly offensive?

ritabooker · 05-13-2007, 12:38 PM

You could try it, but the down side is that the dog may get so excited that he will run through it, and then when he is done playing, not be nearly so excited to endure the shock to get back in. This is the one complaint I have heard about invisible fencing. It works with some dogs.

Glad to hear these two dogs are such good buddies.

EllenCherryCharles · 05-13-2007, 12:44 PM

Yeah, that was my thought too (that he'd just bolt through it). Although if that happens, we're no worse off than we are now. We'd be standing there (or sitting on the deck) and know that he just ran off. We'd just have to go over and retrieve him. The good thing is that he pretty much goes to one spot (the neighbor's front yard). I have friends that SWEAR by theirs, with their lab. The lab just goes out there to play when they are home, but their yard is not fenced in. Lily has only gotten out once or twice, and even then she didn't go far, and they knew about it because they were out there with her.

I guess I'm mainly wondering about if this is something that is horribly cruel. If it doesn't work as far as containment, well, that's a bummer. But I definitely don't want to hurt my dog. My friend's son wore the collar around his arm and tested the shock and said that it really wasn't that big a deal. But maybe its different for dogs?

ritabooker · 05-13-2007, 03:18 PM

Don't have experience with the shock aspect of it. It is not as if you are holding the dog in restaints and shocking him. He has the option to avoid the pain, so if I thought it might work on my dog, the cruelty factor would not keep me from trying it. There may be others who have more info regarding this for you.

Lorina · 05-13-2007, 03:36 PM

I used the wire mesh fencing with pound-in stakes (like this) to finish off the fencing in my back yard. It had chain link on the street side, but nothing between my neighbor's yard and mine.

It's relatively inexpensive, and could be taken up easily (except for coiling the fence back up, that'd be a pain in the butt) when you move.

I have three problems with invisible fencing. One is that an excited enough dog can and will run through it. Second, it's not keeping other creatures out of the yard (other dogs, coyotes or wolves, bad people). And third, I've heard of people who use it who have a very hard time getting their dog to leave their property. I know of one person who has to put the dog in the car in the garage, then back out onto the street and unload the dog, just to take it for a walk because it's so afraid to cross the property line.

Mabel55 · 07-19-2007, 09:12 AM

Invisible fences are fabulous: they are non-obstructive, relatively inexpensive, and wonderfully effective if used correctly.

The catch (and there always is one) is that they involve a commitment on the part of the owner to train the pet to understand the new boundary line.

Common problems like a dog bolting through it or a dog being scared to leave the yard are results of owners failure to follow the training directions correctly. Any dog that can be housebroken can learn to respect the boundaries of the fence without fear if trained properly.

If you are worried about the safty of your pet (any good pet owner should be) check out this site: http://trainmypet.net

Good luck!

poohlp · 07-19-2007, 09:37 AM

Are they inexpensive? The people I know who've had it done paid $1200 to do a normal sized lot. Also, can you take them with you? I thought they were installed underground?

Just a thought.

OliverPuppy · 08-09-2007, 08:29 PM

Hello,

I have a similar situation for my 1 and 1/2 year old German Shepard Mix. He was raised in the suburbs. I adopted him and live in the country on 10 acres (part of 45 open pasture for haying), which he has taken to very quickly. Initially he stayed within sight of the house, only venturing into the pasture if he could see me. He stays with us inside the house when we're in there and plays outside when we're working outside.

However, he just discovered cows, and his shepherding instinct took over yesterday when he ran across the road and started "herding" my neighbors cows. I work with him daily and he seems to obey sit, come and lay commands well, except yesterday. My friends even taped me chasing him chasing the cows. Brilliant. I caught him after 15 minutes when he stopped to take a drink from the pond, which I had to wade into to get him. Cow pie anyone?

I think that he might be a good candidate for an invisible fence, as long as I put up a visual barrier so he can't see the cows. I also want to get another dog to keep him company, but don't know if that could lead to pack mentality and even more issues.

There are a lot of dogs in the country that stay on their properties without invisible fencing. They also seem to be pairs. Just acting as watch dogs or companion dogs to the farmers there. That's what I want, but if I have to employ some modern technology, than so be it.

I was looking online at invisible fence systems for $300.00. Do these work? Which ones might be better? Some claim to be more humane than others. What is the benefit of having a professional company install it? Better technology? It doesn't seem that difficult and then my puppy would have 1/2 an acre to run around in.

Any thoughts would be welcomed. I really love Oliver and can't afford privacy fencing on a large amount of property. I thought invisible fencing sounds like a good alternative, as long as I work with him and continue to train him.

IslandMutts · 08-09-2007, 08:47 PM

we thought about getting an invisible fence to couple our current fence that our dogs are able to jump over. we bought the collars with a remote trainer to see how they would react to the stimulus, before we bothered to bury all of the wires. (the same company makes the remote trainers and invisible fences, so that the same collar works for both). first we tested the collars on ourselves. the stimulus level goes from 1 to 9. 1 was like a tickle. 2 was slightly more of an uncomfortable tickle. 3 was very uncomfortable and 4 made me grab at the collar and try to get it off my neck (as my fiance was laughing at me and enjoying pushing the button :P ). i didn't go higher than 4. we ended up just using the remote trainers to teach the dogs not to jump over the fence, but we are on a waiting list to have a 6 ft fence installed so we can leave them outside without worrying about them escaping.

i watched the dvd that came with the product a few times and studied the instructions. i tried using the remote trainer for obedience training, as the dvd demonstrated, but it didn't work out. either the stimulus had no effect on the dogs or it made them yelp. there was no middle ground. i only had to zap them with a 3 about twice each to get them to stop jumping over the fence. i've heard some dogs are really good with invisible fencing and others are not. maybe try doing what i did and testing out the collar with the remote trainer first, to see how your dog reacts.

