http://www.borderpatroltc1.com/

Has anyone had the chance to use this or see it in person? I want to get back into backpack camping and one of the things I wish I had was some kind of portable wireless fence. You can imagine how excited I am about this product, even though it's way out of my price range right now.

I can definitely see the attraction!

But how do you train a dog against a temporary electric fence?

And in the woods ..... even more than at home .... anything can get in, right?

I admit I didn't read the whole thing. Gotta go train.


I'm a huge non-fan of electrified fences for dog containment, so take it for what it's worth: very prejudiced.

The GPS: I did find a thread, here:

http://leerburg.com/webboard/thread.php?topic_id=20151&page=1

I'm hoping others will post about that system.

Also found


http://leerburg.com/webboard/thread.php?topic_id=7054&page=1

Think about how they know where the end of the leash is and just how far out they can go before they feel pressure. With active handling (paying attention to where the dog is, recalling and praising) a dog could easily learn that he can wander around while hiking, but he must keep an eye on me because there's a boundary that he's not allowed to go past. The collar can either vibrate or make a tone for warning that the dog is going out too far. It's easy to teach the dog that once he experiences that he should at least turn around and look at me. For fairness I would keep the boundary the same every time. The unit just simplifies my life because it uses math and GPS to keep the dog within a certain range where as I'm highly inaccurate with my distance judging and can confuse the dog easily.

While in camp the dogs are on picket lines now that I've made one and aren't allowed to roam since there's fire and food and I'm distracted.

"For fairness I would keep the boundary the same every time. "


You mean the distance from the tent (or whatever) to the boundary, in all directions, each time?

I would keep the unit set on the same distance setting all the time while using it for hiking, yes. In the camp everything but their 2 inch tie out collar is taken off and they're put on chains or on the new picket line I made recently.

I'm somewhat intrigued. My understanding is the system would shock/vibrate the dogs when they wander more than, say, 20 feet (depending on the setting you choose) away in any direction while hiking?

I am familiar with GPS systems for tracking wildife which are often not completely accurate in determining an animal's location, especially to the real-time minute or second. This means the dog may wander 25 feet away before a stim in some instances and just 10 feet away and get stimmed in other cases. Vagueries of the terrain, large trees or vegetation, weather, and satellite reception could all intefere with a GPS signal and mean that a 20 foot circumference would not really be 20 feet.

I recommend that you double check the actual electronics/GPS capabilities of the system itself. Some GPS systems are much better than others.

As far as actual training, assuming the system works well electronics-wise, I'd be concerned about superstitious associations/behaviors with this type of automatic stimming. Could make an already reactive/skittish dog much worse.

It's an interesting thought for an electronic leash. Let me know how it goes if you end up trying it.

"As far as actual training, assuming the system works well electronics-wise, I'd be concerned about superstitious associations/behaviors with this type of automatic stimming. Could make an already reactive/skittish dog much worse."


One of my concerns, too.

But I admit that I have a strong gut feeling against invisible fences.

While I understand people think dogs can create superstitious behaviors from training, I don't buy into it. I have trouble even understanding the concept on this particular topic.

This is also completely different than an invisible fence since you're standing right there with the dog. If the dog is so stupid he can't put one and one together and realize that when you say no, and he feels a vibration, and chooses to ignore you and gets a shock, it's because YOU did it... yea I've never had a dog that stupid. And if that sequence of actions causes a dog emotional distress and possibly increases reactivity then obviously that tool should not be used on that dog. I've had foster dogs that I would never put a prong collar on, only to turn around and put it on another.

Edited to add - Reactive dogs and dogs with low stress thresholds should not be brought onto the trail or with you while camping, anyway.

I had a very sound, go anywhere dog that had two superstitions, each based on a different adolescent experience. She got shocked by an electric cord and would never go near one again. She got sprayed in the face once, and would hide anytime someone picked up a hose from then on.

Forty years ago, I knew a farm dog that got shocked every time he went under the electric cattle fence. Yet, three or four times every day, he ran under that fence with his tail sticking straight up. No matter where you were on that farm, you could hear him scream.

Which one was the stupid dog?