[LoveMyBirdDog]

Hey everyone. I have a 6 1/2 month old GSP/Brittany mix and an 8 year old Basset Hound that was a rescue. I have just recently purchased and installed a Pet Safe underground fence. My puppy is doing excellent as expected... however my Basset Hound is no doing so well. I'm going to tell you guys my problems and any advice is welcomed.

1. My Basset hound is extremely low to the ground. She is a very small Basset and only weighs 29lbs. For some reason or another the collar does not beep until she is right up on the wire, then boom it shocks her. My puppy's collar beeps 3 feet from the wire and doesn't shock until he is over the wire. I've tried switching the collars and that isn't the problem. The problem is because her neck is so low to the ground (almost touching). I'm not sure how to fix the problem...

2. Since she has been shocked a few times and knows how that feels, I've changed the setting to beep only. All the training methods tell me to allow them to cross the line and get shocked, then throw treats across and get shocked until they learn not to go after the treat. The problem is that after getting shocked only 2 times she retreated back to the house and refused to go anywhere but inside. I tried treats, but her anxiety was too great to eat them. I tried loving her... but she was just so incredibly anxious.

I gave her a break and decided not to go any farther with her yesterday. Then today I took her to the fence, she heard the beep (didn't get shocked b/c of the collar setting) and retreated.... back to the front door and inside the house. For the rest of the day today she refuses to go more than 10ft from the front door.... I don't know how I'm going to train her if she won't leave the door step....


My puppy is already running the yard off lead and not crossing the line. I know he is young and I expected problems with the basset.. But I don't know what to do. Is she a lost cause?

 

[agility collie mom]

How long have you been training the fence?

 

[LoveMyBirdDog]

started Saturday....

 

[mohms]

Being that the dog is anxious like that, I would just give it time and not pressure the dog into learning the yard boundaries all at once. Ease it into learning. I agree with you setting the collar to beep only. Sounds like a good choice.

 

[agility collie mom]

Way to soon to start with a collar that is "live". Do you have the flags set? You need to walk the boundaries and teach those first that alone should be done for at least three days. Did you get a dvd with instructions?
This is how I taught...
I have an invisible fence. Works wonderful. You have to train boundaries. You can buy the flags at most big box lumber yards. Set them at 2 foot intervals. Fence is off at this point. When dog approaches flag pull back dog with a firm no. Plenty of praise when dog is in the safety zone. (Inside fence). Do this for at least three days. Next turn the fence on. Usually the collar comes with training probes. You need to use these. Now repeat above step with flags on leash, dog will hear the warning tone. Do this for a week every day. Now comes the hard part. Change to working probes. With the dog on the leash allow dog to cross boundary. Dog gets shocked you pull back to safety zone. This is to teach the dog that inside the fence is the safety zone. You should begin to see that your dog doesn't want to be near the flags. Next put your dog on a long line. Have people distract on the other side of the boundary. Stop dog from crossing as with the leash. This is your distant work. Once you think that your dog can be trusted to not cross the boundary, take dog off leash but, stay in the yard with the dog. Do not leave unsupervised at this point. If dog stays in yard you will now begin to remove every other flag every three days. One more thing. Make sure that the probes are making contact with the skin. If your dog is long haired, clipping a small patch where the probe sits will insure contact. One more thing the batteries lose charge quickly when you are training. So check your collar often for dead batteries. My collars are rechargeable there is a warning light for when the batteries are getting low.

I've had my fence for four years and love it. But if you skip or train too quickly you will end up with a run through or a frightened dog. Hope this helps.