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Underground or wireless fencing

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What are people's thoughts on these, and have they had any experience with them? Our fence isn't secure, so we've had to build a makeshift one cutting off half the yard to our dog, and unfortunately she, when fired up, can still get over the fence. (We rent so we're not interested in making a heavy investment for legit fencing.)

The yard is pretty small and I'd love to let her run the entire area, so I'm thinking of getting a wireless or underground fence to 'block off' the problem areas (low points in the fence, gaps, etc.).

Thoughts?
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No personal experience, but I've heard of instances where an amped-up dog will run right through it (and then may have trouble coming back, even if they want to.)

We use a physical fence not just to keep our dogs in but to keep stray dogs out. My Plott in particular was not friendly to strange dogs approaching the fence. I hate to think what would have happened if a dog just wandered into the yard.
It's not likely to be a great solution for you. If your dog gets 'fired up' in the yard to the point where she's going over the fence, it's entirely possible you'll pay a bunch to have the electric fence installed and she'll just blow through it the next time she gets overly excited. When this happen, frequently the dog then is afraid to come back into the yard because the shock happens regardless of what side of the fence the dog is on, and she' s not hyped enough to forget or ignore it as she was when she was leaving.

Additionally, any electric shock collar can lead to potential behavioral issues with certain sensitive dogs or in certain scenarios. Say she gets worked up and runs to (or over) the boundary when she sees another dog, getting a shock. If she connects the shock to seeing the other dog rather than her movement towards the boundary, she might start seeing other dogs as scary or a threat to be scared away, causing her to blow up even more every time she sees one. Possibly even generalizing to other dogs outside the yard, such as on walks. Just one example, I've also heard of dogs being afraid to use the yard at all, or dogs who are afraid every time they hear a beep remotely similar to the 'warning' beep the boundary collar gives when the dog is getting close to the fence line. Sometimes it's fine and the dog has no issues, but you have to take the possibility of these behavioral consequences into account.

I'd look into seeing if you can get some livestock fencing/netting or chicken wire to shore up the low spots in the fence or gaps. Not pretty, but inexpensive and easy to break down or move if you need to. We use livestock netting to run a makeshift fence around our rented 'yard', as it's on a rocky hill that'd be difficult to fence even if we had the landlord's permission and wanted to spend the money. Had to adjust it a couple times after our dogs 'helpfully' pointed out weak spots in the perimeter, but overall it's worked well.
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In your case it seems you have a physical fence but the dog breaches it.
IF your dog was not jumping the fence (was breaching it by wiggling underneath, for instance), the underground fence WITH the physical fence might be an option as it would cause the dog to avoid the fence altogether.

The issue you have is your dog gets into a high state if arousal and goes flying over the existing, physical fence. I agree with others who think it may not work for your dog because she will simply fly through it.

I know someone who installs these fences AND trains the dog as well. He says the "secret" in making these fences work is the training... It is not a matter of burying a line, putting up flags, slapping a collar on the dog and letting the dog and fence "have at it."

So, PERHAPS with correct training with a professional, it could work. Just tossing that out there...
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View attachment 264147

My daughter and I put up about 100 feet of this in an hour or so at a total cost of maybe $50.

And when I eventually replaced it with a cedar picket fence, it came down quickly and easily.
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I have a 6' chain link fence. My late mutt could clear it. The solution was that she was never allowed outside without an adult human with her.

If your dog can't jump that high, then t-posts and livestock panels would probably be a viable option, and one that can be removed at a later time.
2017 study surveyed dog owners with various fencing and of those who used 'invisible fences' 44% reported that their dogs had escaped. I wouldn't buy any product with a 44% failure rate.

EDIT - Here's an article with the study referenced: Escaping Dogs: Some Fences Are Better Than Others
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In fairness, my Plott effortlessly jumped over the 4 ft wire fence in my picture. She only did it once and that was to retrieve a ball that my wife accidentally Chuckited over the fence. Then she immediately jumped back into the yard.

She was a bit of a showoff.
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I prefer use physical fence, we have a portable dog fence that allow usage for both indoors and outdoors. My dogs love it! Perfect size and height for smaller dogs.
This thread is nine months old and the original poster hasn't been on since, so I'm closing it to further replies. Feel free to join in any of our currently active threads, or start one of your own!
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