Puppy_love_122 · 08-09-2007, 08:52 PM

If you live out where no one cares you could problemly get away with a cheap fence suchas chicken wire or woven wire which is relatlvly cheap and easy and if your renting it isnt permanent and you could take it with you if you move.

sskbreed · 08-09-2007, 10:10 PM

my vet says that the actual "invisible fencing" company is definitely superior to other cheaper ones. i believe him because i have heard others fail with cheaper ones.

Breakaway Farm · 08-09-2007, 10:46 PM

We have the wireless fence from Petsafe. It works very well and there were no wires to bury.

Pattie

fuzzie · 08-10-2007, 12:44 AM

sorry if I sound rude, or am missing something very obvious, but what's wrong with herding some cows for fun, or playing on someone else's lawn? I don't really like it when people don't let their dogs in their houses, but there's got to be a happy medium in there...

Lwood · 08-10-2007, 07:14 AM

I have a similar set up as you are describing and we invested in the Invisible Fence from the professional company. An advantage of that is that they do the training for you so you almost can't screw it up (unless you don't follow through after they have trained the dog, don't take him through "gate", etc.) I understand you don't really want to pay for that at a rental place but I think if you use a fence you get from a store and follow the training guidelines meticulously, you could have a working system that would allow you to control when your dog goes to play with the neighbor's dog.

As for the cruelty aspect, I too worried about that but found that the training has taught him to stay away from the fence so he got shocked (and it seemed more startling than painful) and now it is never an issue. The collar gives a whistle as they get near so they know when the shock would be coming. Once he got the boundary line in mind, he never goes near it so it's like he's getting shocked all the time. I also figured that it was kinder to shock him gently a couple of times than to let him run and get hit by a car or lost or into a fight with coyotes (of which we have a lot in my area) and the joy he gets from running around our yard (we fenced in almost 2 acres, excluding a garden plot in the middle) is worth it.

valleyview1955 · 08-10-2007, 08:24 AM

If I were you, and I am not, I would do the temperary fence with the metal stakes and cheapy fencing. Installing an invisable fence is not foolproof.

Personally, I like the fact that other dogs/chickens/coyotes/possums/racoons and whatnot can't get into a fenced yard. Although you live in the country and have only one dog that comes to "visit" whats to say there won't be another stray at some point? If the other stray is aggressive, then the invisable fence means nothing and your dog could have to defend itself. I like for my dogs to see where their boundry is, and other dogs too.

That is just my two cents.

-Adrienne

p.s. I used to live across the street from a bird farm in Texas with between 5-12K birds on that property at any one time. The invisable fence would have been a true tragedy for me, as the dogs would have killed more then the ONE duck that flew into the backyard over the course of two years.

Plus, stray dogs were a bit of a problem where I used to live, and it kept out many dogs that would have otherwise been on the property. I had to keep in mind that none of the strays had shots or were wormed on a consistant basis.

Jen D · 08-10-2007, 08:31 AM

I like the idea of going to Home Dopot or Lowels and getting cheap fence with stakes I did it with my big guys and they stay in the back, play in the pond and are able to run. I still go out with them because one is a little brain dead and might go right through it. Then I have another area with chain link so I don't have to watch them and it keeps other dogs, cats, and wild animals out. You can alway invite the other dog in to play seeing they are good buddies.

OliverPuppy · 08-10-2007, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzzie

sorry if I sound rude, or am missing something very obvious, but what's wrong with herding some cows for fun, or playing on someone else's lawn? I don't really like it when people don't let their dogs in their houses, but there's got to be a happy medium in there...

If they were my cows, then I wouldn't mind, but they're not. Also, one dog can run cows and their calves around until they're exhausted, stumble and break their leg. Then I have to pay for a $1000 damaged cow. Money that would have been better spent on the fence. I know it sounds cliche, but "Good Fences make for good neighbors."

I agree with you about allowing dogs into the house. I think the only way to bond with them is to fully integrate them into the family. Oliver stays with us in the house whenever we're home, except when he wants to stay outside to play. I think that keeping a dog outside so he can enjoy the fresh air and keep an eye on the house is a better option then locking him in all day.

Renoman · 08-12-2007, 07:19 PM

I am not a huge fan of invisible fencing. I've never used it myself, but I've heard many stories of people that have. The dogs see something interesting and bolt through the fence. They get a jolt. They are then reluctant to return to their yard for fear of getting another jolt. So off they go wandering.
Or, the dog is in their yard, very respectful of the fence, and another creature, dog, coyote, or whatever enters the yard. Those invisible fences work to keep some dogs in but never work to keep other creatures out.

I personally, would go with the stake and wire fencing as a solution to your situation. at least that way, you can control when your dog is allowed outside the fence to play with his buddy. Also, you don't have to fence in the whole yard; maybe just a portion of it so Dakota has a 'safe' area for when you're not outside with him.